Quick Question about Thrive

@Easto

A little-discussed fact: tastes change. On the XC team in high school, we cut things out of our diet that we didn't think XC runners should be eating/drinking (soda was #1). After 4+ years of refraining I can't gobble up junk food in the way that I could before that. My tastes changed (and could be changed back, too). I can take little bites of cake and whatnot, but it's too rich for me now to shovel it in like I could at around age 10.

I also went without meat for 6 years (age 16 to 22), and had a hard time reintroducing animal products in my diet. As you would put it, I "couldn't stand it". Now I drink half gallon of milk a day and don't even think about biting in to some chicken.

These were good lessons that really showed me that it's all in my head. If it's edible, I will try it. If it's good for me, I will enjoy it.

Maybe your taste buds are just too conditioned to expect that "yummy" fix.

https://youtu.be/cV1KvNhXl0g

[edit: video contains slightly adult topics]

PS, Jeff: Just purchased Thrive and can't locate the forum. Does that become accessible at a later point?

Nick W. said:

... Just purchased Thrive and can't locate the forum. Does that become accessible at a later point? ...

Log out and then log back in.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

How about peas? I wasn't known for my veggie eating habits as a kid but my grandma served peas and carrots A LOT. 

Celery is pretty easy to eat but it can have a taste to some. 

Maybe cabbage? Cauliflower (pretty mild though some people seem to hate it). I never had a problem with that as a kid though it does have a taste.

Spinach can be a tough vegetable to start with. I have a bag downstairs and even with dressing I barely want to eat any. OTOH, I hate it even more when cooked. Steamed is alright though, I think.

You could try branching out from iceberg lettuce into red and green leaf and then spring mix. Also salad dressing (Bleu cheese lol) but if you need to stay away from that, try maybe a balsamic vinaigrette. I've always loved "Italian" dressing but I took to vinaigrettes pretty easily. In fact, I have some red wine vinegar I bought recently that I will probably just mix up with spices since I didn't feel like paying for an expensive vinaigrette that didn't have a bunch of crap in it (soybean oil, etc).

 

Hey, got inspired reading about "Thrive". However, when I went to the product page it flat out said "Not a Vegetarian Course." I've been Vegan for years and am a well balanced and clean eater. I'm no stranger to covering my amino acids, insuring that I'm getting all vitamins and minerals from an array of fruits and vegetables (except B12 which is my only supplement) and keeping my protein intake at strong levels for recovery. I just simply want to flesh out my nutritional knowledge specifically in regards to improving strength and athletic performance.

Is it really designed to require people to eat meat or is that private thread where other veggies are customizing the program with Jeff a happening thing? Would be a damn shame to miss out on what sounds like a good party just cause I ain't killin creatures for my dinner. 

Alec,

Good question and thanks for the post. It has absolutely nothing to do with vegetarian or vegan lifestyle or the ethical choices that it gives that disclaimer.

The problem is that you have already laid out what you are and are not going to eat thus any input from me is falling on deaf ears which begs the question; why do the course if you aren't going to do the course? If you are looking to just watch some videos, read some essays and scratch your intellectually curiosity then I'm sorry I am not your resource to do that. 

If you are a vegetarian or all meat eater and unwilling to even consider a change then you would get the same answer from me. Its calls out vegetarian specifically because that is a much larger population.  

Thanks,

Jeff

On 13 January 2016 at 1:55 AM, Jeff Serven said:

Hi Stephen,

 

There are a few situations where IF would be great. I am going to skip over the medical based reason and address the other two which are really the same goal just at two ends of the spectrum. 

 

Option 1: You have hundreds of pounds of fat to loose, IF can do good here

Option 2: You are trying to dry out for a comp. or pictures, In this case depending on the person a short time of IF or Keto could do some good.

 

However, if performance is your game then it is probably not the best. Often times people set too many goals that are not overlapping enough to actually accomplish. An example would be: I want to run a 3hr marathon and bench 500# raw. An example of synergistic goals would be A) GST and performance nutrition to support it B) clean and jerk 200kg and squat 250kg C) well...you get my point. 

 

The reason IF and performance don't overlap well is because IF takes too much energy away from the performance work. Think of it like you have a bank account and you only have $100. If you speed $50 of energy on IF then you only have $50 left for performance. You will get beat every time this way because someone out there will spend $100 on performance. 

 

IF has very little application in the performance world. The most optimal situation to be heathy, lean, strong and possess skill is a complicated approach of the right foods at the right times and the right training. 

 

Hopefully this answers your question Stephen. 

