No Meat Athlete

Small Steps, Cold Showers, and Conscious Parenting with Sid Garza-Hillman

Written by Doug Hay

Thumb through just about any parenting book, and you’ll find nearly every chapter focuses on the child.

But that’s the wrong approach, according to friend of NMA Radio Sid Garza-Hillman. Sid believes that building a thriving, healthy family starts with a thriving, healthy parent.

In today’s episode, we sit down with Sid to discuss his brand new book Raising Healthy Parents, and why a vegan nutritionist felt called to write a parenting book.

Oh, and because it’s Sid, we also talk about cold showers, small steps, and counting your breaths. Love that guy.

Here’s what we talk about in this episode:

What most parenting books are missing.
The health component of parenting.
Struggling in front of your children.
How to recenter before arriving home from work.
Why Sid sits in a cold river.

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

Join the Tribe and support No Meat Athlete Radio.

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!

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How Will Clean Meat Impact the Vegan Movement?

Written by Doug Hay

Between the current advances in plant-based meat alternatives and the innovations taking place in the “clean meat” industry, the food landscape as we know it could change dramatically over the next several years.

How will these changes impact our understanding of what meat is, and will that affect the vegan movement?

We sit down with Jackson Long and Aaron Stuber of Thought For Food Lifestyle and the TFF podcast to discuss.

Here’s what we talk about in this episode:

What is “clean meat”?
Plant-based food technology and how it’s blowing up.
The problem with “fake meat.”
Why veganism may one day become irrelevant.
Science! It’s important.

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!

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Protein and the Vegan Athlete: All You Really Need to Know

Written by Stephanie MacNeill

Can you be a plant-based athlete and still meet your protein needs?

Unless you’ve been living in some magical No Meat Athlete bubble we don’t know about, you’re probably no stranger to this question.

And luckily, neither is science.

For a long time, athletes, coaches, and trainers alike have worried that vegan and vegetarian diets may not be sufficient to support the nutritional requirements and performance goals of athletes. They wonder if animal products are necessary to perform at one’s highest level.

I’m happy to report, the research says otherwise. And that there’s an easier way to think about how (and where) you get your protein on a plant-based diet.

But before we get into the details, let’s take a step back:

What the Heck is Protein Anyway?

Your body contains thousands of different proteins that serve different functions, all made from amino acids. It’s the arrangement of these amino acids that determines the type and function of a protein.

There are 20 different amino acids that combine to form proteins, and although your body requires all of them, you only have the ability to make 11 of them. These are termed non-essential amino acids.

The other nine—those you can’t make—are termed essential amino acids, and must be obtained from the diet.

While it is true that all animal-source foods (meat, dairy, and eggs) contain all essential amino acids, they can also be obtained by eating a variety of plant foods.

Proteins containing all nine essential amino acids can be used immediately by the body. If a protein is low in one or more of the essential amino acids, the availability of the protein is limited until the body can complete it. Which brings us to… wait for it…

Complete vs. Incomplete Proteins (The Old Way of Thinking)

More often than not, when you hear someone talking about getting enough protein, they refer to something called “complete” protein.

The notion of complete vs. incomplete protein was popularized in the 1971 book, Diet for a Small Planet, by Frances Moore Lappé. Lappé said that plant foods are an incomplete protein because they’re deficient in one or more of the essential amino acids. Thus, being a healthy vegetarian would mean that you need to combine plant proteins at each meal to get a “complete” protein.

This led to the impression that plant proteins are completely devoid of at least one essential amino acid.

Nope. False.

All plant proteins have some of every essential amino acid. Did you get that? All of them.

While certain (quite delicious, I might add) foods—like quinoa, chia, buckwheat, and soy—contain all nine essential amino acids in roughly equal amounts, other plant proteins have a lower amount of at least one essential amino acid.

But that’s not a problem because your body does the work of making complete proteins for you.

All you have to do is rub your belly three times, wiggle your nose, and count to ten…

Only kidding. It’s actually way cooler than that.

Your body creates a “pool” of amino acids from the food you eat throughout the day. So, if you eat oats in the morning, a salad at lunch, and legumes for dinner, your body will pool together all the essential amino acids from these foods and use them as needed to make proteins.

This means you don’t have to worry about getting all the essential amino acids at any given meal. As long as you are eating an assortment of plant foods over the course of a day, your body will take care of the rest.

Beautiful, isn’t it?

