Training whilst on a vegan diet?

[darkstar]

Now my exams and dissertation are finished, I'm getting back into training for the Lakeland 50, a 50 mile fell run in July. I'll be running 5 times a week and doing weight in the gym 3 times a week and I don't want to lose too much muscle mass, which will be difficult with this type of event.

The tough component is the fact I have to complete a whole month on a strict vegan diet, which I've never done before. Just wondering if anyone has any tips of advice on how to get the appropriate nutrients, to sustain a healthy regime. I know some top athletes manage to do it, so it's possible, I just don't have a clue how!

Any input would be appreciated, cheers.

 

[HLaB]

I cant really advise and this example is vegetarian not vegan but Robert Millar (KoM) always said he was not vegetarian because of any ethical reason but because it could be processed easier; whether he also took nutrient supplements is anybody guess!

 

[Ravenbait]

There are some top Ironman triathletes who are vegan. Try googling "plant strong".

My top tip is nutritional yeast. The B vitamins are the hard ones to get. Marmite and nutritional yeast are your friends. Other than that, the only thing I missed (I was vegan for about a year for health reasons) was the texture of meat. We can't have nuts in the house because my partner's allergic so we ate a lot of tofu and it's just not chewy enough.

Sam

 

[darkstar]

Thanks for the tips, the Plant Strong concept seems to be pretty sound. I like the fact it's designed around fueling the body, and not completely based on the animal rights, which is not why I'm doing it.

The thought of not eating meat is pretty scary to be honest, I tried it a week or so ago but was caught out by Fanta Orange, which was annoying. So now it's time to try again.

Marmite is a good tip, will be sure to include that in my diet plan. Luckily i love Tofu, so I'll be eating lots of that, along with lentils. I'll also be drinking whey protein shakes.

I'm slightly worried about not having fish for such a long time, and there aren't any supplements i can think of to replace the nutrients?

EDIT; Oh and Ravenbait, I remember you asking on a status of mine why I'm going vegan, it's mainly because of a bet, which is not only economic incentive but pride as well. I also want to see if i'm capable of coping, as although I've kept to strict diets before, I've always relied on meat as the foundation of my nutrition for the majority of meals.

 

[Ravenbait]

Thanks for the tips, the Plant Strong concept seems to be pretty sound. I like the fact it's designed around fueling the body, and not completely based on the animal rights, which is not why I'm doing it.

The thought of not eating meat is pretty scary to be honest, I tried it a week or so ago but was caught out by Fanta Orange, which was annoying. So now it's time to try again.

Marmite is a good tip, will be sure to include that in my diet plan. Luckily i love Tofu, so I'll be eating lots of that, along with lentils. I'll also be drinking whey protein shakes.

I'm slightly worried about not having fish for such a long time, and there aren't any supplements i can think of to replace the nutrients?

Try getting hold of some cool oil. They usually have things like that in health food stores. There are plant versions of the Omega oils you get from fish.

Note that whey is from milk, so it's not vegan. You could go for soy instead. Avoid brown rice protein powder, it's rank. To be honest, you can get more than enough protein from pulses and there are proteins in wheat and fungus as well, so you are not going to go short.

Sam

 

[Garz]

Why are you on the vegan diet if your not doing it for the belief side may I ask?

Secondly fell running and distance/endurance events are not exactly appropriate for people who want to sustain muscle mass. Your body will strip down to a lean figure in design for these types of events as it won't want to be carrying excess.

In answer to your o/p you have done this by enquiring about supplements. For the conditions you have set out it is easier to just take supplements in tandem with your vegan diet. Take a few extra vitamins every other day (i.e. omega 3 if your not eating fish) but you should still maintain enough by eating fruits/veg and supplements.

Good luck with t he training, I completed a month on a veggie diet and found the last couple of weeks tough. I found the increasing amount of cheese and sugary foods on offer when eating out counteracted the 'healthy' aspect. It does take more planning and patience that it seems to stick to it properly.

 

[darkstar]

The cool oil looks great, and I hadn't considered the whey protein issue. I typically drink a protein shake every other day, and a recovery shale on the others days. I'll have to look for an alternative, taste is not too much of an issue if the selection is short.

Oh and I edited the previous post with a explination of why i'm doing this.

Cheers for the tips.

 

[darkstar]

Why are you on the vegan diet if your not doing it for the belief side may I ask?

Secondly fell running and distance/endurance events are not exactly appropriate for people who want to sustain muscle mass. Your body will strip down to a lean figure in design for these types of events as it won't want to be carrying excess.

