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

You'll receive one personal health insight, three actionable tips, and one concrete action step. Let's dive in.

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What's in store for today:

• The cause of back pain and a simple solution to solve it, even with a busy lifestyle.
• Why using MED in your workouts can 10x your results without working out harder or longer.
• Get fit without going to the gym or doing home workouts (hint: you do this every day.

I remember when I first went vegan.

I learned about plant-based eating during my weekly visit to a Zen Temple in Brooklyn, New York.

I’d make the hour-long trek to the city every week (I lived in Westchester then).

I started going to this center to reconnect with myself.

Growing up Catholic and attending a private Catholic school shaped my views. I became close-minded and developed a fixed mindset.

So I never learned about meditation or emotions.

Me, circa 2017-2018

 

I never learned I was the core root of my suffering and peace.

That everything within me impacted the world around me.

So I started to learn about this each week.

The day after the morning meditation, the monk offered lunch. The session usually had two to three 25-minute silent seated meditation (zazen).

This was followed by five minutes of silent walking meditation (kinhin). Anyone who wanted to stay was welcome to join for lunch.

Not being one to receive free food, I accepted.

We went upstairs. I explored the living room above the meditation hall while the Temple residents cooked.

As I browsed through the collection of books, food began to be brought out.

I grabbed my plate to join.

At the time, I was still an omnivore.

I remember looking at the table, looking for meat or animal products.

I saw rice, beans, lentils, and a host of vegetables.

Confused, I asked one of the residents if there was any meat.

He replied that they do their best not to harm others when they serve food.

‘Compassion in action’, I thought.

This was the entry point in my plant-based journey.

Later, when I started dating my now-wife Anna, I learned more. Anna had been vegan for years before me.

I learned about the impact on animals.

I watched Okja. It revealed the horrors of animal slaughter and the dark rituals involved.

I learned about the impact on the environment.

The most important lesson I've learned is about my inner growth. This insight really pushed me to make a change.

To be more specific on my energetic sensitivity.

As humans, we’re bioelectrical creatures.

It’s why they need to use paddles to restore heart attack patients during a cardiac arrest.

Our life force is run by bioelectrical energy, or as the Chinese call it, Chi.

This was important for me when I learned about this topic almost ten years ago. I saw that eating meat caused suffering and also reduced my energy sensitivity.

Aka, I would continue to be numb and closed off to myself and others.

That’s the ‘norm’ of the world we live.

To close ourselves off to our emotions and those of others.

Growing up as an introvert, I used to suppress how I felt for years due to my childhood environment.

It didn’t feel safe to express myself fully.

It’s taken decades to learn how to release and express.

As an aside, for those of you who are introverts, typically, you’re using your energy.

Extroverts tend to drain others of their energy.

I’ve seen this, having fluctuated on both sides of the pendulum.

Every step makes a difference, whether you are vegan or plant-based.

Eight years ago, that day in the Temple changed my life.

What can you do today to change your life 8 years from today?

Lesson: Every journey begins with a single step.

Here's Your 1-3-1 Friday:

1.) Back Pain: The Silent Progress Killer

Back pain isn’t annoying.

It’s a loud signal that your body is out of balance.

For career-driven vegans who sit all day and train hard when they can, this can be a serious trap.

You sit for hours, then hit the gym and wonder why your back flares up.

Here’s what’s going on:

• Tight hip flexors from sitting too long pull on your pelvis. This puts stress on your lower back.
• Weak glutes and core mean your back is doing work never meant to do.
• Lack of movement variety keeps your tissues stiff and your joints under stress.

Even when you train, your body stays tense if you don’t release these patterns. This can make fat loss harder. You may experience pain, miss workouts, or keep holding stress.

Your 3-Step Back Pain Reset Plan:

• Hip Opener: Kneeling hip flexor stretch (30 seconds per leg, daily).
• Glute Builder: Glute bridges or banded walks (3x/week, 3 sets).
• Posture Breaks: 5-minute walks every 90 minutes of sitting.

Bonus: Get 7–8 hours of sleep. Your spine decompresses while you rest.

You’ll reduce inflammation, move better, and create a foundation for real transformation.

Back pain isn’t just a “body” problem—it’s a behavior problem. Change the pattern, and your body responds.

2.) Train Less. Progress More. (The MED Method)

In the fat-loss world, there’s a myth: “Train more, lose more.”

