If you haven't read about Bot Litwin's Transformation Story yet, it's time to get caught up. Bob is the #1 tennis player in the United States in his age group, a former World Champion and has written a book on lasting change. He is also friends with MamaSezz co-Founders Meg Donahue and Lisa Lorimer so when he reached out about his interested in a plant-based diet, Meg couldn't be more thrilled. She knew that as a high performing athlete (especially one over 50) he must encounter his share of sore muscles, slower recovery times, and injuries. We tend to associate a drastic physical decline with athletes over 50, but being an athlete herself, Meg knew that a plant-rich, anti-inflammatory diet (like a whole food plant based diet!) could be just what Bob needed to continue is passion with vigor. A plant based diet for athletes, or a "healthy vegan" diet has proven to be truly the best diet for Bob.
Follow along to see what happened after just 10 days, and then one month below.
This particular blog covers a few challenges of a plant-based diet that Bob has had to overcome.
The first is the dreaded fear: How do you even dine out on a plant-based diet?!
And the other: How to navigate a travel tournament when you're 100% plant based.
Bob's first week: Fears, excitement and all.
Summary: Bob was nervous about going 100% plant-based fully but decided to just jump right in. Here's what happened in that first week.
Bob's transformation after just 1 month of a plant-based eating
Summary: Bob saw drastic results in his blood pressure, recovery times, and muscle pain.
Bob's Latest Update: Learning how to be plant-based "in the real world"
"As my whole plant based 'diet' has folded into my being, I have been less aware of how different my life has become. Instead of each day delivering many “shoshin” experiences around food, I find that eating has settled in to the naturalness of my days. I am more distanced from the uniqueness of, what, at the beginning, was a massive change. Four months ago, I was pre-occupied with thoughts, throughout the day, about food. What will I eat for my next meal? Am I getting enough protein? Will I enjoy dinner? What restaurant will have a menu that suits my needs?
Despite feeling more settled in, I do still struggle with creating variety. Thankfully, Jo Ann is incredibly creative in the kitchen and is insistent on not getting locked in to the same dishes over and over again. I depend on her a lot and follow her lead. I am constantly wowed by her ability to turn leftovers into a delicious new meal.
This dependence led to two uncomfortable experiences for me. First, she went out of town for a week to visit her newest grandchild. I was really worried that I would backslide. I rarely get anxious but I sure was feeling that way when I dropped her at the airport. Not so much that I would break my diet (although I did have thoughts of doing that), but that I would eat the same simple meals every day or that I would opt for take out of prepared foods.
Happily I took the challenge and found that I could pretty simply build different meals using the various MamaSezz products that we had stored in our freezer. Using quinoa, brown rice, beans, tofu and tempeh, I was able to survive the week well.
The second experience was more loaded. I went away for a week to play a tennis tournament. During a tournament where I might play as many as nine matches in five days and my eating schedule is at the mercy of tournament scheduling, eating right is really important. I had reserved a room that had a full kitchen and hit a Whole Foods to set myself up with vegan options. Oatmeal, rice, beans, tofu, eggplant, almond milk. Cashew butter, peanut butter and jelly, salad and veggies and all turned out well. And, I did hit a Thai restaurant for dinner a couple of times. Turned out OK.
The best news was clearly about how I felt, physically, each day. After playing in 95-100 degree weather on hard courts my body felt great each day. On two of the days I was competing for five hours and barely felt stiff when done.
Usually, after a couple of hours after playing I am very stiff and sore. But not this time. Also, my recovery for the next day is usually tough. But each day of putting my body through these tough physical workouts, I woke up the next day feeling as if I hadn’t even played the day before. Typically when the tournament ends I am really exhausted and spend a couple of days recovering. But, I am sure, thanks to my whole plant based diet, I felt completely normal. Amazing!"
How did he do it?
Bob started out ordering the MamaSezz Peak Performance Bundle. Order your very own bundle today to spark your plant-based (or mostly plant-based) journey.
Want more tips for traveling on a plant-based diet?
Don't miss our whole food plant-based travel guide!
Do you have a transformation story of your own?
Email: HeartBeatGang@MamaSezz.com and say "I'm interested in sharing my plant-based transformation story"