In answer to your o/p you have done this by enquiring about supplements. For the conditions you have set out it is easier to just take supplements in tandem with your vegan diet. Take a few extra vitamins every other day (i.e. omega 3 if your not eating fish) but you should still maintain enough by eating fruits/veg and supplements.

Good luck with t he training, I completed a month on a veggie diet and found the last couple of weeks tough. I found the increasing amount of cheese and sugary foods on offer when eating out counteracted the 'healthy' aspect. It does take more planning and patience that it seems to stick to it properly.

I edited a previous post with the reason, it's partly a bet and also to prove to myself that I can do it.

The muscle issue will be a problem, I'm by no means stacked, but don't want to become to skinny, David Goggins is an inspiration when it comes to this, as he's an ultra-distance athlete and manages to sustain good strength and size.

I'll be buying vitamin tablets for the first time, Omega 3 is a must I think. Cheers for the tips and congrats on achieving a month without meat, last meal tonight had better be a good one i suppose!

 

[Ravenbait]

The cool oil looks great, and I hadn't considered the whey protein issue. I typically drink a protein shake every other day, and a recovery shale on the others days. I'll have to look for an alternative, taste is not too much of an issue if the selection is short.

Oh and I edited the previous post with a explination of why i'm doing this.

Cheers for the tips.

Taste is an issue with brown rice powder. I have an entire bag I wouldn't foist on my worst enemy.

Soy is fine. I typically use SIS Go, but that has carbs in it too, so you probably want to avoid it as a protein shake. Their Build is whey-based, IIRC. Get yourself down to myprotein.co.uk if you haven't already. I can give you my referrer code for a discount on your first order, if you like.

Vegan isn't as hard as people make out. I enjoyed it. We ate a lot of Asian cuisine, particularly Japanese temple cuisine, and Indian food is easily made vegan by replacing ghee with vegetable oil and avoiding paneer. I have a slight wheat intolerance and can't eat tomatoes or peppers, and we can't have nuts. So if we managed it you should be laughing!

Sam

 

[Garz]

I edited a previous post with the reason, it's partly a bet and also to prove to myself that I can do it.

The muscle issue will be a problem, I'm by no means stacked, but don't want to become to skinny, David Goggins is an inspiration when it comes to this, as he's an ultra-distance athlete and manages to sustain good strength and size.

I'll be buying vitamin tablets for the first time, Omega 3 is a must I think. Cheers for the tips and congrats on achieving a month without meat, last meal tonight had better be a good one i suppose!

I thought it may be a bet darkstar. Anyway I wish you the best on the training and the event!

I would definitely not worry about losing the muscle. I used to be young and wanted the mass but nowadays looking leaner is far better to me. It takes a long time to break down all the muscle if your not doing the crash way, so if your event is only a few months away see it as a good base to build upon again after the D-day.

 

[montage]

On a side not from the vegan thing....running 5 times a week for a 50 miler (assuming that at least some of these are long distance! ) is crossing swords with the angel of injury.


Back on the vegan thing, lots and lots and lots of nuts.






..edited for a type

 

[Zoiders]

Long distance running and a vegan diet sounds like a sure fire way of having a stream of liquid shoot down your leg during an event.

 

[zoxed]

I'm getting back into training for the Lakeland 50, a 50 mile fell run in July.

Changing diet and following a tough training program at the same time sounds like a bad idea to me (sorry !). As a vegan for over 15 years, and vegy since 1987 I do not think the vegan diet itself is a problem, but not everyone transitions in the same way !! You may want consider which of the 2 activities is most important to you !!
If you are worried about protein intake then I sometimes use Weider Soy 80+ protein powder with water, and I always take Veg 1 multi-vitamin tablets (direct from the Vegan Society online shop) but I do not know if I really need them (I consider them cheap insurance !).
You could also try asking your question on some vegan/sports forums.

 

[darkstar]

On a side not from the vegan thing....running 5 times a week for a 50 miler (assuming that at least some of these are long distance! ) is crossing swords with the angel of injury.

Yes one of those is a hills session, one is an fartlek interval session. The longest session is currently 18 miles, I won't be going much longer than that very often for the next month, marathon distance maximum if i'm feeling healthy.

 

[darkstar]

Long distance running and a vegan diet sounds like a sure fire way of having a stream of liquid shoot down your leg during an event.

Lovely

I'll try and make sure that doesn't happen.