There's not much to it, just don't treat Tofu as replacement-Steak. The key, to me, is that instead of "main dish and side dish" style of cooking (IE, a steak with a side of rice and veggies) I do "single, rich dish" cooking - for example, rice with a carrot and sweetpotatoe Daal, or a stir-fry.

I try to have at least one warm meal a day, and usually a bread-eggs-and-cheese either as breakfast or as a light dinner if lunch was heavy. As a vegetarian, eggs become a major source of protein - I usually have at least one a day, often two, with my bread. Cheeses and milk-products feature heavily. Legumes are also a great source of protein and become a major part in many dinners, as part of the sauce. Asian cuisine is a good source of inspiration - I do a lot of Indian and Thai, for example - or "Farmer's Stews" ("Whatever you've got in the fridge"-stews) that include some kind of bean, root vegetables and usually greens.

I know not every country has good, affordable fresh produce - but if you do, it shouldn't be any problem to follow a vegetarian diet.

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ZONE3 - We Last Longer

Thank you!
What do you eat before, during and after a hard training? I want to stay away from refined sugars...

Depends on the hour of day. If it's a morning session, I usually have a piece of simple bread with a thin spread before. During long sessions, I rely on anything from gels and sports drink to sandwiches and rice-cakes, depending on length and intensity. In that sense, being vegetarian is no different. Since training is part of my daily life, I just try to order my day so that training will be preceded by a lighter meal and followed by a more dense meal. I also tend to snack a lot - fruit, nuts and small sandwiches throughout the day.

Post-workout, I try to have either egg or a protein-rich cheese (Cottage cheese for example) relatively soon, and a protein-rich meal soon after. For example, a Shakshuka (the recipe is way overcomplicating things, don't need to be so heavy on the spices) makes a great post-ride Saturday brunch - it's anyway a classic dish where I live, can be scaled up easily for a bunch of riders.

All of this is not professional advice by any means, but it's what worked for me for most of my life so far.

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ZONE3 - We Last Longer

Thanks again, it is an excellent start point to me!

28 years as an ovo-lacto vegetarian, and also successfully racing bikes, boats, and tri.

I don't do anything special w/r/t diet. I just don't eat anything with a face, and I make an effort to eat a balanced diet throughout the day—not necessarily at a single meal.

The comment above about single dish is a good place to start; I do this a lot. Also, when we prep at home food, we just do simple substitutions with tofu, seitan, or tempeh.

Being veggie is not science, nor is it a hardship. It may necessitate some creativity and flexibility.

IMO: you're making a good decision.

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no sponsors | no races | nothing to see here

Thanks!!

http://www.nomeatathlete.com/ This might be a good place to start. Whilst I'm not vegetarian my diet is fairly low on meat. I'd also recommend the World Food Cafe cook books and Scott Jureks Eat and Run.

thanks!

https://www.amazon.com/...S7JHBBY2JFA6AC997BKC

Check out the Thrive Diet, by Brendan Brazier, the founder of those Vega One products. He goes over how to be an endurance athlete on a vegan diet.

I tried it for one day, but I love bacon too much.

I am a new vegan - and have found the Thug Kitchen cookbook to be awesome!! Tons of great ideas for meals. I also spent some time with a vegan sports nutritionist just to confirm I'm getting the cals I need with the training.
http://www.thugkitchen.com/

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Cheers,
Matt
(Columbus, OH)

Learn to love coconut oil, coconut water (post exercise especially), lentils.

Not a nutritionist, vegetarian or vegan. Just wanted to say that avocados are an awesome high fat food. You said vegetarian so that leaves the door open to high fat Greek Yogurt (none of that 0 fat single serve sugar laden shit). Look into Scott Jurek or Rich Roll both have cookbooks and are accomplished vegan athletes.

good job !!! yes vegetarian diet is a great choice, you don't have to think too much about it. if you're still eating eggs cheese milk it's essentially the same as a regular diet nutritionally. if you get rid of all animal products then i would advise a sublingual b12 vitamin

I've been a vegetarian for about 18 years.
This morning I had a cliff bar and coffee pre-workout. I ran 9.5 miles and swam 1825 yards, and I had 100 cal shot bloks before the swim.
After I had 3 eggs and a mix of sweet potato puffs / french fries with ketchup.

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

refined sugar in ketchup, but to add french fries has refined oil which is worse.

 

I'm imperfect :P

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

Tons of fresh fruit
Leafy greens
Nuts
Legumes,
Cereals
Chocolate
Spirulina
Ready to rock!

I love these protein bars http://amzn.to/2h5x5vP

and the Sun Warrior protein powder products http://amzn.to/2hNzatC

I did Ironman Florida totally vegetarian and got stronger with every passing week.

