Training & Nutrition - Vegan Diet Questions

Hey I am realitivly new to cycling. I got into it last season with a cheap Windosr road bike and road the last half of the summer and fall before getting hit by a truck. Anyway I am got a new bike put together over the winter and have just started riding again (About 2-3 hours 5 days a week) but am a little concernd about my diet. I eat alot of fresh fuits/veggis and have add alot of pasta and other carbs now that I am ridding again, but am looking for a good place to get more protien in my diet. Right now i eat about a serving of Beans/soy a day usually with dinner after I ride but feel I am not developing musscel as fast as I could be. I recently got a soy protien supplement and have been adding that to my diet a few days a week to see if I can notice a differnce but Have not had enough time to figure out if it helps or not. If anyone has any suggestions on how to get more protien in my diet I would appreciate it.

Thanks for your time.

Open your mouth while riding.

Almonds
Hummus
Soy Burgers

(personally I just eat meat when I want to but I do eat all of the above) :)

I do eat hummus pretty regularly, I hadnt thought of almonds Ill have to try that. I try to stay away from processed soy burgers and the like because of all the artifical crap that is in the kinds I can get around here, how ever If I can make it back to civilization, garden burger makes a portebella based burger that I can't resist. HAHA every now and then I break down and have to make my self a soy bacon soy chesse soy burger :)

Check out this website (http://www.veganathlete.com/), you may find it helpful.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/145/413932787_f331a69189.jpg?v=0

:thumb::thumb::thumb:

I bet there's a cloud of gas around your peleton with that diet.

All the fast riders eat Cheetah meat.

All the fast riders eat Cheetah meat.

you are what you eat!

Check out this website (http://www.veganathlete.com/), you may find it helpful.

And this one: www.organicathlete.org

I just read a study that said men who's diet contains a substantial(not sure of the exact mg's) amount of soy have lower testosterone and therefore lower sperm count. What I got from it was that soy contains a "substance" that acts like estrogen and effectively decreases sperm count and I believe muscle building capability. I drink soy milk from time to time and often put it in shakes but if your diet contains a lot soy you may want to reconsider your choice of protein. It would be worth it to do a google search as I'm sure not everything I said was exactly correct.

Vegan here.

Shakes are good. I use rice protein in shakes since I already wind up eating a considerable amount of soy.

Just keep track of what you eat for a few days and see how many grams of protein, carbs, fats, and how many calories you're consuming. Do this for a few days (it's easy & doesn't take much time) and evaluate where you need to make changes. Contrary to popular belief, protein is *not* scarce in a well-planned vegan diet. I wind up eating around 80-100 grams of protein per day and ~3500-4000 calories. As far as muscle development is concerned, just be sure to get those post-ride shakes and keep your calorie intake sufficiently high and you'll be fine. A lot of cycling is about having a good power-to-weight ratio, and that doesn't necessarily add up to having big muscles...

Train hard, you'll be fine.

(Oh, and throw some peanut butter and flax oil in those shakes! Good Omega-3's and calories. Yum..)

As far as the soy/phytoestrogen thing, pay it no mind. Also notable is that 9-time olympic gold medalist is vegan.

Other good sources of vegan protein
rice protein (www.proteinfactory.com)
brown rice
amaranth
hemp
cruciferous vegetables
pea protein (www.trueprotein.com)
hemp protein (www.trueprotein.com)
nuts
seeds
buckwheat
buckwheat protein
peas
teff
quinoa

As a vegetarian with a vegan girlfriend I find that I eat nearly a vegan diet.

Make sure you are getting your protein shakes as soon as you are getting off the bike. That is when they have the most benefit for you

I also like to mix some seitan into my diet as well instead of going straight soy.

As mentioned above eating lots of nuts and nut spreads is a good way to mix things up. I like to add some nuts and baked tofu onto my salads to give them a bit of a taste mix up.

Also, you might want to add some more ride based rather than pasta based dishes into your diet.

I bet there's a cloud of gas around your peleton with that diet.

yeah 'cause we all knows meat-eaters' farts smell like roses...

ahhh, nothing like the smell of decaying flesh rotting in your bowels...

Other good sources of vegan protein
rice protein (www.proteinfactory.com)
brown rice
amaranth
hemp
cruciferous vegetables
pea protein (www.trueprotein.com)
hemp protein (www.trueprotein.com)
nuts
seeds
buckwheat
buckwheat protein
peas
teff
quinoa

brownies?

Another vegan here.

We had a pretty good thread going here:
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=438679&highlight=Vegan

Also check out http://www.veganfitness.net/

To you vegans, do they make non leather shoes and seats?

To you vegans, do they make non leather shoes and seats?

most saddles are synthetic these days...

To you vegans, do they make non leather shoes and seats?

Yes they do.

