Loading...
21st out of 89 books
—
108 voters
My rating:
add to my books
Thrive: The Vegan Nutrition Guide to Optimal Performance in Sports and Life
by
Brendan Brazier (Goodreads Author)
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 o...more
Paperback, 309 pages
Published
December 23rd 2008
by Da Capo Press
(first published December 22nd 2008)
There is a good chance some of your friends read this book. Sign in to see!
sign in »
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
508)
I have Brazier to thank for reminding me of something I already knew. I feel better when I eat the weird-crazy-vegan diet where I cook with coconut oil and drink smoothies made with hemp protein and ground flax seed. Better not just physically, but emotionally. I have Brazier's book to thank for finally pulling myself out of a several-years-long low grade depression.
Brazier's philosophy is simple. If you have foods with the same number of calories, but some of them has more minerals a...more
Brazier's philosophy is simple. If you have foods with the same number of calories, but some of them has more minerals a...more
view 1 comment
This book was interesting, but it wasn’t new. Oh, reduce stress and eat real whole foods and you’ll feel and perform better? Fancy that. Brazier presents a lot of “facts” and “scientific information,” but I would have liked to see more/better sources. There is a reference list in the back, but it is not connected to any specific statements made throughout the book. Additionally a lot of his information is geared towards endurance athletes (yes, I do realize he is an triathlete), as revealed when...more
I cannot say enough great things about this book. I was already interested in the interplay between health and nutrition before reading this book, but I think that interest has now grown into a full-fledged hobby--with much more science behind it.
I will likely be going mostly vegan now (two exceptions may include occasional yogurt and wild coldwater fish). I am also already making other changes to my diet, making sure I get enough of certain nutrients--not just the obvious B vitami...more
I will likely be going mostly vegan now (two exceptions may include occasional yogurt and wild coldwater fish). I am also already making other changes to my diet, making sure I get enough of certain nutrients--not just the obvious B vitami...more
I'm not vegan, nor do I plan on becoming one but still this book was a good read. I originally bought this book for the simple reason that it contained homemade energy bar and energy gel recipes. Although I have not tried these out yet, or any of the recipes I am giving this book 5 stars (probably would have given it 4.5 stars if able to) because it changed the way I view nutrition, food, and eating. In essence, it had an impact.
One thing to note that I didn't know or expect is that ...more
One thing to note that I didn't know or expect is that ...more
I was back and forth between 4 and 5 stars, and rounded up in the end.
Brazier is a professional athlete - he does IronMan triathlons and many other amazing feats of human strength and endurance - but the most interesting thing to me is that he does it all on a 100% plant-based diet. And he totally knows his stuff. Like every single detail with pie charts and graphs. I was blown away with the sheer scientific research on why a vegan diet is truly the best for stress reduction, trai...more
Brazier is a professional athlete - he does IronMan triathlons and many other amazing feats of human strength and endurance - but the most interesting thing to me is that he does it all on a 100% plant-based diet. And he totally knows his stuff. Like every single detail with pie charts and graphs. I was blown away with the sheer scientific research on why a vegan diet is truly the best for stress reduction, trai...more
I would give this 4 and a half stars, but that's not an option. For me, this is the perfect book. It is a professional triathlete going over his personal vegan diet that he used for triathlon training. There are many recipes and discussions of when to eat certain things, and why to eat others. The biggest negative is that he fails to cite much of anything. For example, he makes an argument that you should eat basic foods over acidic ones because our bodies are more basic and eating acidic f...more
This was great for me and hit on all the problems I've been running into with my training lately. I don't recommend this book for people just looking to get into veganism- I think this is more for people who have already made the switch and read at least a few other books. It's not that he doesn't include information targeted at those who haven't yet changed their lifestyle, as he does, but the lack of footnotes concerns me for the new vegan. While I know that a lot of this information is repe...more
Excellent book on health and nutrition and how to implement a vegan diet in one's life even as an athlete. I had read much of it a few months before, but read it in it's entirety in a day after reading Dr. T. Colin Campbell's "The China Study" and watching "Forks over Knives" only a couple of days before. I have been looking into a vegan diet for a few months, changing many aspects of my diet gradually, but felt that a move into vegetarianism and near-veganism (though I will...more
I was transitioning to veganism in the middle of training for a marathon and, honestly, I doubt I could have done it without this book. I finished the race feeling wonderful and energetic thanks to a variety of homemade bars and drinks based on his recipes.
However crazy the ideas or recipes may sound, you have to give weight to someone how has spent the better part of 2 decades maniacally focused on optimizing performance. For that reason alone, I encourage anyone interested in food science or the impact of food on your body to read this book.
That said, I give Brazier a 2 on writing style and a 5+ on content. Although the book has a logical beginning (Brazier's story), middle (the nutritional theory he developed), and end (recipes an...more
That said, I give Brazier a 2 on writing style and a 5+ on content. Although the book has a logical beginning (Brazier's story), middle (the nutritional theory he developed), and end (recipes an...more
Anastasia
added it
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Anastasia by:
a vegan marathon runner at a hippie earth day fair - shocking
For the vegan endurance athlete hiding deep, deep inside of what i aspire to be! YEAH!! But seriously, the recipes in this thing are borderline crazy-pants.
