My favorite memory growing up?

Getting ready for the summer.

I love this time of year.

It’s warm.

Plenty of family time.

And spending more time outdoors.

I’ve also been thinking more about generational health.

With our son coming closer to 3 months of age, I’m amazed at how much he’s absorbing what’s around him.

How attentive he is to my facial expressions.

To my emotions.

To what I’m eating.

To how I’m moving and exercising (or not).

I shared this recently inside of our Accelerator Mindset Class with a select group of our students:

‘There’s always someone looking up to you. It doesn’t matter where they are or if you know if they’re looking at you. There’s always at least one person on this planet who sees you as their role model’.

I first heard this years ago when I spent my Sunday mornings visiting a Brooklyn Zen temple each week.

The monastic teaching that Sunday was firm but direct.

An old Brooklyn man who a thick New York accent who wasn’t afraid to say ‘fuck’ every few minutes.

But also a human who cared deeply about others.

He reminded me that there’s always someone looking up to us.

And that we’ll never know what’s going on in someone else’s mind or realize the impact we’ve had on another.

I’ve never forgotten that day.

Or that lesson.

Lesson: What you do for yourself, you do for the whole world. Self-care is the highest form of care that we can do for others.

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Here's Your 5 Minute Friday:

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#1.) Stop Drinking This Toxic Chemical

In the early 1940’s the WHO (world health organization) recommended we start adding fluoride to our water.

The idea was to help with our dental health.

However, there were also some serious drawbacks.

Fluoride calcifies your pineal gland.

It’s also been proven in multiple studies that fluoride in our water does not improve our dental health.

So why the push to add fluoride to our water?

Why force it on young children to get fluoride?

(acknowledging our own shadow is the first step to noticing the collective world wide shadow over us)

There’s even evidence showing that children reach puberty faster due to fluoridated water.

Here’s the negative effects of fluoride on our pineal gland and health:

• Lowers productions of melatonin
• Impairs the sleep-wake cycle
• Disrupts the regulation of the circadian rhythm

So back to the original question above - why add fluoride to our water?

Well, it turns out not everyone does.

In fact, nearly all of Europe has resisted fluoridating their water.

(Europe isn’t perfect and has its own problems but fluoride isn’t one of them at the moment).

Nearly 70% of the USA has fluoridated water.

More people drink and shower in fluoridated water in the USA than the entire world combined.

But is it really that bad?

Depends on what you call ‘bad’; many studies list the dangers of fluoride including:

• Calcification of the pineal gland
• Causes arthritis (via calcification of cartilage)
• Causes kidney disease
• Lowers IQ and causes brain damage
• Harms male and female fertility
• Weakens skeletal health (skeletal fluorosis)
• Causes cardiovascular inflammation and atherosclerosis
• Increases lead absorption

There’s enough evidence showcasing the impact of fluoride on our health.

Fluoride destroys our human potential and higher mental faculties.

It’s a toxic chemical (the synthetic fluoride to be clear), that crushes our chances of having an optimal healthy life.

So three ways to protect yourself from fluoride:

• Use a home water filter system like Clearly Filtered under the sink system (no affiliation just sharing a great product)
• Invest in your own well or natural water sources especially if you live in the States
• Avoid products like toothpaste that actively promote fluoride and invest in non-fluoride toothpaste and water products

The battle for your health continues.

You can win this battle by avoiding fluoride and opening up a whole new field of potential for yourself.

#2.) 3 Ways To Stop Binge Eating

I’ve found it hard to stop overeating.

There have been times when I’m eating and I notice I just. cannot. stop.

But there’s a science behind what’s going on…

There’s a segment of the food industry that’s specifically designed to make foods 'hyperpalatable’.

Which means it's very hard to stop eating.

Your brain and body are designed to keep you from overeating.

But they’re no match for the world’s top scientists who have spent hundreds of hours designing the most addictive foods on the planet.

What are these foods called?

Processed foods.

And there’s certain criteria that processed food companies use to make their best-selling foods.

They call it their ‘Big Five’.

Foods that fulfill “The Big 5” are:

• Calorie dense, usually high in sugar and/or fat.
• Intensely flavored—the food must deliver strong flavor hits.
• Immediately delicious, with a love-at-first taste experience.
• Easy to eat—no effortful chewing needed!
• “Melted” down easily—the food almost dissolves in your mouth, thus easy to eat quickly and overconsume

Willpower has nothing to do with our actions.

