Spring is here.

And the first 90 days of 2024 have gone by.

It’s been busy.

Yet, I’m grateful for the opportunity to work and speak with interesting humans daily.

One conversation that we had recently was with Traci and Amy on their podcast, the T&A Party.

We (Anna and I) spoke about our origin story in plant-based health, our motivations, and some of our best strategies that we teach our students.

It was a fun conversation, and I’d recommend listening to it. 🙂

Here’s the link to the episode. ​

I also recently finished putting the last touches on our Accelerator 2.0 Program.

Over the past 6 months, my team and I have been working hard to create a completely revamped version of our Lv1 Program Accelerator.

It hasn’t been easy.

But with dozens of hours of work and research into this project, we’ve come to the finish line.

In April, I’ll be releasing a unique spring special (I've never done this before) for a CAPPED number of new students who want to get lean, strong, and lead by example.

The special won’t be for everyone, but it will be for the right person who’s serious and coachable about their health.

Keep an eye out for details on this over the next few weeks.

Lesson: Working hard often goes unnoticed, but it shouldn’t go unacknowledged. Acknowledge your progress each day while staying focused on your goals.

Here's Your 5 Minute Friday:

#1.) How To Eat

One of the most overlooked areas of nutrition is how to eat.

While how much and what to eat are often covered in the nutritional pyramid, how to eat is commonly missed.

This is a core pillar of nutritional freedom.

Why is this important?

30-40% of your digestion occurs when you chew your food.

It gives your body time to activate digestive enzymes and break down your food properly.

However, we live in a culture that’s GO GO GO.

Slowing down is the first step to winning the nutrition game.

Eat 50% slower than you currently are as your challenge for this upcoming month.

As a further challenge, eat and be fully present.

Put your phone, laptop, TV, and books away for 10-20 minutes (if longer, even better).

Eat with your kids, family, partner, or pets.

Be present.

And listen to your body.

Learning to eat slowly won’t happen overnight.

But it’s a habit that can change your life as you listen to your body’s signals.

Two signals to pay attention to:

1. Am I hungry still?
2. Am I full?

Satiety and hunger are often missed due to distraction.

Eating slowly will take your nutrition to a whole new level.

#2.) When To Eat

Is there a best time to eat?

Yes and no.

For fitness, it’s ideal to space out your bigger meals closer to your workouts (post-workout bigger meal with a smaller pre-workout meal).

For health, it’s helpful to stop eating 2 hours before bedtime to help with digestion.

But can you eat early in the morning or later in the night?

Of course.

What’s optimal isn’t always what’s ideal.

Generally, eating every 2-3 hours with a steady stream of healthy carbs is a good rule of thumb (since our brain and livers need glucose to thrive).

For protein, the same idea applies but for muscle retention and fullness.

Fats naturally add themselves since they’re part of many proteins and carbs.

How you could frame this in a daily snapshot:

Morning: Healthy carbs & protein (zero - minimal fat)

Mid-morning: Healthy carbs & protein (minimal fat)

Midday: Healthy carbs & protein (minimal fat)

Afternoon: Healthy carbs & protein (moderate fat)

Dinner: Healthy carbs & protein (moderate fat)

Evening snack: Healthy carbs & protein

#3.) How To Track Your Body Stats

Tracking results is important when it comes to seeing results.

It’s data.

As any good scientist, you need feedback (data) from your behaviors to make informed decisions.

Without data?

You can’t make a good decision.

Instead of blindly shooting arrows in the dark or getting upset if the scale goes up (or down), focus on bringing more clarity to your health.

With clarity comes understanding.

And this leads to better decisions.

Here’s what and how I recommend our students to track their results: ​
1x weekly - track your body weight (first thing in the morning, same time every week, before you eat and drink)

1x weekly - track your body measurements (first thing in the morning, same time every week, before you eat and drink)

*Track hips, waist, thighs, and chest.

1x weekly - track your photos (front, side, back; in underwear or bikini, good lighting, clear background, and use the same place each week)

You don’t need to track every day.

But having a weekly standard will help demystify your rate of progress.

If you’re hiding from tracking your results, it may be a sign you’re hiding from reality.

Or you don’t want acknowledge your behaviors.

Don’t let this detract you.

Acknowledge where you are.

And focus on where you want to go.

As a reminder, doing this first thing in the morning at the same time in the same place will also help make your measurements more objective.

Finally - you can track your results every week but if you aren’t seeing progress, the first thing to look at is your BEHAVIORS.

How consistently have you been tracking your nutrition?

How many strength workouts did you get in the past 2 weeks?

How many steps are you getting per day?

How are your hydration, sleep, and stress levels?

Behaviors leverage your results.

Don’t forget this when things are slow.

Client of the Week

Jennifer is a busy woman.

Going to school to become a veterinarian, working full-time, and caring for her family absorb most of her time.

She had also put her health on the back burner.

She wanted to drop weight, tone up, and feel strong and confident in her body… yet she felt miles away from this reality.

However, she no longer wanted to fight for her excuses.

Strategy: Due to her busy schedule, we needed to simplify her training and nutrition.

One key focus was dialing in her nutrition tracking, ramping up her strength workouts, and getting consistent daily steps.

Later on, we also layered in several cardio workouts, but ONLY after she was consistently hitting a minimum of 4 strength workouts per week and tracking her nutrition 6 days a week.

Sleep and stress management also came into focus with work, school, and family events stacking up on top of her.

So we also focused on a minimum sleep standard of 8 hours per night while building a simple meditation practice.

It’s incredible what a human can do when they’re coachable.

And serious about their health.

Watching Jennifer’s development and journey has truly been awe-inspiring as she’s taken full ownership of her body and mind.

Our wins: 21 lbs of fat loss from her initial start, 680 lb leg press, and down to her lowest body fat percentage.

And more than the stats?

She’s feeling more at ease and peace within herself, even as a perfectionist with a type A personality.

Sometimes, it’s not just about the numbers.

It’s also about who you become.

If you're a busy vegan, plant-based human, or plant-curious and want to get in the best shape of your life while leading by example, apply here to get lean, strong, and healthy in 2024. ​

(2-week waiting list and capped at 5 new spots per month)

One Quote To Finish Your Week Strong

We always have a choice in life.

To move forward.

Or to go backward.

The choice is ours. 🙂

- 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. :)