just curious how many vegetarian or vegan athletes are out there. i eat vegan most of the time (vegetarian when i’m a guest so that i don’t have to impose my stuff on others), and people always ask me “how do you get enough protein when you’re training so much??” it would be great if, in addition to my standard reposnse, i could add that i know of lots of other veg athletes . . .
nice to meet you all, by the way… i’m new but have been observing your antics for a little while now.
I’m meat and dairy free. I do eat whey protein, that’s my only regular deviation from this. I don’t consider myself full-on vegan since I will have eggs or honey, but don’t keep either in my home.
I eat a lot of beans for protein. I also sprout lentils and put them on my salads, lots of protein and fiber (a lot). I was worried about not getting protein too, but I’ve found that even though I’m not taking in a lot of protein, it’s of higher quality (IsoPure Whey, veg. protein). My hair and nails still grow just as fast as before, so I’m not worried.
sprouted lentils, hmmm, good idea. my current favorite source of protein is almond butter – great on toast. but in general protein gets too much credit these days. my hair and nails are fine too.
as to honey, it’s definitely debatable as to whether it’s vegan or non-vegan… i have no problem with it.
thanks for piping up, miker!
I’m meat-free, but I eat fish, so I guess that is meat, sort of. I have a good friend that is full on vegan though and she is bad-ass… low 10:xx IM.
Why don’t you join these guys?
http://www.organicathlete.org/
Some pretty successful folks in there.
omg how great! thanks for sharing. too bad it doesn’t seem they have much activity here in nyc. i’ll keep watching.
I imagine if you contact them and give them your email address, most of those people would be willing to help you. From the articles I’ve read, they all signed up to be advocates for veggie eaters.
It’s murder
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maybe the reason so many men scoff at vegetarianism is because of pictures like this – the veggies are so phallic, hence the idea of veggie-murder is scary on some subconscious level.
I also sprout lentils…
Hey, maybe you need to clean up a bit between workouts!
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LOL
I never considered that.
I know that Hellriegel was a vegetarian the year he won Hawaii. However he had major problems with his veggie diet in 1998 (finished 8th), and was really skinny - said he was having to eat masses of chocolate after 2 hours on the bike as he had no energy. Don’t know if he has gone back to meat or not, but I do know he is very fussy about what he eats (remembering that his training diet back in 95 & 96 consisted of Big Macs and fries (apparently)).
I read that Jurgen Zack was also a veggie in his early days but found that he couldn’t sustain his energy levels, so turned back to fish and white meats.
Not sure what this tells us - I guess that you can win Hawaii without meat, but probably also that you need to be careful to ensure that your body is getting all that it needs wirth the mega-miles of training required.
Dave Scott is a vegetarian, as am I. That’s probably the only time that I can put myself in the same sentence as Dave.
Anyway, I have no problems getting enough protein.
I do eggs, whey supplements, beans, tofu, tvp, etc.
Whole wheat pasta/bread has a surprising amount of protein, and it’s delicious.
I was vegan for a year but wasn’t very healthy, so I am now an ovo-lacto vegetarian. I get protein from soymilk, yogurt, eggs (I won’t eat them plain - they have to be in french toast or something), breads, Luna bars…
My diet restrictions continually change. I’ve been 100% veggie but now I’m eating chicken and fish as well. Regardless, over the years I’ve discovered that it’s very easy to survive without meat. Three words–Snickers, Mountain Dew. The rest is just filler anyway.
-dk
I agree with the first three sentences of 89dk. Right now I’m in a “lapse” phase, cutting corners because I’m very burned-out from cooking vegetarian to keep myself going. I’m 56 now, and this season and last, which correspond with my switch to vegetarianism, have been very solid - it is obvious to me that going largely meatless has not hurt my performances. I am careful about my protein, however, and in addition to all of the aspects mentioned above I just want to add tempeh and seitan to the protein-rich lists. Both of them are a bit of an acquired taste (my wife, who eats almost anything, won’t do tempeh), but well worth the effort.
I’ve been an ovo-lacto vegetarian since 1990, and haven’t had any lapses since then (except in 1997, when i had a packet of sweets (candy - US?) - Fruitella, which contain gelatine). In the late 90’s i monitored my diet carefully with food analysis software at the university where i was an undergrad, and when i started my PhD at a different uni. Prior to analysis i had thought that i would be borderline deficient in protein, as a) i was a veggie, and b) ate a very heavy CHO rich diet (~ 65%).
However, analysis showed that i was actually consuming protein at the upper end of the scale (~1.8 g/kg body mass/day) and that i had nothing to worry about.
Certainly, during those early points i was training 15 to 25 hrs/week and was a 2nd and 1st cat roadie.
I tend to eat lots of fruit, veggies, bread, pasta, rice, eggs, and some dairy. occasionally i eat Quorn or TVP. i currently train up to 20 hrs/week (bike only).