No Meat Athlete, Revised and Expanded: A Plant-Based Nutrition and Training Guide for Every Fitness Level―Beginner to Beyond [Includes More Than 60 Recipes!]

by Matt Frazier, Matt Ruscigno, Brendan Brazier (Foreword)

No Meat Athlete  is the plant-based guide you need to perform at your very best, no matter where you are on your fitness journey. Combining proven training plans , easy yet innovative recipes , and motivational stories into a unique fitness guide, healthy-living cookbook, and nutrition primer, No Meat Athlete is perfect for all athletes, from beginner to elite, who want to enjoy the health benefits of a meatless lifestyle. Veganism, already a top food trend and diet, is taking off in the sports world. The lifestyle has been adopted by Olympians, body builders, and boxers, as well as top athletes in the NBA and NFL. Hollywood is on board, too. James Cameron (director of Avatar and Titanic ) has produced a film on the topic called The Gamechangers , which follows vegan athletes, including Arnold Schwarzenegger, US Olympian Kendrick James Farris, and surfer Tia Blanco. In No Meat Athlete , author, blogger, and hundred-mile ultramarathoner Matt Frazier will show you the many benefits to embracing a plant-based athletic lifestyle ,
In this revised and updated edition, you’ll also find new recipes , advice , and an all-new 12-week strength training plan designed to improve your overall fitness . Section I of the book provides practical advice for transitioning to a plant-based lifestyle, while ensuring you are getting all the nutrition you need. In Section II, Matt delivers training manuals of his own design for runners of all ability levels and ambitions, including tips for creating healthy habits, improving performance, and avoiding injuries. No Meat Athlete  is your road map to top-notch performance, the plant-based way!

Genres: Health, Cooking, Vegan, Food, Nonfiction, Sports, Self Help

272 pages, Paperback

Published October 2, 2018

About the author

Matt Frazier is a vegan ultramarathoner and founder of the No Meat Athlete movement.

Frazier shares training tips and vegetarian recipes on his site, No Meat Athlete. When he's not running, cooking, or blogging, Frazier's a full-time graduate student working on his Ph.D. in applied math. He also enjoys reading, gambling, music, and brewing beer. Frazier lives in Maryland with his wife and son.

Reviews

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

The difficulty with a book that aims to cater to all levels is that the information can feel like it ranges from seen-it-all-before to extremely useful depending on the current level of the reader. For me, the most interesting and helpful sections were on habit building, with regards to both food and exercise, as well as specific training tips for building running strength and speed. And yet, there's nothing groundbreaking here, nothing with enough depth to make it a go-to read. You could probably get most of the guidance from the internet, especially with regards to the recipes which are pretty basic. There's so much information on this growing trend for plant-based, that even this revised and expanded edition feels somewhat dated. I see incredible looking and tasting meals posted daily by people like Wicked Healthy and Bosh! If you're interested in reducing meat in your diet, I recommend starting with the places that show you just how appealing meals without meat can be.

Perhaps if you're a complete running beginner or want to progress from Couchto5K, this may be a good place to start. It gives you just enough not to overwhelm, putting it together in an easy to follow format, and the running plans are for everyone, not just those wanting to switch to a plant based diet. For anyone else, I'm not sure this is the one- it would be much more practical to choose a goal, food or exercise, and get a book with a specific focus on that area.

ARC via Netgalley

[Tinea · Rating 4 out of 5]

My friend introduced me to Matt Frazier several years ago when I first started running. I'm a big fan of his blog (start where it says "start here"). What Frazier nails is translating the Michael Pollen-esque "eat food, mostly plants" whole foods philosophy + fairly complex vegan athlete nutrition into formulas that take the work out of meeting diverse and adequate micro and macronutrients needs through whole foods. His smoothie (which I make as an unblended yogurt dish), salad, and "a grain, a green, a bean," formulas , among others, give you a set of mix and match categories of food that meet different nutritional goals from which you can select and change up ingredients over time.

Frazier's advice is to pack in all the daily must-have micronutrients into a habit of a breakfast smoothie and lunchtime salad, using the formulas to make sure you're getting everything you need, so you don't have to waste the rest the day searching for the right food or counting nutrients. Minimal brain effort, maximal nutrition. This is a super useful tool for me! The idea is adaptable as you learn more about nutrition, so it's been a great way for me to incorporate new nutrition guidance into my regular meals.

