A Behind the Scenes Look at No Meat Athlete

Written by Doug Hay

According to Google, the average lifespan of a blog is just 100 days — just over three months from conception to giving up.

And honestly, it’s not surprising. Having created my own blog, and now having worked with Matt at No Meat Athlete for over six years, I know that maintaining a site people actually want to read is more of a marathon than a Color Run.

Content takes time to do right, communities grow slowly, and finding a way to be compensated for the massive amounts of time and effort…

Well, that’s an entirely different subject.

So it’s somewhat of a plant-based miracle that — after beginning as a little side project for Matt to document his journey of going vegetarian and qualifying for Boston — No Meat Athlete has flourished for nearly 10 years…

Thanks in large part to you, our tribe of readers and supporters who believe in what we’re doing here.

I know that if I hadn’t discovered No Meat Athlete when I first went vegetarian, I wouldn’t have had the confidence I did to keep training, and ultimately might never have gone vegan.

You might feel the same way.

But No Meat Athlete looks a lot different than it did 10 years ago (actually, the site itself doesn’t look all that different… but spoiler! An updated site is dropping very, very soon).

What started as Matt’s daily food and lifestyle journal — not sure he’d be thrilled with me calling it that, but hey, I’m the one writing this post 😉 — now consists of a team of seven, a weekly podcast, two published books, countless nutrition and fitness resources, and a community of hundreds of thousands of plant-based athletes.

Instead of just one guy posting on a blog and sharing it with his friends, NMA has grown into a team of people all focused on a single mission: supporting a growing community of plant-based athletes as they set big goals and accomplish amazing things.

How cool is that?

And we have a lot going on. To give you a quick idea of what the current No Meat Athlete looks like, here’s a peek at what was going on today, Thursday, November 15th:

Esther, who you may know as our customer service guru, is working with Matt’s wife Erin to finalize inventory and set up for a brand new line of shirts.
Will is working with the community of Academy members, Pulse, and writing this week’s Pulse newsletter.
Susan is keeping our social media channels active, and nudging Matt and I to do more things like our recent Instagram AMA.
Lead Editor Andrew is editing this very post (or is about to be, anyway 😉
Our partner in Health Made Simple, Sid, is hosting a live Q&A for everyone participating in the first Health Made Simple Challenge, which wraps up this week — great job guys!
Matt Tullman, No Meat Athlete’s business advisor, just had a baby! My best guess is that he’s cleaning up spit-up or trying desperately to figure out which position will keep the baby asleep long enough for him to drink a smoothie.
Matt Frazier, who we all know and love, is working on a few big announcements coming your way over the next week or two.
Aside from this post, I’m focused on our fifth annual Fitness and Nutrition Bundle, set to release next week.

And I’m pretty sure we’re all trying to get in a run, swim, or ride today.

But that skips over the biggest driver behind No Meat Athlete:

You, the community. The people really out there showing the world what plant-based badasses can accomplish.

For that, we can’t thank you enough.

In a reflection on nearly 10 years of No Meat Athlete, Matt and I wanted to do something a little different on the podcast. This week we take a trip down memory lane and explore the history of No Meat Athlete and how it has become what it is today.

Click the button below to listen now:

Or: (more…)

Couch Potato to Triathlete: The Life-Changing Power of Someone Who Believes in You with Susan Lacke

Written by Doug Hay

Have you ever taken a life-changing smoke break? NMA’s own Susan Lacke has, when her old boss, Carlos, convinced her to start working out with him.

Twenty months later, she was running her first Ironman triathlon, writing for NMA, and launching a new career. And it was Carlos’s never-wavering support that she believes made it all possible.

In today’s replay episode, we speak with Susan about triathlons, epic friendships, her book Life’s Too Short To Go So F*cking Slow, and the power of supporting someone through their goals.

Click the button below to listen now:

Or:

Fiber, Gift Boxes, and the Four Rules of Healthy Eating with Sid Garza-Hillman

Written by Doug Hay

When you invite Sid Garza-Hillman, certified nutritionist and author of Approaching the Natural, onto your podcast, you never know where the conversation may lead. It could be cold showers, or even not showering at all…

Or in the case of today’s episode, poop. Well, more specifically, fiber (and the effects it has on your body).

See, it all started with a post Sid wrote earlier this week on the only healthy eating rules you ever need to follow. In it, he shared four rules, or guidelines, that if followed, will almost guarantee you’re eating a healthy, well-balanced diet.

Four remarkably simple and easy-to-understand rules.

So in today’s episode, we brought him on to discuss these rules in more detail, and of course to address the stinky question I’m sure I wasn’t alone in asking…

Click the button below to listen now:

The Nutrition Q&A Episode

Written by Doug Hay

It’s time for another big Q&A episode, where we answer listener submitted questions.

In this week’s edition, we focus on nutrition-related questions, ranging from eating for recovery to the value of plant-based meats.

Spoiler alert: Matt and I see eye to eye on all the answers…

Click the button below to listen now:

The Back to School Reset Episode

Written by Doug Hay

Winter is coming…

Schools are back in session, the heat has broken, and the hype around fall races is increasing by the day.

And if your summer has looked anything like ours — full of travel, veggie burgers, and beer — it’s time for a reset. With just over three months before the holidays kick off, now is the perfect time to set fresh goals and refocus on your health.

In today’s episode we share our habit goals for the next few months, and how we’re committing to our nutrition, fitness, and mindset.

Click the button below to listen now:

The Anxiety Episode

Written by Doug Hay

Today’s episode is a little different…

It gets personal.

If you’ve trained for a sporting event, chances are you’ve experienced at least some level of pre-race (or match, game, etc.) anxiety. You know… that overwhelming feeling the days and hours heading into a race that leads to questions and doubts on your training and ability.

In today’s episode, we talk about that pre-race anxiety, how we address it, and what we do when it’s no longer related to a race, but to life in general.

Click the button below to listen now:

A Fresh Look at Habits and Goals

Written by Doug Hay

Have we been approaching healthy habits all wrong?

You’ve likely heard some of our previous episodes on creating habits that last — but over time, our approach to making healthy changes has shifted.

In today’s episode, Matt and I share where we are now, and why we might have been doing it wrong this whole time.

Click the button below to listen now:

Doug and Matt’s Time Tips

Written by Doug Hay

Time… we could all use more of it.

Search the web and you’ll find endless hacks on how to save a few minutes here, or increase productivity there.

But we all know those hacks never stick, and more importantly they don’t solve your no-time problem.

So in today’s episode we do something a little different. This is our no-hacks guide to creating more time for your healthy habits and lifestyle.

Click the button below to listen now:

How We Feed Our Kids

Written by Doug Hay

As adult vegans, we face certain challenges when traveling, dining at restaurants, or whenever we’re outside our normal routines. But we figure it out — packing our own meals or snacking on nuts and fruit if we need to.

But what does it look like when kids are involved?

They’re pickier and not as adaptable, and the last thing we want to do is feed them junk just to get by.

In today’s episode we explore the ins and outs of how we feed our kids, both during our normal at-home routines, and while on summer vacation or traveling.

Here’s what we talk about in today’s episode: