Thrive: The Vegan Nutrition Guide to Optimal Performance in Sports and Life (Paperback)

~ Brendan Brazier (Author)
Key Phrases: thrive diet, oil blend, meal plan, Tomato Basil Dressing, Cucumber Pesto Salad, Cayenne Dill Tahini Dressing (more...)

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 --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Description

The thrive diet is a long-term eating plan to help all athletes (professional or not) develop a lean body, sharp mind, and everlasting energy. As one of the few professional athletes on a plant-based diet, Brendan Brazier researched and developed this easy-to-follow program to enhance his performance as an elite endurance competitor.

Brazier clearly describes the benefits of nutrient-rich foods in their natural state versus processed foods, and how to choose nutritionally efficient, stress-busting whole foods for maximum energy and health. Featuring a 12-week meal plan, over 100 allergen-free recipes with raw food options—including recipes for energy gels, sport drinks, and recovery foods—and a complementary exercise plan, The Thrive Diet is “an authoritative guide to outstanding performance” (Neal D. Barnard, M.D., Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine).

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Lifelong Books (December 23, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0738212547
• ISBN-13: 978-0738212548
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (61 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,635 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #12 in	Books > Health, Mind & Body > Diets & Weight Loss > Diets > Healthy
  #14 in	Books > Cooking, Food & Wine > Vegetables & Vegetarian > Vegan
  #21 in	Books > Health, Mind & Body > Personal Health > Healthy Living

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

92 of 92 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 at orlandont dot com. 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.

36 of 36 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.

50 of 52 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.