Reddit reviews Thrive: The Vegan Nutrition Guide to Optimal Performance in Sports and Life

Yes!!!! Like the other post says - unless you're an athlete protein isn't really a concern, assuming you eat a fairly balanced, healthy diet. If you are an athlete I can't recommend this book enough. Actually, all of his books are great.

I went vegan over 4 years ago and have never felt better or been healthier in my life! Plus it's nice to know that I'm doing my part to help animals and the planet. Here's a list of some other books/resources that have helped me immensely along the way, for anyone else who might be considering the transition:


Vegan for Life: Everything You Need to Know to Be Healthy and Fit on a Plant-Based Diet

How Not to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease

Eat to Live: The Amazing Nutrient-Rich Program for Fast and Sustained Weight Loss

The Forks Over Knives Plan: How to Transition to the Life-Saving, Whole-Food, Plant-Based Diet

Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease: The Revolutionary, Scientifically Proven, Nutrition-Based Cure

Oh She Glows (Food Blog)

Keepin' It Kind (Food Blog)

It takes work and is difficult at first, like most things in life that are worthwhile, but I promise you that it is very, very rewarding once you understand that you have made the commitment to live in a healthy and kind way. :)

While I don't know of any vegan Crossfitters in the games this year, here is a blog post by a CrossFit coach who was challenged to go vegan.

There are also plenty of examples of top level vegan athletes in a lot of other sports. Great Vegan Athletes I think that as CrossFit grows, we'll start to see more vegan athletes performing at higher levels.

If you are thinking about going vegan and need some advice, check out Thrive by Ironman athlete Brendan Brazier. It's the best source I've come across for how to eat a healthy veg*n diet as an athlete.

Also, Ben Greenfield recently had vegan UFC fighter James Wilks on his podcast. You might find it interesting.

And definitely read THIS

Athletic vegan lady here. I love it.

I have been on a long, long journey. In my early 20's I was 5'8" and topping 230, ate like I was a garbage truck. Became pescetarianism for a few years, then switched to a plant-based-diet (though now I would call myself vegan) two years ago.

Started taking fitness serious 6 months ago. Went from unable to run 1/4 mile to easily running 5K. Have noticed major definition where I never had it before, much faster than I ever gained it before.

I also do yoga, pilates, bodyweight, bicycling and have started getting into lifting.

I supplement my diet with vitamins and make sure that I start every day with a super loaded up breakfast (oats or cereal with chia & flax seeds, nut butter, berries, and hemp protein powder).

You should check out the book Thrive: The Vegan Nutrition Guide to Optimal Performance in Sports and Life

You can absolutely be healthy, happy, and strong while being vegan.

Make your own snack bars! This is from the Thrive Diet book.

Chocolate Blueberry Energy Bars

High in antioxidants and flavonoids, these bars help reduce free radical damage in the body and improve cellular recovery.

1 cup fresh or soaked dried dates

1/4 cup almonds

1/4 cup blueberries

1/4 cup roasted carob powder (or cacao to make 100% raw)

1/4 cup ground flaxseed

1/4 cup hemp protein

1/4 cup unhulled sesame seeds

1 tsp fresh lemon juice

1/2 tsp lemon zest

Sea salt to taste

1/2 cup sprouted or cooked buckwheat (optional)

1/2 cup frozen blueberries

In a food processor, process all ingredients except the buckwheat and blueberries. Knead buckwheat and berries into mixture by hand. Roll them into balls and let 'em dry. That should make about 12 of them.

Does your nutritionist specialize in athletic nutrition and/or clients who are struggling with disordered eating? If not, I strongly recommend finding one who has significant experience with both. Endurance athletes have different nutritional needs than the population most nutritionists deal with on a daily basis, and people struggling with disordered eating (which it sounds from the comments like you are and recognize that you are) have different needs in terms of approaching nutrition than people who have a healthy relationship with food. A nutritionist without training or experience in these areas is likely not to have the necessary tools to effectively help you.

Others have already suggested eating more, so I won't waste space repeating what they've said, but if you are having difficulty believing it's okay to eat more, I strongly recommend talking to someone who specializes in treating disordered eating. And if you would like a basis for what healthy eating for a vegan runner might look like, I recommend the No Meat Athlete blog and the book Thrive.

A bizarre coincidence: I had this same article (hosted on a different website) open in another tab and just hadn't read it yet...

Are you looking for info on weightlifting specifically? Vegan Bodybuilding has a ton of info, most of which I haven't explored completely yet because I'm only just getting started. If you're looking for more general advice I've also heard great things about Thrive, and I think I'm going to order it this weekend. And of course, the unforgettable Jack Norris RD.

Adding on to everything else that has been posted already, I would highly suggest reading "Thrive" by Brendan Brazier. While he does have his own nutritional supplement and fitness line (Vega, which is very good albeit expensive), he has a lot of information about ingredients you should be consuming as a vegan athlete, such as hemp protein, maca, quinoa, and other foods that are very good for health and energy. Plus his recipes in the book are absolutely delicious and very easy to make. All his food and recommendations are completely vegan and gluten/soy-free. On Amazon, the book is currently less than nine dollars.

