A few weeks ago, I couldn’t leave bed.

The cold virus hit me.

It hit hard.

I saw it coming.

We had just gotten back from international travel visiting family.

Sleep was poor.

Nutrition had taken a hit.

Our immune systems were weaker.

This was an easy opportunity for a bug to take advantage.

Yet, our bodies are more resilient than we give them credit.

In the past, my default would have been to stock up on cold medicines.

Or even get extra jabs for the ‘added immunity’.

I’ve learned a lot since then.

Hydration. Rest. Lemon water. Fruit and vegetables.

These will all power your immunity.

Garlic and onion also work superbly to kill off pathogens.

If you want to take it to the next level, using ​Zinc​ and ​Vitamin C​ shots will boost your immunity too.

(using the links above are with our sponsor affiliate; they’ll also give you extra savings as a HP Vegan reader).

Most of us are deficient in both (and the impact these two vitamins have on our immunity is profound).

Why am I sharing this experience?

Because I know how much it SUCKS to be sick.

To be unhealthy. To not have energy.

A few weeks ago was my reminder of the importance of keeping a high level of health.

While I felt like crap for a few days, I rebounded much faster than I expected.

Your body is designed to keep you healthy.

It’s only when the inner terrain is out of balance that we ‘lose’ our health.

Health is all about bringing ourselves back in balance.

Don’t forget this. 🙂

Lesson: Health starts within. Without health, we don’t have much.

Here's Your 1-3-1 Friday:

#1.) 3 Steps to Shed 10 Pounds

Want to drop weight as a vegan?

Then, don't follow the mainstream diets.

🚫 Cutting carbs (exclusively)

🚫 Restrictive dieting

🚫 Intermittent fasting (especially as a woman)

🚫 Keto (HELL NO... unless you don't care about your liver health)

(What works and will work nearly every time (provided you don't have underlying health concerns)...

Negative energy balance

Commonly known as a caloric deficit (but more often misunderstood), this pillar is what drives LASTING fat loss.

There's a difference between weight loss vs fat loss.

Dropping body fat requires emptying your fat cells (not burning them since once you have a fat cell it's difficult to get rid of them).

As you empty each fat cell by depleting the available energy stored inside of each cell (since fat is stored energy), you get leaner.

When you drop weight WITHOUT a focus on dropping body fat, you aren't guaranteed to get leaner.

You may drop weight.

But nearly every time you'll regain it without a strategic plan to change your body composition.

Our ​Accelerator Shred Method ​is how we teach our clients how to drop body fat and keep it off.

Here's how it works:

✅ Create a negative caloric deficit of ~500 k/cal per day

✅ Track your bodyweight, measurements, caliper readings, and physique photos for 3 weeks

✅ If you're averaging a net loss of 1 pound of body fat or so per week, keep your targets the same until you hit a plateau (which shouldn't happen for a few months UNLESS you've been undereating before entering this phase).

🚫 If you aren't seeing the rate of fat loss (1 pound per week is the gold standard) that you should be seeing, consider reviewing your stress and sleep levels FIRST before cutting more calories.

Also - evaluate your daily steps and movement to make sure you aren't moving less to compensate for eating less.

(since the body resists change it will adapt to the lower calories; be proactive here).

Fat-loss is simple when you follow the right principles.

Keep your fitness simple.

#2.) Avoid These 5 Vegan Mistakes

Avoid my 5 mistakes I made as a new vegan:

(don't do this if you want to get lean and toned as a vegan)

My vegan mistakes:

🚫 Confusing beans for protein

🚫 Eating vegan junk food 80% of the time (because I was 'bulking')

🚫Using cardio for fat loss

🚫 Spending hours in the gym PER workout

🚫 Eating ONLY fruits and vegetables to be healthy (without prioritizing lean protein)

I've made a ton of mistakes eating a plant-based diet.

It's been rough.

But I wouldn't change a thing.

I've learned more about nutrition than I ever would have imagined.

I've become an expert in plant-based foods when I never had an interest in learning about food.

Yet, the more I've learned, the more I've seen how much nutrition matters.

And there's different ways to approach your vegan nutrition.

As well as different goals.

However if you want to drop body fat and build lean muscle then the path forward is simple:

✅ Eat a high protein vegan diet

✅ Start a negative energy balance eating approach to drop body fat

✅Balance your meals with healthy carbs, fruits, and vegetables with a dose of healthy fats

✅ Lift weights 3-4x a week for muscle preservation and strength building

Simple.

And deadly effective.

It's worked for ​300+ clients we've worked​ with 1:1 over the past 8 years.

It'll work for you too.

As an added note: the more consistent you become with your fitness, the faster you’ll realize that most of what is promoted is just ‘sexy marketing’.