But that’s not how science—or biology—works.

Your body doesn’t reward you for grinding harder.

It rewards you for training smart.

That’s where Minimum Effective Dose (MED) comes in.

This principle—borrowed from pharmacology—means:

What’s the smallest dose that gives me the biggest result?

Why MED matters:

• You're short on time.
• Your recovery is limited (especially if sleep, food, or stress are off).
• You need consistency more than intensity.

Instead of 5–6 random workouts per week, here’s the smarter path:

The Strength MED Protocol (for Fat Loss + Muscle Building):

• 3 workouts per week
• Each session = 35–45 minutes max
• Focus on compound lifts (like squats, RDLs, rows, presses)
• 3 working sets per movement at moderate to high effort (1–2 RIR)
• Add a finisher (optional): 5–10 minutes of light cardio or bodyweight circuit

This adds up to ~2 hours per week, and it’s enough.

It boosts lean muscle growth, your top helper in fat loss. It also keeps stress down and allows your body to recover. That's when real change occurs.

Progress doesn’t require more workouts. It requires more focus.

3.) Get Leaner Without “Working Out”

Here’s a secret:

You can lose fat without lifting weights or doing cardio.

You just need to walk.

But not aimlessly—strategically.

Walking is one of the most potent fat-burning tools you’re probably underusing.

Here’s why walking is a metabolic multiplier:

• It improves insulin sensitivity (which reduces fat storage)
• It increases energy and lowers cravings
• It supports digestion and lowers cortisol (your belly-fat hormone)
• It doesn’t spike hunger the way high-intensity training sometimes does

But we’re not talking about 20,000 steps a day.

We’re talking about short, targeted walks, especially after meals.

Your Fat-Loss Walking Blueprint:

• Walk for 10 minutes after 2 to 3 meals a day, especially lunch and dinner. This can cut your post-meal blood sugar spike by up to 50%.
• Set a daily step target between 7,000–10,000 steps – Use a pedometer or phone app. Track it like a habit.
• 2x/week: Go for one 30-minute walk without tech and just raw walk. – This helps de-stress your nervous system while moving your body
• Bonus: Add in “burst walks” (20-second brisk walks every minute) to burn more fat

No gym. No gear. Just momentum.

Walking isn’t just movement—it’s metabolism on autopilot.

1 Action Step

Choose one area of fitness to build in May. Focus on it each day for 5 minutes daily.

Report back on June 9th.

Client of the Week

Vanessa is a busy entrepreneur. She's a real estate investor and health consultant.

She’s also a mother and a wife.

Because of many years of struggling with her weight (due to family conditioning), she decided enough was enough.

She wanted to feel confident in her body while showing her son a healthy plant-based lifestyle.

Vanessa and the VFR team got to work.

We started by creating a solid foundation of exercise and nutrition while retraining the way she viewed her health.

One of the core areas we focused on was helping her understand that her health was HERS.

She was responsible for creating the results she wanted... which she eventually did.

Our strategy: Create a standard for strength workouts (3x per week then later 4x), track her nutrition 5 days a week, and eat to 80% fullness.

Even during life challenges, getting sick earlier this year, and hosting family multiple times this year, she stayed committed to her goals and standards.

Her wins: She dropped 11 pounds, 5 inches from her waist, and doubled her strength in multiple exercises.

Vanessa even ran a 5k earlier last year, which capped off her newfound health and fitness.

Onwards and upwards!

​Apply here to get lean, strong, and healthy using plants. Deadline to apply each month is the 20th. Create your best health and body using a fitness system that's handcrafted for you.

One Quote To Finish Your Week Strong

"If you always put limit on everything you do, physical or anything else. It will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them."

- Bruce Lee

Working on my cardio.

It sucks.

But every time I do it, I feel better.

As promised, get lean and strong on plants in under 5 minutes.

Till next week,

References

• Schoenfeld, B.J. (2010). The mechanisms of muscle hypertrophy and their application to resistance training. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 24(10), 2857–2872.
• DiPietro, L. (2020). Exercise and improved insulin sensitivity in older adults. Current Cardiovascular Risk Reports, 14, 1–6.
• Teo, S.Y.M., et al. (2021). Breaking up prolonged sitting reduces postprandial glycemia in healthy adults. Diabetes Care, 44(4), 1212–1220.