In this deeply insightful and practical episode, Number 249, Dr. Anthony Balduzzi is joined by Melissa Nanavati to explore how high-performing individuals can create thriving, fulfilling relationships without compromising their ambition or energy. Whether you're a busy parent, a driven professional, or someone simply seeking more connection at home, this conversation offers a powerful roadmap for relationship success.

Melissa shares how neuroscience, hormones, and behavioral patterns shape the health of our closest relationships—and what to do when they start to fade. You'll learn how to operationalize connection using tools like daily gratitude rituals, novelty, and synchronized movement, and discover how dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin play vital roles in sustaining long-term emotional bonds.

Together, they also explore what happens when one partner outgrows the other, the silent killers of connection, and how to reignite intimacy even in long-standing relationships. Melissa introduces her Four Pillars of Peak Performance Love—Courage, Curiosity, Presence, and Play—and shares actionable steps and conversation scripts you can use immediately to reconnect with your spouse, children, and yourself.

If you want a healthier relationship that amplifies your mission, your health, and your joy—this is an episode you won’t want to miss.

• High performers need a different relationship strategy
• Operationalizing daily gratitude can transform intimacy
• Novelty boosts dopamine and reignites connection
• Shared rituals prevent disconnection and complacency
• Asking your partner what they want to be acknowledged for builds closeness
• Walks, shared workouts, and deep questions create serotonin and oxytocin
• Long-term relationships require intentional curiosity
• Assumptions and under-communication are silent killers
• Men often under-communicate change—explain your “why”
• Kids model your behavior—rituals and modeling matter more than lectures
• Feeling unsupported often stems from unspoken fear
• Scripts can help you reframe difficult conversations
• Play is the secret ingredient to long-lasting chemistry
• Courage is required for honest conversations that heal
• Curiosity is the antidote to friction

Website: http://www.melissananavati.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melissananavati/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PeakPerformanceLove

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/melissananavati/

Melissa Nanavati helps high performers create peaceful, thriving relationships without sacrificing ambition. As an author, speaker, and relationship architect, she combines lived experience with neuroscience and evolutionary biology to teach how the same skills that drive success in business can be applied to love. Despite early career success as a best-selling textbook author and Fortune 100 consultant, Melissa struggled with anxious attachment, people-pleasing, and went on over 100 first dates before meeting her husband. Through that journey, she discovered that dating and relating as a high achiever is different and developed frameworks to help others navigate it with courage. She is currently working on her next book, Peak Performance Love. Learn more at

Episode 248 is an eye-opening episode of the Fit Father Project Podcast when Dr. Anthony Balduzzi sits down with nutritional therapy practitioner Cathy Eason to dive into the profound—and often overlooked—role nitric oxide plays in whole-body health. While many have heard the term tossed around in wellness circles, few truly grasp how foundational nitric oxide is to energy production, blood flow, immune function, and even cognitive health.

Cathy shares her personal and professional journey from simply supplementing nitric oxide in advanced health protocols to becoming a passionate advocate for its everyday use—especially through diet and lifestyle. You’ll learn why nitric oxide is a fleeting gas with powerful biological effects, how our body makes it through two key systems (endogenous and dietary nitrate pathways), and why most people over 40 are deficient without knowing it.

We cover the science, but more importantly, the practical habits that matter: how leafy greens, breathwork, proper oral hygiene, and even chewing technique play a massive role in nitric oxide production. Cathy also explains why supplementing with dietary nitrates (versus just citrulline or arginine) may be the missing link for those struggling with low energy, poor circulation, or slow recovery.

Whether you're a high-performing athlete, a busy parent over 40, or someone on a healing journey, this episode will radically shift the way you look at nutrition, performance, and aging. You’ll leave with simple, actionable ways to boost nitric oxide and reclaim your vitality—starting today.

• Nitric oxide (NO) is vital for energy, blood flow, and immunity.
• We make NO internally and from dietary nitrates.
• NO production declines ~50% by age 40.
• Leafy greens, beets, and celery are top nitrate sources.
• Chewing activates oral bacteria that help make NO.
• Nose breathing and 4-7-8 breath boost NO naturally.
• Mouthwashes and antiseptics can kill helpful oral microbes.
• Exercise and clean lifestyle habits protect blood vessels.
• Berkeley Life supports NO via plant-based nitrate supplements.
• Test strips help track your NO levels at home.
• Arginine/citrulline supplements don’t work for everyone.
• Processed meat nitrates aren’t all bad—context matters.
• Nitrate gum can enhance workout performance.
• NO supports brain health, circulation, and sex drive.
• Most people feel more energy and focus within days.

Website: https://berkeleylife.com/

• Use discount code FITFAMILY and receive 20% off your first order.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BerkeleyLifeNO

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/berkeleylifeno/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/berkeley-life

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Berkeley_Life

Cathy is a Board Certified Holistic Nutritionist® with over 20 years of clinical experience. She specializes in digestive health, autoimmune conditions, neuroendocrine dysfunction, and metabolic imbalances, with a strong focus on the clinical application of nutraceuticals. Cathy is passionate about supporting healthcare professionals through education, collaboration, and holistic strategies. Outside of work, she enjoys cooking, spending time in...

In this powerful episode of the Fit Father Podcast, we sit down with veterinarian and ranch manager Nathan Canaday, a husband, father of three, and real-deal cowboy from the iconic Four Sixes Ranch in Texas. At age 40, facing severe headaches, rising blood pressure, and creeping weight gain after transitioning to a sedentary role, Nathan hit a breaking point. What followed was a radical commitment to transformation—shedding over 30 pounds, resolving joint pain, and completely re-engineering his daily habits.

Nathan shares how the Fit Father Foundations Program became a catalyst not only for his personal change but a ripple effect through his family, his workplace, and even across borders. From 4:30 AM workouts to family sauna nights and cold plunges, he offers a raw, relatable look into building a sustainable life of health, strength, and service.

• 30+ pounds lost in 5 months
• Blood pressure normalized
• No more chronic headaches or joint pain
• Swapped 8 cups of coffee/day for hydration habits
• 4:30 AM workout routine for consistency
• Built daily rituals: morning lemon-salt water, portion control, smart snacking
• Fit Father protein, collagen, and creatine supplementation
• Meal planning within communal ranch cookhouse
• Sauna + cold plunge routine with his wife
• Inspired wife, in-laws, and coworkers to join in health journey
• Family culture shift: kids working out, eating better, using cleaner products
• Key struggle: balancing sleep and stress while staying disciplined
• Favorite aspect: flexibility of workouts + community support
• Set boundaries for snacks (timing, portions, food quality)
• Deep commitment to making this “a way of life,” not a season
• Fitness is a catalyst to being a better dad, husband, and leader

Website: https://www.6666ranch.com/

X: https://x.com/6666ranch

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/foursixesranch/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/91094420

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwzKwlW28lYx7JIrI4vXQK

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/6666ranch/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@6666ranch

You can learn more at beamminerals.com/fitfamily. Use the code FITFAMILY for 20% off your first order.

Website: https://justthrivehealth.com/

Use promo code: FITFAMILY and save 20% on your first 90-day bottle of Just Thrive Probiotics.

Discover everything about our first-ever Fit Father / Fit Mother LIVE event—and why you can’t afford to miss it. https://www.fitfatherproject.com/2025

Foundations is a simple, sustainable, and specific weight loss program designed especially for busy men over 40. With short metabolic training workouts, an easy-to-follow meal plan, and an...