Sports Nutrition Tips for Vegans and Vegetarians
Hi Veggies!
You've made the leap to becoming vegetarian, or even vegan, you're an athlete, and you're wondering how to combine athletic performance with your new diet ?
Yes it's possible! More and more sports professionals, like coaches and elite athletes, are taking an interest in vegetarian and vegan nutrition to improve their athletic performance. Here are some principles to understand how your body works, and tips to help you adapt your veggie diet to your sport.
#1 THE PRINCIPLES OF SPORTS NUTRITION
Nutrition is the foundation of physical performance.
Dietary nutrients provide energy and regulate the physiological processes linked to exercise (preserving lean mass, synthesizing new tissue, strengthening bones, aiding cell repair).
Your metabolism goes through 2 states:
Anabolism: you eat food made up of macronutrients (protein, carbs and fat), and micronutrients (vitamins and minerals). Then you digest them (biochemical reactions), which builds your body (synthesis), including your muscles.
Catabolism: this is the breakdown of your tissue, when you're active and when you sleep.
You now understand that your metabolism needs different amounts of nutrients depending on whether you're sedentary or physically active.
#2 CALORIE NEEDS
The number of calories an adult needs each day depends on many factors such as sex, age, height, weight and activity level.
According to ANSES (the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety), the recommended
dietary intake guidelines (RDI) on average are:
What are RDAs?
The Recommended Daily Allowances (RDA) are the general European standards. They're required by law on all food product labels. They vary only slightly from the Recommended Dietary Intakes (RDI).
To have a balanced metabolism and effective training sessions, you first need to set your athletic goal, then adapt your plant-based diet to that goal.
#3 SETTING A GOAL AND ADJUSTING YOUR CALORIE INTAKE
It's true, vegan or veggie diets are generally lower in calories. When you do sports, your calorie needs increase depending on the frequency, duration and intensity of your training.
GOAL: MUSCLE GAIN
1- An increase in your calorie intake is necessary to build muscle tissue. An athlete should increase their average needs by at least 300 to 500 extra calories a day to gain muscle.
Distinguishing between gaining mass and gaining muscle:
Careful, if you increase your calorie intake, you'll increase your mass, meaning your weight. But mass is made up of fat mass and lean mass. So you'll need to be careful to balance your intake.
1g of protein provides 4 kcal
1g of carbs provides 4kcal
1g of fat provides 9kcal
2- You need to eat protein to gain muscle: remember that muscle tissue is made of protein, and protein is also used by the immune system, for building bones, nails, hair, and repairing muscles. If you don't eat enough protein, there's none left over for the rest — for building muscle mass.
3- You also need to eat carbs to gain muscle: your carb intake should represent roughly 50% of your daily calories, 20% to 30% from protein, and 20% to 30% from fat.
GOAL: LOSING WEIGHT
You need to burn more calories than you consume in a day, and your workout will help with that. Your goal is to lose fat mass without losing muscle.
Keep in mind that your weight affects your speed, endurance and power.
For example: a boxer or a weightlifter, who tend to have a lean build, need to improve their strength and power without gaining weight, or they risk changing weight categories in competition.
Tip: Exercise with others, or go running with your dog — it's a great way to push yourself and burn more calories
Do carbs make you fat?
Nope! That's a myth. It's the number of calories you eat that makes you gain weight. And when we eat too many calories, it's fat that's most likely to be stored as body fat, since carbs and protein are almost never stored as body fat. They're mostly burned off as body heat and invested into tissue repair and growth, or stored as glycogen.
So is fat important then?
Yes it is! Fats from fat sources help you absorb vitamins and regulate your hormones. You'll find them in eggs (for vegetarians), nuts, avocados, etc.
To sum up, to lose weight:
Before your workout, you should eat fewer carbs, otherwise it will trigger an insulin spike that slows fat burning. And generally, eat fewer calories than the calories burned during your workout, don't overdo it on fats, greasy food like fried food, etc.
#4 SHOULD YOU EAT CARBS BEFORE WORKING OUT?
It depends! It's true that carbs are an important energy source for our bodies and so are necessary. There are two types of carbs:
Simple carbs: like sugar or glucose.
You can get these from sodas or find them in processed foods. They're digested faster. In fact, we often reach for this kind of sugar for an immediate — but unfortunately short-lived — energy source.
Complex carbs: found in foods like starches. These are the carbs that matter for improving athletic performance, especially endurance training.
And if you compete, and train several hours a day, it's important to have a steady energy supply, rather than the short energy spikes provided by simple carbs (sugar).
And that's where a vegetarian or vegan diet is really interesting because it contains a considerable share of complex carbs, giving a more stable energy supply throughout the day!
Complex carbs matter for storing glycogen, since it's used as energy once glucose (fast sugar) has been used up.
Glycogen synthesis is a slow process, taking hours or even days to refill glycogen stores after an intense workout.
Unprocessed carbs are among the most nutritious foods around, packed with phytonutrients, fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.
So eating carbs is worthwhile for those looking for mass gain, or better performance and endurance.
Where to find carbs?