But proven principles work not because they’re sexy but because they give you RESULTS.

Isn’t that what the goal is about?

To get results.

Dropping body fat as a vegan doesn't need to be difficult.

It just needs to follow proven principles.

#3.) Unlock 3 Key Nutrition Levels

For the past few years, I've been focusing on training my internal regulation systems of fullness and hunger.

I’ve also been running several health experiments on myself for the last 90+ days.

(I can share my findings in a future letter if anyone is interested). 🙂

Coming back to nutrition tracking - it's been harder than I expected.

And part of that has been my approach.

I'm no longer competing or trying to get super lean.

Nor do I care too much about showcasing a 6-pack all year round.

I'm focused on my overall health, longevity, and building a strong, resilient body.

And that's led to me recalibrating my nutrition tracking.

Tracking your nutrition is talked about a lot in the health world.

Yet, most people don't need advanced nutrition tracking (at least not for the long term).

So here's how to track your nutrition correctly (courtesy of Precision Nutrition).

#1 Level One: Create an environment for healthy eating & start a basic exercise program

When it comes to nutrition, your environment = success.

If you want to win with your food choices and health for life, this is a prerequisite to long-term success.

Beradi's Law dictates that what's around us, we'll eventually eat.

Always have junk vegan food around you?

You're going to eat it.

On the other hand, if you stock your kitchen and pantries correctly with the right foods (e.g., fruits, vegetables, whole foods, etc), you'll also be influenced by this.

Striking a healthy balance between the foods our bodies need and want (like fruits) and the foods our minds want (like ice cream or chips) is how to create a sustainable nutrition transformation.

This is the foundation from which you work FIRST.

Pair this with a basic exercise program, such as a few workouts in the gym or at home for 2-3 days a week, and you'll start seeing positive changes in your body composition.

When building a nutrition foundation that lasts, start by building your nutrition pyramid correctly.

#2 Level Two: Establish correct portion sizes, increase exercise regimen, and establish correct nutrient timing

At this stage, you learn to eat the right portion sizes at the right time while gradually increasing your exercise.

Most of us still eat like 10-year-olds.

We overeat.

We undereat.

We don't eat at all.

We eat all the time.

Regaining awareness of your portion sizes will move mountains for your nutrition journey.

Establishing correct nutrient timing will also enhance your body composition as you learn best practices to eat food around your workouts to help build lean muscle and minimize fat gain.

Finally, stepping up your exercise and using progressive overload will continue to enhance your body, shape, and overall lean muscle mass.

Make sure you're challenging yourself when you lift weights and start to increase one of the multiple training variables (sets, reps, tempo, equipment, frequency, volume, etc).

We're ramping up here.

#3 Level Three: Setup caloric intake amounts and advanced nutrition strategies

Level three focuses on your caloric intake via a nutrition tracking app and advancing your exercise and nutrition strategies.

Yet, most people do NOT need to do this forever.

According to PN, most people won't need to be Lv2 or Lv3 clients (at least not for long).

Most of us are Lv1 humans who want to stay healthy, fit, and strong without obsessing over our fitness and 'macros.'

Calories and macros play an important role in losing and dropping body fat.

They'll also help you understand food at a deeper level, especially from a body composition perspective.

Plenty of research shows that when you track your food, you make different decisions.

However, it can also be a pitfall that leaves you either depressed about your calories or obsessing about weighing everything you eat.

I'll contradict myself for a second.

I believe tracking your calories and possibly macros can play an important role if you've never tracked your nutrition.

However, if you haven't mastered Lv1 or Lv2, you have no place to track your calories and macros.

As a bonus, approaching your fitness like a video game can make things even more fun.

See your fitness as a way of advancing through new levels.

Beat your personal bests.

Then, work towards leveling up to the next stage.

Master the fundamentals.

Then, move on to more advanced levels.

That's how you create a nutrition foundation that lasts for life. 🙂

1 Action Step

What level of nutrition are you at? Identify this and start working from there.

One Quote To Finish Your Week Strong

Love this time of year.

Time to pick some apples.

See you next week,

- Gabriel

Whenever you're ready, there are three ways I can help you:

#1 ​Join our free high-performance fitness FB group​ to get access to dozens of live trainings recorded along with a tight-knit group of leaders who want to get healthy, lean, and strong.

#2 Are you a high achiever who wants to be lean, strong, and lead by example? ​Apply for private 1:1 coaching​ and get in the best shape of your life (2-week waiting list).

#3 Want to fuel your fitness curiosity and follow along with the latest findings, insights, and evidence-based practices? Let's be friends on ​Facebook ​and ​Instagram​. :)

(feel free to DM me anytime - I love connecting with new friends worldwide).