Jeff, I've been doing IF 16:8 for more than a year and never felt better in terms of performances. I'm 40, I started to run 2 miles below 12 min on regular basis, something I could never do before when I was younger and fitter. I also know a couple of guys (Olympic level) from my wrestling team who had only 8-9 hours eating window. Some people might not realise what Olympic wrestling means in terms of training intensity, but it is harder than most of sports. I think it might be quite an individual thing. 8 hours I think is enough to ingest quality nutrients. 

Igor, 

Im glad to hear you have something that a) is making you feel better and b) you have stuck with for a long period of time. I personally am not a fan of long term IF however this is your life not mine. It sounds like its doing right by you so stick with it. 

Wrestling is quite the lactate producer, yes. Its like the original CrossFit workout in terms of knock down feeling after. I think its one of those sports that has a huge work ethic component too. It is also a weight class sport and the eating habits they use are to reach a exact bodyweight on an exact day while still having energy. Don't confuse that with eating for long term heath. Justifying your diet by comparing it to wrestling is like removing your windshield from your car because Formula 1 does not use them. 

14 minutes ago, Jeff Serven said:

Igor, 

Im glad to hear you have something that a) is making you feel better and b) you have stuck with for a long period of time. I personally am not a fan of long term IF however this is your life and not mine. It sounds like its doing right by you so stick with it. 

Wrestling is quite the lactate producer, yes. Its like the original CrossFit workout in terms of knock down feeling after. I think its one of those sports that has a huge work ethic component too. It is also a weight class sport and the eating habits they use are to reach a exact bodyweight on an exact day while still having energy. Don't confuse that with eating for long term heath. Justifying your diet by comparing it to wrestling is like removing your windshield from your car because Formula 1 does not use them. 

I'm not just justifying, what I am saying is that it can have a great long term health benefits as well, so i wouldn't disregard potential health benefits here. I wrestled for nearly 30 years and that was a time when nobody could talk me out of 5-6 meals a day, even those team mates who were clearly doing something right by so called starving for 16 hours, although they didn't know a name behind it or science.  Even though I don't train any more at the intensity when I used to compete I still train at least twice a day and I see now that having that 16 hour fast window (although it doesn't feel like fasting anymore) makes a humongous difference not only in terms of performance but also in terms of health. My last 3 blood tests, my blood pressure are those of 18 year old even though I have a few miles on. You are right saying that it might not be for everyone, but in terms of health i guess our primates didn't eat 6 times a day, fasted sometimes longer than 16 hours, yet never suffered from modern age diseases. I think there is something in it.

On 22/01/2016 at 2:28 PM, Jeff Serven said:

Okay, Suspect 003 the vegetarian post is up. Please post all the good tips and tricks you have learned as a vegetarian and some questions you have that we can get answered for you. 

Great to know there is a vegan area for discussion on the forum. I've been reticent about getting into the thrive program before but now I'm surely jumping headfirst (already a great fan of GymnasticBodies).

Hello community, I couldn't find a thread on this topic so I thought I'd ask here. Although Thrive is aimed at building habits for healthier eating, does the program support individual goals such as gaining mass? I have been able to stick to a diet consistently for 2 years now, although I have lost some weight and I am already fairly thin, I weighed 155lbs prior to my diet change and now I weigh 145lbs. My primary goal at this point would be gaining mass, is this program for me?

On 08/06/2016 at 11:57 AM, Jeff Serven said:

Alec,

Good question and thanks for the post. It has absolutely nothing to do with vegetarian or vegan lifestyle or the ethical choices that it gives that disclaimer.

The problem is that you have already laid out what you are and are not going to eat thus any input from me is falling on deaf ears which begs the question; why do the course if you aren't going to do the course? If you are looking to just watch some videos, read some essays and scratch your intellectually curiosity then I'm sorry I am not your resource to do that. 

If you are a vegetarian or all meat eater and unwilling to even consider a change then you would get the same answer from me. Its calls out vegetarian specifically because that is a much larger population.  

 

Hi Jeff,

It's a good thing I fell on your post.  I was looking for some answers related to veganism.  

Being myself a vegan, I started to follow Thrive without eating any animal products, of course.  As I understood from your message, you said that there's no way a vegan could do Thrive without him changing some habits.  So, are you talking about starting eating what you're suggesting on Thrive or you're just saying to change the bad habits (processed foods for example) to good ones (vegetables and fruits for example) no matter the type of nutrition we are on?  And again, is there good ways to integrate vegan diet in Thrive?  

By the way, just to not waste anyone's time: I'm not going back to animal products. I'm just looking for the best way to Thrive on a vegan diet.

I'm sorry if the question has already been answered, I just couldn't find them.

Thanks for your time!

I d never do Thrive being vegan or vegetarian. Doing so is like purchasing Foundation when you don t won t to work strenght.

