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Weird Vegan Food :) |
I've been a plant-based endurance athlete for
over 7 years. It is seldom that I think consciously about these nutrition
choices because I am fully adapted to making food choices free of animal
products. Recent inquires lead me to put this post together…aimed at providing
some input into a plant-based diet aimed at supporting an athletic lifestyle
but not compromising convenience or cost- effectiveness.
Veganism // is the practice of
abstaining from the use of animal products, particularly in one's diet, as well as
following an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of sentient animals. A follower of
veganism is known as a vegan.
True “veganism is a life free of animal products
and nutrition in any way or form. So, in truth, the word “vegan” is not truly
applicable to many of us who claim the title for simplicity sake. More
appropriately, those of us who eat primarily vegan are more appropriately
referred to as “plant-based”. People have the desire to categorize others under
one title, but in this case, it’s important to understand that choosing
plant-based nutrition does not make you 100% “vegan”. At the same time, a
plant-based, vegan, diet can yield you great heath benefits and a new
perspective on life in general.
Through my initial efforts to improve athletic performance and health, I have benefited from a greater awareness to the cruelty to animals that take place in our current food production system. This clarity and increased awareness provided me a greater respect for all life. Over time, I increasingly find many of the common cultural habits in our society to be very selfish and ignorant to their negative impact on other people, animals, and the earth itself. This came as a secondary benefit of choosing plant-based nutrition.
People have different reasons for choosing a
vegan diet. For me, my choices were initially
the effort to improve athletic performance/recovery. I had a reached a
limitation in my endurance training for physical effort. That is, I was not
finding any greater improvement through more physical training. At that point,
I considered the other factors that would help maximize my training. Those were
nutrition and recovery. So, I began experimenting with a vegan diet and Bikram
yoga. Both enhanced my athletic performance and self awareness greatly.
My efforts to start paying closer attention to
my daily nutrition paid off exponentially over a few years. But, in the first 6
months, I saw incredible changes that solidified my decisions and kept me on
track since that first step. These are some of the changes I first noticed,
that continue to this day:
-Improved sleep
-Steady energy
-Enhanced recovery
-Improved digestion
-Skin clarity
I personally think it’s a mistake to make any
significant life choices based solely on weight control. It’s almost always a
mistake for people to take on their first marathon with an overall goal of
“losing weight”. Of course, weight loss is a result of consistent training and
proper food choices, but it should be lower on the list than positive motivators
like improved overall health, or chasing that marathon dream.
In this, it is a mistake to choose a vegan diet
solely for weight control. This is not a “diet”. That word has been poorly used
through marketing efforts in the last 50 years. No, going plant-based is
something that should be carefully thought-out and for the right reasons.
So, if someone chooses to gradually move toward
a plant-based diet, what types of things might they expect? Well, here are some
ideas from my experience:
There are common foods that must be
exchanged. Anything that was meat or
dairy, must be exchanged for something similar but free of animal derivatives.
Typical
Household Plant-based Household
Mayonnaise Vegenaise
Hamburger Veggie burger
(100 varieties on the market)
Cow Milk Soy,
rice, almond, cashew milk
Cheese Daiya,
Soy Station Almond, soy, etc.
Ice Cream So Delicious brand,
coconut/soy, etc.
Butter
Earth Balance (variety of flavors)
Whipped
Cream Cashew
cream
Whey
Protein
Vega brand, pea protein/soy/rice
Meat Tempeh, Tofu, Gardein/Morningtar products
These are just a few exchanges I make on a daily
basis. As an example of my daily consumption, both to support endurance running
and fuel plant-based... This is my intake and training from yesterday:
Calories Burned: 4009
Calories Consumed: 3200
Exercise: 13.5 mile
trail run
Breakfast:
Coach’s Oats oatmeal, Earth balance margarine,
agave, 1 cup fresh blueberries
During Run:
34 oz Coconut water, electrolyte fluid
“Coco-Hydro” brand. 4 fig bars “Natures’s Bakery”
Post Run: Vega recovery protein w/rice milk.
Lunch: Spinach salad w/tomatoes, carrots, pepitas and Ken’s Steakhouse
balsamic honey dressing. Morningstar “riblets”. Vega sport protein w/1 cup rice
milk, 1 cup mixed frozen berries.
Dinner: Bangkok curry “Buff bowl” from Noodles and Co
Evening: 2 cups Raisin bran crunch, 2 cups soy milk, 4 stalks raw celery
w/peanut butter
All day: 110 oz water consumed over the course of the day.
When
fueling plant-based, you will quickly realize that you need to eat more often.
That is, if you are an athlete, you will be eating every couple of hours. I
don’t go anywhere without food of some type. I carry granola and fig bars with
me. I also plan where I’ll be eating if I’ll be away from home. I know the
exchanges that can be made at common restaurants like Chipotle, Noodles and Co,
Which Wich, etc.. This is just the
normal routine because I live an active, busy life, on top of trying to ensure
health habits and choices.
It’s
very difficult for me to put together a comprehensive how-to on a plant based
diet. What I will share is that you need to know “why” you are choosing to take
this path. And also, you need to have some idea of what foods contain and how
you should go about making the exchanges like those listed above.
I
am limited by the same things that people offer as excuse for not being able to
eat healthy. For me, however, very few things in life are more important than my
health. I started this journey to make a significant lifestyle choice 7 years
ago. That choice was confirmed by the way I felt and the rapid recovery I saw
through ultrarunning. I feel better, sleep better, and I’m always alert and
ready to take on life. For these reasons, I continue to live this way.
I
hope some of this information helps you on your journey.
Run long, eat plants!
Jerry
Additional reading: "Eat and Run"-Scott Jurek
“Let’s improve ourselves as human beings, let’s become more compassionate, let’s become bigger, let’s become stronger, let’s become nicer people.”
-Scott Jurek (vegan; ultramarathoner)