This book has some pretty good ideas, but as a vegan who doesn't really train super hard-core, I don't feel like much of what the author says applies. I don't really buy the idea that the food I eat is less nutritional because it's cooked, I've had my blood taken and my vitamin levels are all right where they should be even without supplements, without eating a raw diet. I already eat whole foods that are nutritionally sound, and they work for me as a half (and sometimes full) marathoner, so tha...more
Thrive has some of the best vegan recipes ever- like those lemon-dates-coconut oil energy bites- yum! Its focus on food as a source of energy, and what kind of foods you require depending on the extent of your exertion, made me understand what I need as fuel, and when. Though some of the ingredients may be hard to come by in certain places, you can always omit or switch with something else. And you always have the internet. Just don't go buying everything at once. Check out some of the recipes y...more
I am not behind this. While Brazier gently informs you, I'm not convinced why I need to go to his particular diet. I have a problem with "diets" - I eat healthy, and I don't think I need to eat a specific formula to be as healthy as I can be. Some good points. He doesn't give any other reason why you might want to go vegan/raw, or enough reason, and I don't see some being convinced. Interesting points.
Brazier gets into the nitty gritty details of vegan nutrition and how to best optimize a vegan diet for maximum performance. What is covered in detail: vegan food options and menus; stress and its various components and how it effects ones health; the when, the how, and the what to eat and why, etc. I found this book to be very thorough, an easy read, and a great reference book.
I found this book informative and am looking forward to applying the exercises and various nutrition tips into my daily routine. The pictures of exercises and Brazier's recommendations for completing them I found a bit confusing and not laid out very well. I hope this will help jump start a more well balanced strength training regiment into my training. I recommend this book for all atheletes and especially those who are committed to a plant-based diet.
I'm really excited to try the recipes I got from this book and I got some great information from it. For example, I did not know I could replace my electrolytes so well by drinking coconut water, but I'm glad to know that since I don't drink most sports drinks.
Joli Wake
is currently reading it
Halfway through and have learned so much about satisfying my nitritional needs as a meat-free marathon trainee. Enjoying the new recipies and knpowing what to consume when like lemon-lime recovery drink shortly after workouts and then a complete, nutrient rich meal 1 hour later!! mmm so yummy!
Recovery Drink Sample: Juice of 1/2 lemon and 1/4 lime 4 dates 2 c wanter agave nectar hemp protein dulse coconut oil and lemon zest blended! So good
Recovery Drink Sample: Juice of 1/2 lemon and 1/4 lime 4 dates 2 c wanter agave nectar hemp protein dulse coconut oil and lemon zest blended! So good
This is a book I really should have reviewed the second I finished reading it, but, once again, I was too nauseous to do so. I'm thinking this book was probably more like 3 1/2 stars. It has lots of really good information about how a vegan diet can improve athletic performance. The author gives lots of background information and then literally gives you everything you need to have to follow the diet for a certain amount of time (I'm thinking it was 6-8 weeks). He provides the menu plan for all ...more
I love Brendon Brazier! This book was exactly what I was looking for. The information was presented in such an easy to understand manner, no comfusing bodily mechanics to try and decipher. I have no intention of becoming vegan but will definately up my clean food intake because of Brendan's research. I picked up this book while training for my first marathon and found the information to be so helpful, my fuel of choice for endurance runs is now dates, thank goodness because I was never into gels...more
Probably great if you really want to eat like this, but any book that contains recipes for pizza crust made with beets, popped amaranth, and adzuki beans just isn't for me.
I myself am not vegan, however this guy practices what he preaches, and is a professional triathlete - got a lot of great info, ideas, and perspective on diet from this one.
A great guide to eating for race/enduance training and recovery. The Thrive Diet is entirely vegan, mostly raw, and Brazier does a great job explaining in layman's terms the chemical and biological reasons why this type of stress-reducing diet is so beneficial for those who are very active. In short, eat your greens! Get yer enzymes, raise your alkalinity (pH level), and don't force your body to digest complex or taxing stuff. Go for foods with the highest net-gain possible and you will see resu...more
Lots of good advice from Ironman Bredan Brazier, he gives you all you need to know about sports nutrition, helpful and informative.
Awesome book on exercise, factory farms, the environmental impacts and exercise nutrition. Great Recipes!!!
I thought the style was a little heavy handed and kind of ridiculously presented. Brazier turned me off quickly and didn't redeem himself.
This book was highly recommended to me by a friend after I stumbled across one of these recipes online. Although we aren't fully vegan, I feel that I get asked a lot about alternate sources of protein that I use for training. I look forward to learning even more! I have really loved this book so far, I have incorporated the exercises from his Thrive Fitness book and now we use his Vega Whole Food Optimizer in our green smoothies.
Took awhile for me to get into, but once I got past a lot of the background information I really enjoyed this book. It has tons of awesome information about the best foods/drinks to consume before, during, and after workouts and the recipes look easy and delicious. I can't wait to make the energy gels, bars, and drinks when I start training for my 2nd marathon this summer. I would definitely recommend this book!
This guy is pretty amazing. A dedicated triathlete, he's formulated his own recipes, experimented around on himself, and managed to make a lot of nutrient packed foods. However, I haven't tried a lot of the recipes because they aren't very kid-friendly (I don't think I could convince my kids that his pizzas are really pizzas.) and they seem quite expensive to make.
Although I'll probably never quit eating meat, this was a great read regarding the benefits of eating fruits and vegetables. I was getting very lazy and eating lots of simple carbs ie. Lucky Charms. This book got me motivated to add more vegetables to my diet. I'm also glad that he didn't preach about not eating meat, because I would have skipped it anyway.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Readers Also Enjoyed
Best-selling author (The Thrive Diet, Penguin 2007) and professional Ironman triathlete, Brendan Brazier is the founder and creator of a raw, organic, whole food health optimizer nutritional porduct called Vega.
As one of the only professional athletes in the world with a solely plant-based diet, Brendan advocates the benefits of plant-based foods for both environmental and physical we...more
More about Brendan Brazier...
As one of the only professional athletes in the world with a solely plant-based diet, Brendan advocates the benefits of plant-based foods for both environmental and physical we...more
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