Lysine: The Limiting Amino Acid in Vegan Diets

Alright, so there is one thing in particular we vegans need to consider more than others.

Lysine (very different than Lysol… do not consume that).

Lysine is an essential amino acid that plays an important role in producing carnitine—a nutrient that helps convert fatty acids into energy and helps lower cholesterol, and it also helps produce collagen—a fibrous protein found in bone, cartilage, and skin. Lysine is considered a limiting amino acid because plant foods generally only contain a small amount of it.

The Recommended Daily Allowance of lysine is 38 mg per kg (1 kg = 2.2 lbs) of body weight. So, if you weigh 132 lbs (60 kg), you would need 2,280 mg of lysine. (Update: Calculation corrected)

Some vegan nutritionists argue that meeting your daily lysine need is more important than meeting your overall daily protein need.

By focusing only on the amount of protein in food, you might hit a huge number of one thing, but totally miss the mark on something else. If you aim instead for your daily lysine requirements, you’ll almost certainly meet your overall protein requirements as a result.

Foods richest in lysine are tempeh, seitan, lentils, and tofu. Amaranth, quinoa, pistachios, and pumpkin seeds are also good sources. Here’s a chart that breaks down the amounts of these high lysine foods:

Food	Serving	Lysine (mg)
Tempeh	1/2 cup	754
Seitan	3 oz	656
Lentils	1/2 cup	624
Tofu	1/2 cup	582
Amaranth	1 cup	515
Quinoa	1 cup	442
Pistachios	1/4 cup	367
Pumpkin seeds	1/4 cup	360

Okay, So How Much Protein Do I Actually Need?

Protein and amino acid needs are the same for women as for men, and the amount is based on body weight in kg. For the general adult population (ages 19-59 years), the Recommended Daily Allowance for protein is 0.8 g/kg/day. That means if you weigh 60 kg (132 lbs), you would need 48 g of protein per day.

Put into practice? One cup of cooked oatmeal contains about 6 g of protein, add a tablespoon of peanut butter (4 g of protein) and ½ cup of soy milk (4 g protein) and you are up to 14 grams of protein at breakfast, which would be almost 30% of your daily requirement.

For athletes, however, it is a little different:

In a 2009 joint position paper on nutrition and athletic performance, the American College of Sport Medicine, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, and the Dietitians of Canada recommended a higher protein intake for athletes. They said that:

Endurance athletes require a protein intake of 1.2-1.4 g/kg/day.
Strength athletes require a protein intake of 1.2-1.7 g/kg/day.
Vegetarian athletes should increase their protein intake by 10% because plant proteins are less well-digested than animal proteins. Intake should be 1.3-1.8 g/kg/day.

In other words, if you’re a vegan endurance athlete who weighs 60 kg (132 lbs), you need roughly 78-108 g of protein per day. Or about 40% more than non-vegan, non-athletes.

That might sound hard to do on a vegan diet, but let’s look at a few examples to see just how easy it is.

At first glance, that may seem difficult to do on a vegan diet, but don’t despair! It’s not as hard as you might think.

A Day in the Life

So far, this has been a lot of science and numbers. And while we all love science, sometimes it’s easier to just see examples. So, let’s put this all into perspective and look at sample menus for two vegan athletes:

Troy

Troy is 5’10” and weighs 155 lbs (70.3 kg). He’s training to run the Boston Marathon.

His protein requirement is: 70.3 kg x 1.3 g PRO = 91 g/day

His lysine requirement is: 70.3 kg x 38 mg = 2,671 mg/day

Here is a sample menu showing how easy it is for Troy to meet his protein (including lysine) needs.

Meal	Food	Protein	Lysine
Breakfast	2 slices whole grain bread	7.3 g	93 mg
	2 Tbsp peanut butter	8.0 g	290 mg
	8 oz soy milk	9.2 g	439 mg
	Banana	1.3 g	59 mg
Snack	1/2 cup hummus	4.0 g	291 mg
	2 lavash crackers	4.0 g	144 mg
	1 cup veggie sticks	1.3 g	102 mg
Lunch	1 cup vegetarian baked beans	12.0 g	488 mg
	Medium baked potato	4.3 g	263 mg
	1 cup broccoli	3.6 g	234 mg
Snack	Orange	1.2 g	62 mg
	1/3 cup pistachios	8.2 g	489 mg
Dinner	5 oz firm tofu	12.0 g	651 mg
	1 cup quinoa	8.1 g	442 mg
	1/2 cup peas	3.9 g	463 mg
	1/2 cup corn	2.3 g	272 mg
Snack	1/4 cup dry roasted chickpeas	3.6 g	243 mg
	1 cup strawberries	1.0 g	37 mg
	TOTAL	95.3 g	5,062 mg

Boom. Troy nailed it.

Sarah

Sarah is 5’2” and weighs 125 lbs (56.8 kg). She’s a power lifter.

Her protein requirement is: 56.8 kg x 1.6 g PRO = 91 g/day

Her lysine requirement is: 56.8 kg x 38 mg = 2,158 mg/day

Here is a sample menu showing how easy it is for Sarah to meet her protein (including lysine) needs.

Meal	Food	Protein	Lysine
Breakfast	3/4 cup steel cut oats	7.5 g	501 mg
	1 Tbsp chia seeds	2.0 g	150 mg
	1 Tbsp cocoa nibs	1.0 g	70 mg
	Kiwi fruit	1.1 g	200 mg
Snack	6 oz soy yogurt	6.0 g	439 mg
	3 Tbsp pumpkin seeds	6.6 g	270 mg
Lunch	Medium whole grain bagel	10.0 g	186 mg
	2 Tbsp peanut butter	8.0 g	290 mg
	8 oz soy milk	9.2 g	439 mg
Snack	1/3 cup roasted soybeans	22.6 g	427 mg
	Orange	1.2 g	62 mg
Dinner	1 cup cooked amaranth	9.3 g	515 mg
	1/2 cup black beans	7.6 g	523 mg
	1/2 cup lentils	8.9 g	624 mg
	1/2 cup cooked spinach	3.0 g	115 mg
	TOTAL	104 g	4,811 mg

As you can see, Sarah had no trouble hitting her lysine goals for the day.

Looking deeper at these two examples, you’ll notice they both include a well-rounded mix of:

Fruits,
Veggies,
Legumes, and
Nuts.

And they don’t include any:

Protein powders,
Fake meats, or
Crazy mega protein meals.

See, it’s really not hard to hit your dietary requirements as a plant-based athlete, even without resorting to processed foods and protein powders as so many athletes assume you need to.

Let’s Put the Protein Myth to Rest

The idea that plant sources are insufficient to meet protein requirements is an outdated myth. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics supports the notion that an appropriately planned vegan or vegetarian diet can meet the energy and macronutrient needs (including protein) of athletes.

But the key words here are appropriately planned. Meeting your protein needs as a vegan athlete isn’t rocket science, but it may take a little effort or at least forethought.

Eat a variety of foods throughout the day.
Include high-lysine foods when possible.
Know roughly how many grams you need and plan accordingly.

While the protein question may never go away completely, at least you know you can be healthy and reach your goals.

And now you know the science to prove it.

About the Author: Stephanie MacNeill, is an aspiring registered dietitian, currently completing her MHSc in Nutrition Communication at Ryerson University in Toronto, and is interning with Pamela Fergusson, RD, PhD. Stephanie is a competitive runner, having competed in many local, provincial, and national championships races ranging in distance from the 3000m all the way up to the half marathon.

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Are Vegan Documentaries Good for the Movement?

Written by Doug Hay

Over the past few years, our Netflix feeds have seen several high-profile documentaries designed to push the vegan movement. They promote the health, environmental, and animal rights benefits in a way books and articles simply can’t.

But many of these documentaries have also sparked blow-back both online and off. So it begs the question:

Are vegan documentaries good for the movement?

The answer is a bit more complicated than we thought…

Here’s what we talk about in this episode:

The What the Health controversy.
Is video the most powerful medium?
NFL players going vegan.
Vegan documentaries made just for vegans.
What Forks Over Knives did right.

Click the button below to listen now:

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17 Things We Wish We Knew Before Running Our First Ultramarathons

Written by Doug Hay

Thinking about running your first ultramarathon? You won’t regret it, we promise. But…

There are a few things you should probably know first. Actually, there are 17 things.

In this week’s episode, Matt and I think back on what it was like training for our first ultramarathons—the hangups and frustrations, and the advice that could have saved us many headaches.

And we’re sharing this with the hope that you don’t make some of the same mistakes we did.

Here’s what we talk about in this episode:

Switching from roads to trails.
The long training run.
Does running an ultra make you a worse runner?
Focusing on the downhills (and learning how to walk).
The beautiful curse of finishing your first ultramarathon.

Click the button below to listen now:

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The Complete Guide to the First 200 Episodes of No Meat Athlete Radio

Written by Doug Hay

If I had to guess the average lifespan of a podcast (no luck finding it on Google, I tried), I’d say it’s almost certainly less than ten episodes. Matt would probably say less than two.

So it brings me enormous joy to announce that No Meat Athlete Radio just hit its 200th episode. Two hundred. There are now more episodes of NMA Radio than there are episodes of Seinfeld. And there are a lot of episodes of Seinfeld…

What started as an experiment back in October 2011 has grown and developed, and over the years became one of the primary forms of content on No Meat Athlete. It’s a means for us to share our ideas and the knowledge of others, connect directly with you the listener, and have a dang good time doing it.

As a thank you for sticking and growing with us (through good mics and bad), Matt and I sat down to discuss possible ways to celebrate.

We came up with:

An epic block party, complete with bouncy-house, balloon animals, and face-paint,
Commemorative tattoos, and
A guide to help new listeners navigate the library of episodes.

It was a tough decision, but after concluding no one would show up to our party and tattoos of the running carrot wearing “200” NYE-style glasses were too predictable, we landed on the guide.

So here you have it: The complete guide to the first 200 episodes of No Meat Athlete Radio.

No Meat Athlete Radio, The Highlight Reel

If you’re new to No Meat Athlete or NMA Radio—and the stats tell us that many people are—200 episodes sounds like a daunting number. With years of in-depth interviews, intriguing topic discussions, and laugh-out-loud jokes (mostly at the expense of Matt. Sorry buddy…), where do you start?

The first episode, of course!

Just kidding, you can skip that one.

But according to that episode, this podcast was started as a way to share interviews and highlight voices from members of the plant-based community. While it’s much more than that now, I’d say that theme is still the best place to start.

Our Favorite Interviews

We can read books and talk about someone’s philosophies all we want, but there’s no way better way to learn from someone else than to hear from them directly. That’s why we focus so much on interviewing guests. Here are a few of our most memorable:

1. The Embrace Imperfection Interview with Robert Cheeke

Over the years Robert has become the most interviewed guest on No Meat Athlete Radio, but there’s one conversation in particular that stands out—an honest 2016 conversation where Robert shared his imperfections and how they’ve shaped who he is and what motivates him to improve.

Listen to the Episode

Episode 163: Robert Cheeke on Staying Motivated, Changing Course, and Embracing Imperfection

Bonus: More from Robert here, here, and here.

2. The Most Fun Interview We’ve Had with Sid Garza-Hillman

Sid Garza-Hillman is an ultrarunner, nutritionist, podcaster, YouTuber, author, and small-step advocate, and it was a 2015 interview covering almost every one of those topics that stands out as one of the most interesting (and entertaining) interviews we ever had.

Listen to the Episodes

Episode 107: Sid Garza-Hillman on Meal Planning, Ultrarunning, and Why We Shouldn’t Take Showers

Bonus: More from Sid here and here.

3. The Vegan Lifestyle Interview with Rich Roll

If you’re a vegan athlete, it’s a safe bet you follow Rich Roll. Rich is the bestselling author of Finding Ultra and The PlantPower Way, one of Men’s Fitness’ 25 Fittest Men, and one of the biggest names in our community. He also happens to be one of the first guests we ever had on No Meat Athlete Radio back in 2013.

But today it’s the second interview with Rich that I’d like to share: A two-part conversation on living a vegan lifestyle, raising vegan children, and being your best self.

Listen to the Episodes

Episode 69: Rich Roll On The Plantpower Way – Part 1

Episode 70: Rich Roll On The Plantpower Way – Part 2

4. The Starch Interview with Dr. McDougall

Starch. Not kale or fruits… the humble starch. That’s what Dr. John McDougall, a giant in the plant-based nutrition community, says is key to a healthy diet.

In this interview—a controversial one and the most downloaded NMA Radio interview ever, I might add—Dr. McDougall shares his views on nutrition and what makes for a truly healthy diet.

Listen to the Episode

Episode 165: Dr. McDougall and the Healthiest Diet on the Planet

5. The Family Member Interview Collection

When you record two hundred episodes, it’s only a matter of time before you drag your family in front of the microphone. Matt and I have interviewed his wife Erin, father Tim, and two children, Holden and Ellarie. And they happen to be some of my favorite interviews we’ve published.

Listen to the Episodes

Episode 44: Hanging Out with Matt’s Wife, Erin Frazier

Episode 166: Matt’s Dad on Going Plant-Based at age 63 Has Drastically Improved His Health

Episode 196: Raising Vegan Children (Featuring Matt’s Kids)

The Best Running Episodes

As you might expect from No Meat Athlete, running and training have been a main theme of the podcast since week one. While looking through the archive or running related episodes, these stood out as the best place to get started.

1. The Summer Running Camp Series

The summer of 2016 brought us the Rio Olympics, Pokemon Go, and (my personal favorite) the NMA Radio Summer Running Camp… complete with camp songs and all.

We used the five-part camp series to go in-depth on the fundamentals of running as a crash course for new runners and review for those with more experience.

Listen to the Episodes

Episode 150: Summer Running Camp, Part 1: Building Consistency

Episode 153: Summer Running Camp, Part 2: Running Form

Episode 157: Summer Running Camp, Part 3: How to Prevent Running Injuries

Episode 158: Summer Running Camp, Part 4: Advanced Marathon Training and Racing with Coach Jason Fitzgerald

Episode 161: Summer Running Camp, Part 5: Race Day Walkthrough

2. The Great Running Motivation Episode

With the fundamentals down, maintaining your motivation comes next. Every runner has his or her own unique reasons for lacing up, but it’s the techniques covered in this episode that have worked best for us over the years.

Listen to the Episode

Episode 106: The Best Resources for Running Motivation and Training

3. The Make Running Easy Again Episode

Running is hard. It’s fun, motivating, and important… but also hard. In one of our most popular episodes to date, Matt and I share some of our simple tricks for making both the routine and the act of running just a little bit easier.

Listen to the Episode

Episode 78: Our Favorite Running Hacks

4. The ‘It’s Okay if You Don’t Want to Run’ Episode

Speaking of running being hard…

Sometimes you just don’t want to do it. And you know what? We think that’s just fine. So fine, in fact, that we recorded an entire episode on why you shouldn’t let a running slump get you down.

Listen to the Episode

Episode 102: The Guilt-Free Running Slump

5. The ‘Here’s How to Start’ Episode

Brand new to running and don’t know how to get in those first workouts? This episode was designed for you, and covers everything you need to know from your first weeks of training to the gear you need (and don’t need).

Listen to the Episode

Episode 195: How to Go From Zero to 5K

The Best Nutrition Episodes

Nutrition is the underlying theme in everything we do at No Meat Athlete, including the podcast.

1. The Everything You Should Know About Vegan Supplements Episode

Supplements have to be one of the most talked about topics for vegan athletes, but what we assume to be important isn’t always the case.

In a recent episode we explore which (if any) supplements you really need on a healthy plant-based diet.

Listen to the Episode

Episode 179: What Supplements Do You Need?

2. The Great Protein (Myth) Episode with Dr. Garth Davis

Protein. Every non-vegan’s favorite word. But what’s the deal?

Dr. Garth Davis, author of Proteinaholic: How Our Obsession with Meat Is Killing Us and What We Can Do About It is the person to ask. So we did.

Listen to the Episode

Episode 116: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Protein, with Garth Davis, M.D.

3. The Paleo vs. Vegan Episode

Some called it must-listen podcasting. Some called it the battle of the century.

We called it the great Paleo vs Vegan Debate, and it surprised many listeners.

Listen to the Episode

Episode 55: The Paleo vs Vegan Debate

4. The Let’s Get Practical Episode with Dr. Pamela Fergusson

One of the biggest critiques about the plant-based diet is that it isn’t practical.

“How do you possibly have time to cook food like that?”

So we asked Dr. Pamela Fergusson, a mother of four, world traveler, and vegan nutritionist what she thinks, and her approach is remarkably simple (and yes, practical).

Listen to the Episode

Episode 162: Dr. Pamela Fergusson on Practical Vegan Nutrition, Speedwalking Ultramarathons, and Living Intentionally

5. The Staple Foods Episode

It’s easy to get excited about a unique ingredient or recipe, but it’s the staple foods we keep in our pantries that keep us going day after day. Here’s a look inside.

Listen to the Episode

Episode 98: Staple Foods in the Vegan Athlete’s Pantry

The Best Habit and Mindset Episodes

Habit change and mindset are core ingredients to making your nutrition and fitness goals work. We don’t shy away from the topics on NMA Radio.

