Welcome to 1-3-1 Fridays, my weekly newsletter where I reveal evidence-based strategies to get lean, strong, and create optimal health.

What's in store for today:

• 2 steps to get leaner in 12 weeks (without using quick fixes or short-term 'hacks.'
• A hidden ingredient that feeds cancer cells (and how you can avoid this moving forward).
• The best book I read in the past 12 months and how it changed my relationship with my unconscious habits.

The past few days have reminded me of the power of our environment.

I've tested a few things with my evening routine. I found some interesting conclusions.

The first one is that my willpower in the evening isn't as strong as it is in the morning.

While obvious, my challenge has been removing electronics from my hands after 8 p.m.

It's easier said than done when your environment supports this.

After our son sleeps, I want to be present with my wife.

But I've built the habit of scrolling on my phone while talking to her.

I'm catching up on tasks not completed and getting things done.

The achiever in me loves this.

It's also addictive.

It's very easy to do.

What's started to shift for me has been leaving my phone in my office closet.

Environment > willpower.

With no phone (or laptop) around me, sitting down and talking has become 10x easier.

To take a book out later on and read it.

Or to sit down at the table with our meal, with zero distractions.

It feels like we're dating again each time we do this.

But I acknowledge our phones (and media) power over our psyches.

It's addictive to scroll through media channels that try to keep you hooked.

I've noticed something interesting.

My sleep cycle and circadian rhythm improve when I turn off my electronics earlier.

I wear blue light glasses.

But I suspect our devices are addictive.

They keep our minds stimulated and may slow our natural sleep cycle (i.e., making us feel tired).

That's been an interesting discovery.

There's always something else to do as a career-driven human and a parent.

Something to research and check.

I've spent the bulk of 2024 doing this, only to go to bed at 11ish and notice I didn't connect with those I love.

So it's nice to tick off boxes and get things done.

But there's a price to pay for everything we do.

2025, I'm no longer paying the price of connection.

Lesson: The greatest gift we can give to each other is our full undivided attention.

Here's Your 1-3-1 Friday:

1.) 2 steps to get leaner in 12 weeks

If I wanted to get lean in 12 weeks or less using two steps, here's what I'd do:

#1 Track my nutrition 5 days a week

#2 Lift weights 3x a week

The first step would be to bring immediate awareness to my eating habits.

You create fat loss by eating less (aka using a caloric deficit) to tap into your existing body fat storage.

Every successful diet that has ever worked in the history of diets relies on this principle.

Eat below your maintenance calories.

(Maintenance = the food needed to keep your body the same.)

Your body will then use stored fat for energy.

Food = energy.

Body fat = energy.

You want to switch your energy source for a limited time.

You can view high amounts of body fat as liabilities.

You should pay down your debts.

But first, stop overspending your budget (aka, stop overeating).

Once you do this, you can attack any debt with the extra funds. (aka, eat less to focus on losing body fat).

Unlike debt, which can have high interest or low interest, you use body fat equally.

The only difference is that some pockets of body fat are more stubborn to release than other areas.

For men, this tends to be the lower belly and love handles.

For women, this tends to be the lower body (butt and thighs) and belly.

(although some women may have 'male' body fat patterning and vice versa).

Stubborn body fat will come off last.

So, focus on eating below your maintenance calories to burn it.

Again, you want to train your body to use stored body fat as its main source of energy until you reach your goal.

Whether it's losing 10 or 50 pounds, the longer you use this principle, the better the results are.

The only caveat is that you'll adapt metabolically.

You'll need to update your nutrition targets after 4-8 months of eating this way.

However, most people should be consistent before worrying about the next problem.

Hit your first milestone, then work on the next one.

On nutrition, after coaching 100's career-driven humans, 5 days is the sweet spot for tracking.

It's not overwhelming.

But it gives you 80% of the week within target.

It's flexible and sustainable.

Moving on to the second step, your body will drop muscle and fat tissue without a reason to keep muscle.

Lifting weights gives your body a reason to keep your muscles (and even grow a bit while eating less).

It also ensures you're getting leaner, but also more 'toned' and 'defined'.

It's how you build your connective, muscular, and bone tissue with a simple 30-minute workout three times a week.

90 minutes a week to get a lifetime of benefits.

90 minutes to craft a strong, powerful body that's resilient and confident.

90 minutes is what we spend watching our favorite show each week.

Is trading 90 minutes worth a lifetime of physical and mental transformation?

For me, it is.

For others, it may not be.

For some of us, we have to wait until the pain of where we are is greater than the pain of change.

We have to wait until things get very uncomfortable.

It's unfortunate, but pain and pleasure drive our egos as humans.

