Wondering if anyone else has dealt with this issue – I have a family member who claims to be Vegan and overall she is mostly vegan. Periodically she eats cows milk, cheese and other products that have dairy and eggs in them and I suspect meat sometimes but I don’t really know. But she always calls herself Vegan and she claims it to her friends and family. As an actual Vegan, it really bothers me, even though I know her diet causes much less suffering than your average non-Vegan. Does anybody else ever deal with this? And do you think it’s a problem when people say they’re vegan and they’re actually not?

I'll go first. I've been vegan since I was 13 years old.

I think it comes down to what are your goals, but also, what are you currently eating? A lot of vegans are eating things like beans, nuts, peanut butter, oats, whole grains, and they're saying this is how I get my protein on a vegan diet. And the detail we should pay attention to is, those foods listed above are comprised of more than just protein. When you get nuts, you're getting more fat than protein. When you're eating beans, you're getting more carbs than protein. And so, you're setting yourself up for a not-a-very-high-protein diet. So, how much protein do you need? I still believe it depends on your goals. If you're just trying to live to a ripe old age, 50 grams of protein a day is probably great for most. But if you're really trying to build muscle, if you want to grow in the gym, if you want to start hitting PRs, if you want to stop being skinny fat, I stick with the tried-and-true 0.8 to 1 gram per pound of body weight per day. It seems to be working really well. I've done it with myself, with other pro-level vegan bodybuilders, and over 500 clients. If someone you know haven’t yet seen my High-Protein Vegan Recipes book, grab it here: https://vegansquadcoaching.com/cookbook I’d love to know what your favorite source of protein is currently!

In this episode, Dr. Matthew Nagra (@dr.matthewnagra) shares how he first adopted a plant-based diet for health and athletic performance before becoming ethically motivated after watching Earthlings. He discusses facing pushback in naturopathic medical school, how that challenged him to study the research more deeply, and why he ultimately adopted a more objective approach that acknowledges healthy animal-food dietary patterns are possible, though not necessary. We also explore medical ketogenic diets for intractable epilepsy, protein requirements and sources, the limitations of raw diets, common nutrient concerns such as protein, iron, and calcium, the uncertainty surrounding vitamin D recommendations, the claims behind “I was told I can’t be vegan,” and practical advice for effective activism, including consistency, diverse approaches, and avoiding perfectionism on social media. You can listen to the full episode here: http://vegansquadcoaching.com/vegansquadpod

You're going through a breakup, someone you love died, you lost your job, or it feels like the world is crumbling around you. That isn't to make light of what you're going through. But often the hardest seasons of our lives become the ones that shape us the most. For me, losing my dad and losing a relationship that was tied to my identity forced me to grow into a different version of myself. Looking back, those losses were painful, but they also helped create opportunities for growth that I never would have experienced otherwise. I've come to believe that we don't just go through hard things, we can grow through them. What loss, setback, or difficult season have you grown through, and what did it teach you?