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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:

• 1 reflection from me
• 3 ideas you can use
• 1 question for you

Let's dive in.

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What's new this week:

Nothing new this week. If you didn't check out our free body recomposition calculator from last week, here's the full guide here.

Hope you're enjoying your midsummer too! :)

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ONE REFLECTION FROM ME

Friction makes health harder.

Here's what I mean.

I recently spoke with a client. We talked about how she has made meal prep and nutrition tracking easier this past month.

The biggest takeaway we had together?

She was removing friction from her environment and systems.

Instead of taking longer to meal prep, she was moving more quickly.

She learned to systemize her nutrition. Now, each week, she feels less overwhelmed by it.

The less friction you have with each habit, the easier and more sustainable it becomes.

This is important because most of us have too much friction, especially with newer habits.

Here's an example:

Let's say you want to work out each morning.

But when it's time to work out at 6:30 am, you're scrambling to find your workout clothes, sneakers, and water bottle.

Friction, friction, friction.

Not so easy to put your new workout habit into action.

Instead, reduce, simplify, and make it easier.

Prep your clothes the night before. Set up your shoes. Fill up your water bottle.

Friction removed. Bottleneck destroyed. Muscle gains made.

(because you don't want to mess with the 'gains')

Friction is the silent enemy that sabotages your health.

Which is why one of my favorite quotes is:

First, you want to standardize your habits.

Once you've created standards there, then, and only then, should you optimize.

Standardize > optimize.

Don't major in the minors.

Put your big rocks first, remove friction, and then focus on 1% kaizen each day.

But sometimes when you put the big rocks first, you'll see a 50% or 75% or even 120% improvement because you standardized first.

Then, optimize.

Lesson: Shake the friction out of your habits.

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3 IDEAS FOR YOU

I.

Most people try to go too hard, too fast.

But I like to preframe fitness results with the end in mind.

What's your end goal? Or better said, what's your vision?

How do you envision your body and health 3-5 years ahead of now?

What's your weight then? Your body fat percentage? Your muscle mass and strength? How much energy do you have? How confident do you feel in your body?

The more detailed your vision, the easier it is to set yearly milestones.

This is an important exercise to do before you start your journey.

Think of this as your roadmap.

Once you have this in hand, you'll know where you're going and what you want.

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II.

To drop body fat (not just lose weight), you need to give your body a reason to use its stored fat.

The reason you give it is simple: eat less.

When you eat less, your body signals to use stored body fat as a new energy source.

Think of this as you stop going to the grocery store each week and start using food from your pantry for backup meals.

That's basically what happens to your body.

When you eat less, your body then starts to use ('eat') stored body fat (your 'pantry') as a source of energy.

How many calories should you drop daily?

Around 500 k/cal per day.

This will give you a weekly net loss of around 3,500 k/cal, which is about how much energy is stored in 1 pound of body fat.

Fat loss made simple.

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III.

For something to be scientific, you need to track your progress.

Throwing darts blindfolded and missing the target is like how many people try to lose weight without tracking their data.

Here's the caveat: data is relevant in the context of your current experiment.

Which means you don't need to track calories forever.

But you do need accurate information for an extended period.

Your current habits are what landed you in this mess in the first place.

Changing habits takes time, but it will reshape who you are.

Tracking builds awareness.

That awareness is what you'll eventually use in different ways throughout your life.

After working with hundreds of clients worldwide for the past eight and a half years, I’ve seen a clear difference:

Clients who take ownership of their data and tracking succeed.

It's that simple.

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ONE QUESTION FOR YOU

What's one summer fitness goal you're working on? Are you clear on your outcomes and deadline?

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1 QUOTE FROM OTHERS

I.

“It is perhaps this human tendency to see everything as 'good' or 'bad' that creates the greatest obstacle to accepting and utilizing our varied inner personalities.”
​― Robert A. Johnson

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The family left this week.

Hosted my siblings for the past couple of weeks.

Slide down a waterfall, plus a bunch of other activities.

Family time is the best.

As promised, your 1-3-1 Friday in less than 5 minutes.

Until next week,

P.S. Best World Cup comeback game (ever).