PlantStrong: Being Married to Lance Armstrong

OK, so I'm not married to the real Lance Armstrong, but Brian has often been mistaken for Lance.  (I bought him a Livestrong yellow bracelet, but just can't convince him to wear those bike shorts around town...)  I practically had to pry the cell phone out of a bartender's hand in Bentonville, AR before he called his friends to tell them he had Lance Armstrong in his bar.  

Well, now Lance is following in Brian's footsteps with a plant-based diet.  Scratch that, now Lance is following in your footsteps...

                                                                                            

Training for his first triathlon this year, Lance Armstrong has partially implemented the Engine 2 Diet - organic, vegan diet for breakfast and lunch.  Like you, he is not 100% vegan.  And like you, he boasts an increase in physical energy and mental focus.  See how  much you have in common with a professional athlete?  Click here to read the entire article - see what a non-believer he was and how he changed his tune.

In 2003, I walked across the stage in the TCU gym to receive my graduate degree in Sports Psychology - hoping to continue working with college and professional athletes.  As such a larger percentage of the population, it's more fulfilling to me to work with Life Athletes - like you Corporate Athletes who work 50+ hour weeks with no 'off-season' or you Mom Athletes who are 'competing' 24/7 with no break, time-out, or second-string.  

Take it from a seven-time Tour-de-France winner and professional athlete.  Give your body a break now and then.  A whole foods, plant-based diet is like giving your body a vacation.  Start your off-season today!

Manly Plants

Is Your Food Manly?

  

It seems silly to classify your food in some sort of gender-specific terms (though if it once walked, moo'd, or had a mom and dad, it actually did have a gender).  But why do we think of some foods as "manly" and others as "lady food?"  You know, that image of a large man holding a drumstick tearing into it with his teeth...or that Stepford wife daintily holding her cucumber sandwich while sipping tea.  

So, the college football season is upon us starting this Thursday. Growing up, college football (specifically the Fighting Irish football team) was like a religion.  Though I grew to become equally passionate about the game along with my 3 older brothers and ND grad Dad, my favorite part about Saturdays was the food!  

Gameday food (usually an all-day affair) included BBQ, Nana's baked beans, Mom's potatoes, and endless bowls of chips and dip.  There's just something about this menu that brings back memories of family feasts and yelling at the TV. If I'm confessing my sins (as the Irish Catholic would). I don't want to give up my gameday fare.  

Hats off to our chefs who created a great "Gameday Menu." Now we don't have to choose!  Take these meals tailgating - whether outside the stadium or in the comfort of your own HDTV'd home.  And as to whether or not an organic whole foods, plant-based diet is manly or not, I'll let Tony answer that (see below).

  

In 2007, former Chiefs tight-end, Tony Gonzalez switched to a plant-based diet after finding out about The China Study.  Though not 100% vegan, he considers his change in diet a major contributor to feeling better, recovering faster, gaining endurance and having more energy and focus.  Why not try it...What could you lose?

Tour de Veg

American Cyclist David Zabriskie Competing in the Tour de France on a Vegan Diet  

 

"I think a lot of people see food in terms of whether it's going to make them fat or make them skinny," he says. "I'm seeing food in terms of how it's going to make me think and will it give me clarity."  (Full story)