Legumes : white, red or black beans, green lentils, red lentils, black lentils, peas and soy (as textured protein, tofu, etc.).
Starchy vegetables and root vegetables : potatoes, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, pumpkin, etc.
Grains : rice, corn, oats, wheat, quinoa, etc. Go for wholegrain products when you can.
Plant-based milks and yogurts: soy, rice, oat, almond, etc.
Dried fruit : raisins, dried cranberries, dried bananas, dried mangoes.
Fruits and berries : bananas, mangoes, squash (yes, it's a fruit), blueberries, cherries, blackberries.
Tip: stock up on frozen bags of berries and red fruit, packed with antioxidants, and work them into a smoothie, into a yogurt, a muesli, or oatmeal
These are colorful foods that are rich in antioxidants, like carrots, red peppers, purple cabbage, etc.
Also, a vegetarian or vegan diet is rich in nitrates, found for example in beets, garlic, leafy greens, citrus fruit. Nitrates help increase vasodilation, or the widening of blood vessels, which speeds up blood flow, helping better transfer oxygen throughout the body. This also helps increase your endurance, since you'll transfer energy through your body much faster.
Not only will you shorten recovery time, but also reduce muscle soreness that shows up later, ease joint pain, and allow for a faster recovery from injuries.
So you don't need to take steroids to boost your performance.
#6 PLANT PROTEIN: MORE EFFECTIVE THAN ANIMAL PROTEIN
Some animal proteins like red meat, have a very high saturated fat content, which can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease or accidents, obesity. High-level athletes who eat animal protein, and therefore more saturated fat, often face arteriosclerosis, plaque buildup in the arteries, or myocardial damage, reduced blood flow to the heart.
Plant protein, on the other hand, contains less saturated fat. For example legumes, nuts and seeds, etc. Eating less saturated fat also helps lower blood pressure and bad cholesterol.
Many plant-based products contain a huge amount of protein:
Avoid eating pasta, white rice, or white bread since they don't contain enough protein or nutrients. Favor quinoa or farro (an ancient wheat variety) instead. Also avoid palm oil and coconut oil, which are high in saturated fat.
This very handy site shows you the nutritional makeup of every food.
https://ciqual.anses.fr
#7 EAT QUALITY FOOD
Preferably eat organic products, since many foods contain pesticide residue. Short supply chains are best, for example small local producers, so you get better traceability, bulk stores or organic shops, local markets, etc.
Favor whole, high-fiber foods:
Legumes (kidney beans, lentils, chickpeas, etc.), fruit (figs, oranges, grapefruit, strawberries, pears, etc.), vegetables (eggplant, okra, asparagus, beans and green peas, Brussels sprouts, carrots, etc.).
Avoid processed or refined foods that only provide calories with very little nutritional, vitamin or mineral value. These are often called « empty calories ».
These vegetarian or vegan products are very low in nutrition and often contain too much sugar, like, for example, ready-made spreads, processed soy sausages, vegan mayo, etc. If you don't want to cook every day, check out #10 for a solution that will save you time.
#8 VARY YOUR DIET
No single food contains all 20 amino acids, 13 vitamins and 22 minerals your body needs on its own, so varying what you eat is how you'll get them all and bring balance to your body.
In my article on plant-based protein, you'll find a full list of foods that contain it, along with the vitamins and minerals that go with them, and tips on how to cook them.
#9 MICRONUTRIENTS: THEY MATTER
Amino acids are crucial for muscle repair.
Vegans, who eat no eggs, cheese, meat, fish, or shellfish, may lack important nutrients like vitamin B12, certain fatty acids like DHA, and iron.
These nutrients protect your brain from neurological disorders, support your immune system, strengthen your muscles, fight fatigue and support cell function.
Where to find iron : in broccoli, cabbage, peas, spinach, dark chocolate, tofu. Try to pair iron-rich foods with vitamin C-rich foods for better absorption.
Where to find vitamin B12: this is a bit of a downside when you give up meat or fish, which contain enough of it. Vegetarians will find it in eggs (the yolk) and cheese. But also, and especially, vegans will find it in fermented soy products, sauerkraut or beer, sea buckthorn, or root vegetables and tubers that still have some soil clinging to them.
Why it's important for vegetarians and vegans to supplement with B12
Even though the human body has significant B12 reserves, and gut bacteria can synthesize small amounts, these reserves shrink with age. Unfortunately, plant-based foods contain B12 in far too small amounts.
That's why I recommend taking a B12 supplement.
Where to find fatty acids, DHA (docosahexaenoic acid): also called omega-3s, they help the brain function properly, help avoid vision problems, and support normal heart function. You should aim for about 250mg per day. You'll find it in plant oils (rapeseed, walnut, hemp, flax), but also in certain microalgae (Schizochytrium).
Where to find calcium: almonds, hazelnuts, sesame oil, flax and sunflower oil, spinach, chard, figs, dates, green cabbage, kale, bok choy, broccoli, tofu, etc.
You'll find that practically every plant-based milk sold in supermarkets or organic stores is calcium-fortified. You can also occasionally take a calcium supplement, but try to prioritize foods that contain it.