My at-home meals become no-brainer healthfests, while the formula idea provides easy to follow guidance when I'm traveling to search out local foods that fit the categories so I can maintain nutrition when I'm stuck living in hotels without kitchens or in bunkered guest houses under security restrictions where I can't go shopping. I got really bad malnutrition a few years ago-- like literally B12 and iron anemia vertigo and associated illnesses, plus hair falling out and mouth sores (!) from inadequate protein intake while maintaining an intense exercise regimen during a particularly stressful and restricted bunker-life scenario where I couldn't access good veg whole foods. I got better thanks in large part to this herbalist/nutritionist who was the first medical professional to ask about my diet when confronted with my seemingly bizarre symptoms (check out their free clinic!). Frazier's book offered a useful way to put that nutrition advice into action.

I have two main quibbles with the book:
1) The strength training chapter is isolated from the rest of the book, offering a 1+ hour per day program that doesn't fit into the rest of the running-focused training advice. This was a missed opportunity to blend the two, or give solid 'vegan strength training for runners' advice that I could actually integrate alongside my running. I'm still scratching my head on this one.
2) Frazier claims to hate numbers, and his nutrition chapters (including one written by a nutritionist) avoid asking you to do calculations for the most part, but the second half of the book on running training relies on macronutrient numbers in grams instead of using the same style and terminology of whole foods used in the earlier section. It makes it really hard to apply the nutrition and cooking chapters to the actual practice of eating well to run well, since you need to calculate numbers for your training and then try to figure out how these fit into the whole foods nutrition guidance. It just becomes a lot of work, offsetting the ease of the "formula" approach.

For what it's worth, I've been a vegetarian for almost 20 years, vegan for under 10 of those (the early ones). I'm a pretty new runner (a little over 3 years) who has maintained varying levels of fitness throughout my life, sometimes pretty intense. I currently run 3-4 days per week, usually about 4 miles per run, with long runs a couple times a month between 6 to 12 miles.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I voluntarily read and reviewed an copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Thanks to the author for providing a copy of this book via Netgalley
I wish i'd read this book 4 years ago when i started my running routines. I didnot know about anything, rather than i have to stand from my sofa, put my trainers and go for a good run, breath and run... LOL.
Anyway, every power we’ve got, we have it in our brains, our thoughts, our spirit.
This book contains good advices for amateur and not so amateur any more runners. This is a good guide for someone who want to try some days without any animal meals or just to start thinking more about what we eat and how we eat, how we train, what goals you want to achieve in your life.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the questions this book seeks to answer is, why did food/nutrition become so complicated? The answer is likewise complicated, since there are a lot of different dietary styles one can follow. The most important answer I am taking from this book is that whole food is important for the human body and that the human body can thrive on a completely plant based died.

After giving solid reasons for why one should choose to live a vegan life, the author explains how to get started changing one's nutritional habits and how to stick to new habits.

The recipes are easy to follow and have been chosen with the meat-free athlete and their families in mind.

[Jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a jack of all trades and master of none. It jumps from one thing to another with little in depth information. Here's some nutritional information, here's a few recipes, here's some running form advice, here's a strength training plan, here's a 5k training plan! If you're a beginner to both being an athlete as well as being a vegan, then this book is probably for you as you'll want a nice broad book to start you out. If you already have experience in one of these, large chucks of this books will be way too basic for you. If you're an athlete looking to become vegan, I suggest just getting a book that focuses on the food aspect. If you're a vegan who wants to become a runner, just get a book that focuses on running. If you are a couch potato with no nutritional knowledge who suddenly has the urge to become a vegan runner, get this book.

[Ren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Does Matt claim a whole foods vegan diet is the healthiest diet for everyone? No. But he does advocate a whole foods diet and share his own reasons for choosing a whole foods vegan diet for himself to support not only his ethics but his physical ability to run long distances.

