The Thrive Diet: The Whole Food Way to Lose Weight, Reduce Stress, and Stay Healthy for Life [Hardcover]

Brendan Brazier (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 17, 2007

The Thrive Diet is a long-term eating plan that will help you develop a lean body, sharp mind, and everlasting energy, whether you’re a professional athlete or simply looking to boost your physical and mental health. One of the few professional athletes on an entirely plant-based diet, Brendan Brazier researched and developed this easy-to-follow program to enhance his performance as an elite endurance athlete.Brazier clearly describes why it’s easier for the body to utilize nutrient-rich foods in their natural state than refined, processed foods and how to choose nutritionally-efficient, stress-busting whole foods to maximize energy and health. And because plant-based foods are more environmentally friendly to produce, you’ll also help the planet while improving your personal health.The Thrive Diet features a 12-week whole foods meal plan, over 100 easy-to-make recipes with raw food options that are free of dairy, gluten, soy, wheat, corn, refined sugar, including exercise-specific recipes for pre-workout snacks, energy gels, sport drinks, and recovery foods, and an easy-to-follow exercise plan that compliments the Thrive Diet program. With The Thrive Diet, you can lower body fat and increase muscle tone; diminish visible signs of aging; increase energy and mental clarity; sleep better and more restfully; experience better moods; build a stronger immune system; lower cholesterol; and eliminate junk-food cravings.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The Thrive Diet is a life-changing book! The nutrition approach that Brendan lays out for you is amazing in its own right, but he has backed it all with powerful facts. If you want to reduce stress, feel great, eat well, and attain your healthiest you ever, get this book." -- Jon Hinds, founder/owner of Monkey Bar Gymnasium, former NBA Strength Coach, advisor to MLB and NFL teams, and Hollywood trainer

"The Thrive Diet is an authoritative guide to outstanding performance, not just in top-level athletics, but in day-to-day life. Written by one of the world's leading authorities on nutrition for professional athletes, it brings sports enthusiasts to their peak and helps everyone--athlete or not--to recover from stress and feel their best." -- Neal D. Barnard, MD, president, Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine

"The Thrive Diet is an inspiring read not just for athletes but for anyone looking for more energy, vibrancy and just to feel and even look better. Brendan legitimizes this way of living with easy to understand research, common sense and most importantly through his own trial and error. This is a great book!" -- Sarma Melngailis, cofounder of Pure Food and Wine restaurant and coauthor of Raw Food Real World

"The Thrive Diet is packed with invaluable information that can assist anyone at any level." -- Bruny Surin, third-fastest human ever, Olympic gold medalist--4 x 100 meter relay, Atlanta 1996

"Brendan Brazier tells a very important story, one that is vital for the thousands, even millions, of individuals who train for athletics only to unnecessarily harm their body and therefore performance through poor nutrition. The Thrive Diet is a must read." -- T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D., author of the bestselling The China Study

"Brendan's knowledge is second to none. I read The Thrive Diet and was enthralled that, after reading so many books and meeting with so many experts, Brendan was able to explain his thoughts on nutrition in such a clear and insightful way. I only hope my competition doesn't read this book until after I'm done competing." -- Simon Whitfield, Olympic gold medalist--triathlon, Sydney 2000

"Ironman triathlete Brazier is proof that you can compete as a vegan; his `whole foods' diet uses more parts of the plant than processed, refined foods. As a result, it is more nutritious and more fibrous, which is good for digestion and filling one up with fewer calories. Plant foods are also ecologically sound because animal processing increases methane production and uses existing plant resources inefficiently. To boot, some studies have shown that a vegan diet reduces inflammation in arthritis and fibromyalgia, as well as high blood sugar and high blood pressure. The extremely vigorous exercise plan can be toned down for the rest of us. Ideal for dieters who want to reduce their carbon footprint and get healthy at the same time." -- Library Journal, starred review

"Like the nutrient-rich whole foods he advocates, Brendan Brazier's The Thrive Diet is filled with powerful information that will forever change the way you address life's daily speed bumps. Whether professional athlete or weekend jogger, if you are serious about improving you health or athletic performance, you owe it to yourself to listen carefully to Brazier's advice." -- Joseph Connelly, founder and publisher, VegNews magazine

"Quite simply, The Thrive Diet is the most comprehensive nutrition and lifestyle program we've ever seen. In addition, and completely unique to a `diet' book, The Thrive Diet is an ecological sensible one." -- The G Living Network, gliving.com