We move away from pain and toward pleasure.

I call this the fitness ego approach.

You gain weight. You don't change anything. You get so uncomfortable that you finally give in and change.

You return to your old weight and feel good. Then, you stop working out and eventually gain back the weight you lost.

I prefer to use the fitness identity approach.

This is much more effective.

Instead of working out to 'get fit,' you work out because you are a 'fit' person.

You work out because this is who you are (not because you're just dropping weight).

In the long run, 95% of people who lose weight regain it after 5 years or less.

The 5% who keep their results aren't special.

They just changed who they were.

Tracking my nutrition 5 days a week and lifting weights 3x a week.

That's the 'magic' formula for a lean, strong vegan body.

It will fuel your career, family, and community impact.

It's simple.

That's why most people won't do this.

2.) A hidden ingredient that feeds cancer cells

Every year, more research comes out that discusses this ingredient.

It is present in almost all of our foods, whether they are plant-based or not.

Numerous studies on sugar show it seriously harms our health.

While sugar doesn't 'cause' cancer, it does a great job of feeding cancer cells.

Ironically, cancer rates are highest in high-income countries, like the States, where sugar consumption is highest.

Cancer rates are much lower in second and third-world countries.

But they are now catching up to high-income countries.

This is due to the rise of sugar and other processed foods.

Modern society is normalizing disease and illness.

There are drugs for 'weight loss cures.'

Shots promise to 'protect your health'.

New 'cancer injections' claim to fight cancer.

None of these go to the core root of the problem:

'How did these problems occur in the first place?'

The food, pharmaceutical, and healthcare industries feed into each other.

It's the twisted circle of samsara (circle of suffering) that we live in and allow ourselves to be part of.

The second irony is that doctors who recommend 'best foods' have only a couple of months of nutritional training in their 10+ years of education.

So, back to sugar.

Here's a few things to be careful with added sugars:

• Weight Gain & Diabetes – Sugary foods and drinks can quickly cause weight gain. They also increase your risk of type 2 diabetes.
• Heart & Liver Problems – Too much sugar turns into fat in your liver. This raises your risk of heart disease and liver damage.
• Joint Pain & Inflammation – Sugar causes inflammation. It worsens joint pain and raises the risk of arthritis.
• Faster Skin Aging – Sugar harms the proteins that keep your skin firm. This causes wrinkles and sagging.
• Tooth Decay & Nutrient Deficiency – Sugar weakens your teeth. It can replace healthy foods, leaving you low on key nutrients.

To be clear, we need sugar to run our bodies.

But we need the right sugars from whole foods, plants, fruits, and vegetables.

Sugars like natural fructose from fruits are the most healing foods on the planet.

We want to avoid added and processed sugars.

This will feed cancer cells and wreak havoc on our bodies later on.

What you eat, you become.

Protect your first wealth... which is your health.

3.) The best book I read in the past 12 months

The best book I've read in the past 12 months was 'King, Warrior, Magician, and Lover' by Robert Moore and Gillette.

It's a fascinating read into the human psyche.

It's aimed at men, but you can swap the male names (like King for Queen), and it applies to women.

I've learned more about my psyche from this book than any other that I read last year.

It's a reminder that our actions aren't always conscious.

There are often unconscious patterns or "archetypes" fueling our behavior.

The areas that we suppress or dislike about ourselves do not vanish without effort.

They become part of our shadow.

Your shadow is everything that you've cut off or disowned from yourself.

You can cut off positive and negative qualities from yourself.

But everything that you cut off doesn't go away.

It becomes part of our psyche.

It will seek to express itself in unexpected and unwanted ways.

It's why many clients we work with do 'great' during the week and 'fall off track' on the weekends.

They wanted to be 'good with their foods and workouts.'

But, their suppressed self wanted to be lazy and 'bad.'

So, it needed to come out in some way.

That's why I suggest that our clients allow themselves to eat their favorite foods.

To be lazy and even miss a workout (aka don't be perfect every week).

It's why I'll even recommend not to be regimented 365 days a year...

Eventually, this will backfire on you.

Self-discipline ultimately leads to failure.

Instead of discipline and 'willpower,' we need awareness.

We need to be conscious of the unconscious forces within us first.

Once you do this, you can start to create real magic.

You can integrate each part of yourself (if you choose) and start reclaiming your power.

That's where the real adventure starts.

If you're embarking on this journey in 2025, enjoy the ride.

It might be the best journey you ever take.

1 Action Step

Slow down and observe yourself this week.

Before you speak, act, or do, pause for 10 seconds and notice what's driving your behavior.

Are you coming from your center... or from somewhere else?

One Quote To Finish Your Week Strong