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.

Here's what's new this week:

•  ​Ep 4: The fitness blueprint: what actually builds optimal strength ​(Podcast)

Tomorrow we close down our Beat the Clock Special to get *free coaching* for the rest of 2025.

You can lock in this one-time annual special, plus keep our 2025 tuition rates before our 2026 upgrades.

The best investments I've made (already this year) are before January 1st.

I've invested multiple four-figure sums in personal and skill upgrades that I'm committed to developing as I head into next year.

The good thing is you don't need to wait till January 1st to create your best health.

You can start now (with no risk since this month would be free), while allowing you to get your feet wet with exercise and nutrition protocols tailored to your body and health.

The low bar on coaching is part of why the success rate in the fitness industry is an appallaing 10% or less.

2026 can be the year you create your best health.

Our private 1:1 VFR Coaching with me directly, not a junior assistant, is your chance to do this with a seasoned pro.

There are 2 spots left and will most likely be gone by tomorrow night.

Doors close at midnight tomorrow, December 6th.

Create your best health and ​apply here​ or reply to this email 'VFR' for any questions, and I'd be happy to answer.

What's in store for today:

• Why do modern humans have more diseases than people in underdeveloped countries, and how to stop this?
• Muscle building growth rates and how to measure your muscle growth correctly.
• One of the fastest ways to kill your fitness progress while creating worse health outcomes (and 3 ways to solve this).

I've been reading more recently.

I set an ambitious goal of 50 books for this year, but I'm 26 books short.

I'll probably break 27-28 books if I stay focused.

But I've also learned an important lesson this year.

Knowledge acquisition means nothing if you can't retain the information.

I've focused more on knowledge retention than just learning and less on forgetting.

I've been exploring a few tools for memory retention and look forward to testing this out going into next year.

One of the simplest ways to remember something and store it in your long-term memory isn't used as often as it should be:

Teach someone else.

Teaching is the best way to learn, even better than knowing something yourself.

When you learn something for yourself, you know it in your own way and may understand it.

When you teach, you must break down what you've learned. You need to use clear and simple language that others can understand.

One book I've read recently is Muscle and Strength Pyramids, along with the Nutrition Pyramid.

You might have noticed that I’ve been covering muscle growth, fat loss, and strength principles more in my lessons lately.

That's been heavily influenced by my reading and self-education.

I'm almost done reading 'The China Study' (yes, my first time reading) and have learned a lot here, too.

Topic 1 from today's letter will be directly influenced by what I've read inside 'The China Study'.

After reading 'Mindset' about a month ago, I noticed something interesting. I realized I've had a fixed mindset in many parts of my life without even knowing it.

This also applies to areas I thought I had 'mastered,' like exercise and nutrition.

The master never stops learning and always has a beginner's mind. The 'false expert' tells themselves that they know everything.

I've fallen into the second camp many times over the past decade.

So it's all learning.

Self learning truly is the highest form of learning.

The more you understand yourself, the easier it is to see the world. Understanding your own chaos helps you grasp the chaos outside.

It doesn't take much to rise above the status quo.

It just takes consistent effort.

Lesson: Learning is never-ending with a growth mindset.

Here's Your 1-3-1 Friday:

1.) Diseases of affluence

There are two main groups of diseases that we face as humans:

• Diseases of affluence
• Diseases of poverty

If you're an average American or European who's reading this right, there's a high chance you won't face diseases of poverty.

Diseases of affluence are the bigger problem that modern humans face.

Dr. Campbell is the lead researcher of the China Study, which took decades to complete.

Researchers found data on mortality rates for over 40 diseases. They also noted where these diseases were located.

They found that these diseases were in different regions of China.

One group was linked to the wealthier areas, while the other was tied to poorer regions.

Diseases of poverty included parasitic infections and malnutrition.

What was fascinating about the diseases of affluence is that these regions had higher rates of meat, animal fat, and dairy consumption.

Eating more animal protein and animal products caused higher rates of heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.

This is what bewildered the researchers in this study.

The average cholesterol levels of rural Chinese people were much lower than those of Americans.

At that time, Americans averaged 215 mg/dL, while rural Chinese averaged just 127 mg/dL.

They found that animal protein led to higher blood cholesterol and diseases of affluence.

Higher consumption of meat and other animal products leads to worse health outcomes and more diseases.

The China Study provided several key health insights. These could easily create a full guide. If you're interested, I can write one.

But as a simple takeaway, here's what Dr. T Colin Campbell's recommendation for optimal health and living a disease-free life came down to:

• Eat a whole food plant plant-based diet
• Eat low-fat when possible
• Minimize processed and refined goods, fats, and salt

All the literature for decades has proven and shown that a whole food plant-based diet is the healthiest way to live for humans.

