Eating Plant Based For a Performance Athlete, The Beginning. - Rob Thomas

The journey has begun and the learning has only just started. 

"the more you know, you realize, the less you actually know"

still continuing my search for what's best in nutrition for health, performance, and the environment, and every day I feel I get closer. It's said that the smarter you get, you start to realize how much more is out there and that you haven't yet even begun to understand what you're looking for. Most don't question the process or whats going on around them. I choose to so I can try and live more fruitfully.

"feeling good is the new looking good", "Strong is the new skinny", "cupcakes don't taste as good as fit feels"...

These catch phrases resonate with me in my search of health and fitness, but I'm not one yet to tell you there is ONE definitive right way... I want to enable you to find your own path to success, whatever that may mean to you. 

I want to share my passion in hopes that it inspires you to share my passion with me.

 Your passions are your own, and not for me to decide, but HAVE THEM. I don't enforce anything other than integrity, consistency, and work ethic. If those components are missing, nothing will happen... in any portion of your life..

Is it possible to eat like a shit bag (pop tarts, brownies, cakes and pies, fast food triple bacon cheeseburgers) and get a six pack?

yes.

But looking good and performing well are two separate things. But not to worry, they can be found together, which is ultimately what we are in search of. Poor quality foods will be guaranteed to slow your system down, as they are relatively hard to fit into a performance diet parameter for timing your nutrition around your workouts.

More importantly, are we really here in the professional health and wellness community to prove somebody wrong by eating like an asshole? This isn't health promotion by eating in this manner. There is some level of empowerment in knowing that these foods won't crush your physique and fitness level if eaten, but it should be our priority to eat REAL food. If you can make it yourself, from scratch, pretty good chance it's real and going to fuel you properly. We are the ones to guide those that don't know through their unknowns.

This endeavor gets more eye opening at every turn. More watching, more reading, more learning, more experiencing, more progress.  My fitness is slowly climbing in the areas I have lacked over the years and I don't believe my strengths have gone anywhere.

You must focus on your weaknesses ONLY as much as it allows your strengths to still stay current. You cannot forget about them. You must stay unique. Be good at being you while also trying to embody what you are in search of. 

(Not to tangent, but here is the film that has really opened peoples eyes as to federal food culture.)

(Also available on NetFlix). An intrepid filmmaker on a journey of discovery as he uncovers possibly the largest health secret of our time and the collusion between industry, government, pharmaceutical and health organizations keeping this information from us.

My calories and protein must stay high to ensure my strength stays at a minimum of previous levels achieved, with also room to grow.  I can already say that by eliminating dairy and increasing quality of nutrition my body has made a transformation both aesthetically and athletically. I am leaner and lighter than I have ever been in my fitness journey (<194lbs).

This scares me a bit to an extent, but we are yet to be tested for our max strength in competition as there has been a bit of a shift lately in competitive CrossFit, more towards being well rounded and preparing for the unknown. With lighter body weight my cardio and gymnastics have largely increased. I'm not holding on to unneeded weight that I have always thought gave me added strength, so my rest is decreasing between manageable sets and my max efforts have become larger. I associate strength with added body weight, but to be the best you cannot be held back anywhere, so this is a true dedication to my gymnastics and conditioning. I am transforming who I am as an athlete to be ready for the upcoming season.

my calorie intake has been between 3,400-3,700 calories, and I have fallen to roughly 191-192lbs of bodyweight at times. I normally stand at 6'0" 202lbs, strongest I've tested myself at was 207lbs, fastest at 197lbs. So with this fluctuation, I'm not sure how I stack up just yet as a more complete athlete.

With my numbers at roughly 3,500 calories a day (will increase if weight continues to drop) I maintain a macro nutrient split of 50% calories from carbs, 25% from protein, 25% from fat. 

Early in tracking my plant based food daily, I found myself eating over my % on fat, over on protein, and under on carbs. Still hitting my calorie goal, which may need to be brought up due to consistent weight loss, but needed to make adjustments to my current meals to hit my numbers a little more in line with my macro approach.  

Here is what a normal day of training, coaching, working, and eating looks like currently : 

Protein is a priority in every meal to ensure I get my minimum of 225g per day. That amount may scientifically be disputed to whether I need that much or not, but I'm yet to see anyone get stronger and build lean mass off of eating less protein per day... So I'll roll the dice in the mean time and take my chances.

I eat simple, less complex, carbs around my training so they digest quickly and my glycogen (muscle tissues carbohydrate fuel) is full and my body is ready to workout hard on an emptier stomach.

10am : Wake up

10:15am : pre training breakfast

• 2 cups organic original almond milk + 10g protein via organic pea protein isolate + 4g protein via organic hemp protein
• 2 slices Organic Sprouted Ezekiel Bread
• 2.5 tablespoons of organic chunky peanut butter
• 1/2 Clif Builder bar

10:30am : 1.75 hours of training 

• 3/4 serving pre workout + creatine + 1/2 serving BCAA + 14g carbs via maltodextrin

12:15pm : Private Client Coaching

• 20g of protein via organic Pea + Rice protein
• Large Banana

1:30pm : Post training breakfast

• 3 large cage free organic eggs or vegan sausage (Chorizo or Chipotle)
• 6 grape tomatoes 
• 3 oz of green peppers, yellow onions, mushrooms and alfalfa sprouts
• 1/2 cup refried beans
• 1.5 oz organic firm tofu
• 1/2 cup spiced potatoes
• 1/4 cup hot salsa
• 2 cups of oat bran and almond cereal
• 1 cup almond milk

2:00pm : Work ( maintenance, computer, website, billing, back-end, new venture) + research

4:30pm : Lunch

• 2/3 cup of quinoa 
• 1/2 cup black beans or lentils
• 1/4 chick peas
• Spinach + watermelon/berries salad

• (PBnJ) 2 slices organic sprouted ezekiel bread + 1.5 tbsp organic chunky peanut butter + 1.5 tbsp jelly
• 1 cup organic unsweetened soy milk

5:00pm : Coach

6:00pm : 2 hours of Training

• 1/2 serving pre workout + creatine + 1 serving Aminos 
• Large california naval orange

8:00pm : Private client coaching

• 20g of protein via Pea Protein Isolate and Rice Protein

9:15pm : clean and organize gym

10:15pm : Dinner

• Spring mix lettuce
• 1/2 cup quinoa or 1/2 cup of rice or potatos
• 4oz fish/meat or 2 bean burgers
• Sliced tomato
• portobella mushrooms
• 1oz tofu or 1/2 cup black beans

11:00pm : Computer work / programming post

11:30pm : Dessert

• Lenny and Larrys cookie or 4 to 5 Back To Nature Peanut butter creams
• 2 cups unsweetened almond milk

12:15 : get ready for bed

1:00am : Read everything on the internet.

• Think about how much I want to do the next day / How I should go to bed. I find this time is when my brain works best and is most innovative. It is currently 1:51am on a Wednesday night/ Tuesday morning while I am writing this... Good things happen to those who go out and get it! So I plan my day while also finishing my current day strong.

Seeing media put out some content on other athletes that have made a plant based switch is encouraging. I have been looking for more and more sources on other athletes from other sports that are making the switch, and how they have been feeling while in the process. Here are a few quick watches just to see who is out there being progressive in their own life.

In my next post I'll be looking to document my meals and options of meals throughout the day. I'll talk about my "go-to's", how to read labels for quick healthier vegan options, best bang for buck, and macro nutrients of each meal that I consume. I want you to start to establish a healthier method of eating on your own to tackle this thing called fitness, so I'm going to show you how I navigate through all the options that exist to ensure we're fueled to perform daily.