"[Brazier's] simple, easy-to-swallow book is guaranteed to be stress-free." -- VegNews magazine

About the Author

Brendan Brazier is a professional Ironman triathlete and creator of VEGA, an award-winning whole food plant-based nutritional product line that’s available in natural and health food outlets. The 2003 and 2006 Canadian 50km Ultra Marathon Champion, he is a renowned speaker and sought-after presenter throughout North America. Brazier testified in 2006 before the United States Congress about the significant social and economic benefits that can be achieved by improving personal health through better diet. In 2007 he was named one of The 25 Most Fascinating Vegetarians by VegNews Magazine. He lives in Vancouver, Canada.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press; 1st Da Capo Press Ed edition (December 17, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1600940609
• ISBN-13: 978-1600940606
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (95 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #298,893 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #61 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Special Diet > Whole Foods

More About the Author

Brendan Brazier is the bestselling author of The Thrive Diet (Penguin, 2007), a former professional Ironman triathlete, and the creator of an award-winning line of whole food nutritional products called Vega. He is also a two-time Canadian 50km Ultra Marathon Champion.

Brendan is recognized as one of the world's foremost authorities on plant-based nutrition for athletes. In an online Cornell University certificate program, Brendan presents a lecture based on his best-selling books entitled: Plant-Based Diet and Elite Athleticism. It is part of a new course presented by eCornell and the T. Colin Campbell Foundation. www.ecornell.com/brazier

Brendan was chosen as one of the 25 Most Fascinating Vegetarians by VegNews Magazine, the Top 40 Under 40 most influential people in the health industry by Natural Food Merchandiser and has been nominated for the prestigious Manning Innovation Award twice for creating Vega.

Brendan's intentions of spreading the word of an ethical, environmentally friendly, and healthy lifestyle through plant-based foods have taken him across North America, speaking at events such as the Chicago Green Festival and the United States Humane Society Gala. Brendan was also invited to address US Congress on Capitol Hill, where he spoke of the significant social and economic benefits that could be achieved by improving personal health through better diet. The focus of his speech was to draw attention to the role that food plays in the prevention of most chronic diseases currently plaguing North Americans.

Spanning the whole month of October of 2008, Brendan was a keynote presenter on a cross-Canada university speaking tour called "Students for Sustainability." Speaking at 21 universities, along with others such David Suzuki and Stephan Lewis, the tour went coast to coast offering practical environmental preservation solutions to students. It was Canada's largest environmental tour.

Among Brendan's other achievements are his active involvement with initiatives such as a new exploratory adventure movie on health and wellness, 'Back from the Edge', and a photo feature alongside the likes of Barack Obama and Bill Maher in the Charity book 'A Rare Breed of Love' (Simon & Schuster) recently featured by Oprah Winfrey. Having appeared on CTV and CBC in Canada and on NBC, ABC and FOX in the United States, Brendan has become a sought-after speaker.

Aimed at helping individuals and companies improve productivity through greater fitness Brendan's latest book, Thrive Fitness: Mental and Physical Strength for Life, was published by Penguin in January, 2009. And was published in the United Sates by Da Capo in January, 2010.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

163 of 165 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars BEST (and only) BOOK FOR VEGAN ATHLETES, January 30, 2008

By 

Anthony Torres "anthonytorres .com" (Orlando, FL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Thrive Diet: The Whole Food Way to Lose Weight, Reduce Stress, and Stay Healthy for Life (Hardcover)

Thrive Diet is a relatively easy to follow program for athletes that have food allergies, are vegan, or just want to get their nutrition from whole foods. The hardest thing of going plants only is accepting you can get solid protein and nutrition. Thankfully, the author knows how to research and presents his findings dispassionately and with reason. The page on protein powders is worth the book itself. No where else have I found this information, and I've been looking through all vegan, vegetarian, and bodybuilding books. Keep in mind that this book is soy and tofu free, due to the author's concerns with allergies. That's a good thing. Tofu/Soy products are used MORE in N. America. I'm not anti-soy. Just pro-variety (and frankly soy hasn't gotten me to where I want to be anyhow.)

An important part of this book are the early chapters on different types of stress and how nutrition can assist recuperation. The author is not a big supplement taker, and focuses on nourishment rather than calories/protein/carbs counting. The recipes are simple to prepare. It's actually, dare I say it, kind of lazy food prep, minimal tools (food processor & blender), and maximum return. These are positives. Other vegan cookbooks have 20 steps, consume an hour of time and the end result is just a side dish. Of potatoes....