#10 SAVE TIME: PREP YOUR MEALS AND ADOPT BATCH COOKING
Love cooking but don't have much time to prepare meals every day, or run out of inspiration? Then go for vegetarian batch cooking! In 2 to 3 hours a week, you prep your meals ahead for the whole week, with all the right nutrients. To get organized, read my article on vegetarian batch cooking for tips.
#11 AVOID OVERTRAINING, REGULAR SESSIONS,
VARIETY OF ACTIVITIES
I recommend not exhausting your muscles with overtraining, by spacing out sessions. Start with small, short sessions of at least 15-20 minutes, and gradually increase. The most important thing is trying to be consistent. To avoid getting bored, vary your sports, which also lets you work different areas: for example run or swim to improve cardio and endurance, and on other sessions, do strength training for muscle mass.
Remember to bring your furry friend along when you go for a jog.
Working out as a family is motivating, so find a sport you can do with your kids.
#12 GOOD LIFESTYLE HABITS
Great athletic performance comes from eating a balanced diet, but also from good lifestyle habits — not drinking too much alcohol, avoiding performance-enhancing substances, and above all sleeping enough, which helps your muscles recover.
#13 GET HELP
Yes, and it's not rocket science!
Either you have vegetarian or vegan friends who can help you prepare great recipes, balancing carbs, protein, fat, vitamins, etc., for good workout sessions.
Or you ask your regular doctor what they think, and if they're up to speed on "sports without animal protein", they can give you good advice.
Or you'd rather see a nutritionist.
There are Facebook pages I check regularly that are full of good advice. Click the links in blue to access them.
List of doctors open to vegetarianism / veganism: these are recommendations from other members, based on where you live, for doctors and nutritionists who support vegetarian and vegan diets.
This page is dedicated to veggie and vegan athletes
There are also mobile apps that can help you choose your food, or calculate your calories, protein %, carbs, etc. It's handy, you manage yourself, it's like an assistant.
Recipe apps, meal planners, apps that suggest vegetarian restaurants near you.
#14 BE PATIENT: RESULTS WILL COME
You did sports before becoming vegetarian or vegan. As with anything new, your body isn't used to this dietary transition at first, so you'll need to ease into it. Start with one 100% veggie or vegan meal a week, then increase the number of days without meat, without fish, etc., while keeping the same level of activity. Make a meal plan to go alongside your training schedule. Track your athletic improvements at each stage, week or month — your endurance times, your cardio, your lifts — and above all celebrate your progress!
Getting results and feeling satisfied is a matter of consistency between your goals, and the sustainability of your training, combined with your veggie or vegan diet.
#15 YOU'RE ALLOWED TO SLIP UP
A small slip now and then (not the ankle kind!), a bit of "junk food" — it's not the end of the world. But as much as possible, slip up vegetarian! Above all, avoid overly strict diets, to prevent yo-yo effects, since that will impact your athletic performance.
#16 VEGANISM IN THE WORLD OF PROFESSIONAL ATHLETES
There's a great documentary, produced by Arnold Schwarzenegger, available on Netflix, « The Game Changers », or other platforms, that uses testimonials from elite athletes to describe how a vegan diet improves athletic performance. Professional athletes back the link between plants and performance.
Patrik Baboumian: 125 kilos of muscle, top-level German athlete, who also earned the title of « the strongest man in the world ». He also holds the world record for the heaviest weight carried over a distance, having carried 550 kg over 10 meters. He's vegan.
A journalist once asked Patrik Baboumian: "How can you get as strong as an ox without eating meat"? And he answered: « Have you ever seen an ox eat meat? ».
Serena Williams: the famous American tennis player, who's won nearly 39 titles. Her game is built on shots that are both short and powerful. She's vegan.
Lewis Hamilton: British Formula 1 driver, 7-time world champion, admired by speed fans everywhere. He's vegan.
Carl Lewis : one of only four Olympians with nine Olympic gold medals. A phenomenal athlete, running the 100m, 200m, long jump and 4x100m relay. He's vegan.
Tim Van Orden: vegan for over 21 years and one of the world's best trail runners. Founder and coach of Running Raw, a training service for vegan athletes.
Murray Rose: Australian swimmer, 4-time Olympic champion. Sadly passed away from leukemia in April 2012 at age 73, Murray Rose left a lasting mark. He'd been vegan since childhood.
Among other vegan athletes, we could mention Kendrick Farris (weightlifting), Tia Blanco (surfing), Frank Medrano (bodybuilding), and former athletes David Haye (boxing), Edwin Moses (track and field), Bode Miller (skiing), Surya Bonaly and Megan Duhamel (figure skating), Colin Kaepernick (American football), Nate Diaz (UFC), Scott Jurek (ultra-trail running), etc.
To conclude...
Moving toward a vegetarian, or even vegan, transition means adapting your diet toward a healthy, balanced choice, so you can optimize your athletic performance sustainably. I hope this article gave you some useful insight into this diet's benefits alongside your training. If you enjoyed reading it, or have any questions, feel free to leave me a little comment, and I'll be happy to answer.
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