General Discussion Triathlon Talk » Plant Based Triathletes Rss Feed  
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2016-08-23 2:44 PM

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Subject: Plant Based Triathletes
Hi Everyone,

Just curious if there are any plant based triathletes here. I'm just getting back into the sport and have recently gone to an all plant based diet. Any suggestions on nutrition for a newby?

Thanks!


2016-08-23 4:07 PM
in reply to: MelFord444

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Expert
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Vancouver (not Canada) Washington (not D.C.)
Subject: RE: Plant Based Triathletes
I'm not vegan but have trained and raced on predominantly a lacto-ovo vegetarian diet. I eat a lot of rice and beans, broccoli and fresh seasonal foods and pasta.

I've enjoyed being in the Bend Oregon area and meeting Jesse Thomas and Lauren Fleshman who've created Picky Bars which are great energy and great food.
2016-08-24 8:26 AM
in reply to: MelFord444

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Subject: RE: Plant Based Triathletes
Plant based guy here! I wouldn't worry too much about nutrition if you are eating a whole food diet, as long as you don't fall into ruts and keep up your variety. A few resources I found early in my plant based eating transition are the no meat athlete website, Brendan Brazier, and Rich Roll. There is also a youtube channel called BananaTV which is more Vegan-centric but has some good info about tri training. My wife and I use a meal plan subscription on the Forks over Knives website as we are not the most creative cooks and it helps us streamline our meal prep, provides a shopping list, and detailed cooking instructions.
2016-08-24 8:26 AM
in reply to: MelFord444


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Subject: RE: Plant Based Triathletes
i am, and have raced up to 70.3 distance. Fueling during races is easy as you just don't eat ham sandwiches on the bike...

Training diet is just like my normal one, I've never felt the need to change it up other than my portion sizes probably and making sure I get something in post-workout. Not sure if you are looking for food ideas, but i do a lot of stir fry, beans/tostadas/tacos, green drinks, salads, pasta, a bar or two, etc.
I think sometimes people think it is more difficult than it really is, but if you keep it simple it shouldnt be anything you need to worry about...its just eating.
2016-08-24 8:43 AM
in reply to: ilikepizza

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Subject: RE: Plant Based Triathletes

Been vegan for about 2.5 years, and you don't have to worry about getting enough nutrients.  I would get your B12 checked, and the biggest obstacle for me is usually getting ENOUGH calories.  High carb, low protein, low fat is the way to go!

2016-08-24 9:26 AM
in reply to: dmiller5

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Subject: RE: Plant Based Triathletes

I am on a high carb, low protein, low fat diet but am NOT strictly plant based and defiantly not Vegan. I spend way to much time milking goats and raising chickens to not eat eggs or dairy, but when I was in college living in an apartment in town with roomates rarely cooked meals that had meat in them.  I have always been a gains type of guy:-)  

When I did my diet make over from the Standard American Diet to my triathlon training plan I replaced a lot of my processed food with fruits, started working some of the super grains into the mix (Qinoa, Kamut, Buckwheat, etc.), focused on starchy vegetables (sweet potatoes, etc.), started using natural nut butters, increased the greens and tried to get a full variety of colors in my diet every day.  As already mentioned I didn't give up the meat.  I eat home grown pasture raised organic chicken, home produced organic free range eggs, raw goats milk.  I also like sea food and fish.  Salmon always seems to be the most highly recommended from that category. 

I lived for years with out cooking hardly any meals with meat in them.  People with certain types of metabolisms do just fine on an all plant diet.  Its not for everyone though.  Some people don't feel as energetic if they don't get some animal based proteins in their diet.  Yes, the No Meat Athlete website was the first resource that came to my mind for a plant based diet. 



2016-08-25 1:44 PM
in reply to: MelFord444

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Subject: RE: Plant Based Triathletes
Originally posted by MelFord444

Hi Everyone,

Just curious if there are any plant based triathletes here. I'm just getting back into the sport and have recently gone to an all plant based diet. Any suggestions on nutrition for a newby?

Thanks!



I'm not a plant based triathlete, but I find that I am gravitating more and more towards nutrition of that kind. I'm not sure why, but my choices of the last few years have me now eating more plants that ever. For example, my breakfast is a smoothie...every morning. I use a plant based protein powder and add fruits and veggies to it. One of my favorite smoothies is one in which I add beet powder, fresh blueberries, a banana, either kale or broccoli, and a serving (or two) of chia and flax seeds.

When my training gets the hardest (as it is now), I'll also eat one of those smoothies as lunch. I'll also make other plant based snacks to eat throughout the day (a cup sized portion of quinoa, a bowl of rice and beans, a few fruits, a few veggies, a handful of nuts, etc.).

I always make sure to add a snack that will satisfy any junk food urges, such as peanut butter crackers, a granola bar, etc. Otherwise, I will start raiding my workplace snack bar in search of something totally awful (like a snickers bar or other tasty delight).

Oh, and wine.
2016-08-25 2:34 PM
in reply to: #5196369

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Subject: RE: Plant Based Triathletes
Brendan Brazier and Rip Esselstyn were both pro triathletes on plant based diets. Both have cookbooks with recipes and other information for athletes. Interestingly their philosophies are a bit different as Brendan uses lots of oils and nuts and limits tofu where as Rip leans more toward low fat options. Brendan's recipes will sometimes have odd/hard to find or expensive ingredients so I will often just omit them when I cook.

Brendan has a line of bars and supplements (Thrive) which are great, but pricey. Same goes with picky bars. I end up just making my own things. I source my protein powder from truenutrition.com which allows you to make your own custom mix. I use a 70% pea 30% rice mix as the amino acid profile is very good.

I'd recommend using an app to track your nutrition every once in a while. While it's not hard to make your protein needs on a plant based diet, it can be very easy to miss them if your not paying attention to what you are or are not eating. Also, make sure you are taking B12 either as a supplement or in a food (i.e. Nutritional yeast) as most plant based individuals are lacking

The second half marathon I did was on a completely plant based diet and I went sub 1:24 (12 minute pr) so it is possible to get fast on plants.

I'd also take a look at no meat athlete as they are a decent resource as well (and they do a podcast)
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