The authors have provided a good plan for transitioning to a whole foods, plant based diet along with information on nutrition and healthy vegan recipes. Though some people are able to make sweeping changes overnight, for most, a more gradual change is more realistic for long term changes that last. This same technique is applied to the fitness portion of the book - start small, plan ahead, enjoy it. I love that Matt specifically says not to set a weight loss/gain goal, but to focus on fitness goals.

Some of the information is specific to running (plans for various distances, running form, etc), much the information can be applied to your exercise of choice. There's even a 12-week strength plan. This book would be helpful to anyone embarking on a vegan diet and wanting to begin or continue a fitness regime. This isn't the most in-depth book, but it's a great place to start!

Thank you to Matt Frazier, Matt Ruscigno, Quarto Publishing Group – Fair Winds Press and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this informative book. All comments are my own, unbiased opinion.

[Ann T · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Matt Frazier, Matt Ruscigno and Netgalley for an ARC of this book.

I give this book 4.5 stars

I didn’t have any high expectations for myself personally when I requested this book from Netgalley. I am not a natural runner, still closer to the couch to 5km category rather than the marathon status. This did not matter with the author. He writes in an incredibly easy, informative yet motivating way which made me want to get a playlist started and head to the treadmill again. He also made me realise that it is not too late to start running and he has given the tools to start doing so in a really clear way.

I also enjoyed the first section of the book which explains plant based diets, habit formation and some recipes.
What I loved most about this book is that the authors aren’t pushing agendas. They give the facts in a fun, easy to read way and encourage the reader to make small relatable steps to get where they would like to be. There is no pressure to become a strict vegan / paleo / whatever, more the emphasis is on a health fulled life with eating being a joy rather than a curse.

I highly recommend this book. Thank you for the opportunity to read it in return for my honest review.

[Cathy Geha · Rating 4 out of 5]

No Meat Athlete, Revised and Expanded by Matt Frazier, Matt Ruscigno

A Plant-Based Nutrition and Training Guide for Every Fitness Level—Beginner to Beyond [Includes More Than 60 Recipes!]

Having dabbled a bit with the idea of moving toward a plant-based vegan diet and wanting to become more fit through diet and exercise I quickly requested this book when it came up on NetGalley. I may never run a marathon but do see that becoming healthier is a decision and not just something to contemplate and write goals about. That statement, and some of the recipes in the book, will be what I take away from and use for life. I enjoyed the personal anecdotes and complete information on creating training programs. I enjoyed reading that it is not all or nothing but a process moving forward and that one builds on accomplishments so not overwhelmed. As with other books of this genre the author gives tips and rules and recipes and plans that work for him but one does come away with these ideas and also with ways to adapt and move forward on a personal path as well.

Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Will I apply what I read in my own life? Yes

Thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group – Fair Winds Press for the ARC – This is my honest review.

4-5 Stars

[Jake Porter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed learning the practical nutrition advice described throughout this book. I have begun incorporating many changes in my diet and workout regimes to help me reach my athletic goals based on the information Matt Frazier shared. Excellent book for learning nutrition, enhancing your fitness goals, and just reading in general.

[Louise Nguyen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mainly just interested in the running info

[G. Lawrence · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good. Been vegan for almost 20 years and there was plenty of new information here for me. Helpful, informative and the recipes look good too

[Aimee Dars · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whether experienced athletes or true novices, vegans and aspiring vegans will find No Meat Athlete an excellent reference. Author Matt Frazier had tried and kept failing to qualify for the Boston Marathon. Yet, after transitioning to a vegan diet, even while he just recovered from a knee injury, Frazier improved on his personal best by ten minutes and finally achieved his goal of qualifying for Boston. He believes it was his vegan diet that allowed him this success, and his book shares his techniques.

No Meat Athlete contains two sections, one that covers plant-based nutrition for athletes, the other offering a training strategy. The first discusses problems with our modern diet and describes how vegan diets can surmount these issues. Based on current science, guest writer Leo Babauta outlines strategies for successfully changing habits of behavior, such as adopting a plant-free diet. Frazier offers ten food rules, such as choosing whole foods and drinking smoothies. (I think I follow 0% of these rules.) How to approach a vegan diet and how it relates to vegan athletes’ needs are discussed in detail before turning to cooking techniques.