I personally eat a lot of quinoa, beans (split peas are really high in protein), nuts, and of course fruits and vegetables. Also I have recently started drinking a "superfood" shake once or twice a day - 2 c. almond milk, 2 scoops protein powder (I use the Vega powder but hemp or rice/pea would work as well), 1 or 2 bananas, maca powder, chia seed, spirulina, mesquite powder, and a handful or two of ice. It looks rather disgusting (very vivid green), but it tastes pretty good; if the flavors are too strong for you, keep adding bananas.

I am not a vegan, however, I am a cycling fan and just read an article on Dave Zabriskie switching to a mostly vegan diet before the Tour de France. And in the article, they mention that he's been working with the guy who wrote this book on vegan diets for athletes. You may want to check it out.

OP I'm here to help you out. You want real advice? You want to avoid the filthy hatred of the other opinions here?

Brendan Brazier. Look him up. Check out his bio.

He has a free site up called Thrive Foreword with a lot of very helpful videos.

He's released probably the best damn nutrition guide ever.

He's also released a Recipe book. and a Fitness Exercise book. I myself was not really impressed with the Fitness book, but the recipes are awesome.

All that said. This is intelligent, well rounded advice for Vegan athletes. Granted, his own techniques were developed for Ironman Triathlon (which is nothing to scoff at), so you'll get a full body strength as opposed to top heavy swole.

But, the advice and ideas in the book are fantastic anyways. It'll help you understand what health and diet really need. You'll just need to work in a better upper body workout on top of this.

Good question to ask.

Thrive and Thrive Fitness have more on building muscle on a vegan diet.

More science behind not needing meat is in Eat To Live.

Body weight doesn't tell me my progress. Needing smaller belts does.

Yeah, this seems a little thin to me, but I'm no expert either. Check out Brendan Brazier's Thrive. Some of the recipes are a little eccentric, but it's a good resource and he knows what he's talking about.

For the 13 years I've been veggie/vegan, I've never had a problem - until I started working out heavily (Crossfit). I'm still having some issues that my meat-eating friends aren't having, however I have now read the Thrive Diet book twice and will be giving that a shot ASAP. I suggest you give it a read before committing.

Other than that, I'm in full support of the vegan lifestyle.

Sine no one else has mentioned him: brendan brazier is a vegan endurance athlete with several books on nutrition and fitness. thrive is a good place to start for nutrition.

I've read and learned a bunch from Nutrient Timing and also a book titled Thrive (which is a vegan perspective on fitness nutrition).

Hey! I know you didn't message back but I was just looking at cookbooks to buy for this next year (this is my next 'get my shit together' year and hopefully it works this time!) and I saw one for vegan athletes by a professional Ironman triathlete and it made me think of you so I thought I'd send you a link:

• His guide
  
• His first cookbook
  
• His second cookbook
  
  I just wanted to let you know there are vegan options for you that fit with your lifestyle, whatever it is, and it would mean a lot for me if you could help me find the perfect resource for you so you can try to make a change. Thanks for reading :)

Hi, I'm a vegetarian runner too and just started reading this book, http://www.amazon.com/Thrive-Nutrition-Optimal-Performance-Sports/dp/0738212547.

Hope this helps on the diet end!

I would recommend Checking this book out: http://www.amazon.com/Thrive-Nutrition-Optimal-Performance-Sports/dp/0738212547/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1415241288&sr=8-2&keywords=Thrive

Although it is vegan, it focuses only on athletic performance and is a great resource.

I also think Vegan For Life, a nutrition guide by an RD is indispensible.

You should check out this book if you have some time and a spare $10.

Ignore the vegan part if you like, but the rest is amazing info, and it sounds like you're headed in the direction the book suggests.

The reason you are not hungry and feel better is you are eating foods that provide a net energy gain because they take very little energy to digest. The book has a ton of info on other grains, pseudo-grains, legumes and such that I think you might enjoy adding to your meal plans.

msg me if you want to know more, I've been on the diet for a while now and it's amazing. Esp the morning smoothies.

Thrive is a vegan nutrition guide written for athletes. Even though you might not be a vegan (I'm not either) It has some great recipes and ideas for gluten/dairy free diets.

In addition to incster's suggestion, Thrive is really good and has a lot of sample recipes.

Have you read any of the Thrive Books?
http://www.amazon.com/Thrive-Nutrition-Optimal-Performance-Sports/dp/0738212547/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1409777153&sr=1-2&keywords=thrive

Or

http://www.amazon.com/Thrive-Energy-Cookbook-Plant-Based-Recipes/dp/0738217409/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1409777153&sr=1-4&keywords=thrive

Super helpful for vegan athletes!

Well done! I was in the same situation. I kind of hit a plateau after being vegetarian for 4 years. Last summer I became vegan and this summer I switched to a mostly raw vegan diet after reading Thrive by a triathlete named Brendan Brazier. I highly recommend his books they completely changed my relationship with food. The weight just fell off combined with running and strength training. Also check out his meal replacement shake called Vega. It has all of the essential nutrients an active vegan needs to maintain optimum health. I have it in my fruit smoothie every morning. Since It is a bit pricey I have half a serving and add a full serving of less expensive raw hemp protein.

http://www.amazon.com/Thrive-Nutrition-Optimal-Performance-Sports/dp/0738212547/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1312161571&sr=8-1

:)

Maybe read http://www.amazon.com/Thrive-Nutrition-Optimal-Performance-Sports/dp/0738212547/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_2 . Though some of the products he reccomends are quite expensive.