Want to know where I was last night?

Well, photographically speaking – I’m at the bottom of that picture of a really cool sky.

Technically speaking, I was at a seminar given by a really cool guy.

The best selling author of Thrive and Thrive Fitness,

vegan pro Ironman triathlete – none other than Brendan Brazier himself.

I know, right?

Brendan.

Brazier.

(once upon a time I read Brendan’s first book Thrive and I loved his thoughts and ideas so much that I couldn’t shut up about it. 21 posts and counting. sheesh. no wonder I called him my boyfriend.)

The Man

Brendan was at Lori’s Natural Foods here in Rochester last night to talk about his plant based, whole foods approach to nutrition. He discussed the importance of focusing on nutrition and building a base of health to help you reach your goals – athletic or otherwise.

Brendan began by giving us a bit of personal history – having decided as a high school freshman to become a professional athlete. He recognized early on that his athletic talents were not amazingly impressive, but he did have the drive to work hard and willingness to put in a lot of time and effort.

He saw a real opportunity to excel if he focused on an area where many other athletes didn’t.  To concentrate on what happened between training sessions.

That is, Recovery.

During training you are literally breaking down muscle tissue.  Brendan saw the importance of feeding his body well – that rebuilding and repairing his muscles with only the best and highest quality nutrients would give him a real edge.

With a Plan

He described experimenting with various approaches to eating.  He eventually settled on an animal-free diet, but called himself a “starch-atarian” as he was eating mostly grains and very few vegetables.

With time he came to see that his animal-free diet was missing five key things; complete protein, B12, Iron, Calcium and Omega 3 – and so he started to educate himself on how to incorporate these nutrients into his vegan diet.

And thus began the foundation for which Thrive and his whole food Vega product line was built upon.

Most everything Brendan discussed came straight from his books. The different kinds of stress (complementary and uncomplementary), alkaline forming foods vs. acid forming foods, the myriad of benefits that come from a plant-based diet.  Go get Thrive and Thrive Fitness to learn more  – they are both amazing books.  I eagerly recommend them no matter where you are in your journey to health and wellness.

Brendan also talked briefly about his online program designed for those who learn better visually as opposed to reading.  If the Reading Rainbow isn’t your thing, check out Brendan’s Thrive in 30 virtual training program to get the scoop straight from the source over a course of 30 days.

Time to Get Out Your Books

After his discussion he opened the floor to the 50 or so people in attendance (including a couple of local foodies, Lisa and Katelyn!) for a Q&A session and then followed it up with a book signing and product sampling.

Oh yes, I brought my books – you know it!

During his talk, Brendan mentioned eating a salad most days of the week – there was no way I could leave without asking BB what his typical salads look like.

And just in case you might want to know too:

“A lot of greens, obviously – I try and get a variety.”

(do you see?! I’m not making this stuff up, people!)

Spinach. Kale. BEETS!

(maybe Brendan has been reading the blog.)

So that’s that!  My freshly signed books are about to be put back on the shelf.

And now if you’ll excuse me, I have a new salad combo to go make.