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.

What's in store for today:

• The best way to eat to grow muscle while eating plants.
• Why adding B12 consistently to your nutrition could change your health.
• Should you start sprouting, and is the time investment worth it? 

Results paint a story.

If you're not seeing the results you want in your health, there are likely clues.

It's not rocket science, but we all have hidden parts of our unconscious that will try to hijack our progress.

Your inner Trickster will keep tripping you up.

Your Denying Innocent One will tell you everything is okay...

A recent conversation with a client revealed some of her inner dialogue with herself.

She was a chronic overachiever. Growing up, her family wasn't very hardworking. She felt frustrated by the lack of effort she saw in others.

On the other side, there were others in her family who were overachievers.

So she modeled their behaviors and rejected her laziness.

Yet, what you resist, persists.

Her story is one that I know very well.

I grew up becoming a perfectionist.

This later evolved into achievement, which later blossomed into overachievement.

I learned to chase the outcomes and forget about the process.

I learned to reject my laziness and make myself wrong for 'relaxing'.

Workaholism became my new baseline.

It became the standard I lived by.

This was normal because it was what I thought was normal.

Yet, every Friday and weekend, my downfall would emerge.

Every weekend brought a new pitfall, whether it was binge-watching movies or overeating.

Then, on Monday morning, I would try to shake off the weekend gluttony and reset for the week.

My biggest vice was going to bed late. Since I need to be in bed earlier during the week, I feel I can stay up later on weekends.

This meant the next morning, I would struggle to wake up.

So the solution lies somewhere in the middle (from what I've found).

We can all achieve, but we can also be lazy.

When you acknowledge both parts of yourself, you can see that everyone can be both lazy and an achiever.

Both of us are part of it, yet they aren't who we are.

They're just a part of our collective and individual psyches.

Where peace lies is in the middle.

When you dislike something opposite, like being lazy, it often means you’ve lost touch with your lazy side.

With this divorce comes tension.

With tension comes struggle. With struggle comes suffering.

To end suffering, we must hold both sides together. As Westerners, we often feel uneasy with the word "suffering."

We chase happiness, but in doing so, we lose touch with our true feelings.

Acknowledge that you can be lazy and achieve.

Acknowledge that it's okay to relax and let go.

It's also okay to sprint towards your goals and achieve your aims.

But it's also okay to have lazy Sundays and even weekends.

The masters of relaxation are a family favorite: cats.

Cats conserve and preserve their energy better than most humans.

Yet, when they move and focus on a target, they're dialed in.

Masters of rest. Masters of movement.

We can learn a lot by observing the natural world around us.

You can learn a lot by observing others. Then, you can learn even more by observing yourself.

The strength of your desire will determine how much you learn about yourself.

Lesson: Real growth begins when you examine yourself.

Here's Your 1-3-1 Friday:

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1.) How to Eat for Vegan Muscle

Muscle isn’t built by accident.

It’s built through consistent training and smart eating — especially when you're vegan.

Here’s the simple truth: to gain lean muscle, you need to eat in a caloric surplus.

The amount depends on several factors, but the primary one is metabolic adaptation.

M.A. happens when your body adjusts to exercise and diet changes. It tries to stay the same, which is why long-term dieting often fails without breaks.

Where I'd suggest starting is by adding 250 k/cal per day to put you in a slight surplus and notice how your body responds.

If you're not gaining weight, it might mean your body is burning extra calories. So, eating a bit more could help.

The body resists change. You must give it a real reason to change. For example, use strength training and eat more.

Andy Morgan's "slow bulk" method suggests gaining about 2% of your body weight each month. This approach helps limit fat gain while boosting strength and size.

On top of that, your protein intake is crucial.

According to Dr. Eric Helms, aim for 0.8 -1.0 grams per ideal bodyweight (in pounds).

If you weigh 150 pounds and want to gain 10 pounds, aim for 150-160 grams of protein each day. This amount supports optimal muscle growth.

That means ~30–40g per meal, spread across 3–4 meals.

For best results:

• Build meals around TVP, seitan, tofu, tempeh, and lentils
• Add grains like quinoa, farro, or sprouted bread for complementary amino acids
• Aim for foods that are slightly more palatable (for example, dates and peanut butter are much easier to eat in higher quantities vs 4 apples).

As another thought on muscle building, remember:

It takes time.

Building muscle isn't like fat-loss, where you can drop 20 pounds in 20 weeks.

Gaining 20 pounds of muscle might take over 5 years. It really depends on your genetics and how much training you've done.

It's why most people struggle to build muscle - their time horizons are just too short.

Manage your expectations for muscle building. Take your time and focus on your training.

For fat loss, you can expect to lose about 4-6 pounds each month for lasting results.

For muscle-building, cut that in half (so potentially 2-3 pounds per month for building).

When you build muscle, you also gain fat. This usually happens at a 1:1 ratio. For every pound of muscle you gain, you also gain a pound of fat.

95% of clients I work with should prioritize fat loss before muscle building.

Once you're lean enough, then muscle building can become the focus.

