Metabolic Health Mastery with Donna Aston

In this episode of the Future Lab Podcast, hosts Danny Urbinder, Trevor Hendy, and Dr Denise Furness take a deep dive with Donna Aston, a metabolic health and weight management expert, who shares her inspiring journey from being an overweight teenager to transforming her body through strength training and becoming a fitness competitor. Donna discusses her nutritional studies and the development of her science-based program, Aston Rx, which focuses on enhancing metabolic health and promoting long-term well-being. Key topics include the importance of strength training, managing insulin levels, and optimising diet through time-restricted eating and nutrient-dense foods. Aston also emphasises the significance of stress reduction, sleep hygiene, and individualised dietary interventions for achieving and maintaining health. The episode highlights practical insights and real-world applications for enhancing metabolic health and longevity.

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Transcript

Danny Urbinder: Before we dive into today’s episode, I’ve got some exciting news. Future Lab, Australia’s first longevity supplement range, is now available at Chemist Warehouse and leading health-food stores. This is more than a regular supplement range — it’s a mission. The experts at Future Lab have developed formulas designed to support your wellbeing today, tomorrow, and beyond.

Danny Urbinder: Hi, and welcome back to the Future Lab Podcast. I’m Danny Urbinder, and with me is our host, Trevor Hendy.

Trevor Hendy: Thanks, mate — good to be back. I love being here with you all, and we’ve got a wonderful guest today.

Danny Urbinder: We do indeed — and Dr Denise Furness is with us as well.

Dr Denise Furness: Hello everyone! I’m really looking forward to this episode — to learn a bit myself, too.

Trevor Hendy: Same here. We’d already started a conversation off-mic that probably should’ve been on the podcast, so let’s go deeper this time. Our guest is Donna Aston. Many of you will know Donna — she’s an expert in metabolic health and weight management, and the founder of Aston Rx, a science-based program focused on metabolic health. Donna, welcome.

Donna Aston: Thank you for having me.

Danny Urbinder: Your bio is extensive, so perhaps start with your story — how you got here and what you’re doing now.

Donna Aston: Sure. I started as an overweight teenager — about 25 kilos heavier than I am now. I tried everything. I tried gyms but had the attention span of a sparrow. Eventually I found a serious strength-training gym, started training, and discovered not only did I like it, I was pretty good at it. I felt great with strength training. I transformed my body and moved into fitness competitions. I was pretty extreme: I went from almost 40% body fat down to about 5% over two years.

Dr Denise Furness: As a female — did you lose your menstrual cycle?

Donna Aston: No, I didn’t — which I put down to doing it with decent nutrition. But it was a huge learning curve. I realised how much misinformation was out there and how many people were struggling. I studied nutrition at Deakin, became a personal trainer and coach, and saw first-hand how crucial nutrition is. I wrote and published six books, all about changing your perspective and having a trusted source of information.

I then worked one-on-one with clients for quite a while. The same thing kept happening: people couldn’t stick with it long-term. They blamed themselves and their “lack of willpower” — yet these were people with incredible willpower in other parts of life. It didn’t make sense.

Before COVID I travelled, spoke with scientists and practitioners, and built a program that integrates multiple aspects of metabolic health and the biology that drives behaviour. I trialled it privately with clients and the results were unlike anything I’d seen. They were shocked by what they could achieve.

So I asked myself: write book number seven, or build an online platform? I chose the platform because the field evolves constantly, people need ongoing support, and it lets me keep updating and working with them. That’s how Aston Rx began.

Trevor Hendy: You were clearly successful in the gym early on. What did you do then that worked, and what would you change now?

Donna Aston: I started like everyone else: low-fat diets, not eating enough, exercising like crazy. I looked “good”, but I felt awful — rundown, poor pathology results. I realised there had to be a better way. I’d done it the wrong way because that’s what everyone was told: eat less, exercise more. So I began researching how to nourish my body and not deprive it. From those mistakes came my mission: show people they don’t have to do it the hard, unhealthy way.

Trevor Hendy: Love that — when mistakes become a passion to help others. Denise?

Dr Denise Furness: It’s so good you’re doing this in a healthy way. I had a similar arc — I discovered running in my early twenties and everyone said how good I looked. I ate less, trained more, ended up with injuries and an autoimmune disease. On the outside I looked great; inside I was a mess. I wasn’t doing bloods then, but I know they would have been off. So, Donna, what are the principles of the right way?

Donna Aston: We do the inverse of the usual advice. We’re told globally to eat less and move more. It’s wrong. If you wanted to be ravenous for a big Christmas dinner, you’d exercise in the morning and eat less during the day — which is exactly what we’re told to do chronically. Then we’re told to eat low-fat, high-carb meals that spike insulin and drive hunger. Cue the cycle of hunger, guilt and “no willpower.”

