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

This book starts off by listing many different athletes that have achieved success while eating a plant-based diet. Literally dozens of different athletes are mentioned, and their accomplishments are attributed to their dietary choices. About the first 25 pages of the book are spent describing these examples.The second chapter begins with very basic nutritional concepts, like macro-nutrients, vitamins and calorie density. These basics should already be common knowledge for any athlete or anyone into fitness at all, but it could be beneficial to anyone that has never done any research into nutrition or fitness. Again, there are many different mini-testimonials included, and stories of various athletes that changed to a plant-based diet with positive results.The chapter on protein was somewhat disappointing. First the authors suggest that meat industry propaganda is responsible for athletes believing that protein is super important. Then the authors quote the often cited USDA recommendations of .8g of protein per kilogram of body weight for adults engaged in moderate physical activity, which is pretty commonly accepted. The authors then contend that this equates to 56g of protein for men. There must be some plant-based protein website that provides these misleading figures, because I just reviewed another book yesterday that used the very same 56g number for men. This would be for a 155 lb moderately active man, when the average weight of an American male is somewhere around 195lbs, depending on the source. It seems like a pretty big coincidence that two different recently published books quote the same rather misleading number for protein requirements, instead of just using the average weight of a normal person. In this book, it is even more egregious, because the book is supposed to be focused on athletes, and the authors even acknowledge that athletes will require higher levels of protein in the 1.2 – 2.0g/kg/day range. For a male athlete that weighs the average American male weight of 195lbs, that would be 106.2g – 177g of protein daily. This is more difficult to achieve, but of course not impossible. It takes dedication and planning, and continuously quoting misleading examples is not going to make that easier for anyone.The next few chapters discuss fat, carbohydrates, supplements, rest and recovery. Finally, starting at page 263 there is a recipe list. The recipes are divided into Breakfast, Lunch Dinner, Desserts and Condiments; with about 53 recipes in all.Overall, I had mixed feelings about this book. I like the inclusion of all the recipes, and those recipes that I have tried so far have been great. I was somewhat disappointed in the actual science, as I had expected more rigorous technical advice, and perhaps evidence in the form of several specific scientific studies clearly demonstrating superior athletic performance in trained athletes on a plant based diet. Instead, the book is almost half testimonials, or examples of athletes that eat mostly plants. At least this can be motivating, but other than that it was not particularly helpful for me.

I should preface this by saying that this is Bianca Phillips (not Paul Dillard) as the profile indicates. I share an Amazon account with my partner! I'm a long-time vegan (17 years) who runs marathons and 50Ks, practices yoga daily, and spends a couple days a week strength training in the gym. I've learned a lot about vegan workout nutrition from No Meat Athlete (whose founder Matt Frazier is co-author of this book), but this book goes so much deeper.The authors, the aforementioned Matt and vegan bodybuilder Robert Cheeke, take a deep dive into macronutrients (carbs, fat, protein) and supplementation, and then they provide meal plans for various athletic goals, such as fat-burning or muscle-building. I love that they not only tell you how to eat, but they offer guidance on what to eat for optional workout fueling. The section on recovery is fantastic with suggestions on the best plant-based foods to reduce inflammation, and they break down carb-to-protein ratios for snacks/meals eaten before, during, and after your workouts.Matt and Robert interviewed more than 60 professional plant-based athletes to find what plant-based foods work best to ensure their peak performance. It was refreshing to see how many of those athletes were women! So often, the female perspective gets left out of these types of projects (my biggest complaint with the movie The Game Changers was the heavy focus on male athletes and the male experience).There's even a "day in the life" section where some of those athletes detail everything they eat in a typical day (including their pre- and post-workout meals). It's so cool to see how much those individual meal plans vary from athlete to athlete! It really does prove that every body is different!My very favorite section of the book is at the end — the recipes! There are more than 60 plant-based recipes, contributed by the athletes featured in the book. I was so excited to see recipes from ultrarunner Brendan Braizer, Olympic skier Julia Murray, triathlete Rip Esselstyn, cyclist Dotsie Bausch, bikini competitor Natalie Matthews, and so many more. I can't wait to try Natalie's Sloppy Vegan Chili and Rip's Sweet Potato Vegetable Lasagna!

Although I've been whole-foods, plant-based (WFPB)/vegan for over eight years and work out 5-6 days a week, I originally wasn't going to buy this book since I don't consider myself to be an athlete. After listening to an interview with Matt Frazier and Robert Cheeke on the Rich Roll Podcast, however, I decided to order it -- and am so glad I did!As I said, I don't consider myself to be an athlete, but I do read a lot about nutrition and fitness, since both are major hobbies of mine. While I already know some of the information in this book, it was really inspirational to read the stories/profiles of the 100 plant-based athletes that they interviewed for the book.My favorite chapters were the last two -- where we see a typical "day in the life" of what some athletes eat and where we get various recipes from the athletes. I've made a few of the recipes, and they have all been really good. Most of the recipes are very simple and easy to make, and they show how easy it is to eat plant-based.Since the athletes interviewed for the book range from ultrarunners to powerlifters to Olympic iceskaters, you get a nice feel for the range of eating plans that each athlete follows, depending on their goals (i.e., to put on muscle, to have the endurance to bike or run long distances, etc.).If you're new to WFPB eating and/or just want to incorporate more plants into your diet, you'll learn a lot from this book. If you already know the basics, this is a nice refresher course, and, as mentioned, very inspirational.

This book has a wealth of information for fueling your workouts on a plant based diet. I love all the different athletes' perspectives and what they consume for their intense workouts.

Practical easy to understand Vegan based diet.

Very good book. Feasable for the plant curious AND vegan veterans.Especially loved the chapter on mindset and goal setting. The leucine text was well written too!

Finally a comprehensive guide to improving fitness gains while on a plant-based diet. The book was full of practical information to implement right away. The testimonials from vegan pro-athletes were a nice surprise and took away the stigma that your diet has to be complicated to support athleticism. You don't have to be an athlete to benefit from this book. You'll learn how to put a plant-based meal together with tables of food types to guide you. This book is for all levels of athletes and people who want to clean up their diet for a healthier lifestyle. I've been a vegan for over 10 years and this is my best resource yet. I will refer to this book over and over again.

Vale la pena. Contiene extensa información del tema desde lo más elemental pero me parece excesiva la cantidad de testimonios y casos de éxito de distintos atletas. En ocasiones me salté algunos párrafos por lo extenso del libro.

All I can say is wow!!! This book is amazing. I have recently turned plant based and up until now just been winging it really. However I have just started a training campaign and people were starting to freak me out that I couldn’t be plant based and achieve athletic success. Did some research, found this book, and not only can I now tell those people to shush, I feel as if actually I am going to smash it BECAUSE I am plant based.Lots of information, facts, and research that clearly laid out and comprehensible, without being dumbed down.Great stories and examples from elite plant based athletes as well as recipes that they eat!!!Thank you Matt and Robert for writing this, it is phenomenal.

A great read for anyone wanting to change to a plant-based lifestyle whether you are an athlete or not. This book is full of examples of athletes' daily food prep and consumption.