Practicing the vegan diet as an athlete is just as viable as any other diet choice. However there are several considerations to take into account. Many athletes, especially in athletics that benefit from heavy muscle gain, tend to prefer the high protein low carb benefits of animal meats. This isn’t the only solution however, and strengthening the body and its bone and muscles, endurance and cognitive functions can be done with vegan practices.
There is a ton of variety when it comes to the vegan diet in regard to athletics. It is important though to know what helps you and in what way, to achieve your goals as an athlete.
There are several approaches you need to consider when putting together your meals. Are you trying to gain or reduce weight? Is this meal eaten after your exercise? Is this for breakfast? It is just as important to look at what you’re eating while considering when and what for.
Food choices for the athlete
Now, of course you won’t be eating much right before your physical fitness begins. Vegan food is just the same as any other diet, but what you eat after is particularly important.
As far as plans go, you will need to consider a few things. Most important is portion control, and making sure you fulfill all the nutrient needs of your body, like fiber, vitamins, and proteins.
Note on eating after intense exercise:
Exercise causes inflammation in the body, and a vegan has the edge in this respect over someone wanting to gorge on steak, because the best solutions are plant-based. Your body pretty much needs alkaline solutions to reduce acidic influence in your bloodstream (which causes inflammation. So this is important to consider. You’ll want to look at foods that have less acidic ingredients.
Whole grains:
You can keep blood sugar levels low and get complex fiber by eating whole grains like brown and wild rice, millet, buckwheat, oatmeal, barley, corn, bulgur, and every vegans favorite — quinoa.
Brown rice
Brown rice with steamed vegetables is excellent for filling the body and gaining the fiber and nutrients to strengthen the body. This is a great solution for lunch.
Oatmeal
A breakfast that consists of oatmeal will prepare you for your day and instantly wake you up from any grog. Oatbran is also great, and both will give you a feeling of fullness for some time, without straining the stomach. Mix with blueberries, strawberries, cranberries, bananas, or any of your favorite fruits. Spices like cinnamon and even a dash of nutmeg are great for a more savory breakfast. Soft nuts like walnuts and cashews are great for adding protein.
Mexican Quinoa
these dishes are easy and excellent, as the make a complete meal, superb for any athlete. Consisting of quinoa as the base, you also have corn, tomato, black beans, garlic, and even some vegetable broth. If you plan to eat this directly after intense exercise substitute the tomato with squash.
Vegetables:
Now veggies come in numerous varieties, and they can become quite unhealthy depending on what you do to them when creating meals.
Best thing to avoid is fried variations, and if you must use an oil, try to use avocado or peanut. This aside, there are numerous vegetable-based meals that are perfect for athletes.
Vegetable paella
This is one of the best meals to end the day with. Arborio is the most common rice along with Bomba. Turmeric and saffron are the essential spices. The vegetables are varied as paella is about having a variety of ingredients. This is why it tends to cover numerous aspects an athlete requires in nourishing the body. You will find proteins, complex fibers, vitamins, and antioxidants in these meals as they always include ingredients consisting of legumes, garlic, bell peppers, peas, artichoke hearts, asparagus, and green beans.
Kale with Avocado and black beans
This is an excellent solution for lunch as you gain various nutrients, fats, and proteins from this excellent meal. A side of rice or quinoa are great if you want to wrap it up into a burrito, for which corn tortillas are the best solution.
Soba noodles
These noodles originate from Japan and are made with buckwheat. They are an excellent solution for many pasta dishes and noodle soups. They are flavorful and can be eaten plain with light toppings as well. Soba is gluten-free, and is high in amino acids and protein.
Pastas
When eaten plain, sprinkling sesame seeds with chopped green onion makes an excellent dish. Soba mixes well with thin-cut vegetables and beans. A good mix is thin-cut carrots, with snap peas, edamame, and parsley.
Soups
One of my favorites is a soba soup. There are many healthy variations. One of the best is a vegetable broth flavored with ginger and garlic, with shitake mushrooms, firm tofu, green onion, bok choy, and any steamed vegetables you like.
There are several whole grain solutions to pasta, but soba is the best in my opinion as it covers the needs of the athlete.
Fruits:
Finally we come to fruits. The candy of nature, which is important to remember, fruit is still packed with fructose sugars, depending on the fruit.
So the best method of approaching fruits, is to balance their benefits compared to their sugar and caloric levels. A good example of this is the avocado, which has a lot of good nutrients, like monounsaturated fats (the good fats), vitamins, niacin, and riboflavin, but is also low in fructose.
Blueberries have a decent amount of fructose (but not too much), but the benefits are tremendous. They are considered the strongest antioxidant, can repair DNA damage, lower blood pressure, and they are packed with vitamins. So a handful of blueberries in your oatmeal completely outweighs any sugar intake.
There are many low fructose fruits, that are actually quite common. Berries tend to be low in sugars like, strawberries, raspberries and blackberries. Grapefruits are a great snack, the best being the red flesh variety, which has a sweeter flavor. Citrus are also great, including lemons, limes, and oranges. Cantaloupe is one of the low fructose melons, while the rest tend to have a lot of sugars.
This doesn’t mean to avoid any fruits, you just have to be aware that many fruits will increase blood sugar levels and can be high in calories. Knowing the benefits of the fruits you eat can help you achieve a tighter control on your diet as an athlete.
When all is said and done, high and medium fructose fruits are best spread throughout the day, and weighed on the benefits they bring to your physical progress.
Wrapping up
In closing, the most important aspect of a vegan nutrition plan is a variety of healthy nutritious foods covering protein, fiber, complex carbs, monounsaturated fats, while taking into account consistent portion control.
All of this needs to also add up to the most important benefit, which is satisfaction in what you’re eating, as this is the only way to stay true to your diet as an athlete.
