Q&A Volume 1

      We ask 4 high level athletes, who live a plant-based lifestyle, different questions pertaining their plant-based diets. Hopefully you enjoy the information given by these athletes. If you scroll to the very bottom of the blog, you will find some of the accomplishments these athletes have achieved. Please help support these athletes and follow their social media accounts. Hopefully you enjoy the read and learn something new. Thanks for taking the time to read this question and answer blog!

“Hey Bro, where do you get all your protein from?” What is your go-to protein source?

(Brandon Lwowski) I get this question quite often. Especially me being in a heavier weight class. I get my protein from 5 main sources. The first being “Beyond Meat” ground beef. If you have not tried this you are missing out. 1 bag as 60 grams of protein with minimal carbs. I also enjoy sautéing up some seitan with veggies. Stir-Fry style. My 3^rd source is peanut/cashew butter. I am addicted to it, I would do some dirty things for peanut butterJ. My 4^th source is beans, usually black beans. Then my final way I get my protein is from vegan protein shakes.

(Josue Cano) Personally, I never think about where I get my protein from since I'm just concerned with eating food. However, my favorite protein sources that are plant based: Broccoli.

(Vanessa Espinoza) Veggies, quinoa seeds, nuts, buckwheat, chia, nutritional yeast, spirulina, chlorella, tofu, tempeh, beans and powerootz protein shake

(Jonathan Lwowski) My go to protein source is Beyond Beef or Seitan. Beyond Beef is an amazing product by Beyond Meat that tastes very similar to ground beef, and it also has very similar macronutrient ratios as ground beef, without containing soybeans. Seitan, which is made from gluten flour, is another alternative to soybean based foods that makes a great meat substitute and contains a lot of protein.

What does your post work out meal look like?

(Brandon Lwowski) My post workout meal looks like this. 1 bag of “Beyond Beef” fried up with some white rice and vegetables. My wife makes a black bean pico de gallo that I put on top. It is absolutely amazing and full of protein and carbs needed to recover the body. Then I chase it all down with a GNC’s new Vegan Gainer!

(Josue Cano) Post workout meals usually have a carb dense source like rice or potatoes, some fat such as avocadoes and lots of plants such as vegetables. Finish off with cut tropical fruit.

(Vanessa Espinoza) It's usually a powerootz protein shake with unsweetened almond milk and ice.

(Jonathan Lwowski) My post-workout meal will consist of 2 cups of rice, 2 cups of vegetables, and a whole bag of beyond beef or a large serving of seitan.

What advice would you give to an athlete contemplating giving up meat?

(Brandon Lwowski) I thought this lifestyle would never be possible. Before being vegetarian then switching to vegan, I was drinking the Paleo Kool-Aid. I hate on average 3lbs of meat a day all while chugging down 3 whey protein shakes. My advice for someone who is thinking about switching is, just try it. When I decided to just try it, I set a goal for 30 days no meat. I told myself that after the 30 days if I was weaker, I would go back to eating meat. Surprisingly, after 30 days, I made huge strength gains and PR’s my snatch and clean and jerk. I felt great and full of energy every day. Once you “try it” I promise you will never go back.

(Josue Cano) It's not hard at all as everyone thinks it to be. The majority of people are overweight, out of shape, in bad health and majority eat meat and animal products. Stop listening to what everyone else and look at what we are doing as plant based eaters. Better for your health, better for the environment, and no one has to die.

(Vanessa Espinoza) That it's the best decision they will ever make. Not only is it better for your health, the environment and for the animals. Also, your energy level will increase, you will recover better from intense workouts and get sick less often. After giving up meat I became leaner and was able to gain lean muscle easier.

(Jonathan Lwowski) My biggest advice to an athlete who is contemplating giving up meat, is to make sure you still get enough protein and to just try it. When I gave up meat, I told myself I would try it for 1 month, and if my performance in the gym decreased or if I felt bad, I would stop. 1 month later, I was still hitting PRs and felt the same as I did when I was eating meat. I guarantee if you just try to stop eating meat for a month, you performance in the gym will not be effected and you will want to continue not eating meat. Along with that people have this perception about vegetarian or vegan food being completely different and that all you can eat is boring vegetables. This is not true, vegetarian or vegan food can still be amazing and taste just as good if not better than meat-based foods.

What supplements/vitamins do you add to your diet being a plant based athlete?

(Brandon Lwowski) I take quite a few. First I always have a protein shake around. You never know when you need a quick snack. My favorite vegan shake so far is GNC’s new Pureedge Line. It mixes well and taste pretty good. I also take the pure edge amino acids. I take Blonyx Creatine + HMB before and after a workout. In the morning I take multivitamin and b12 spray. Pretty long list.