We educate people about metabolic health and start by lowering insulin. Once insulin drops, appetite self-regulates, you naturally choose the right foods and portions, and your body can access stored fat for fuel. Weight loss becomes a result of improved metabolic health, not the focus. Focusing on weight is like fanning smoke coming from a car bonnet; you need to open the engine and fix the cause.

Trevor Hendy: Is this a ketogenic diet?

Donna Aston: Not as a target. If you’re burning fat, you may produce some ketones, but we’re not chasing ketosis or measuring ketones. It isn’t necessary to get results. Our goal is optimal nourishment, eating with your circadian rhythm, optimising sleep, microbiome health, and lowering inflammation — while explaining why it all works.

Often people come to lose weight because that’s what they can see. They can’t see their bloods, liver or microbiome. Once they learn and change, we hear: “My reflux of 20 years is gone,” “My knees stopped hurting in five days,” and so on. These issues are common, but they’re not normal.

Danny Urbinder: What’s the common element people are getting wrong?

Donna Aston: Several. Chronic stress, poor sleep, endocrine-disrupting chemicals — the list is long. But stress is huge. Chronically elevated cortisol keeps you in fight-or-flight; your liver pushes glucose into the bloodstream; insulin rises. High insulin means you burn glucose, not fat. Over time that drives insulin resistance: belly fat, inflammation, higher blood pressure — metabolic syndrome. The system tries to medicate away symptoms rather than fix causes.

Dr Denise Furness: And when cortisol’s high, digestion slows — you absorb fewer nutrients, develop deficiencies, then crave the wrong foods. It snowballs.

Trevor Hendy: And insulin’s knocking on the muscle’s door with glucose, but if the muscle is resistant, it ignores the knock, so the body makes more insulin — is that the picture?

Donna Aston: Exactly. Insulin can be elevated for 13–15 years while glucose still looks normal. During that time high insulin drives hunger, belly fat, inflammation and high blood pressure — but many clinicians only measure glucose or HbA1c. Eventually insulin can’t compensate and glucose rises — then the chronic condition shows up.

Danny Urbinder: How do we fix insulin resistance?

Donna Aston: Address stress and sleep first. Then strength training to build quality muscle. Muscle is a metabolic organ — your engine. More and better-quality muscle increases insulin sensitivity and your 24/7 energy burn. Muscle acts like a sponge for glucose, allowing insulin to drop and restoring metabolic flexibility — the ability to switch between glucose and fat as needed. Most people today are metabolically inflexible.

We also eat the wrong proportions: ~70% of many diets is carbohydrate. Protein (amino acids) and essential fats are required; carbohydrate isn’t technically essential, yet it dominates. As we age we assimilate protein less efficiently, so needs increase. Cutting out quality protein sources (e.g., with restrictive vegan patterns) can worsen muscle loss if not well planned.

Then there are GLP-1 weight-loss drugs — people lose weight but also lose a lot of muscle and bone. For a 50–60-year-old woman, that loss can be very hard to regain.

Dr Denise Furness: What about HMB (a leucine metabolite) to help preserve muscle?

Donna Aston: I see it as a helpful adjunct — a supplement to support a foundation of diet, sleep and strength training. Not a magic pill, but it can assist, especially during bed rest or recovery.

Trevor Hendy: I’ll be honest: when you said “muscle is your metabolic engine,” my first reaction was, “Oh, that’s hard work.” I train, but life gets busy. Is that a common reaction?

Donna Aston: Absolutely. Strength training can feel overwhelming if you’re unfamiliar with it or have let muscle deteriorate. My advice: start with three strength sessions per week. If you go daily you won’t recover. Begin with full-body, then progress to upper/lower splits and, later, body-part splits. If you were learning tennis, you’d get a coach — do the same here. A few sessions with a good trainer can set you up safely and keep you accountable. If you have injuries, see an exercise physiologist.

Dr Denise Furness: I’ve been overwhelmed getting back to a gym after years away — travel, work, all the excuses.

Donna Aston: We all tell ourselves stories: too busy, travel, kids, emails. But there’s almost always a way. If you’re in a hotel room, do push-ups and squats when you wake up. Start small — once you start, it’s rarely as hard as you imagined.

Danny Urbinder: A quick message from our sponsor: if you’ve ever wondered what a healthier, stronger future might look like, Melrose Future Lab — Australia’s first longevity supplement range — is now at Chemist Warehouse and leading health-food stores. The range supports cellular energy, metabolic wellbeing and muscle maintenance — and much more.

Danny Urbinder: Back to training and longevity. You’d expect people to keep strength training into their 60s, 70s, even 80s and 90s?

Donna Aston: Yes. Two functional predictors of longevity are grip strength and leg strength. As a guide: a woman in her 40s–50s who can farmer-carry 75% of her bodyweight for one minute will likely be able to open a jar at 80. For men, it’s 100% of bodyweight. Don’t attempt heavy lifts without guidance — it’s a target to work towards.

