Vegan Athlete of the Day: Tia Blanco

Tia is ranked in the top 50 female surfers in the world by the World Surf League and won the first place Gold medal at the International Surfing Association (ISA) Open Women's World Surfing Championship 2015 in Popoyo, Nicaragua and successfully defended the title by winning the 2016 edition in Playa Jacó, Costa Rica.  Tia was raised in a vegetarian household but made the choice to go vegan on her own after watching films such as Glass Walls and reading The China Stud.  Tia travels the world competing but always stays true to herself and her vegan lifestyle.  She was quoted in Men’s Journal as saying “I feel healthier on a clean, whole foods diet that is very simple — especially during competition. And since a plant-based diet is less calorically dense than other diets, I need to make sure I’m eating enough food so I up my portions a lot. I think of veggies as nutrition and water, not a food where I can get energy so I don’t even count veggies when I’m counting calories and nutrition. For energy, I go to potatoes, whole grains, and starchy veggies. I’m obsessed with carrots and sweet potatoes.”