(Josue Cano) I don't. Only use a vitamin B for energy and vitamin D in the winter since we get less sun exposure.

(Vanessa Espinoza) I drink 2 powerootz protein shakes a day, BCAA's, spirulina, chlorella and garden of life green supplement.

(Jonathan Lwowski) The vitamins and supplements I added to my diet since becoming a plant based athlete was creatine, l-carnitine, and beta-alanine. I added these supplements to my diet because Examine.com, which is a very trustworthy resource backed by scientific research, recommended them for people on plant based diets.

Is it expensive to be a plant based athlete?

(Brandon Lwowski) I buy everything organic and non-gmo when it comes to my vegan food. I feel like it cost somewhere around the same as eating meat for the fact that I eat Beyond Beef by the bag. I normally buy out the whole shelf. Even if it was a little more expensive to eat Vegan, I would still do it based on how this diet has affected my performance, plus I love the animals.

(Josue Cano) Absolutely NOT!!! If you are spending too much $$$ you're doing it wrong. For example, a pound of beef costs well over $5 to $7 bucks. A pound of beans or rice much much less than that. Eating a plant based diet is cost effective and cheaper than an animal based diet.

(Vanessa Espinoza) It's not any more expensive than buying meat.  I actually find it cheaper to buy plant based foods. The basics I consume everyday are tofu, veggies, quinoa, rice and beans are fairly cheap. I definitely go to the grocery store more often because I am consuming "Real Food".

I feel absolutely amazing eating a plant based diet. I feel like I have found the key

(Jonathan Lwowski) Being a plant based athlete costs about the same as being a meat based athlete if you buy all of your protein sources pre-made. If money is an issue, it is really easy to make your own seitan, and it is really cheap. 

    Brandon Lwowski Weightlifter @brandon_lwowski_oly 

·         2015 State Championship Silver Medal 105kg

·         2015 Texas Barbell Spring Classic Silver Medal 105+kg

·         2015 Weightlifting Wise Naturally Fit Gold Medal 105+kg

·         2015 USAW National Championships 13th Overall 105kg

·         2015 USAW National Championship 2nd Place Texas Barbell 

·         2015 ZKC USA Fall Open Gold Medal 105kg

·         2015 ZKC USA Fall Open Best Overall Lifter

·         2015 USAW American Open Championships 13th Overall 105+

·         2015 USAW American Open 3rd Place Texas Barbell 

Josue Cano Weightlifter @capscavestrength

        38 years young

·       IWF Master Worlds Weightlifting Competitor

·       Snatch 110kgs

·       Clean and Jerks 145kgs

·       Squats 210kgs

·       Front Squat 185kgs

Vanessa Espinoza Bodybuilder/Boxer @plantbasedmuscle

·      Basketball High School All American

·      Scholarship to Colorado State University

       3 Time Colorado Golden Gloves State Champion

Jonathan Lwowski Power lifter @monsterintraining

·    1^st Place Collegiate 83kg 2013 USAPL Texas Regional Championships

·    1^st Place Collegiate 93kg 2013 Iron Wars

·    1^st Place Collegiate 93kg 2014 Gulf Coast Championships

·    2^nd Place Collegiate 93kg 2014 Iron Wars

·    2^nd Place Collegiate 83kg 2014 USAPL Texas Regional Championships

·    1^st Place Collegiate 93kg 2015 Texas Strength Classic

·    15^th Place 2015 USAPL Collegiate Nationals

·    1^st Place Collegiate 93kg 2015 Iron Wars

·    2^nd Place Collegiate 93kg USA Powerlifting Texas Regional Championships

The Story of Vanessa Espinoza

     

   

            I feel very honored that I get this opportunity to share my story about becoming vegan and passion for all living creatures on this earth.  I have been vegan for 12 years now, it wasn’t a hard transition for me because I knew in my heart it was the right thing to do for the animals, planet, and my health.

            I’ve been playing sports my entire life and after becoming vegan my stamina increased, my strength increased, I was able to build muscle faster, I had more energy and my immune system was so much stronger.  My mission is to lead by example, that you can build muscle, strength and do anything you want living a plant based lifestyle.

            Sports has always been a huge part of my life. My first love was basketball, I became a high school All-American and earned a scholarship to Colorado State University and had the opportunity to play professionally and after my career I took up boxing and became a 3x Colorado Golden Gloves State Champion.  I started lifting weights at age 15 because I was always the shortest on the court.  It gave me such an advantage, I didn’t get pushed around, my speed increased, it helped prevent injuries and I became an overall better athlete.