Now, the book is affordable, but there's a sticker shock that comes from going whole foods whole cloth. Thankfully I have a Whole Foods within 8 miles. They had most everything on the list, except yellow pea protein powder. The clerk said the co. that made that went bankrupt, so it's put a lot of folks in a lurch. My total bill? $227.00 The protein powders are about $15 each, the oils are around that price point, and maca and chlorella cost $15 a bottle. AND THIS IS WITH ALMOST NO PRODUCE OR VEGETABLES. $227. The upside is the convenience of Whole Foods having all this stuff. Nutrition costs...

I copied the shopping list to a pdf here: [...] Or AnthonyTorres.com and Click on the Thrive link. Again, it's costly to just jump into it, so maybe transition using the energy bar recipes and grow from there. Still, this book is awesome and if you're serious about training or casually interested in losing weight or just understanding HOW your body functions, get this book.

UPDATE: Feb 09 2011- The prior link to the shopping list pdf was dead for a few years, so I updated the link. Otherwise, review is as stands. Thanks!

119 of 123 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Dream Come True, July 17, 2008

By 

Fearless (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Thrive Diet: The Whole Food Way to Lose Weight, Reduce Stress, and Stay Healthy for Life (Hardcover)

Sounds a bit over the top, but I'm an actress in Hollywood with an athletic build. I've always found it hard to stay really lean, even though I'm a hard-core athlete, and that makes it hard to compete with the waifs. I bought Brendan's book two months ago and for the first time I am shredded without starving myself. I feel better than I ever have in my entire life and I honestly can't believe it.

I love the diet, love the food, love the philosophy. (I'm also an environmentalist)

I read the book cover-to-cover, excited by the philosophy but dismayed by the foreign foods that I needed to learn to locate, sprout and soak in order to start. This was just initial panic. I got over it.

I started with the smoothies and energy bars. I bought the Vega Complete Whole Food Optimizer he recommends and I found that making the smoothies was super-fast (throw my fruit, water, optimizer in a blender and go) and that while the energy bars took a little time, I could make a 2-month supply at a time, and then have a quick, easy snack always ready. I like them best frozen, so I'm not worried about spoilage. That was week one.

Week two I did my big shop (it was a bit pricey to start, but it's been very cheap ever since) which took a little to psych up for, washed and sanitized my fruits and veggies, and started sprouting. As soon as my sprouts were ready (a few days later) I took a full day and made pizza, burgers, crackers, sauces, salad dressings, etc. I basically made a little of everything. The joy was that I then could eat all week without doing anything but opening up the fridge. Since then, I've run out of things one by one, but since I've done it before, I had all of the ingredients on hand and it was no big deal to replenish; getting started was the hard part. I was glad I just bit the bullet and did it all at once.

Sprouting and soaking have become part of my routine and I actually find it kind of fun. It's very fast and I get the "farmer's joy" of seeing the first shoots every few days.

I keep Brendan's book on the table and I read part of it every day while I eat. I'll probably keep doing that until I feel like I have fully absorbed it and can really remember what nutrients are in which food.

Last night I did I bathing suit scene in my acting class and didn't think twice about stripping down in front of everyone. That's a first.

I cannot tell you how wonderful it feels to look in the mirror and feel great about my body, without having to punish myself to get the look I want. When I told my husband he said, "I never thought I'd hear you say those words." Yeah, neither did I.

57 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just what I was looking for, March 6, 2008

By 

A. D. Proctor "Alissa" (Adelaide, Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Thrive Diet: The Whole Food Way to Lose Weight, Reduce Stress, and Stay Healthy for Life (Hardcover)

This book is exactly what I was looking for. A whole foods plant-based diet for athletes. Usually all you can find in this category are books for losing weight but this one is all about getting the fuel you need to excel in sport and in life. It's also a great nutritional education on whole foods and the physiological effects of stress in all its forms and how good whole foods can support the body. Brendan's recipes are really creative. I was originally suspicious of how the 'pizzas' would taste what with their base being made out of things like chickpeas and ground sunflower seeds but I have already made one and can report that it was delicious! The smoothies are also fantastic and I have already seen the amazing endergy gains. I whole-heartedly recommend this book to altheletes, weekend warriors and stressed out corporates - you will feel the difference.