Sixty recipes in categories such as “Substantial Soups and Salads,” “Main-Event Meals,” and “Sneaky-Healthy Desserts” are optimized for athletes. Frazier provides a personal introduction to each dish which made them more interesting to me. Though many of the recipes look tasty, they seem more complicated and labor intensive than I prefer, though I think I can handle the low-ingredient count S’Nuts and Simple Indian Street Bread. While I know these types of books don't traditionally have photographs, that didn't mean I didn't miss having them.

I was hopeful the second section, Running on Plants, would inspire me. While I am well-intentioned, I’m a couch potato at heart. Frazier provides a number of practical tips to making running a habit and learning to love it. Honestly, these approaches are good for any new runners, vegan or not and make running long races seem attainable. Robert Cheeke, a vegan bodybuilder, contributed a chapter on a 12-week strength training plan. Frazier includes detailed training plans for 5Ks, 10 Ks, half marathons, and marathons. These resources make even me feel like adopting a running program is possible.

While the nutritional information in part I is relevant for athletes of all stripes, the programs outlined in part II are geared toward runners, so the word “athlete” in the title is a bit of an over-generalization, though No-Meat Runner certainly doesn’t have the same ring! Instead, this book should appeal to active people interested in adopting a plant-based diet, to vegans (and others) interested in how to develop a running practice, or people who fall in both categories. I’m not sure I can overcome my couch potato inertia, but if any book could do it, this is the one!

I was especially pleased to see the author is donating a portion of his royalties to one of the greatest non-profit organizations in the country, The Farm Sanctuary.

Thanks to Netgalley and Fair Winds Press / Quarto Publishing Group for providing an advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review.

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[Sascha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Matt Frazier's No Meat Athlete is a good resource for either athletes considering becoming vegan or vegans wanting to become more active, especially if they want to become runners.

Frazier offers good advice at the beginning, especially in two forms: start (which might seem obvious, but he explains that a lot of people get too hung up on the plan, but never actually start), and make it a habit. I confess that I became a vegetarian overnight without a plan around 10 years ago. I'm still trying to make that plan and make sure I eat healthily. The other thing he advocates is eating whole foods, which can be easily forgotten in this world of convenient foods. As we have probably learned, convenient foods are not the healthiest.

Most of the recipes are fresh and welcome takes on old favorites. There are the ubiquitous smoothies, which I will never ever make because they are caloric and never filling (my personal bias, which has been stated on this blog more than once). I'm sure someone can argue otherwise. Included in the recipes are several bean and rice recipes, which look enticing, and as Frazier says, they encompass the full range of amino acids.

After the recipes, Frazier has sections on how to become a runner, including instructions on proper running technique, and a guide to strength training as well as a section on how to form and achieve your goals. 

For the beginner, I think this is a well-written and thought-out guide to becoming both vegan and athletic, with the focus on running. I think a nice addition would have been a few menu plans as a guide for beginning vegans who are changing their way of eating so that they could visualize what a healthful daily menu would look like. All in all, this is a good resource.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Riley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish I had read this book back in 2016, when I was transitioning to plant-based eating. I also wish I had this book back in 2012, when I started running for fun.

I think this book is an excellent introduction into a healthy lifestyle. It contains basic information on nutrition (sports nutrition too), running, and strength training. I think beginners to these topics would be intrigued and motivated by the information given. Thankfully, the book also contains additional resources because it is quite difficult to not want to pursue more detailed information on the subjects covered.

Part of me does wish there was some more in depth information, but I know a beginner would appreciate this quicker overview so they can just get started on creating a healthy lifestyle now and fine tuning it later. If you have had a Runner’s World subscription for years and read “How Not to Die” by Dr. Michael Greger, then you can skip over this book. However, this book contains useful advice that has taken me years to learn and inspiration to carry me forward, and I highly recommend to anyone who has been running or eating whole food plant based less than two years consistently. This book packs a lot of information into an easy, inspirational read.

[Lola · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm training for a 5K and needed some inspiration, tips, and habit changes. I really appreciated this book! It has several running plans for everything from a 5K to an ultra-marathan. I'm two weeks into the 5K plan and already feeling significantly more confident about my race.