We’re eating foods that are promised to be ‘healthy’.

We’re eating products in higher volume because it’s a good ‘deal’.

And we’re eating faster than ever with high calorie foods that take almost no effort to eat or chew (since that’s how they’re designed).

The solution?

Take back control of your health sovereignty using there 3 strategies:

1. Become curious about your food sources. Question your labels. Bring awareness to what you’re eating. In the fast-paced culture we live in, slowing down is the medicine we need physically and mentally. As you slow down, bring awareness to your kitchen, pantry, and shopping habits. Are your buying habits aimed towards whole foods from the soil with minimally processed foods? Or are you predominantly eating foods in boxes, cans, or with long-shelf lives? No right or wrong here but noticing what you invest into will give you insight into your eating habits.
2. Remove offenders and troublemaker foods while adding in more life-giving foods. Once you start to identify some of the troublemaker foods, give yourself grace, and gradually start to remove them (you can also do it all at once but I’ve found a gradual process to be more sustainable for many of our clients). As you start to remove troublemaker foods, start to add in more fruits, vegetables, and whole foods.
3. Count your chews and slow down your eating speed. If you can eat 1,000 calories in under 5 minutes, it’s a good sign you’re eating too fast and/or low quality food. Whole foods on average require 25+ chews to break down. 30% of our digestive process also happens when we chew our foods. Slow down. Be present with your family or friends while eating. Eat with others. Food is a social process so be present with your loved ones while eating.

Win by setting yourself up for success with your nutrition.

You can do this. 🙂

#3.) One Strategy To Increase Willpower

We all have limited reserves of willpower.

At least that’s the common belief.

There’s new research that’s sharing the opposite.

Willpower is like a muscle.

Which means it can be trained and improved.

It can get stronger.

Yet most of us never fully recharge our willpower.

We live in states of ego depletion (or depleted willpower).

So how can you increase your willpower?

By using a little known strategy that the world’s top performers and leaders consistently use.

Avoid multiple resolutions.

When you focus on too many things at once, you start to deplete your willpower.

Our mind is like a laser.

The more focused it is, the better results we’ll see from using it.

The more scattered it is, the worse results we’ll see.

When you focus on more than 2 things at once, your willpower immediately starts to deplete.

Which is why having ONE main project or goal at a time, can accelerate your results.

For example, let’s say you want to change 3-4 habits in your health.

Rather than focus on all 4 changes at once (and severely deplete your willpower over the coming weeks), focus on one at a time.

Choose the habit that will LEVERAGE the biggest results for you.

Start there. Stay focused for 3-4 weeks until it starts to become automatic for you.

Then layer in the next one.

Rinse and repeat.

Willpower is like a muscle.

The more you use it, the stronger it gets.

Just use it the right way.

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Client of the Week

Julie is a busy senior accountant. She’s also a mother to her 11 year old daughter and wife.

Before we started working together, she was really struggling to prioritize herself and she wanted to lose 10 to 15 pounds to get her energy levels back up.

Our strategy: We focused first on systemizing her workouts and nutrition. Since she hadn’t been working on consistently lifting weights or tracking her meals, we started there.

• 3 days of weight lifting (we later increased this to 4 days as she got stronger and leaner)
• 5 days of tracking her meals within 80% accuracy while hitting her at least ½ of her bodyweight in ounces for water intake each day
• Focused on her sleep and aimed to hit 7.5 hours of quality sleep per night since she had trouble sleeping before we worked together
• Increase her lean protein intake using strategic plant protein snacks

Here’s her experience:

“Over the past few months, I’ve had several wins. On the numbers side I have lost 10 pounds and several inches off my body. However, the non scale victories have far surpassed any tactical numbers.

My energy levels have increased, my overall mood is better - just ask my kiddo and I’m actually sleeping well again. In prioritizing myself, my family has really stepped up to pick up the slack… who knew Gabriel could indirectly improve family dynamics, too?!

One of the best things about working with Gabriel has been the sustainability of the changes we’ve implemented. Simple, measurable changes that will continue to compound over time.

I finally feel like I'm able to show up in life as the person I’ve been too tired to be in the past. Without sounding cliche, the experience thus far has been truly life changing.”

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)

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One Quote To Finish Your Week Strong

Just a reminder that your body weight fluctuates every week. ​

Don’t beat yourself up if the scale goes up (or down).

Focus on progress over perfection.

​Pass this along and share with a friend.

​

- Gabriel

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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).

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