The Plant-Based Athlete: A Game-Changing Approach to Peak Performance

by Matt Frazier, Robert Cheeke

Overview

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER 

The only research-based guide for connecting a plant-based diet with peak athletic performance, featuring interviews with professional athletes who've made the switch from meat to plants.

The Plant-Based Athlete by Matt Frazier and Robert Cheeke reveals the incontrovertible proof that the human body does not need meat, eggs, or dairy to be strong. Instead, research shows that a consciously calibrated plant-based diet offers the greatest possible recovery times, cell oxidation, injury prevention, and restorative sleep, and allows athletes to train more effectively, with better results.

However, committing to a plant-based diet as an elite athlete, first-time marathoner, or weekend warrior isn't as simple as swapping vegetables for meat. Even the slightest food adjustments can impact performance. That's why Matt Frazier, founder of No Meat Athlete, and Robert Cheeke, founder of Vegan Bodybuilding, wrote this groundbreaking book, to guide those interested in making this important shift in how to do so with the best, most transformative results.

The Plant-Based Athlete offers readers:

• A persuasive body of evidence for adopting a plant-based lifestyle, with key information about how macronutrients, micronutrients, and calories fuel a body running on plant foods
• An entire chapter devoted to protein - why plant sources of protein are preferable over meat, and how plant protein can be used to increase strength, muscle mass, and power
• 60+ delicious and nutritious plant-based recipes, including Veggie Burger Patties, Garden Meatballs, Summer Pasta Salad, Vegan Mac & Cheese, French Toast, Acai Bowl, and a High-Energy Smoothie
• Insights from winning plant-based athletes in nearly every sport including champion ultrarunners Rich Roll and Scott Jurek; former NFL player David Carter; champion boxers Yuri Foreman, Unsal Arik, Cam Awesome, and Vanessa Espinoza; and Olympic-level swimmers, cyclists, figure skaters, sprinters, and more.
• A Day in the Life of a Plant-Based Athlete - examples of what, when, and how different athletes eat to fuel their varied workouts

An instant classic and mainstay on health and fitness shelves everywhere, The Plant-Based Athlete is the ultimate invitation for joining the growing community of athletes who use plants to power their workouts and their every day.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780063042032
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	06/15/2021
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	255,860
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

MATT FRAZIER is the founder and CEO of No Meat Athlete and author of The No Meat Athlete Cookbook. He is a marathoner and ultrarunner, and qualified for the Boston Marathon with the help of a plant-based diet. Matt is the host of the No Meat Athlete podcast. He lives in Asheville, NC, with his family.

ROBERT CHEEKE is the founder of Vegan Bodybuilding and is a two-time natural bodybuilding champion. He is the author of Shred It!, is a public speaker, and has followed a plant-based diet for more than twenty-five years. He lives in Fort Collins, CO with his family.

Table of Contents

Foreword Michael Greger, MD ix

1 Becoming a Plant-Based Athlete 1

2 Understanding the Power Behind the Food: Macronutrients, Micronutrients, and Calorie Density 13

3 It's Time to Have the Protein Talk 35

4 Carbohydrates: The Body's Perfect Fuel 67

5 Fat: It's Not All Bad 91

6 Supplements: Should I or Shouldn't I? 107

7 Putting It All Together 141

8 Recover Better, Train More 175

9 Unleashing Your Inner Athlete 203

10 A Day in the Life of a Plant-Based Athlete 237

11 Recipes 263

Acknowledgments 329

Notes 333

About the Authors 337

Editorial Reviews

"You would be wise to take heed of the advice in this book, as it is essential for creating a lifestyle—not a diet—to improve your athletic capabilities, as well as your overall quality of life." — Michael Greger, MD, New York Times bestselling author of How Not to Die

"The Plant-Based Athlete is the exact game-changing book that I've been looking for for more than twenty years that answers challenging and important questions about sports nutrition using decades of evidence-based nutritional science." — Cyrus Khambatta, PhD, coauthor of Mastering Diabetes

"Matt Frazier and Robert Cheeke have written what should become the seminal book on diet, athleticism, and physical fitness." — T. Colin Campbell, PhD, professor emeritus of nutritional biochemistry, Cornell University, and coauthor of The China Study

"All great books plant seeds for transformation. The Plant-Based Athlete is one of those books. This is essential reading for getting the most out of sport and life." — Scott Jurek, world champion ultrarunner and author of Eat & Run and North

"Your endurance, energy, and recovery will skyrocket. Yes, you will get all the protein you need. But you'll also be powering your engine with the premium fuel—fiber, phytonutrients, polyphenols. Unleash your full potential with The Plant-Based Athlete today!" — Will Bulsiewicz, MD, MSCI, author of Fiber-Fueled

"Thank you, Matt and Robert, for this important and insghtful book. Highly recommend!" — Chloe Coscarelli, vegan chef and author of Chloe Flavor

From the Publisher

"Your endurance, energy, and recovery will skyrocket. Yes, you will get all the protein you need. But you'll also be powering your engine with the premium fuel—fiber, phytonutrients, polyphenols. Unleash your full potential with The Plant-Based Athlete today!"

Will Bulsiewicz

"All great books plant seeds for transformation. The Plant-Based Athlete is one of those books. This is essential reading for getting the most out of sport and life."

Scott Jurek

"You would be wise to take heed of the advice in this book, as it is essential for creating a lifestyle—not a diet—to improve your athletic capabilities, as well as your overall quality of life."

Michael Greger

"Thank you, Matt and Robert, for this important and insghtful book. Highly recommend!"

Chloe Coscarelli

"Matt Frazier and Robert Cheeke have written what should become the seminal book on diet, athleticism, and physical fitness."

T. Colin Campbell

"The Plant-Based Athlete is the exact game-changing book that I've been looking for for more than twenty years that answers challenging and important questions about sports nutrition using decades of evidence-based nutritional science."

Cyrus Khambatta