Why? Not surprisingly, the most nutrient dense foods result
in optimum health and superior performance. When the body
isn’t getting all the nutrients it needs, that is perceived as stress.
Stress comes in many forms, and sometimes it’s good; but
chronic stress is never good - it leads to weight gain, disease,
and more. Incredibly, you can eat more food but literally starve
your body of nutrition. This is why we live in a society plagued
by preventable diseases like heart disease and obesity. When
you break your body down during training, it needs nutrients
to rebuild and recover. Eating a whole-food based diet provides
the high quality nutrition you need to recover faster and train
harder than your competition. For an athlete, this enhanced
recovery means seconds, minutes, and hours (for ultra-runners
like me) off your race time.
But don’t you need supplements? Quite simply, no. By
converting the nutritionally void foods in your diet like white
flour, sugar, and processed foods to whole plant-based foods,
you’re vitamin and mineral intake will definitely increase. I’m
frequently asked about certain supplements in particular like
omega-3’s. No, I don’t take fish oil. I get omega-3 fatty acids
from foods like chia, flax, sacha inchi, and leafy greens.
But what about protein? Protein is in every whole food on the
planet. Whether you are eating a “low protein” whole food like
fruit, or a “high protein” whole food like black beans, you will
get more than enough protein by eating a balanced vegan diet. I
pr obably ate 100+ grams of protein today - no supplements, no
soy, no animal products. If you don’t believe that you can build
muscle on a plant based diet, check out the athletes I mentioned
above.
If guys like Brendan Brazier, Scott Jurek, and Rich Roll can’t
convince you, then I’m not sure if I can either. But it’s worth
a shot. Since adopting veganism back in 2009, I’ve had 50+
age group wins in road races, ultra marathons, obstacle races,
triathlons, and other events. I’m currently the #6 male Spartan
in the U.S. and only hope to improve! If you’re interested in
trying out a plant-based diet, I recommend to first focus on
adding good foods to your diet, not taking anything away. As
you add healthy foods in, the bad things will naturally fall away.
Brazier’s book, “Thrive”, was what first got me interested in
plant-based eating. Check it out!
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