I've tested this myself and can confirm it's true.

For faster health results, eating raw or more living foods can be even more impactful (even for short stints). I've also tested this on myself.

As for plant protein, for fitness you'll want to pair the right options (tofu, tempeh, TVP) to support your fat-loss or muscle-building goals.

But Campbell's recommendation still holds today as it did 40+ years ago.

Eat more plants, and you'll see better health results.

2.) Muscle growth rates

To build, you’ll still follow the same principle behind fat loss: energy balance.

Instead of creating a caloric deficit to lose body fat, you'll focus on gaining weight.

This means you'll aim for a caloric surplus.

Just like fat-loss and cutting, you’ll also want to do this in a way that’s sustainable from the beginning.

Trying to gain weight, or "bulk up," can cause problems later. You might gain extra body fat and have to stop building sooner.

This reduces the time it takes to build.

Building muscle, as a general rule of thumb, is 50% or more longer than dropping body fat.

For example, it’s sustainable and possible to drop 12 pounds in under 12 weeks.

Building 12 pounds of muscle can take over 12 months. This depends on your training experience.

If you’re more trained, it usually takes longer to gain muscle.

 ​​Source​

The graph above (thanks to body recomposition expert Lyle MacDonald) shows that the more trained you are, the harder and slower it is to gain muscle.

So at the beginning of your fitness journey, expect body recomp results.

As you progress in your journey, notice that things may slow down. This happens as your body adapts to the exercise and nutrition plans you’re following.

This is why being scientific and having a firm grasp of your data are important.

Exercise and nutrition changes are basically a fitness experiment on your body.

Test, analyze, and observe the effects of your changes. Stay detached and open-minded.

But you’re not going just to toss darts at the wall while blindfolded and hope for something to ‘stick’.

To create lasting changes, use proven principles such as energy balance and progressive overload.

Context matters, so generalizations don’t fit individual plans well.

3.) Kill fitness results (fast)

Stress is the killer of fat-loss and muscle-building goals.

Stress is deeply connected to many areas of our life (some of which lie outside of our control).

However, we can all control how we work with stress.

Chronic stress, when held long enough, can do some serious damage to us.

Integrative practices help you release stress positively.

This stress conversion can be very powerful.

Often, when fat loss or muscle building slows down, the 2 main areas I’ll address with clients are stress and sleep levels (with steps taken soon after).

So how do you release stress in a healthy way (or convert it)?

The 3 best ways I've discovered:

• Zazen
• Qi Gong
• Natural breathing

Zazen is the Zen name for silent seated meditation.

Yet, stillness and equanimity are part of who we are.

Watch a small child at play (before they’re conditioned and absorb their parents’ archetypes).

Most often, they’re calm and at ease.

This is our natural way of being (similar to the second practice coming up).

So sit quietly for 1 minute - most likely it’ll be an interesting experience.

Follow your breath, observe your mind and body, and do your best to let go of your thoughts.

Give it a try.

Natural breathing, the second practice, is an easy way to reconnect with your body and your Center.

The more we breathe into our stomachs rather than our chests, the easier it is to let go of stress.

It's a simple practice but not easy (since our addicted minds like to hold onto stress).

But 1 minute of deep breathing can be powerful.

I've used this with many clients, and not one has said that deep breathing made things worse.

With deep breathing, you’ll notice a stronger connection to your body. You’ll also become more aware of how you feel right now.

Many of us feel disconnected from our bodies and emotions.

It’s ironic: we often exercise and work out, yet still miss that connection.

This leads to the third practice of Qi Gong.

Find a qualified instructor near you to start learning.

Qi Gong is an ancient Chinese practice. It was created as a health and healing system for individuals.

Qi Gong includes activities like shaking your body and pounding your feet on the ground.

Many movements can be compared to Tai Chi, though they are distinct practices.

These techniques effectively transform stress into relaxation.

Again, stress is just energy.

It just needs to be converted to be released into relaxation.

Choose one of the practices above and dive in.

1 Action Step

Add one new fruit or vegetable to your meals. Do this for the rest of this month.

One Quote To Finish Your Week Strong

One year older today.

Wrote this letter yesterday to spend time off with family today.

Fingers crossed, it doesn't rain, and we'll go hiking,

If not, I'm reading a good book.

As promised, get leaner on plants in under 5 minutes.

Till next week,

Whenever you're ready, there's 3 ways I can help you:

1. Connect with me on ​Facebook ​and ​Instagram ​and let's be friends.
2.  ​Join our free Facebook Group​. Get free trainings on how to get lean and strong with plants.
3. Want to drop body fat and build lean muscle in a fraction of the time with ease? ​Apply for Accelerator 1:1 coaching.​