Gaining muscle while overweight doesn't make sense. Your body is ready to gain fat because of higher fat levels.

So lean out first, then build up.

2.) Why Every Vegan Needs to Add B12

B12 isn’t optional if you're plant-based.

It’s essential — and deficiency creeps in slowly.

Because B12 is mainly found in animal products, vegans must supplement.

Here’s some of the benefits that B12 gives us:

• A good B-12 supplement has adenosylcobalamin and methylcobalamin. It’s helpful for anyone with neurological symptoms or conditions.
• Essential for fighting fatigue and promoting energy production
• B12 helps produce energy in the mitochondria, which are like tiny power plants in our cells. This energy is essential for our bodies to thrive.
• A vital nutrient for supporting the health of the nerves and brain
• B12 is required for many aspects of nerve cell activity. It is deeply involved with nerve cell health, communication, and function
• Foundational nutrient for supporting robust health
• B12 is essential for many processes. It helps with nerve function, cell metabolism, and creating healthy red blood cells. It also supports DNA production and more.

Even with modern B12 tests, it’s hard to detect B12 deficiencies.

We need the right kind of B12 combination to get the benefits above.

When was the last time you felt radiant health…

Or noticed someone else living like this?

It’s a rare thing to see a healthy, happy human.

I don’t believe most of what the supplement industry promotes.

However, for the past 3 years, I’ve been testing Vimergy’s B12.

It’s one of the purest forms of B12 and has zero fillers or binders.

As a rule of thumb, for a supplement to have a high level of efficacy, it shouldn’t have 20 different vitamins.

The best supplements have one main ingredient and some glucose. Glucose, or carbs, helps move vitamins and minerals to the cells more quickly.

This is one supplement that offers massive ROI for health, focus, and energy — especially as you age.

Feel free to look into Vimergy (not an affiliate) or a similar brand that offers single-ingredient B12 with no fillers or additives.

Your health matters.

3.) The Power of Sprouting

Sprouting is one of the most underrated nutrition tools in the plant-based world.

It turns your legumes and seeds into nutritional powerhouses. They also become easier to digest and absorb.

Here’s why you should consider it:

• Sprouting increases vitamin C, E, B vitamins, and antioxidants
• It breaks down phytic acid, improving iron, zinc, calcium, and magnesium absorption
• It boosts protein bioavailability, especially in lentils, mung beans, and chickpeas
• Sprouts are rich in enzymes that support digestion

And no, you don’t need to spend hours or buy anything fancy.

Here’s a time-efficient method:

• Soak your seeds (like broccoli seeds, lentils, or alfalfa) in water overnight
• Drain and rinse 2–3x/day
• Leave them in a jar with a breathable cover (like cheesecloth or a mesh lid)
• In 3–5 days, you’ve got fresh, crunchy, nutrient-dense sprouts

Add to wraps, salads, bowls, or eat them as a quick snack.

Sprouting is cheap, easy, and packs one of the best nutrient-to-effort ratios in a vegan diet.

Plus, it reconnects you with your food, which many busy people need more of.

Sprouting has been a mainstay in our family for years.

My wife usually handles this task for our family, but I’ve become more curious about our nutrition habits.

While a fitness expert, it's taken me years to fall in love with food and creation process.

I guess healing and getting fit help you reconnect with your food.

It's part of why I wish I had learned about eating vegan decades ago...

But we start where we are. Taking ownership of my nutrition and health changed my life.

It can do the same for yours, too.

1 Action Step

Beginning of the month pulse: what's 1 lesson you learned about yourself in the past 30 days? What will you do with this lesson?

Client of the Week

Inge is a busy healthcare worker.

She works long hours and days.

She also has a big family to care for, in addition to juggling all her work tasks.

All of this, combined with limiting beliefs around her health, led to her putting herself last.

Prioritizing herself first was something she struggled with for years...

Until we started working together.

Inge wanted a change and was ready for her transition.

Strategy: We started off by implementing our VFR Shred Protocol. Simple but highly effective it consists of hitting her 3-5-1 standard each week.

3 - days of tracking her nutrition to 80% accuracy (not perfection).

5 - days of lifting weights and training to 80-90% intensity (not perfection)

1 - one touchpoint/conversation with her coach

These were and are her bare minimums.

What she was not willing to tolerate was to go beneath.

It's what we call our Accelerator Standard.

100% of clients who use this protocol and standard see results.

It's simple yet effective.

Wins: Inge has had some incredible wins. Not only did she drop nearly 20 lbs (including a metabolic reset to help eek out more fat-loss), she's dropped 5+ inches off her waist, in the best shape of her life, and completely rewired her relationship with food, stress, and her family.

Her confidence boost from getting stronger and leaner has also led to her having crucial conversations with those she loves and being clear with what SHE wants.

It's admirable to watch her growth.

And it all started with her making her first transition.

She's transformed her character, life, and health by taking ownership of her life's direction.

It's something we can all do when we remember we're in the driver's seat.

If it's meant to be - it's up to me.

That's the mantra to live by.

Take it and make it yours, too.

One Quote To Finish Your Week Strong