7 hours ago, Joaquin Malagon said:

Hello community, I couldn't find a thread on this topic so I thought I'd ask here. Although Thrive is aimed at building habits for healthier eating, does the program support individual goals such as gaining mass? I have been able to stick to a diet consistently for 2 years now, although I have lost some weight and I am already fairly thin, I weighed 155lbs prior to my diet change and now I weigh 145lbs. My primary goal at this point would be gaining mass, is this program for me?

Thrive is not an access to a nutricionist who will give you an individualised diet. It s a program for everyone, it tells you the right food, the wrong food and approximate portions depending on your size. Most of the people are looking for eating healthy, loosing fat while gaining mass and having energy to train. So if you want to gain mass you have to train and then you have to eat more.

1 hour ago, Antonio Alías Montoya said:

I d never do Thrive being vegan or vegetarian. Doing so is like purchasing Foundation when you don t won t to work strenght.

So you're saying that Thrive goes directly against Vegan diets?  

From my experience, and I know where to find everything I need to live and perform, Thrive wasn't that bad. I only had to change some recommandations to what I eat as a vegan.

Why can't it work at all with veganism according to you?

Basically because the steps ask you to add meat or fish on lunch and dinner.

On 8/18/2017 at 9:23 PM, Antonio Alías Montoya said:

Basically because the steps ask you to add meat or fish on lunch and dinner.

Actually, I think the program refers to "lean complete protein" so that, as far as task number 8 (where I'm now) I think I've been successful just combining different types of vegetable proteins in order to get a full profile of aminoacids (not easy, but doable). Sure enough, Jeff's suggestions are as you said  but it has been possible, so far, to replace for combinations with similar nutritional profile.

11 hours ago, Antonio Alías Montoya said:

Basically because the steps ask you to add meat or fish on lunch and dinner.

Well, I was just replacing these with what I thought was best in their respective category.

3 hours ago, Étienne Lajeunesse said:

Well, I was just replacing replacing these with what I thought was best in their respective category.

Ok, it s really nice you were able to do to that. I was a vegetarian myself for many years. I d really love to know how are you doing it in the private forum. Some days, from time to time i feel like eating vegetarian, so would like to hear you ideas if you don t mind. But as i said, bettee in Thrive forum!

11 hours ago, Antonio Alías Montoya said:

Ok, it s really nice you were able to do to that. I was a vegetarian myself for many years. I d really love to know how are you doing it in the private forum. Some days, from time to time i feel like eating vegetarian, so would like to hear you ideas if you don t mind. But as i said, bettee in Thrive forum!

Hey Antonio,

Of course, I can help you on that.

Just to be sure, the Thrive forum is private?

6 hours ago, Étienne Lajeunesse said:

 

Just to be sure, the Thrive forum is private?

Yes, it is.

On 8/19/2017 at 3:22 AM, Marcos Leite said:

Actually, I think the program refers to "lean complete protein" so that, as far as task number 8 (where I'm now) I think I've been successful just combining different types of vegetable proteins in order to get a full profile of aminoacids (not easy, but doable). Sure enough, Jeff's suggestions are as you said  but it has been possible, so far, to replace for combinations with similar nutritional profile.

 

If you're vegetarian or vegan, Marcos has the alternative nailed down perfectly. It's not ideal but works as he is still getting protein in. 

I d love to hear your ideas also @Marcos Leite

Hi Guys, 

Sorry Im late to the game. 

Vegetarian can work with Thrive but why? Let me give you an analogy; It would be like my son saying "Dad, Ill listen to you if you tell me what I want to hear". Under that pretense we are doomed for failure somewhere down the road. You have already committed down a path; stay committed and continue but acknowledging that you need to add something to you're current regime is also to say that it is failing you on some level, if so you should step back, start from the beginning and get clarity. Any 2 diets combine are going to fail at some point. 

Coach, I can surely understand your point and will try to add my couple of cents to the topic.

In concern to the "why", I believe that a vegan approach is usually an ethical limit and, as such, it assumes that an eventual loss of performance is self-justified.

By the same sense, when it comes to combining diets, I can agree 99% with the statement that one shouldn´t follow two masters. However, one can see veganism as less of a diet and more as a food restriction (in the sense that being vegan is much more about what to not eat than what to eat).

Of course, by doing vegan-thrive it is no surprise to leave some performance on the table (in comparison to full thrive), but in what comes to my short experience (so far have unlocked and am following the hole Part I tasks), I can say that I´m very happy with the results and with the new habits and can only say thank you for the thrive program.

Awesome to hear that you've been successful and happy with the course despite the animal products, Marcus. I'd be curious to see a brief list of your go-to foods for each of the tasks posted in one of the private course sections.