Plant-based diets?

[Atlas]

Hi, both my boyfriend and I are vegan and have been for many years. I do shorter rides, closer to metric centuries, but he does lots of centuries and longer endurance events.

Our lifestyle/diet is about environmental issues more than health so we eat healthy but not always Potato chips are still vegan and I make a lot of cookies. That said, plant based convenience foods are harder to find/more expensive than they're meat/dairy counterparts. So by default you end up cooking at home a lot which is much healthier anyway.

My favorite snacks on rides are luna bars, lara bars, primal strips, peanut butter sandwiches, and dates.

It's definitely possible to be an endurance athlete on a plant-based diet. Let me know if you have any specific questions.

[Tri Girl]

My favorite snacks on rides are luna bars, lara bars, primal strips, peanut butter sandwiches, and dates.

I agree with this! (except I prefer almond butter)


I have been vegan for six months now. I had 2 motivations:
1. my cholesterol was WAY too high and my doc was about to put me on statins (and I do NOT want to go on statins) so I drastically changed my diet (and my cholesterol has lowered 60 pts). and
2. I was flexitarian (vegetarian mostly, but occasional fish) for 3 years and I've always had ethical reservations about eating animals.

I'm an endurance athlete. I did an Ironman triathlon last September (when I was vegetarian- only eating dairy and cheese), and I did an ultramarathon in November just after becoming vegan.
It CAN be done. I normally think that eliminating any one thing is not the smartest thing to do, but in this case, I think it's actually been beneficial. At first I subbed a LOT of starchy things, but then once the initial shock of the dietary changes settled in, I've actually really begun to open up my eating options. There is plenty of protein in vegetables and things like quinoa.
A book that helped me get started was Alicia Silverstone's The Kind Diet (an OK read, but helpful hints) and Brendan Brazier's Thrive: The vegan nutrition guide for optimal performance in sports and life (he's a former pro triathlete who was competitive on the Ironman level).

I actually feel much healthier now that I've started eating meat once or twice a week. I have more energy, I recover quicker from long efforts, I get stronger quicker, my nails aren't brittle.

It's funny how different people can be. Now that I'm only eating a plant-based diet, my nails are growing again and are very strong (they used to be so brittle I never got the chance to trim them- and I have to trim every other week now or they get too long). I, too, find that I recover more quickly from exercise and I sleep better (and all the plumbing functions normally). Every person is different. My doc didn't think a plant-based diet was the way to go, but I'm doing well on it. I get full bloodwork done every 3 months to check my protein levels, glucose, cholesterol, lipids, etc just to make sure my body is functioning as it should. So far so good.


If this is the way you want to go, please look into it and be smart about the dietary changes you make. It can be done and done well.
Good luck to you!!! (and keep asking if you have any other questions)


P.S.- Those two movies made an impression on me, too. So did Vegucated and Food Inc.

[Thorn]

Mmmm...Primal Strips.....mmmmm....probably my one weak spot for processed vegan, but they make a quick, tasty protein bomb when I'm on the road.

I agree with the statements about watching what you substitute and finding a good recipe resource. To avoid high salt, high calorie substitutes you'll find yourself cooking more, so building up the recipe library will help.

Additional sources:
http://www.drmirkin.com/ -- This is the doctor that the Road Bike Rider newsletter often quotes. His stuff is a pratical balance, backed by research. His recipes are not all vegan, but are simple and nutrituous.

http://nutritionfacts.org/ -- no recipes, just motivation;

There is a lot of research that says you can do what you want, but it will take a little bit of work to get started. Good luck!

[snyderd25]

Wow! So much insight. Thanks ladies! What I was really thinking was to try and increase fruits, veggies, and beans until century ride is over... still eat meat and eggs but maybe cut back. I was thinking I would then try a juice fast upon my return.... and then transition into actual fruits, veggies, grans, and beans for a few weeks. And see how I feel about meat then...

I agree that the minute I decide to cut something out, it's the only thing I can think of eating! So I don't really have any true vegan aspirations, but I might be interested in cutting down on animal products. Protein is the big concern... there seems to be a lot of debate on how much one actually needs... and because I lug around a lot of extra weight, I really have some post workout fatigue after the tough rides and don't want to cut back on protein if that will make it worse.

All I know for sure is that I seem to need a factory reset for my body and I thought this might be a healthy, productive way to do it... but maybe not!

[VeganBikeChick]

You can be an endurance athlete. And you can do it on a plant-based diet alone. And for everyone who worries about "not enough protein" concerns, there is not a "protein deficiency" going around. It's been estimated that everyone eats far too much protein as it is.

I highly recommend "Appetite for Reduction", by Isa Chandra Moskowitz. It's a low-cal, low-fat, but NOT low-flavor vegan cookbook. She heavily supplements with veggies, and all of the recipes are fantastic. I have nothing to gain by recommending this cookbook, it's just one that's my favorite and has helped me lose a bit of weight.