            9 years ago I lost my father to cancer, I was so devastated because we were best friends.  After his passing it made me realize that the path I chose being vegan was the right choice.  I want to make sure as I go through life that I take care of my body the best I can.  We only get one body and I believe we should do whatever we can to take care of it and protect it from disease.  For myself I focus on counting nutrients not calories.  I eat mostly whole plant based foods.  My food is what gives me the energy to get through my day.  I wake up at 4am every morning and workout twice a day on top of work.  I have a crazy amount of energy each day because of the way I eat.  I eat very simple and very clean.  I usually eat 6 to 9 times a day.  I eat a ton of fruits and veggies, legumes, seeds, nuts and grain.  People ask me all the time where I get my protein?  This is a question I get asked daily.  My protein comes from veggies, quinoa, pea, tofu,buckwheat, chia, nuts, hemp, spirillina, beans and I also do a vegan protein powder called Powerootz.  I don’t ever keep track of how many grams of protein I’m getting in a day because I know all the foods I consume have plenty of protein in them.  Even working out twice a day I don’t consume an excess amount of protein. I usually get about 100 grams per day.  I am able to recover quickly from workouts and able to sustain a high intensity day after day.

            My workout routine varies all the time, however my intensity is always very high.  I strength train every day, focusing on one body part a day.  I usually spend about an hour and half on each body part, really blasting the muscle.  I will give it five days of rest then hit it again.  I lift very heavy but I also lift lighter as well to give my muscles a break.  Even when I’m lifting lighter I still am pushing my muscles hard.  For example, I will do 50 reps on a certain exercise for a few sets to really shock the muscles.  As for my cardio I love to box, sprint and hike with my four rescue chihuahuas.  I do cardio almost every day because I truly enjoy it.  I love to push my body to the max, the harder the workout the more I love it.  I have to give credit to my father, he was the one that showed me what a hard workout really is and to never give up.  My father was a professional boxer, one of the top ten ranked feather weight fighters in the world.   Growing up we would run outside in the winter together, it didn’t matter how cold or if it was a blizzard, we were training.  He would tell me “don’t let the cold beat you” and till this day I run outside in any kind of weather.

             I do a ton of sprinting on a turf field, my typical workout is ten 100 yard sprints, ten 50 yard sprints and ten 20 yard sprints or I will do a interval sprinting workout for 30 min to an hour.  I sprint the side lines and jog the end zones.  As for my boxing routine I hit a heavy bag, I will set a timer and do ten, 3 min rounds, resting 30 seconds in between.  On top of all my cardio I always make time to walk my four chihuahuas. (I have a total chihuahua obsession)  My mom and I walk them almost everyday for an hour.  Living in Colorado we are lucky that we have so many sunny days that even during the winter months we hike.  My four fur children are my pride and joy and I have to say they make my life complete.

            I hope to be an inspiration to many, not only in the vegan community but to others who are thinking of going vegan. My mission is to show the world that you can be muscular, be fit or have whatever type of dream physique you desire without harming other creatures.

Excited for the Future by Dan Fisher

It is true that the hardest part about being vegan is knowing the atrocities that go on in the animal agriculture industry and the effects it has on the planet and consumers. Otherwise it is all sunshine and rainbows. Feeling clean, energized, happy, and healthy is a blessing! And there is much to look forward to as a vegan athlete and vegan activist. It won’t be long until the whole world is plant based. I wager we'll see this to be true in less than ten years.

Does anyone remember what supermarkets looked like a decade ago? In a word - boring. These days every supermarket has entire aisles dedicated to organic foods, gluten free goods, local foods, dairy free foods, the list goes on. Consumers have demanded healthier food options and the corporations have supplied. Information is how it all begins. I scratch my head when I think about how it wasn’t until recently that most people didn’t realize the food you eat affects your health. With media and the internet at our fingertips everybody knows “eating clean” is the way to go.

The final tipping point will be when people realize that “eating clean” means eating plants. Believe it or not some people define eating bacon and eggs, a two ingredient meal as “clean”. A chickens period and the blubber of a pig is clean? But I digress! My point is, people are turning to a plant based diet everyday at a very fast rate. This is reflected in the animal agriculture industry as they desperately attempt to suppress information contrary to the myth that “milk is a good source of calcium” and other such stories while also spending a fortune on advertisements to entice people to buy more animal products. Newsflash, once government subsidies are no longer enforced for your cruelty, you’re going to go under in a heartbeat. And this will happen any day now. In the age of information, it won’t be long until the right person comes across the truth at the right place at the right time.