Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Protein, with Garth Davis, M.D.

Written by Matt Frazier

Quick announcement: In case you missed it on Black Friday, the 2015 No Meat Athlete Vegan Fitness bundle is officially live! You can save 85% on 22 great plant-based fitness products, many of them from authors you’ve heard as guests on NMA Radio. But this special bundle deal lasts only until Wednesday morning at 10am EST, so don’t miss it! Get all the details here.

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By now, you know that protein isn’t the big deal that most people make it out to be.

But one reason the “Where do get your protein?” question exists, in my observation, is that as vegetarians and vegans we don’t have a simple, concise, and satisfactory answer.

We can talk about how we need much less than most people think, and how protein is in almost everything we eat, but unfortunately, this doesn’t often do much to convince anybody.

But now, thanks to surgeon Garth Davis, M.D., we can hand them a book. Garth is the author of Proteinaholic: How Our Obsession with Meat Is Killing Us and What We Can Do About It, and it was a pleasure to have him as a guest on No Meat Athlete Radio to talk about all things protein.

(Oh yeah: Garth’s quick answer to the protein question? “Food.”)

Here’s what we talk about in this episode:

• The shortest good answer to “Where do you get your protein?”
• How much protein we really need each day
• Why too much protein is unhealthy
• Do athletes need more protein?
• How the world became unhealthily obsessed with protein
• Is there any truth to the advice that you should combine proteins within a meal?
• How to deal with conflicting information on the web

Click the button below to listen now:

Or:

• Click here to download the MP3 file (you may need to right-click and “save link as”)
• Subscribe to the show on iTunes or Stitcher so you never miss an episode

If you like what we do at NMA Radio, we’d greatly appreciate it if you’d leave us a rating and review on iTunes. Thank you!

Phone number to ask listener questions:

• 951-666-3281

• Proteinaholic by Garth Davis M.D.
• Garth Davis on the Rich Roll Podcast
• The No Meat Athlete Vegan Fitness bundle (Black Friday through Wednesday morning only)
• The Skinny Vegan’s Guide to Gaining Muscle

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The Epic Holiday Extravaganza Episode

Written by Matt Frazier

We’re just two days out from Thanksgiving, which can only mean one thing:

Holiday extravaganza episode! It’s time to break out your cornucopias, Black Friday shopping shoes, Santa hats, and champagne glasses, because we’re tackling the whole holiday season in one (long) episode of NMA Radio.

When Doug and I were planning our podcast schedule for the next few months, several holiday-themed topics popped up on the list. Instead of stringing it out over several weeks, we thought it’d be more fun to cover everything holidays, all in one epic episode.

The episode kicks off with more serious topics like how to handle big non-vegan holiday meals with family and friends, and staying on track with your healthy habits when all those cookies are around.

From there things take a less-serious turn, with our favorite recipe and adult beverage recommendations, a gift guide, and a list of our favorite holiday themed music and movies (ABC Family for the win!).

This is the closest thing the No Meat Athlete team gets to a holiday party, so we’ve made it a good one…

Here’s just some of what we talk about in this episode:

• Are holidays an excuse to drop all healthy habits?
• Owning a single habit throughout the holiday season
• When things get awkward, embrace the joke
• Why holidays with non-vegan family members get easier over time
• Matt and Doug’s essential holiday recipes
• Our go-to beers, wines, and cocktails around Thanksgiving and Christmas
• The 2015 No Meat Athlete Gift Guide
• Why it’s not a Christmas in Matt’s house without A.C Slater and Taylor Swift

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The 5 A.M. Miracle: Jeff Sander’s New Book on Dominating Your Day Before Breakfast

Written by Matt Frazier

I write a lot about accountability, and it’s not just talk.

Every Monday morning, I meet my accountability partner, Jeff Sanders, for a quick Skype call about our goals for the week, and to check-in on what we accomplished in the previous one.

(Alright, technically my summer travel schedule and the great moldy flood of 2015 kind of threw us off that schedule, but we’ve committed to get back on track in 2016.)

Jeff hosts the 5AM Miracle, a high-energy podcast about productivity and Jeff’s philosophy of dominating your day before breakfast. And now, his first published book, also called the 5AM Miracle, is set to hit the shelves on December 1st.

