I've already eliminated most processed foods from my life and I have found myself consuming more and more fresh fruits and veggies. I really only eat one *real* meal a day (family dinner) and even then its a cooked veggie or sweet potato. Otherwise I snack all day on fruit, veggies, nuts, etc.

A distance runner friend is 100% vegan. He swears by the "30-bananas/day" lifestyle. He challenged me to try 100% raw for two weeks. I have gone for a few days straight before but stopped because the gas, cramps and bloating were too much. Is this normal? Does it go away? I read that if I do eat something cooked, it should be the last thing I eat for the day.

Raw veganism is an "unhealthy fad" which will make you very weak and ruin your health. You won't have any energy and stamina to do anything.

A vegan diet has worked for many athletes and beginning at this site for information might provide some healpfull guidance ......

Brendan Brazier, vegan triathlete | Great Vegan Athletes

good luck

A guy that rides with us sometimes used to be a very strong rider (mtb's). Last year, he met a woman and she was a strict vegan, so naturally, he jumped on the bandwagon. With no other changes to his riding or lifestyle, he definitely does not have the same strength and stamina we know him to be capable of. So much so, he gets dropped a lot and hence why he seldom rides with us.

I am not saying it is his diet, but I am at a loss as to what else it can be. I would do some serious research before trying any diet.

Could be overtraining in the bedroom, in which case he gets a pass from me.

The beginning of our becoming "civilized" was when we began to cook our food. Even apes prefer cooked food. The reason is very simple: cooking vastly increases the availability of nutrients in our food. Thus we need to eat less and need to spend less time foraging. Not only vegans sometimes eat raw, there's also a raw-meat-only fad diet. Its adherents also trumpet their incredible success. Both can't be right, can they?

Vegan works for those who exercise enough to eat enough to get sufficient nutrients, especially protein, from their diet. Hence the above mix of negative and positive comments. Pretty easy to get skinny fat on a vegan diet. I don't know what the break-even point is. Maybe 5000 calories/day? One would have to do a nutritional analysis of one's proposed diet and see what the vitamin B12 and protein content would be. ~1.5g protein per kilo bodyweight is about right for cyclists.

As a lacto-ovo vegetarian, I use sublingual B12, which vegans should also use.

If you saw his girl, you would say that this was the case, and I hope that is what his problem is, too much lovin' and not enough protein. She is a cutie pie and he is, um well..... one of us, lol

I'm guessing you've done a lot more research on these topics than I have, but am trying to improve my eating/nutrition. I was to the point in my riding that I seemed to have peaked & just couldn't improve given the time limitations I have - 10hrs/week. So I read up and started eating one raw, vegan meal a day. I've noticed a slight improvement in my cycling & seem to feel a little better in general. I also started supplementing my diet with a protein mix - never used that before in my life. However, I'm starting to think that the raw aspect isn't where my benefit is coming from. I'm thinking the benefit is coming from the raw, vegan meal being more healthy than what I was previously eating. Any thoughts?

Chris froome eats meat...

Well I'm guessing that your vegan meal has more carbs than what you were usually eating. Carbs are good. Protein is good. Fat is good. A way to think about it is that you need carbs for fuel, so eat enough so you have 'em to burn and have energy on the bike. Protein repairs. Eat enough so that your legs don't hurt on the bike no matter how much you ride. Fat satisfies. Eat enough so that you're not hungry all the time. Those are really rough rules of thumb and don't address the micronutrients. Eat amounts of each so that you weigh what you want to weigh. Weigh more, eat more. Weigh less, eat smaller portions but all the same things.

Looking at it a little finer, natural foods are generally better for you off the bike. On the bike eat anything you want except for fat. Think organic chicken backs instead of steak. Think wild-caught fish instead of fish sticks. Think brown rice, pasta, yams, potatoes with the skin. Broccoli. Spinach. Even cabbage. 1/2 your plate vegetables, 1/4 starch, 1/4 protein. Starch the size of your fist. Protein the size of your palm. More meals better than fewer meals. Some people have a protein shake and then a couple hours later a real meal. The couple hours might be a bike ride or a meeting or a commute.

There are a zillion ways to do it, but the above is very common.

I've been slowly going toward a veggie lifestyle myself over the last two years. I decided tho that I didn't want to limit myself to any specific diet so I do eat meat occasionally when I crave it. My cravings have changed since I started eating mostly fruit, veggies, whole grains and some meat substitutes. I've watched a lot of Durian Rider and Freely the Banana Girl videos on YouTube along with a number of other vegan channels I've found. I don't know if I could possibly eat 30 bananas a day. I'm lactose intolerant so gave up dairy about 10 years ago. I usually start the day with Freelee's Dater-aid recipe (6-8 dates blended with 2 bananas, water and a few strawberries or whatever fruit is in season). I like to have rice or pasta for lunch with some veggies. I've been mixing tomatoes, avocado and roasted peppers in with my rice or pasta recently because they're fresh from my garden. I'll snack on granola bars, veggie chips or maybe oatmeal if I'm still hungry. For dinner I like to have something like Chik'n patties or black bean burgers with mashed or baked potatoes and some more veggies. Vegetable curry with rice is another dinner I really enjoy. I still eat things like honey and eggs so obviously I'm not a vegan. But you can drastically reduce your consumption of animal products and still be healthy. I had blood work performed a couple weeks ago and all my tests came back normal with my blood pressure and cholesterol being better than they have been in 20 years. My doctor supports my switch to a mostly plant based diet but did advise me to take a supplement with calcium, iron and B & D vitamins. I ride about 100 miles/week commuting to work and haven't felt weak. My training kind of waxes and wanes like it always has. I do feel like I have more energy these days allowing me to cut my caffeine consumption as well. I went on a meat bender a few weeks ago eating McDonalds and baked chicken and a bunch of buttery stuff over several days while I was travelling with friends that eat a more traditional diet. I was surprised how tired I felt during that trip. I was back to drinking 2 or 3 cups of coffee in the morning before I could get moving. If you feel like reducing your consumption of animal products you can do it and remain healthy but I would encourage you to read and watch videos and not lock yourself into one specific diet like the raw till 4 or 30 bananas/day plans.

Some videos I've really enjoyed on this journey

While my diet leans a little bit in the direction of vegetarianism, the last thing in the world I'd want to do is to cut out whole food groups.

I only eliminate foods I'm allergic/intolerant to ... and foods I don't like.

I supplement my cooked meat diet with raw vegan salads.

Moderation of any food is important, not just what foods we eat. Eat until you feel satisfied and enjoy a variety of foods that you enjoy but refrain form overindulgence.
Vegan just seems unnatural to me but if it works for some people, I'm happy for them.

That story is as old as time, and it's not the apples and oranges.

Veganism can fuel athletic excellence; the lady who holds the fastest known times on the PCT and AT set her record as a vegan. To put that into perspective, she hiked an average of 45 miles per day with a mile or more of elevation gain (per day!) for months at a time, on a vegan diet. Nobody in here has ever done anything like that nor ever will.

But veganism isn't necessary for athletic performance. Carbs are, but eating carbs doesn't mean you can't also enjoy cheese.

Unless he's a wino or suffers from anorexia, it's safe to assume he's getting enough protein.

https://grist.org/food/youre-probably...t-even-trying/

There is this new trend to eat/burn fat, and no carbs. Ketosis or something like that. Sounds interesting and sort of Atkins/Scarsdale like.

6 vegetables that are healthier cooked than raw : TreeHugger