Yes they do.

Cool, not a vegan, just wondered. A lot of people use the word vegan when they mean vegetarian.

why do you hate animals

Why does who hate animals?

Contrary to popular belief, protein is *not* scarce in a well-planned vegan diet.

Emphasis on well-planned.

Emphasis on well-planned.

Just as dietary fiber and folic acid are not scarce in a well-planned omnivorous diet.

I have pledged to go vegy, as soon as my meat grinding teeth fall out.

brownies?

While I'm sure you're being facetious, I'll enlighten you anyways. Hemp seeds are completely free of THC. Nutritionally, they are a lot like (though better) than flax with high levels of protein, omega 3s, and antioxidants.

Why does who hate animals?

the op.
i love animals so much i eat them at every opportunity.

Id stay away from Soy and go with Whey. :)

Id stay away from Soy and go with Whey. :)

Whey is an animal product

I've been a vegan for 22 years. I run ultras and cycle about 200 miles per week. My advice would be to use soy milk with a big bowl of cereal each morning, eat pleny of nuts and beans for lunch and dinner and use nut butters on whole grain breads in addition to all the pastas, fresh fruits and veggies you normally eat. I have never had any health problems and can still train with my high school varsity boys' cross country and track teams now that I am 49 years old. If you eat a healthy, well-rounded diet and pay attention to eating adequate soy products, nuts and legumes, it would be pretty hard not to get adequate protein.
Thanks for sparing all those innocent animals from suffering and death.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/145/413932787_f331a69189.jpg?v=0

:thumb::thumb::thumb:


That looks good, but this is how a steak is supposed to look!

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f126/iamrad123/stuff%20i%20like/bloodySteak.jpg

In all seriousness get some whey protien that body builders use. I like the chocolate kind. I mix it in with my oatmeal at breakfast and it tastes like no bake chocolate cookies.

While I'm sure you're being facetious, I'll enlighten you anyways. Hemp seeds are completely free of THC. Nutritionally, they are a lot like (though better) than flax with high levels of protein, omega 3s, and antioxidants.

Hey, tell me about it man. Discovered that the hard way.

Can't see eating them though. Meh.

I've been a vegan for 22 years. I run ultras and cycle about 200 miles per week. My advice would be to use soy milk with a big bowl of cereal each morning, eat pleny of nuts and beans for lunch and dinner and use nut butters on whole grain breads in addition to all the pastas, fresh fruits and veggies you normally eat. I have never had any health problems and can still train with my high school varsity boys' cross country and track teams now that I am 49 years old. If you eat a healthy, well-rounded diet and pay attention to eating adequate soy products, nuts and legumes, it would be pretty hard not to get adequate protein.
Thanks for sparing all those innocent animals from suffering and death.

Good lord.

Thanks for sparing all those innocent animals from suffering and death.

its all the same. think of all the wildlife that was displaced during the ascent of modern agriculture

"Meat is murder. Tasty, tasty murder."

I have pledged to go vegy, as soon as my meat grinding teeth fall out.

I've heard a lot of flawed human dentition arguments in my day, but this one takes the vegan cake.

I had a vegan diet for about 8 years, though I now consider it to be more of a religion than a diet. Jainist hippie *******s....

Thanks for all the advice guys. I am going to keep track of everything I eat this week so I can get a good idea of where i need to improve. And it is good to see there are some other vegans out there in the cycling world, I live in the middle of hickville nowhere right now so I dont run into many other vegans/vegitarians. (Cant wait for the Airlines to start hirring again so i can get back to civilization)

I've heard a lot of flawed human dentition arguments in my day, but this one takes the vegan cake.

I had a vegan diet for about 8 years, though I now consider it to be more of a religion than a diet. Jainist hippie *******s....

Wait, the grinding teeth are for grains, right? Ok, what is it we have, meat tearing teeth? Doesn't matter. My pledge holds true. When I don't have the teeth to eat meat, I will stop. I live with a vegy, I even tried it for about a year. I didn't believe in it, so it didn't take.

Wait, the grinding teeth are for grains, right? Ok, what is it we have, meat tearing teeth? Doesn't matter. My pledge holds true. When I don't have the teeth to eat meat, I will stop. I live with a vegy, I even tried it for about a year. I didn't believe in it, so it didn't take.

ever heard of a Patte? Its a blended up concoction of goose hearts and livers with peppers, garlic, and other spices. You spread it on crackers. This should be chewable with no canines.:lol::lol::D

ever heard of a Patte? Its a blended up concoction of goose hearts and livers with peppers, garlic, and other spices. You spread it on crackers. This should be chewable with no canines.:lol::lol::D

Sounds like rich baby food.

Why does who hate animals?

I don't hate animals....as a matter of fact I find many of them quite tasty:)

why do you hate animals

I love them, usually medium rare.

Check out the book "Thrive" by Brendan Brazier. He's the guy behind the company Vega, is vegan, and wins Iron Man competitions and ultramarathons.

Getting enough protein is pretty easy when you're vegan. Most omnivores consume way too much. A simple method is to multiply your weight by .37. The result is how many grams of protein you should intake daily. Consume a little more if you're doing endurance athletics.

http://i43.tower.com/images/mm112012449/thrive-diet-brendan-brazier-paperback-cover-art.jpg

To whomever it might matter, I've been vegan 11 years, and don't find any problem with protein in my diet. I'm a CAT 1 mountain bike racer and also race a lot of road races. There's just so much false information out there about it all.
What I like to eat are lots of nuts, seeds, green veggies, fruit, whole grains.... these are of course no-brainers, any health advisor will tell you to eat more of these, no matter what your personal diet entails.
A few foods that are overlooked but work great are lentils, quinoa, and cous-cous. They're all easy to prepare, mix well with all kinds of food, and are packed with energy. I do eat moderate soy, but always make sure to get organic. Non-organic soy cultivation has some issues.
All I can say is don't believe all the stuff about needing excessive amounts of protein...most of that has been perpetuated by the meat and dairy industries. Also just ignore the people with their insensitive reactions about it. I've always seen that as pretty unproductive.
Hear what actual vegan athletes have to say about their experiences. I'm personally friends with Robert Cheeke from www.veganbodybuilding.com . Anyone who says you need meat to build muscle is basing their information of failed myths.

About human dentition: Our dentition contains no teeth suitable for meat tearing (compare with shearing actuation teeth such as cats)...all evidence points that our dentition is for thin and medium-skinned fruits, nuts, seeds, and some leafy vegetables (you know like chimps). Sorry, your first grade teacher was wrong. That doesn't mean that we can't chew on meat until it's a bolus, but just compare a handful of nuts to a steak. Which one chewed up quicker? Sorry...I know the answer.

In regards to protein intake needed for cycling: cyclists need so little protein it's ridiculous, in fact it's probably more important that we get amino acids (for blood vessel support) and anti-oxidants (COq10 for fat metabolizing and heart regularity) than protein. If you're vegan and you eat nuts, beans (soy or not) and vary your grain intake you'll be getting great amounts of protein, definitely enough to ride a bike plenty hard.

I've been vegan for 12 years now, wrestled on a championship team, ridden a few centuries and doubles and never, ever attempted to up my protein intake just to build muscle, though I have boosted my protein intake to mend muscle and tendon injuries. If you're eating 80g of protein a day, you'd have to be pumping serious iron to run deficient. It's the workout that makes the muscle, not the weights, the bike, or the protein.

I should also mention, just because I dislike internet fallacy spreading...about clearing land and displacing wildlife to grow vegetables...

um...you do know that 70% of all food grown (these are developed nation/western world numbers) is used to feed animals...which are then raised for food. The worst part is that to raise one pound of meat, you need to feed at least 8 pounds of food. What a waste! So, what about all the wild animals displaced to raise animals?

i'm also vegan myself.

hammer makes some pretty good "bars" (they turn into mush on the road, but they're effing delicious) that are vegan. try cashew coconut chocolate chip (all one bar). it'll blow your face off.
their gels are vegan as well.
i put hammer's heed (mild melon is effing awesome) in my bottles when i don't want caffeine, cliff shot apple pie the other 99% of the time.
i also drink pure advantage vegan complete meal replacement (almost) every night. it's disgusting, but it makes recovery much more productive.
aside from that, my gf makes these banana cookies with cashews or walnuts and other carbs for long rides.
protein while you ride is useless until you start getting into the 70mile range, but after that protein is pretty helpful-- so nuts like walnuts or cashews are a good choice.
tofurkey makes these "sausage" links that have about 20 grams of protein each. try the italian ones. you'll be hooked for sure; i buy three or four packs every time we hit the grocery store.
though if you're vegan, i'm sure you've already discovered them and have gone through a 12 step program or two...

ed: i went back and read the thread. probably shouldn't have bothered posting. at any rate, there it is.

I've been a vegan for 22 years. I run ultras and cycle about 200 miles per week. My advice would be to use soy milk with a big bowl of cereal each morning, eat pleny of nuts and beans for lunch and dinner and use nut butters on whole grain breads in addition to all the pastas, fresh fruits and veggies you normally eat. I have never had any health problems and can still train with my high school varsity boys' cross country and track teams now that I am 49 years old. If you eat a healthy, well-rounded diet and pay attention to eating adequate soy products, nuts and legumes, it would be pretty hard not to get adequate protein.
Thanks for sparing all those innocent animals from suffering and death.

Congratulations: healthy and self-rightous.