Productivity may seem an odd topic for a plant-based fitness podcast, but Jeff happens to be vegan marathoner and ultrarunner, too. And although we don’t talk specifically about those topics this time (listen to Jeff’s previous NMA Radio appearance for more of that), what I love about Jeff’s approach to productivity is that it all begins with energy … which, of course, is rooted in diet, exercise, and sleep.

If you’re looking to get a head start on your New Year’s goals or go into the holidays with some momentum, this is the episode to listen to.

Here’s just some of what we talk about in this episode:

• Why getting up early is the best way to find more time for what you love
• How to ease the transition to an earlier wakeup
• But what if I have kids?
• Are quarterly goals better than annual goals?
• Standing desks, inversion boots, and more
• Jeff’s new book, The 5 A.M. Miracle

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Ray Cronise on Water Fasting and ‘Our Broken Plate

Written by Matt Frazier

“Ray Cronise saved my life. I’ve lost 100 pounds. I used to be fat and sick, and now I’m not fat and sick.”

– Penn Jillette, of Penn & Teller

Unless you’ve heard his other appearances on No Meat Athlete Radio, it’s likely Ray Cronise is the nutrition guru you’ve never heard of.

But that’s about to change, with Ray’s new book, Our Broken Plate, having smashed through its Kickstarter funding goal, thanks in large part to a video that opens with Penn Jillette’s glowing endorsement of Ray’s approach to health.

Of course, you probably have heard of Ray without realizing it. He appeared in Tim Ferriss’ smash-hit 4-Hour Body, where he was the guy who discovered cold stress as a tool for fat loss when he noticed a discrepancy between the number of calories Michael Phelps consumed in a day, and how many he burned through exercise.

And if you read the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue for anything but the articles (that’s why I do!), then you probably know of Zero-G, the company Ray started with XPRIZE creator Peter Diamandis, whose weightlessness-inducing, parabolic-flight planes were used for an interesting if strange photo shoot last year. (And for the ladies and/or scientists in the audience, Stephen Hawking has taken a Zero-G flight, too.)

I’ve been fortunate to call Ray a friend for a few years since he turned his attention and considerable penchant for disruption towards nutrition, landing on a plant-based diet as the optimal one for long-term health. And in several multi-hour phone conversations we’ve had over the years, I’ve come to believe that Ray has a deeper understanding of nutrition than anyone else I know.

It was my pleasure to have Ray as a No Meat Athlete Radio guest for a third time, for an often-contrarian and always extremely interesting conversation about food, nutrition, and how most people screw them up.

Here’s just some of what we talk about in this episode:

• Ray’s 24-day water fast (and should we all be fasting?)
• The “metabolic winter” — how modern comforts sabotage our health
• Why people run so that they can eat, when animals eat so that they can run
• Ray’s work with Penn Jillette
• Protein!
• The Our Broken Plate Kickstarter campaign

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5 Food Habits to Reset Your Health

Written by Matt Frazier

Cotton candy. Newman O’s. Vegan pigs in a blanket.

If you somehow got the idea that my family and I never eat junk food, think again.

Granted, it’s not what we usually do. But during the summer ordeal that saw us sleeping on friends’ floors for two months after our house flooded, we let our healthy habits slip, often resorting to takeout for dinner and junk food for snacks.

Fortunately though, after a month in our new home, things are back to normal. We’ve hit the reset button on our habits. And we feel great about it.

Everyone knows the feeling of getting off track when life gets stressful. So how do you reset?

In today’s episode, I share the five food habits we changed first to get back on track, and Doug and I talk about how to orchestrate your own health reset before heading into the holidays.

Here’s just some of what we talk about in this episode:

• Why now is a good time to think about your diet habits
• Smoothies … good or bad?
• The key to making sure you eat your salad
• Quick tricks for reducing oil intake
• My go-to healthy snack
• How to cook with a busy schedule

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How to Start Your Movement

Written by Matt Frazier

Ever since the early days of starting No Meat Athlete, I’ve gotten a good number of requests for advice about how to start a blog or podcast. Or, more generally, about how to turn your passion into something that allows you to do it for a living.

This stuff is incredibly meaningful to me because of the impact it has had on my life, but I’ve never written or talked about it on No Meat Athlete. “Starting a business” certainly isn’t what this movement is all about, and doesn’t really fit with the other content here.

