Perhaps more than anyone else, Brendan Brazier is leading the growing trend of athletes moving to plant-based diets — from recreational runners and endurance athletes, like many of us, to NFL and NHL players whose very careers depend on their ability to perform at the highest level.

Brendan’s ideas on optimal nutrition for performance, which he developed during his career as a professional Ironman triathlete, first reached the mainstream audience with his breakthrough nutrition manual, Thrive. But he’s been in the spotlight a lot recently, thanks to three new contributions to the plant-based nutrition world in the the last four months.

In September Brendan’s cookbook, Thrive Foods, was published. After that, he unveiled the new line of Vega Sport products, a 7-part natural sports nutrition system to help athletes better “Prepare, Sustain, and Recover.” And just recently, Brendan announced Thrive Foods Direct, a service that allows people to have ready-made, healthy plant-based meals delivered right to their home or hotel room.

In this latest installment of NMA Radio, we talk to Brendan about his new ventures, as well as some simple steps you can take at home to increase the effectiveness of the food you choose to fuel your workouts.

In this episode we talk to Brendan about:

• The new Vega Sport line of natural sports nutrition products (1:30)
• The most essential nutrition products for those who can’t use the entire system (7:15)
• How your intake needs change as your body becomes more efficient (8:50)
• Two big mistakes people make when it comes to fueling their workouts (11:00)
• A simple pre-workout meal you can make at home (12:40)
• Brendan’s suggestions for simple post-workout meals (13:20)
• Thrive Foods Direct, Brendan’s new plant-based meal delivery service (15:00)
• Why there’s no oil in Thrive Foods Direct meals (23:30)
• The carbohydrate:protein:fat ratios Brendan prefers for different types of training (25:50)
• How workout fueling differs for strength training versus endurance training (30:50)
• The NFL players and other pro athletes eating plant-based diets (32:05)

We’ve also got a giveaway today, one copy each of two of Brendan’s books — Thrive: The Vegan Nutrition Guide to Optimal Performance in Sports and Life and Thrive Fitness. To enter, leave a comment here, or to get an bonus entry, leave us a rating and review on iTunes and tell us that you did in the comments. We’ll announce the winner in the comment section on Friday, January 20.

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Links from the show:

• The Vega Sport system
• Thrive Foods Direct (use code BB1 for 20% off the price of your order)
• BrendanBrazier.com
• Sculptured by Weights and a Strict Vegan Diet (New York Times article on vegan bodybuilders)
• Brendan’s first No Meat Athlete interview
• Brendan’s second No Meat Athlete interview