By: Dmitry Tepper, AHC Personal Trainer
There is a prevalent myth with regards to sports nutrition, especially with male athletes. It’s so popular that most people actually believe it and what is even worse – they follow it. I was one of these people most of my life, both following generally accepted by strength athletes diet and preaching it to others. Just a couple of years ago I took time to actually research the topic that seemed so apparent to me and all the sudden, I realized that what I knew about nutrition in general and sports nutrition in particular, cannot be further from the truth. Well, I can’t say that I accepted my new truth right away, without trying it myself, but the scientific evidence was there and I decided to give it a shot. There are two very different types of people when it comes to radically changing one’s diet. First, most common type prefers slow transition, substituting foods step by step, one meal a day, one day a week, slowly ramping it up. I’m the exact opposite of that, I am a big fan of the “cold turkey” approach to pretty much everything, so one morning I threw away almost everything that was in my fridge, everything that didn’t fit my new views on
nutrition. I spent several hours figuring out the new menu for the week and went grocery shopping.
While embarking on this journey I didn’t share my new way of eating habits, even with my close friends because I knew exactly what their reaction would be. I decided to prove superiority of my new diet first. After just a couple of month it was crystal clear that this was the way to go. My energy levels went up, recovery times got shorter, I was putting muscle on and getting stronger. Then I decided to open up to my friends. I wasn’t surprised by their first reaction: “Are you crazy, man?”, “Aren’t you afraid to loose strength?”, “How are you still able to lift?” and many other questions along these lines. I didn’t blame them, I was exactly like them just a couple months ago. These days, they all realize that what I am doing isn’t wrong, but it is actually superior to the conventional sports nutrition.
Are you still in the dark about what type of diet I’m on? Best diet even for most serious competing strength athletes like myself? It’s actually
pretty simple – exclude all animal products, eat clean plant based whole foods only. Unlike the word “vegan” that has nothing to do with diet actually, WFPB or Whole Foods Plant-Based describes it all. This is the healthiest way to eat no matter what your activity level and type is. It will give you the most energy to push through the most grueling workout. It will keep internal inflammation down and help you recover from workouts and injuries much faster. It will keep your weight down and your arteries unclogged and dilated. It will make you a better athlete, period.
Not convinced yet? Watch the new documentary “The Game Changers” on Netflix, you will be surprised that some of the best athletes in the world share my views: Arnold Shwarzeneger, James Wilks, Lewis Hamilton, Patric Baboumian, Morgan Mitchel, Kendrick Farris to name a few. It changed my life forever!