1. The Nerdiest Episode (Not Really, but kind of) with Steve Kamb

Steve Kamb of the website Nerd Fitness has been inspiring self-proclaimed nerds from around the world to lose weight, get fit, and “level up” for years. What can you learn from action heroes and gaming references?

Listen to the Episode

Episode 123: Nerd Fitness’ Steve Kamb on How to Level Up Your Life

2. The Best Books Ever Episode

A lighthearted episode on the most impactful books we’ve ever read.

Listen to the Episode

Episode 184: 27 Books that will Change Your Life

3. The Obligatory Zen Habits Episode with Leo Babauta

If you’ve listened to any of the early episodes, you probably heard the running joke that we couldn’t make it through a conversation without mentioning Leo Babauta or Zen Habits. His habit and simplicity work has had that much of an impact on Matt and No Meat Athlete.

Well, it took a little while, but we finally had him on the show.

Listen to the Episode

Episode 43: Leo Babauta on Habits, Simplicity, Running & Diet

4. The Pick Yourself Episode with Alex and Jeanette Ruiz

Alex and Jeanette Ruiz wanted a thriving vegan community in their home town of Miami. Instead of just talking about it, they took action, leading the No Meat Athlete Miami Running Group and starting their own podcast to highlight vegan activities in the city.

They’re a perfect example of what you can achieve by picking yourself.

Listen to the Episode

Episode 80: How to Pick Yourself and Start Making Change in the World

5. The Start Something Big Episode

But how do you get started after “picking yourself?” Matt and I share our experience starting blogs and podcasts that went on to create engaged communities.

Listen to the Episode

Episode 111: How to Start Your Movement

Ready to Join in on the Fun?

Two hundred episodes in and we’re just getting started. Help us keep the momentum going.

Subscribe in iTunes here or Stitcher here, and look for new episodes dropping Thursday mornings.

Thanks for coming along for the ride.

Bonus: 5 More Episodes Not to Miss

Want even more? Here are five additional episodes we can’t help but share.

1. The Vegan Pro Soccer Player Episode

Episode 121: Vegan Pro Soccer Player Baggio Husidic

2. The Comedian Ultrarunner Episode

Episode 59: Vegan Running Meets Funny — Comedian Jeffrey Binney and His Quest to Beat Obesity and Run the Leadville 100

3. The Vegans are Weird Episode

Episode 52: 21 Weird Things We Do Now That We’re Vegan

4. The Ideal Way to Eat Episode

Episode 20: Weight Loss and Ideal Eating Habits with Ray Cronise

5. The Blue Zones Episode

Episode 64: Live to be 100 – Lessons from the Blue Zones

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Our Favorite Running Hacks (Rewind)

Written by Doug Hay

Ever wish running was just a little bit easier? We do too.

So this week we’re revisiting one of the most popular episodes ever on NMA Radio to discuss running hacks… or the little tricks we use to remove a few of the biggest obstacles from our running routines.

You still have to put in the work, but these will help make your training stronger (and hopefully a little easier, too).

Here’s what we talk about in this episode:

The difference between a hack and a cheat
Running shoes — how to buy all you need without going broke
Simple nutrition tricks to get the job done, without extra stress
How to turn “not enough time” into your best workout of the week
And a dozen more genius (if we don’t say so ourselves) running hacks

Click the button below to listen now:

What to Do When It Just Isn’t For You

Written by Doug Hay

When it hits you, it hits you.

That moment when everything you’ve worked toward…

or dreamed about…

or projected onto yourself…

comes crashing down.

And you realize, this just isn’t for you.

Take my first 100 mile ultramarathon, when sometime around mile 80—at 5:00 in the morning—my race turned sour.

I was bitter cold, wet, shivering, and stumbling my way down the trail at a speed of about 2 miles per hour. I was at my wit’s end, and that’s when it hit me:

“This just isn’t for me.”

The same thing happened three or four weeks into going vegetarian when, while I was out with some friends, they wanted to stop by a Bar-B-Que joint.

“Oh come on,” one friend said. “You know you’re just doing this to impress a girl.” He was maybe a little right (it worked, BTW), but being vegetarian was something I really wanted.

As I stood in line looking at the menu, mouth salivating for a sandwich, I couldn’t help but think that going vegetarian wasn’t for me.

I really wanted to run 100 miles. I really wanted to become a vegetarian. But there I was, in both situations, ready to call it quits.