Can I Be a Vegan Athlete? Tips to Getting the Right Nutrition
There is a myth surrounding athletes and sports nutrition: you must be a meat eater to succeed. This myth has been dis-proven again and again by superstar, vegan athletes. You do need to take in an adequate, correct amount of nutrition, however, to say that you must eat meat and animal products to do so, is just plain bull; pun intended.
Current Veggy Athletes
If you’re finding it hard to believe that you can be a stellar athlete and eat a strictly plant-based diet, just ask these people what they think:
- Jane Black: vegan for over 20 years, Jane won the Best Lifter trophy at the Masters World Weightlifting Championships in 1996.
- Brendan Brazier: this Ironman triathlete won the Canadian 50km Ultra Marathon twice, 3rd place in the National Long-Course Triathlon Championships and is a medal holder in two Royal Victoria Marathons.
- Mac Danzig: this vegan and animal rights advocate is a mixed martial arts fighter and the winner of The Ultimate Fighter 6.
- Scott Jurek: Scott has one the Badwater Ultra Marathon twice, running a total of 135 miles over mountains and through Death Valley.
- Carl Lewis: this well known vegan has ten Olympic medals under his belt and has been named Athlete of the Year three consecutive times.
The Protein Question
If you are new to researching the vegetarian and vegan lifestyles, some of the names on the list may have surprised you. Did they? It often surprises many people to find out that you can be a vegan and, not only get enough protein in your diet, but be so nutritionally sound in your eating habits that you can excel in athletics.
Transitioning to a vegan diet doesn’t have to be difficult or overwhelming for anyone. If, however, you are an athlete looking to transition to a plant-based diet, it may be more important for you to do so correctly than it would be for the average Joe or Jane. You should begin by figuring out the exact amount of nutrients, such as protein, that you need on a daily basis to maintain your muscle mass.
Because the body can only process 30g of protein at a time, many athletes will eat several small meals throughout the day. This makes transitioning to a vegan diet fairly simple; replace one protein in a single meal with one that is plant-based. After a week, replace one protein in two-meals and so on. Continue in this manner until you have fully transitioned to a vegan diet.
Getting enough protein without consuming meat or other animal products is actually quite simple. Beans, legumes and seeds are high in protein as are meat-replacement products made of soya beans. Cereals, pulses and nuts are also protein rich and can be used alone or in combination to make up for the protein you lose by skipping those tasty steaks. There is also a gram of protein in every serving of vegetables!
Online Tools
The best vegan guide [http://www.bestveganguide.com/vegan-food-list.html] is a fantastic website for those looking to transition properly to a vegan diet. Vegan.com [vegan.com/] is another great site, as is Vegan Action [www.vegan.org/].
As far as supplementation goes, there are supplements that all vegans need and others that only some vegans require, based on the soundness of their diet. The vegan R.D. [www.theveganrd.com] has a wonderfully simple, informative guide when it comes to choosing the correct supplementation for your lifestyle.
As if this all doesn’t make transitioning easy enough, you can also download apps for your mobile device that make keeping track of your nutritional intake amazingly simple. VeganXpress, Vegan with a Vengeance and VeginOut Guide make planning meals simple and FoodPlannerLite can help you keep track of how much protein, carbs and fat you are taking in with each meal.
Going vegan doesn’t have to be overwhelming or difficult. With a bit of pre-planning, you can make the transition to a vegan lifestyle a simple, long-lasting and beneficial one.
Tyler Nelson is a personal trainer and blogs for supplement-deals.co.uk a sports nutrition site where you can find great deals on bodybuilding supplements.
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