I second the D's no cow bars.. they are almost as good as quest bars

I'm curious if you are implying some downsides to Tofu?

Thanks

Not at all, I'm just saying that if you expect Tofu to replace the "Steak Experience" then it disappoints. If you treat it as a different raw material, with it's own properties, advantages and cooking methods - it's great. I'm not a fan, personally, of "mock-meat" cooking.

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ZONE3 - We Last Longer

I'm a vegan and there is no problem doing triathlons or any other sporting event, even without animal products. The idea that you can't get enough protein is complete nonsense, brought to you by the meat and dairy industry. You don't need any refined sugar in your diet and with all the good options, you will never miss eating meat. I think learning to cook good dishes and having a good variety will keep you interested. There are tons of good vegetarian cooking books, invest in a few and enjoy.

Great to see that you're interested in going vegetarian, or at least trying it.

I've been mostly vegan for 3 years now; started when I was 27. (I eat honey and have fish a couple times a year.) I've qualified for and raced in Kona on this diet, and managing big training loads, etc. in doing so. Don't want this to come across as a brag; I share that only because I think that I was able to do this as a result of the diet rather than having done so in spite of the diet. For me, being vegan has really helped with recovery and energy levels. Hope you see the same benefits.

Already a lot of good info on this thread - I completely agree with avoiding processed foods/mock-meat, leaning heavily on legumes and nuts for protein (though you don't need as much protein as you might think), and the cooking resources mentioned are ones I've used.

Two things I'd add...

• I'd be careful with would be loading up on dairy products to try to meet some protein requirement you have in your mind.


• While everyone is different, I found the removal of dairy from my diet to be a key element of my increased recovery. Again, not the case for everyone, but I found dairy to cause a lot of inflammation in my system. If you nix meat but up dairy, you might not see any benefits from the shift. Just a thought...
  
• And, as far as protein goes, it's really not something you need to focus too much attention on. If you're eating a mix of real (not packaged) foods, you're going to be getting enough protein. Especially if you're eating things like beans, chickpeas (for me that means hummus), nuts and seeds. Even greens and quinoa have protein. I used to supplement with protein since I feared that I wasn't getting enough. I stopped about a year ago and haven't seen any negative impact.
  

• Try not to eat too many refined/processed carbs.
  


• When I transitioned from meat-lover to vegan, I used grains as a crutch pre & post workout. Mostly bread and cereal. While eating whole grain versions, even sprouted grain bread, they were a bit more processed than other foods out there. There obviously fine in moderation, but probably not meeting your dietary goals when eating daily. I've since replaced these with quinoa; still a grain but much less processed/refined.
  
• A go-to pre-workout meal for me is quinoa with almond butter and bananas/ other fruit. Similarly, as a pre-workout snack in the PM I'll have quinoa with avocado. Just make a big container of it at the beginning of the week and you can make the snacks faster than you could make toast.
  
• Post-workout I'll take down a bowl of black beans, quinoa, avocado, sprouts or arugula + either a hot sauce or apple cider vinegar + olive oil. I make sure to have all these things in the frig at the ready. If it's a particularly big workout, I'll have a big spinach or kale smoothie with fruit and almond butter. After showering, I'll then eat that bowl.
  

I've got a lot more tips on transitioning to vegetarian/vegan here: http://www.lackofhustle.com/eat. Basically just shares what I've learned over the past few years along with what I eat, etc. Hope that's helpful. Good luck!

I've been vegan for 14 years.

Up until a month ago, i was eating oatmeal with natural peanut butter almost 7 days per week for breakfast. I just switched to a smoothie with spinach, banana, chia, flax, ginger, pineapple, pb poweder, apple and water instead. This was in an attempt to lead the day off with more vitamins. I do my first workout of the day fasted, and then drink this right after. If i commute into work (30 miles) i will drink this as soon as i get to work.

For lunch i do black beans, salsa, and either quinoa or rice almost every day. i switch up the type of salsa to give myself some variety, and sometimes i add chipotles or some hot sauce to kick it up another notch.

For years i would do pasta every night. We've been trying to cut back on refined carbs, so we haven't been doing much pasta. In the winter time soups and chilis are easy. They also last a few days. Hint: nearly every soup or chili tastes better with sweet potatoes added.

We rarely do tofu, unless we are at a restaurant. We go through some periods where we eat processed foods like veggie burgers on pretzel buns, Daiya mac and cheese, or Gardein vegan "chicken" stuff, but right now we are in a season where we are trying to clean things up and eat more whole foods.

It is very possible to be a well performing athlete on a vegan diet. As a vegan, I'm a cat 1 cyclist on a soon-to-be domestic elite team, and a national champion speed skater.

It is also very possible to be an overweight and out of shape vegan. Oreos and many potato chips are vegan, but that doesn't mean they are good energy sources for you.