No-Bullsh!t Vegan

Protein: Why is it important? How much do we need? Do we need to combine foods? What are the best (whole foods) vegan sources of protein? Lauren shares the 4 foods you should be eating every day to make sure you're getting enough omega-3. Also: Why is the ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 important, and how much of each do we need? Do we need to track our food to know whether we're getting enough omega-...

Chef Dustin, creator of the vegan travel series The Vegan Roadie, is on the show to chat with me about his awesome new book, Epic Vegan; the concept of community over competition within veganism; travelling while vegan; and much more. Dustin Harder is a private plant-based chef in New York City. He's also a cooking instructor, recipe developer, and cookbook author. He's been featured in publicatio...

For today's conversation we didn't have any sort of agenda - we're just shooting the sh!t. Or shooting the *bull*sh!t I should say, because we end up discussing everything from a peer-reviewed article Melody wrote about vegan strength athletes, to her upcoming book, to media misrepresentation of research results, to whether vegans have an athletic performance advantage over non-vegans…and a ton mo...

Gael shares her powerful story of overcoming alcohol addiction. She's been sober since October 1, 2013. Also: How does alcohol affect our ability to gain muscle and lose fat? What are the short- and long-term effects of consuming alcohol? Why the hell aren't more people in our industry talking about alcohol? Why doesn't alcohol attract attention as a killer? It is, after all, one of the top 5 caus...

Dr. Sarina Pasricha is a nationally recognized gastroenterologist and speaker. We discuss: What is the gut microbiome? Why is it important? How does being vegan factor into the equation? Does exercise help? What do we do that is harmful to our gut health? What about stress? If you exercise regularly and eat well, but still can't lose weight, your gut microbiome might be the culprit. Also, did you...

Heidi Strickler is a Registered Sports Dietitian, competitive endurance athlete and trail runner, and avid lover of all things mountains and outdoors. We discuss why eating vegan is not synonymous with healthy eating or weight loss, smart supplementation for vegan athletes, and why a vegan diet makes it more difficult to oxidize fat during endurance exercise.

Pat Kendall is a retired municipal lawyer, leading a massive campaign called "Rezoning for the Animals" to persuade Vancouver City Council to rezone the new St. Paul's Hospital site, such that animal experimentation is not permitted in the hospital laboratories and alternative methods are used instead. We also talk about healthy aging, how health isn't just about your body, and the intriguing idea...

Are Beyond and Impossible burgers healthy? What is "healthy", anyway? Nutritionally and environmentally, how to these plant-based burgers compare to beef? We discuss glyphosate (an ingredient in Roundup) within the context of these burgers, and how the Beyond and Impossible burgers differ from each other. Also on the menu: the natural versus synthetic fallacy ("natural" does not mean "healthy"), o...

In this episode: Victoria's vegan story. She's been vegan since 1983! Myth: Vegans are super-healthy, or they're not really vegan. Myth: The different "factions" within veganism (e.g. entrepreneurs, "enviro-vegans", whole foods plant-based vegans, etc.) have interests too different to be one movement. Diversity within veganism, and the importance of being mentally flexible. A Prayer for Compassion...

After losing his brother to a heart attack, sister to substance abuse, and mom to long term illness, Ren Jones left the corporate world and became a certified personal trainer, corrective exercise specialist, and nutrition coach. In this powerful discussion we cover many different topics, including the guilt associated with self-care, the myth that scale weight or BMI is a good way to track your p...

Today I'm focusing on veganism within the contexts of healthy aging and strength training. Improve your plant-based nutrition in 5 steps, and find out which 6 movements you must include in your strength training program. Also includes a spotlight on a few key nutrients: protein, iron, calcium, and B12, and how our needs change during the lifecycle; 3 mistakes vegans often make with their nutrition...

Jeremy Sexton is a filmmaker, partner in his own company, and father of two. Before he went vegan and started working out regularly, he was 255 lbs, pre-diabetic, and on the road to heart disease. You'll hear in our conversation how - and why - he went vegan and made drastic changes to his lifestyle. You'll hear Jeremy's vegan story and how being a parent factors in to his motivation for going veg...

Dr. Gil Carvalho is a research scientist at USC and UCLA. Gil's vegan story is the epitome of being a no-B.S. vegan, since it was the research literature that inspired him to make a change. We also discuss doctors and nutritional education (or lack thereof), and the long-term health effects of different nutrients and diets, like low carb and plant-based diets. Gil also shares his tips for analyzin...

This is what happens when two coaches get together and shoot the sh*t, with no agenda for their conversation. Meghan Callaway is a strength coach with over 15 years of experience, a writer, athlete, and animal lover, and the creator of the Ultimate Pull-up Program. Meghan shares her experience with a recent injury, and what it taught her about mindset, mental health, and the importance of tracking...

We discuss vegan nutrition for women throughout all stages of life, including pregnancy and menopause, and focus on a few key nutrients: protein, iron, and calcium. Pamela Fergusson is a registered dietitian with a PhD in nutrition.

Ocean Robbins serves as CEO and cofounder of the 500,000-plus-member Food Revolution Network—one of the largest communities of healthy eating advocates on the planet. His grandfather founded Baskin-Robbins, and his father, John Robbins, walked away from the family company to write bestsellers like Diet for a New America. We discuss his new book, his family's story, 4 steps you can take to improve...

This episode is all about setting - and nailing - your fitness goals! Tobias Sjösten is an online strength and conditioning coach, competitive Brazilian Jiu Jitsu athlete, and CrossFit trainer. We discuss the difference between training and exercising, how to turn nebulous goals like "I want to improve my body composition" into something quantifiable and measurable, tracking your fitness progress,...

Competitive plant-powered cyclist Ian Cramer joins me to talk about following the evidence and staying curious, how disagreeing with others or listening to others with dissenting opinions is OK, whether the definition of the term "vegan" should by default include personal health, promoting veganism in a responsible, compassionate way, and how social media can be toxic and counterproductive (and wh...

Drs. Rayapudi are the co-founders of Gift of Health, a nonprofit organization dedicated to revolutionizing lives by using food as medicine (a whole food, plant-based, minimally processed, sustainable way of eating). Drs. Rayapudi have helped hundreds of people prevent and reverse chronic diseases, end the frustrating dieting cycle, lose weight, and get off medications. We discuss the benefits of v...

Plant-powered personal trainer Paul Landini joins me to discuss all things vegan, including: Paul's vegan story and the film that inspired him. The myth that vegans are preachy, judgemental pricks who think they're better than everyone else. The myth that soy products have feminizing hormones that will turn men into little girls. The myth that plant proteins are inferior to proteins from animal so...

What is intersectional veganism?

Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard is a bestselling book by brothers Chip and Dan Heath, published in 2010. Whether you're a health and fitness professional, just starting out in fitness, a recreational athlete, a superhero ­in­training, or anything in between, you'll get something out of this book. It outlines a framework for successfully making – and sticking to – changes in your l...

I've been vegan since 2003. That's back when the one vegan option at restaurants was a plate of iceberg lettuce topped with a few tomato slices. Obviously, we've come a long way since then! In working with my awesome vegan clients, here are the 5 biggest mistakes that I see and hear about all the time.

One of my go­ to impress­the­guests desserts is chocolate mousse. If you need a last­ minute holiday dessert idea, I've got you covered.

Thinking about going vegan (for ethical, environmental, or health reasons) but have some roadblocks keeping you from making the commitment? Let me address the 5 biggest and most common ones, and provide you with enough incentive to finally take the leap.