Thrive: The Vegan Nutrition Guide to Optimal Performance in Sports and Life

thereby reducing biological age and body fat. Properly fueled modest amounts of exercise followed by high-quality nutrition will dramatically increase the effectiveness of the exercise itself, without the need to increase its duration or intensity.
     
    All the recipes in this book are excellent for active people; however, the ones in this chapter in particular are designed specifically for those of you who want to fuel your body to get the most out of your training program. Formulated to be consumed immediately before, during, or after exercise, these recipes have helped me get significantly more out of my training program and have improved my fitness level.
     
    The value of natural, high-quality nourishment is appreciated by the nutritionally savvy athlete: Once the base of general health is obtained, gains in performance can be achieved by tailoring nutritional needs to the specific activity. The timing of nutrition, combined with specifically formulated recipes for athletic performance, is crucial.
     

speeding recovery
     
    The most important factor for building athletic performance once general health is achieved is recovery. Recovering quickly from exercise is the number one goal of many top-level athletes, for good reason: The closer the workouts to each other, the quicker the athlete will improve. Over the course of a month or so, the effects of quick recovery will be unmistakable in terms of performance gains. Elite athletes aren’t the only ones to benefit from quick cellular repair. Speedy muscle recovery is also of great importance for recreational exercisers and even for people who are generally sedentary. If you are able to recover quickly after even light exercising, your body will not have to dedicate as much energy to recovery as it might otherwise need to. This allows other systems, such as the immune and hormonal systems, to remain in better health. Simply put, quick recovery helps conserve the body’s resources and therefore energy. As well, the quicker recovery takes place, the less stress is loaded onto the body. It is clear, then, that recovery food, the food eaten immediately after exercise, is key.
     
    Over the years, I have experimented with post-workout homemade concoctions, a whole-food blender drink being my favorite. These smoothies, when next-level ingredients are added (I discuss next-level ingredients on page 217), combine protein, essential fatty acids, enzymes, probiotics, antioxidants, and an array of vitamins and minerals, and contain all the nutrients you’ll need for a quick recovery.
     
    Commercial sport nutrition products are not always a healthy option: They are often packed with artificial flavors, refined carbohydrates, denatured proteins, and sometimes even harmful fats. I certainly did not want to consume anything that did not put overall health first. True, some commercial options are not bad; but since I like to know exactly what I’m putting into my body, and keep it completely natural, I opted to make my own. Whole-food energy bars, sport drinks, energy gels, energy pudding, post-workout recovery drinks, whole-food nutrient-dense smoothies, and even performance pancakes are all part of my sport nutrition program.
     

nutrition before exercise
     
    I’m often asked what the best foods to eat before exercise are. While the pre-exercise snack is not unimportant, its value should be minimal. What I mean by that is, try to ensure that the previous workout was properly recovered from and that the body is so well fueled on an ongoing basis that what is consumed immediately before the workout is not a major factor, fuel-wise.
     
    If you have food cravings—the need to eat something—within a couple of hours before the start of exercise, it’s a sign that the body is fatigued because its requirements have not been met in the days prior, and it’s now asking for nourishment. That being said, it is useful to consume a small pre-exercise snack and to top up energy levels, especially before longer bouts of exercise, such as a long bike ride or a hike.
     
    Being adequately hydrated and fueled before and during exercise will decrease the amount of stress placed on the body, allowing the body to work harder and perform better, and require less recovery time. The body’s first choice for fuel during intense exercise is simple carbohydrate. Once the body has burned all the simple carbohydrate available to it, it will opt for complex carbohydrates. It’s best to