No matter what route you choose, good luck to you!

[OakLeaf]

It's been estimated that everyone eats far too much protein as it is.

Not "everyone."

The "average American diet" that includes meat every day - for a lot of people, meat at more than one meal every day - has way more protein than anyone needs. Eliminate or even reduce the meat, and you've automatically eliminated the excess protein.

Endurance athletes need more protein than the "average" sedentary American, and I'm not sure a vegan could get the amount of protein the "average American diet" includes even if you ate nothing but protein powder.

Personally, at 120#, I need at least 100g protein a day when I'm training for an endurance event with body weight training only. More than that if I'm doing heavy gym work. I hate counting grams of anything, but I've done it, and I can't get near that without either animal products, or a highly processed protein supplement.

I'm not telling the OP not to do it (just suggesting ). There are a lot of professional athletes who do it very successfully (although I still can't come up with anyone other than Scott Jurek - help me out here ). I am asking her to be very conscious of why she's doing it, and very aware of the effort it will take to get proper nutrition.

[redrhodie]

I'm not telling the OP not to do it (just suggesting ). There are a lot of professional athletes who do it very successfully (although I still can't come up with anyone other than Scott Jurek - help me out here ). I am asking her to be very conscious of why she's doing it, and very aware of the effort it will take to get proper nutrition.

http://davezabriskie.com/?p=647

Dave Zabriskie is vegan.

[Tri Girl]

There are a lot of professional athletes who do it very successfully (although I still can't come up with anyone other than Scott Jurek - help me out here ).

Sorry- couldn't help myself:

Dave Zabriskie : professional cyclist(he was already mentioned)
Brendan Brazier: Ironman triathlete
Jane Black: has been a vegan since 1990 and has set many Masters National and World records in weightlifting
Mac Danzig : is an American professional mixed martial arts fighter
Keith Holmes: is an American professional boxer- world middleweight boxing champion
Georges Laraque: professional ice hockey forward for the Montreal Canadiens
Carl Lewis world famous track and Olympic medalist
Patrick J. Neshek : is a Major League Baseball relief pitcher for the Minnesota Twins
Prince Fielder: Milwaukee Brewers first baseman
Tony Gonzalez: Tight End Atlanta Falcons NFL
Martina Navratilova : professional tennis player
Desmond Howard: Washington Redskins receiver
John Salley : NBA (Bulls during the Jordan years- and Lakers)


and there are many more Surprisingly lots of bodybuilders/weightlifters.

And yes, I prefer plant-based diet over Vegan, but I consider myself to be a vegan since I have a deep compassion and love/care for the welfare of all animals and stay away from animal products outside of just food.

I don't think my husband could function on a vegetarian diet. He doesn't eat a lot of meat, but he needs to have it a few meals a week--his body craves it.

Me either. Since I've gone to a plant-based diet, I think my DH has eaten my share of what little meat I ever ate. . Plus, he's always borderline anemic, and has a iron deficiency. If he were to give up meat (especially red meat), he'd probably pass out daily from lack of iron. He eats it at every meal. Our dieteary needs are SO very different. He eats a LOT more than me (and less healthy), so it's one of the reasons I got so overweight in the first place. He's a beanpole and I am not. Being vegan has helped a LOT with my weight management. Plus, is it bad that I cook for myself most of the time now? If I just want some hummus and veggies for dinner, I eat it- no more cooking big meals for us both.

[malkin]

...I agree that the minute I decide to cut something out, it's the only thing I can think of eating! ...

Like when you are staring down an obstacle, thinking "Don't ride through the glass" and then you keep watching as you ride right through the glass.

Focus on what you DO want.

[snyderd25]

"Meat lite!" I like that! And I think that would be the ultimate goal so I don't feel deprived and restricted. I am disgusted with much of the food industry, particularly how livestock is treated, but buying grass-fed and free range can break the bank. I still think I'd be interested in a juice reboot after my big ride (I need to lay off cycling anyway because of golfer's and tennis elbow in both elbows-- apparently my bike is too small for me!), I should increase fruits, veggies, and beans in general, but then maybe be "meat and eggs lite" :-) I can start meat lite even before my ride. I just know I don't feel well now and when I go low carb, I feel really crappy, so I need to do something different.

I don't eat a lot of processed foods now, but I still consume too many calories through protein and fats (even if they're the healthy ones).

Why God couldn't have made me size 2 and blonde, I just don't know!

Thanks again for all of the insight!

[Breella]

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE remember that a juice diet like the one in Fat Sick and Nearly Dead is NOT recommended to be followed for extended periods of time. Rather it's something you do in regular intervals around a normal eating schedule.