The best time to plant a tree?

20 years ago.

The second best time?

Today.

Taking care of your plant-based health isn't a one and done activity.

It's a never-ending process.

You keep doing this.

Over time, you get to reap the same results as investing into stocks.

You don't see the results immediately.

But over months and years, the ROI on your health behaviors keeps compounding.

At one point, there comes the UPWARD shoot that you often see on graphs when compound interest finally reaches its tipping point.

You can do the same for your health.

It just takes consistency.

If you want to be healthy for years as a plant-based leader, plant your tree today.

20 years from now, you'll be glad that you did.

Lesson: What you do today matters. 20 years from now, you’ll thank yourself for your health investments today.

Here's Your 1-3-1 Friday:

#1.) 3 Proven Systems To Get Lean

You can't outwork a bad diet.

However, you can outwork a bad workout plan.

There's countless studies showing that you can significatly change your body composition using ONLY nutritional interventions.

(aka changing your eating habits). 🙂

If you're a busy vegan or plant-based eater, listen in:

YOU DON'T NEED TO SACRIFICE YOUR FAVORITE VEGAN FOODS TO GET LEAN AND STRONG.

You do, however, need to follow proven principles and systems.

Which is exactly what I'll share with you below.

✅System #1 Eat at negative energy balance

What this means is eating less than your body needs.

When you eat at maintenance calories, your body will 'maintain' the status quo.

But you don't want more of the same.

You want to sculpt your body and strip off body fat.

Ideally, subtracting 500 calories from your maintenance calories can start your fitness engine, allowing your body to tap into stored body fat storage as a way of making up from eating fewer calories.

When you eat less than your body needs, you start to activate the fat-loss process.

While it’s easier to promote ‘fat-burning’, the truth is your body doesn’t ‘burn’ fat but rather releases it from stored fat cells.

That’s what negative energy balance does for you.

If you’re not sure how to do this correctly and want guidance along the way, apply for a spot inside the ​Accelerator 2.0 Program. ​ 

We’ll give you the exact systems and tools to strip off body fat without feeling overwhelmed or stressed out by your fitness.

Use thermodynamics to fuel your fitness, not fad diets.

✅#2 Eat high-protein foods (1 gram per body weight)

With muscle preservation, protein is key.

If you're like me and also enjoy eating WFPB, I understand.

I made this mistake when I went raw vegan for nearly a year.

(more on this in a future upcoming letter).

I thought I could keep my muscle while eating ONLY fruits and vegetables.

I was wrong.

While my goal for eating raw was to heal myself from a chronic illness, it didn't support my fitness or physique.

Which was fine.

That wasn't my goal.

But having the right priorities in mind is important when you're working towards weight loss or muscle building goals.

Aim for 1 gram of protein per bodyweight as a bare minimum during fat-loss phases.

(if you want to be safe; 1.2-1.5 grams per bodyweight is a good rule of thumb while dropping body fat).

Dropping body fat is one part of the equation…

The other part is preserving lean muscle tissue.

Keep both of these in mind.

✅#3 Lift weights 3-4x a week

You'll notice the first two systems are nutrition related.

With just those two - you'll get far.

With this last system, you'll go for decades.

Lifting weights gives your body a signal.

The signal says:

'OH, I'm getting hit by heavy rocks... I should probably build lean muscle as a DEFENSE mechanism to protect myself next time I get hit by these heavy rocks.'

Keep lifting heavy rocks.

Countless studies have proven that strength training defies the aging process.

If you want to be lean and strong for LIFE, lifting weights will do this for you.

As a side note, your entire body benefits from strength training:

• Your bones
• Your ligaments
• Your connective tissue
• Your muscular system
• Your cardiovascular system (your heart works here too)

The ROI on lifting weights is priceless.

Your body will thank you in your 50s and beyond.

#2.) Defeat the All-or-Nothing Mindset (forever)

The simplest way to get fast results?

Release your perfectionism.

For most people, that's easier said than done.

Childhood programming leaves most of us 'messed' up for life.

The people who wrote our subconscious programming (parents and loved ones) didn't know what they were doing.

So it's up to us to take full ownership.

The good thing?

If someone wrote a program inside your subconscious mind, that means you can rewrite a new program.

Progress over perfection is a new belief I adopted years ago in my health.

It's changed my life.

As a chronic overachiever, I've spent a large bulk of life comparing myself to others.

I've also tied my self worth with my performance.

