Vegetarianism means low sports performance ..... ?

[Ravenbait]

Only for 6 months it would appear unless that was race preparation or since commencing the diet?

Er, no? He has been vegan since 2006. He's an elite endurance triathlete who recently completed 5 Ironman distance triathlons in under a week and is a top placer in the Ultraman event. So he's hardly a hobby sportsman. He's certainly not the only vegan triathlete out there, either.

I'm not saying that it's necessarily better to be vegan or vegetarian, but then it's fairly obvious that it's not a surefire way to ruin an athlete's performance, either. It's a question of the individual biochemistry. I know athletes who prefer to be vegan. I know athletes who not only prefer to be vegan but stick as much as possible to raw foods and it works for them.

If not eating meat doesn't work for you, enjoy your flesh. That doesn't mean that it won't work for others, though.

Sam

 

[Will1985]

Wasn't Wiggins on Linda McCartney just before it folded?

 

[Crankarm]

Er, no? He has been vegan since 2006. He's an elite endurance triathlete who recently completed 5 Ironman distance triathlons in under a week and is a top placer in the Ultraman event. So he's hardly a hobby sportsman. He's certainly not the only vegan triathlete out there, either.

I'm not saying that it's necessarily better to be vegan or vegetarian, but then it's fairly obvious that it's not a surefire way to ruin an athlete's performance, either. It's a question of the individual biochemistry. I know athletes who prefer to be vegan. I know athletes who not only prefer to be vegan but stick as much as possible to raw foods and it works for them.

If not eating meat doesn't work for you, enjoy your flesh. That doesn't mean that it won't work for others, though.

Sam

I'm not out to knock vegetarian sportsmen and women who compete at the highest levels. I mean an Iron/Ultra man is as hard as it gets, so the diet might work for them if they genuinely don't eat any meat. I am just curious if there are sportsmen and women who are vegetarian and at the top of their sport such as cycling, athletics or swimmers. Perhaps I needed to do some Googling.

What happened to the vegetarian TdF team? Did it fold for lack of money, politics or they just couldn't keep up? I guess they weren't exposed to the same performance enhancing hormones that the meat eaters were getting ....

 

[darkstar]

I think it would be fine so long as they get enough protein through shakes etc.

 

[Crankarm]

Wasn't Wiggins on Linda McCartney just before it folded?

Can't remember, well actually, I don't know.

 

[Crankarm]

Lamb chop or Pork chop?

Heheheeeee .

 

[Ravenbait]

According to the BBC, LM team fell apart because of infighting:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/front_page/4135289.stm

Sam

 

[Ravenbait]

Oh, and Robert Millar was vegetarian, apparently.

Sam

 

[sarahpink]

i eat mainly a vegetarian diet and get if not more than my daily recommended allowance of protein etc, things like soya protein tofu, *chicken style pieces* lol all have loads of protein some more than what you would think. i cant answe your question in terms of power, stamina etc but a vegetarian diet can still be high in protein. vegans are another story though.

 

[piedwagtail91]

Interesting. How do you deal with making sure you get enough protein? Fish or a lot of eggs?

I must admit I found it a real struggle which in the end became a real chore. I've had placings in road races not at the front though! I don't eat lots and lots of meat but without it I'd feel cream crackered like I used to when a veggie. Perhaps I wasn't eating the right veggie foods. Some times I would feel pretty good out on the bike or out running but invariably I'd end up with an injury or severe lethargy.

i do eat eggs a few times a week, drink a bit of semi skimmed milk and eat mixed nuts. but mainly i just eat what i fancy, to me food is food i don't divide it up!
I used to have some protein drinks when i was doing more weight training but gave up on them and switched to skimmed milk and eggs which was a lot cheaper. now i don't bother and have changed the way i do weights and done more walking and bike riding to get down from 16 stone (not much fat)to 12 simply to climb better.

 

[summerdays]

I know a vegan cyclist who is very good, but he does struggle with his iron levels and every now and again it gets very bad and ends up on a drip.

 

[HLaB]

Oh, and Robert Millar was vegetarian, apparently.

Sam

Yip; he's interview in the 'highlife' documentary about it. IIRC When he asked he replied 'it wasn't for ethical reasons it just better for his system'

Bah, youtube has disabled part 1, only part 2 of the documentary is still on the web

 

[Riverman]

Here's another good example of a powerful vegan.

http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB120122116182915297.html

"The 247 lb. Vegan
NFL star Tony Gonzalez is out to answer a question: Can a football player live entirely on plants?"

There's no evidence a vegan diet can improve an athlete's performance, says David Nieman, a professor of health and exercise at Appalachian State University. His 1988 study of vegetarian runners found they ran as well as their meat-eating rivals but no better. Although the vegetarian athletes in his study also ate eggs and dairy foods, he says, "there is scientific evidence that veganism, when done right, won't hurt performance." But, he adds, there is only

 

[automatic_jon]

My flat mate is a vegamatarian, and a bloody fussy one at that. We pool our meagre resources when it comes to food so I persist mainly on vege food day to day, although under duress.

I don't seem to recover as quickly when I'm here as when I'm visiting my folks and eating a more balanced, omnivorous, diet. As for longer term effects I can't comment as this is just my anecdotal experience.

 

[Fiona N]

I used to be vegetarian when I was racing in Australia - I didn't eat meat as I'd got out of the habit and then found that even quite small quantities hard to digest so I just carried on not eating it (bit of a bummer for barbies, though). I also didn't eat cheese or drink milk and I'm not exactly a fan of beans and pulses - I just really like fruit and vegetables - and bread.
The problem was that this 'diet' didn't supply nearly enough protein, (useable) iron or available calcium and I started to get problems with anaemia, especially when training hard. After talking to a dietitian who preferred to modify diet rather than hand out supplements, I started to eat fish once or twice a week and also yoghurt, and increase the number of eggs I ate. Soya milk, preferably with added Ca (although there is low uptake of Ca in this form), I drank by the gallon and I also made my own bread using triticale flour (old, low yield, form of wheat which is higher in protein than modern varieties) with lots of seeds and nuts. Also in Perth, you could get really good fresh tofu and tempeh, so high quality soy protein was easy to include in addition to soya milk.
This solved the problem and I ended up with a well-balanced diet - even the fish became optional - but it does require a bit more effort than the 'meat and 2 veg..' approach.