Dr Denise Furness: One-leg balance and VO₂ max also track with biological age metrics.

Donna Aston: Exactly. And note this: the global healthspan is about 63.7 years — meaning many people spend 20+ years living with chronic disease. We can do better.

Trevor Hendy: Donna, how old are you?

Donna Aston: Fifty-eight.

Trevor Hendy: You look amazing — well done.

Donna Aston: Thank you. What I’ve learned from 48 to 58 is to take responsibility for your health. I see our members make changes that restore their confidence in what their bodies can do. It’s never too late. Don’t do what’s merely common — do what’s effective.

Dr Denise Furness: You can even improve bone density later in life, right?

Donna Aston: You can. My mum had severe osteoporosis; my sister (10 years older) does too. Five years ago I had a severe back flare-up and stopped training — it was debilitating. A physio friend said my glutes and core had “gone on holidays” and left my back doing all the work. I started rehab and training again. A DEXA showed osteopenia, which frightened me. Doctors wanted to medicate, but I chose to train — carefully at first, then heavy. In about eight months I regained ~10% bone density. It can be done.

Trevor Hendy: There’s mindset in that — resilience.

Donna Aston: Yes. Get comfortable being uncomfortable. Nothing good happens in your comfort zone. I’m happy to fail — I learn from it.

Trevor Hendy: Purpose matters too. My goal is that at 80 I can walk any hill, ski any mountain and surf any wave with my great-grandchildren. It guides my choices.

Dr Denise Furness: Let’s talk fasting. Is it part of your program?

Donna Aston: We use time-restricted eating rather than long intermittent fasts. Eat breakfast around 6–7am, then leave at least five hours before lunch, then dinner as early as possible — ideally around 6pm. The later the meal, the higher the insulin response. Stop eating 3–4 hours before bed so body temperature drops and melatonin rises. Aim for a minimum 12-hour overnight fast every 24 hours.

The mistake with fasting is focusing on not eating rather than what you eat. If you cram a high-insulin meal into a short window, insulin can stay elevated for 24 hours and you’ve lost the point. In our initial phase, meals are fast-mimicking — balanced to keep the insulin response minimal while still nourishing you.

Dr Denise Furness: Breakfast example?

Donna Aston: Protein (e.g., eggs — each person’s protein is tailored to lean mass), avocado for fibre and healthy fats, and some veggies like spinach or mushrooms. It’s simple and you can order it anywhere. The big rule: no snacking between meals — not even a carrot stick. Give your metabolism a rest.

Dr Denise Furness: And lunch/dinner?

Donna Aston: A quality protein high in leucine — chicken breast, turkey, fish like salmon, beef, pork or lamb — plus five different plant foods on the plate for microbiome diversity, and healthy fats like extra-virgin olive oil, raw nuts or seeds.

Trevor Hendy: What if that breakfast ends up on a piece of sourdough?

Donna Aston: It’s still flour — you’ll get a higher glucose and insulin response and the balance is thrown out. In the initial phase we’re strict to restore metabolic flexibility, microbiome health and reduce inflammation. After that, we reintroduce most things with guidelines. Palates change — many people no longer want the bread or sweets.

Danny Urbinder: When does chocolate come back?

Donna Aston: After the initial phase, if you want it, have a small piece of dark chocolate immediately after a meal. Many people don’t even crave it by then.

Danny Urbinder: If you had to pick three longevity principles?

Donna Aston: Nourishment (quality food), Strength (resistance training), and a tie between Sleep and Stress reduction — two sides of the same coin.

Dr Denise Furness: Favourite supplements?

Donna Aston: Personally: EPA/DHA, vitamin D and K, a high-quality multi with minerals, and a probiotic — targeted to me. Supplements support, but don’t replace, good diet and training.

Danny Urbinder: Berberine?

Donna Aston: Useful for some members at the start to help regulate glucose while they transition to better metabolic flexibility. I don’t take it myself.

Danny Urbinder: One thing we produce less of as we age is NAD. (Hands Donna a liposomal NAD product.) A little gift for you.

Trevor Hendy: Where can people find you?

Donna Aston: astonrx.com

Danny Urbinder: Final question we ask everyone: if you gained an extra 10–20 years of healthspan, what would you do with the time?

Donna Aston: I love my work and I love learning. I learn something every day. I’d keep learning and applying — especially as technology moves so fast. I’m excited about it.

Trevor Hendy: Beautiful answer. There’s a growing tribe of people with that same purpose — live longer and stronger so we can learn, share and contribute. Donna Aston, thanks so much for your time.

Dr Denise Furness: Thank you — I’m taking away the early dinner and no snacking! I’m sure our listeners got a lot from this.

Donna Aston: Thanks for having me.

Danny Urbinder: And a final note: you can find Melrose Future Lab at Chemist Warehouse and leading health-food stores. See you next episode.