But today, inspired by a listener question, Doug and I are breaking from that rule. What this question (about starting a business around environmentalism) made me realize is that even though blog and podcast advice is a bit off-topic here, if that advice can help other people start movements that promote health, sustainability, or plant-based diets, then so much the better.

So here you have it: an episode all about how you can turn your ideas and passions into a movement or business through the internet.

Here’s just some of what we talk about in this episode:

• Should you start a blog or podcast?
• Why you have to pick yourself
• How No Meat Athlete became more than just a blog
• Why writing “for everybody” is like writing for nobody
• How to handle criticism (because if you’re doing something attention-worthy, it’s going to happen)

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How to Run Farther

Written by Matt Frazier

Last week’s episode of No Meat Athlete Radio was all about running faster. This week we’re exploring the other big improvement runners desire: running farther.

Let’s face it, a new distance is intimidating. Each new mile is uncharted territory.

Do you need to eat or drink more while on the run? How do you keep from getting bored? And how on Earth do you make time for all the training?

In today’s episode, we answer those common questions and a whole lot more to help you run farther than you’ve ever run before.

Here’s just some of what we talk about in this episode:

• Can you train to run faster and farther at the same time?
• The first step in increasing distance (which has nothing to do with distance)
• How to approach nutrition and hydration
• Boredom and mental fatigue while running
• Why you should consider taking walk breaks

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How to Run Faster

Written by Matt Frazier

When it comes to running, there are two areas where most people want to improve. They want to either:

1. Run faster
2. Run further

And sometimes both.

Today on NMA Radio, we focus on the first one … how to become a faster runner.

I’m not going to sugar coat it. Running faster requires a lot of work (and sometimes pain) but the process itself is fairly straightforward.

I know, because after I crossed the finish line of my first marathon over 100 minutes slower than my goal, I was forced to reevaluate my training and focus on speed.

And you know what? Eventually I reached that goal time and qualified for the Boston Marathon.

In today’s episode, we share our running philosophies for running faster, how we improved on our own times, and the workouts you should include in your training if your goal is to get faster.

Here’s just some of what we talk about in this episode:

• The big mistake most runners make
• Variety … how important is it, really?
• How Matt finally became injury free
• Speed work for the track-hater
• Our favorite workouts for faster running

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The Best Resources for New Vegans

Written by Matt Frazier

As a vegan or vegetarian, it’s easy to feel like an outsider, like you’re going at it alone. But here’s the thing … you’re not.

There’s a massive community, No Meat Athlete included, and countless resources at your fingertips.

Today’s episode is part 1 of a two-part resource guide series, and we kick it off by sharing some of our favorite resources for new vegetarians and vegans. We cover our favorite tools to get you motivated, educated, and inspired, plus a number of avenues for tapping into the growing community online and in the real world.

Don’t have time to listen to the episode? Check out the list of resources below.

Here’s just some of what we talk about in this episode:

• Eye-opening vegan documentaries
• Podcasts worthy of your subscription
• Our favorite books about plant-based nutrition
• Go-to vegan cookbooks
• Simple (and free) ways to engage with the community
• The websites and apps that will make your life easier

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When to Quit (And When to Keep Going)

Written by Doug Hay

If there’s one truth about running an ultramarathon (or chasing any big dream, for that matter), it’s that there’s an inevitable point when it’s not fun. That point when you start questioning your decision to do it in the first place.

Usually, if you’ve made it through the training cycle and to the starting line, you’re determined to push through that pain and discomfort to reach that finish line. But what if come race day, you’re not feeling the motivation that’s supposed to push you through?

In that case, is there a point where it’s okay to say that enough’s enough, and call it a day?

That’s the question I asked myself for hours during last week’s Steep Canyon 50K.

I spent the majority of the race in pain, tired, and most importantly, not having fun. Should I listen to my head and stop running, even though I know I have the physical strength to keep going … or should I suck it up and finish what I started?

In today’s episode, Matt and I explore this question, and talk about the lessons others chasing big goals (and ones that sometimes aren’t fun) can take from my experience.

• The highs and lows of Doug’s most recent 50k
• Questioning your “why”
• Accountability as a training tool
• The absolute best time to call it quits

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