[Rhonda]: So training for it, diet, getting back to the vegan aspect of it.
Most people would think "Vegans.
Wow.
Wouldn't they...They don't get enough certain micronutrient deficiencies, iron or protein,
things like that."
So can you talk a little bit about how conscientious you are of what you're eating and your levels
of certain micronutrients and...
[Rich]: Yeah, sure.
I don't overcomplicate it.
Like I get...People send me these emails all the time like, "Tell me your ratio of this
to that."
And I'm like, "I don't even think..."
You know, like it's very simple.
Like I eat a lot of whole plant-based foods as close to their natural state as possible.
That's like general rule number one.
And when I was beginning to train, like I was just listening to my body and trying to
meet its needs as I saw fit in the moment.
So I wasn't following some kind of recipe or guide, but essentially I start my day usually
with a Vitamix smoothie that's...
[Rhonda]: Highfive.
Yeah.
[Rich]: Yeah.
It starts with a base of dark leafy greens.
Like it always starts with that, so spinach, kale, things like that, chard.
And from there it kind of builds pre-workout, beets, beet greens are always good, and berries
blackberries, blueberries, berries with high antioxidants, maybe some apple or orange,
and then some of the more exotic superfoods, hemp seeds, ground flax seeds, pepitas, which
are high in iron.
You know, that's one thing everyone worries about your iron levels.
So I make sure I eat seeds that are high in iron.
And I keep it simple.
Like I have four kids.
We're busy.
We're doing a million things.
I open up the fridge in the morning.
I don't know what I'm gonna find, you know.
So a lot of times it's just improvising with what we have.
And I usually find though that gets me out of the door in the morning before my morning
workout.
If I'm really hungry, some gluten-free toast with almond butter or something like that
is fine.
And then I'm good.
You know, I can go out and I train.
I come back, you know.
I'll drink the second half of that smoothie or make a different one.
I'll supplement with some plant-based protein powders, but I don't...Like I've had a whole
journey with supplements.
And we can get into that.
You know, I don't overdo it with that at all.
You know, when I first began, I was so worried about all of these things like, "Oh, you're
gonna be deficient in all these things."
And I had all kinds of crazy supplements.
And over the years, I've kinda weaned myself off of those and thought, "You know, do I
really need these?
Are these really working?
And am I spending my money, responsibly?"
And I found that for the most part, I don't need most of those things that I thought that
I did, including protein powder.
Like I really don't even do that much of that.
Lunch is usually a huge salad with lots of raw vegetables in it or perhaps like quinoa
and beans.
I eat lots of beans, lots of black beans, beans of different kinds, lentils, quinoa
things that are sort of plant-based foods that are higher in protein content than other
plant-based foods.
[Rhonda]: Lentils are really higher in iron, as well.
[Rich]: Yeah.
You can go to Trader Joe's and they have packets of like pre-cooked lentils.
[Rhonda]: Oh really?
[Rich]: Sometimes they're just like they're $2, you know.
So I go in there and like and just grab those for lunch for a quick snack.
You know, veggie burritos.
My wife's an amazing cook, so she's made it a lot easier.
[Rhonda]: Is your whole family vegan?
[Rich]: Yeah, our whole family is now.
And that's been a journey in its own right with the kids and everything like that, but
now they are.
It wasn't always that way, but yeah.
I mean, I keep it really basic.
I don't overthink things.
You know, when I'm training and I'm going out on a long ride, I try to bring a lot of
whole foods with me or know places where I can stop to pick up bananas.
Dates are always good.
Almond butter, again, or maybe like an almond butter sandwich I'll bring with me in my back
pocket, liquid nutrition in the form of like a maltodextrin.
You can get like 900 calories in one bottle, things like that.
[Rhonda]: So what about like vitamin D?
Is that something that you...
[Rich]: I don't really worry about vitamin D. And I get my levels, my blood checked and
everything.
My vitamin D is fine, but I'm outdoors training a lot.
So I would imagine that that takes care of itself by exposure to the sunlight.
I do supplement with vitamin B12, but a lot of the foods that I eat too are also vitamin
B12 fortified.
So I don't get too crazy worried about that either.
And my B12 levels are fine.
[Rhonda]: So you obviously have the luxury of living in southern California.
You're still young.
You have lighter skin.
So there's a lot of things that regulate the ability of your body to produce vitamin D
from UVB radiation from the sun.
Are there other vegetarians or vegans that sort of come to you for a template or a guide?
And do you like have anything that you can tell them usually?
Like, because it can be a problem for vegetarians, vegans.
[Rich]: I think deficiencies are a problem for everyone.
And I think it's endemic especially since like our soils are being progressively depleted
and the foods maybe aren't quite as nutrient-dense as they used to be.
And so I think I encourage everybody to go get their blood checked and see where they're
at with everything because it is such an individual thing.
And if you are in a northern climate or a place where you're not gonna get a lot of
sunlight, of course vitamin D can become a problem, and you should supplement.
So I'm not against supplements, but I think that the approach should always be that they're
supplements.
They should supplement the diet that you're eating, right?
They shouldn't come in the place of the food.
But I think that if you're deficient or you're prone to one of those kinds of deficiencies,
of course, I think it's appropriate.
I don't know that vegans and vegetarians have a higher incidence of vitamin D deficiency
than anybody else.
You may know more about that than I do.
[Rhonda]: Vitamin D inadequacy is pretty prevalent in the United States.
Around 70% of the population doesn't have what's considered to be adequate levels.
It's not quite deficient.
Deficiency versus inadequacy, there's a little difference, but I don't know if vegetarians
or vegans and/or if they take the supplemental vitamin D3 form, which is commonly, it's from
lanolin, which is excreted from like the sebaceous glands of sheep when they're making wool.
Is that something you would take or is that like against the vegan rules?
Like, because I don't know if the sheep get harmed or anything.
[Rich]: Right.
Yeah, I don't know.
I don't know enough about that.
I probably wouldn't take that.
So I would...You know, I try to make sure that whatever I am taking in is vegan in its
origin.
[Rhonda]: So it can't come from animals, even if the animal's not dying or...
[Rich]: Well, yeah.
I mean, I would have to know specifically in each instance how that works.
And the road gets narrower.
You know what I mean?
Like certain things you used to do, then I'm like...Because it's different for me now.
Like it's been an evolution.
And I think that this is kind of an important point, which is there is this idea that certain
people out there are like struck vegan overnight.
I don't know anybody for whom that is the case.
Like for everybody, it's a journey, you know.
It's something that you evolve into, if you're inclined or if that's something that interests
you.
You know, so the things that I'm sort of focused on now are different than they were in 2008
or when I began.
So for me, I've become a lot more interested in other aspects of this lifestyle that originally
weren't that interesting to me.
And that's a whole other discussion, but so, and now also I'm sort of this ambassador of
vegan athletes in some regard, for better or worse.
So I think it's important for me to kind of hold that space and to say like, "Yeah, I
can do it without all these things.
So you can too."
So I can go out and be 100% vegan, 100% plant-based, and not ingest any animal products in to my
diet and do these crazy endurance races as just a point of contradiction to conventional
wisdom so that other people can look at that and infer from that as they wish.