The book does make diet recommendations, which I loved and hated. I loved that the author recommended transitioning to mostly plant based at your own pace and that life never has to be all or nothing... But the recipes were only okay.

The author also seemed to struggle with finding his audience. I think he wanted to write to new runners but got scared of losing out on potential readers, so threw in loads of stuff for advanced runners too. I didn't find it to be a problem because I want to one day be a more advanced runner myself but I can see how current runners would be turned off by this read.

All in all, I'm very happy I read this book. My form and endurance has really improved and I'm excited to start this new fitness journey.

[Meghin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great for beginners and aspiring runners

I enjoyed this book a lot. I share a lot of similar views regarding motivation, starting and training itself. Loved the parts about small sustainable changes and focusing on how the plan is getting you to your ultimate goal instead of trying to stick perfectly to the plan.

It is a book geared primarily toward running, so maybe not really for every athletic pursuit. Even the nutrition advice is more geared toward someone fueling an endurance sport than say, building muscle.

I think it's a fantastic book with good training plans and easy recipes that focus on whole foods. Amazing if you're looking to get into running, but if you're looking for strength or hypertrophy maybe look elsewhere.

[Grainne Wrigley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book; it was a great all-around guide for running- everything from nutrition to form to workout plans, with all the rationale explained simply.

The plant-based whole food diet does seem almost severe, but the author repeats that you should start small, and not aim for perfection or 100% adherence if you want.

This is definitely everything a plant-based person needs to know to get into running and feel positive and confident. I found it a really enjoyable read - finished in 1 sitting!

[Geoff Orton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good general introduction to nutrition and running. The programs are really useful but the recipes are more fuel than flavour. Still, gave me lots to think about while not convincing me to give up the cheese or the occasional steak. Definitely will give trail running a go and some of the snacks. Worth reading if it’s your thing

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book. All the information in it is perfect for anyone looking to learn more about plant based living and running 5ks-half marathons. The knowledge this book provides is priceless. Within the first 30 pages of the book I had already leanred so much. Definitely recommend this book to anyone.

[Kristine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would have loved more recipes!

[Barry Mulligan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some good advice and good training plans within.

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intriguing

[Roxanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Matt’s blog taught me how to be a vegetarian when I was in high school and I love continuing to keep up with his work. This book is 🤌🏻

[Gayathri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book is a good introduction for someone interested in plant based nutrition. I was expecting more in depth information that this book failed to meet.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Plant based nutrition & exercise guide for athletes who are vegetarians. Thank you to the Publisher for granting my wish for an advance copy to read.

[Cindy Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good step toward cutting meat from your diet. The athlete part is more directed toward running, which is my former sport, so it is isn't quite as applicable to my concerns. But it does offer recipes and suggestions about how to move toward more of a plan of a more thoughtful food sources.

It can be done, this is a good guide for a start.

[Denice Langley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Matt Frazier is an accomplished marathon runner who credits his vegan diet with his continued improvement in his chosen sport. This is just one of his books on the topic. While sharing his stories of how to improve the quality of your life and sports performance through significant diet changes and their implementation, Matt and his co-author have also given us a training guide with some very good techniques on how to gradually increase your activity levels to reach your best. I found both sections of the book very interesting. The obvious impact of his changed diet allowed him to maintain and reach his goals. The guidelines are easy enough for most of us couch potatoes to implement and improve our health without having to run the Boston Marathon. Great book for those motivated to get more active and healthy.

[Sophie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book for everyone who is amiming for a healthier lifestyle. The No Meat Athlete isn't only about eating, it's also about creating habits that will help achieving a more active, fulfilling life. The author has great tips that can be applied in the day-to-day life and I especially requested this book because my boyfriend (vegetarian) works out often 5 times a week and he's been complaining about the lack of energy he has. I told him some great tips that I read in the book and he will use them as well.
My favourite part was probably when the author talks about running. I loved the whole chapter, especially the trail running bit. I'm not new to the running "game". I've been doing orienteering for 15 years now but it was good to hear someone else's opinion about running in the wild.

All in all, it's a great and motivational book.

[Lauren Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm sharing this book with my husband and my sons who are athletes. They are very health conscious and are looking for ways to take their health to the next level. Very interesting options and reading material!