Both led me down a dark path.

Full of anxiety, stress, and overwhelm.

I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

Yet, the majority of high achievers live this every day.

If you're fueling your body with plants and want to live in your best health and shape, perfectionism and the all-or-nothing mentality won't get you far.

But you ‌know this already.

If you resonate with what I've shared so far, you know what I mean.

For perfectionists, our worst critics are ourselves.

So determine what your new subconscious program will be...

❌Your childhood programming.

✅Or your adult programming.

Either way - there's still a program running the show.

As a concrete action step to start the rewiring process, I’d suggest starting with Paraliminals.

These guided audios work inside your unconscious mind, going to the root of hidden beliefs that are blocking your life and health.

I’ve used this for years and seen great results in my life and our clients.

 ​Change your life using them too. ​ 

(no affiliation; just love sharing great products)

#3.) How I Became Vegan and Fully Plant-Based

$339 million USD dollars.

Per year.

That's the amount that Tyson Foods spent in 2023 to promote meat and animal

products.

Per year.

That's just one meat food producer.

The amount of propaganda shoveled towards us each year is tremendous.

And it's effective.

It's the reason so many people struggle with cognitive dissonance.

They've been fed a lie for so long that it's difficult for them to see another path.

I know this well.

This was me for decades.

Until nearly 8 years ago.

When I experimented with my health.

I started removing dairy because of lactose intolerance (I grew up drinking a GALLON of milk per day - so I enjoyed my daily cow juice).

Cheese was another favorite of mine.

As for meat - I ate everything.

Growing up in the woods of Pennsylvania with a Latin background, I was indoctrinated to believe that meat and dairy were part of health.

Yet, nearly every adult in my family struggled with their health.

I didn't put the pieces together until decades later.

I started diving deeper into my spiritual practices like meditation...

I discovered the phrase 'vegan' for the first time when I went to Zen Temple in Brooklyn, NY and they only offered plant based meals.

I was curious.

And I had an open mind (albeit one that was skeptical).

I grew up as an athlete.

And lifting weights for years taught me the importance of protein.

But I was still curious.

My wife, who had been vegan for years, shared evidence based information with me.

I continued to learn.

When I watched Okja (film), I saw the full picture of the meat and dairy industry.

It finally made sense.

It wasn't comfortable.

But reality isn't always sunshine and rainbows.

It's raw.

And honest.

Nearly 7 years later, I’m glad I started.

It’s changed my life.

And whether you’re fully plant-based or not…

Eating more plants will support your life.

To your health and life. 🙂

1 Action Step

Choose one area of health that you want to dial in. Workouts? Meals? Mindset? Choose one and focus on it for the next 4 weeks.

Review your results after 30 days.

Client of the Week

Beth is a former military woman.

She’s also busy with a jam-packed career and taking care of her family.

Yet, growing up as an athlete, she lost her way after many years.

She wanted to reclaim her confidence and strength in her body again, especially going deeper into her 50’s.

So she applied and was accepted into our ​Accelerator 2.0 Program.​ 

Strategy: Our main focus was consistency with Beth. Being an avid rower and reentering athletic races again was part of the fitness equation.

The other part of shredding body fat while building muscle and strength.

A minimum standard of 3 strength workouts per week formed the base of her fitness while tracking her nutrition at least 5 days a week.

We also started in a moderate deficit to help with body recomposition.

(BONUS: If you haven’t watched this brand-new training on the ​Body Recomposition Protocol​ and how you can drop body fat and build muscle at the same time - enjoy listening in here; ​replay available for limited time).​ 

Another factor was balancing her training because of her high activity weeks.

Beth was hesitant with certain strength movements because of past injuries but using progressive overload (lifting heavier over time safely) kept her body strong.

She also had a busy summer with several rowing events, family time that filled her schedule, and an overwhelming work schedule.

Mindset then became a focus for us with work, crushing her mentally and emotionally.

3 Paraliminals every week started as our target.

Beth started to transform…

Wins: The past 4 months Beth dropped 7 pounds of body fat, built 2-3 pounds of lean muscle, and dropped 2.5 inches off her waist and hips.

She also started setting new personal bests in the gym including leg press, bench press, and pull-downs.

She’s the definition of full ownership.

Excited to keep rooting her on. 🙂

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

Life keeps challenging me.

My default pattern used to be to shrink.

I’m learning to expand.

Excited to keep growing. 🙂

- 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).