Lol, this diet isn't denying pleasures. :) Looks like someone has never had a banana smoothie (10+ bananas blended with 8oz water). I don't know one single person who absolutely hates fruits and vegetables. And if you do, thats cool, then eat rice beans quinoa pasta, etc and keep it 80% MINIMUM calories from carbs, and 10% MAXIMUM from protein and fats. Far better than eating dead flesh. But hey, whatever you want to do. If health isn' a concern for you than do whatever makes you "feel good"

Semi-raw vegetarian here (pescatarian really, as a sushi lover, I still eat raw fish). I did the whole 85%+ raw for a bit, but down to about 65%/35% split due to difficulty of diet/nutrient intake with my workout schedule (also going out to eat becomes impossible at 85% raw).

Sounds like you are on the right track with quinoa, I love the stuff. Being allergic to almonds sounds like a killer :(, it is a staple protein in my diet (almond butter, milk and trail mixes).

I eat a fairly high protein diet to augment my upper body routines. A few months ago I dialed back my soy protein to under 10% of total protein intake, I'd recommend reducing soy protein (especially if male). I don't eat 'fake' meats, the majority of them are high in soy protein, also I just think they are kind weird. I am fairly new to biking, but have been putting in about 25mi a day on average, looking to hit about ~35mi/day in the next two-three weeks (240-250mi/week). I generally stay clear of any supplements/pills and prefer to eat my vitamins (I like eating :)). I eat a lot of small meals and snack throughout the mornings. I always try to make sure my diet is high in protein, iron, B12, omega fats and a melody of vitamins/minerals. If possible all foods I eat are organic, natural/free range; additionally I often prefer vegan items where available.

My diet includes a lot of (sorry, some of these are non-vegan/contain almonds):
- Nut/seed mixes (flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds preferred)
- Vegan cheeses (sadly I prefer almond cheeses)
- Nori (seaweed)
- Quinoa/tempeh (whole grains preferred)
- Handfuls of dried fruits
- Piles of fresh fruits/veggies (apple a day + a giant salad 5 days/wk, no dressing)
- Straight up avocados (super good, highly recommend them especially with your almond allergy)
- Berries (blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries)
- Kale/dark leafy greens (kale chips and/or blended into smoothies)
- Veggie heavy smoothies (dark greens, carrots, red peppers, etc.)
- Honey/agave nectar (both are great for instant energy)
- Raw fish (organic, low mercury fish only)
- Free range egg whites
- Non-fat Greek yogurt
- A lot of spices and herbs (high in iron and other hard to get minerals)
- One day a week I eat something unhealthy, but always with vitamin heavy veggies/components (piece of pizza, sub sandwich, etc.)
- Organic lean supplement mix (vegetable/protein compound mix - this is my only 'cheat' supplement. Only been taking this since I started biking to account for the additional 1,000+ calories/day I am burning)
- Once in a while I eat other workout foods with low sugar content, again these are 'cheats' for increased calorie intake

Sorry that I couldn't keep things strictly vegan for you, but hopefully some of these items will help. Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions!

No worries! It's good to see someone else living a similar lifestyle. Although mostly vegan, I do use honey and eat eggs...I couldn't resist! Also, agave nectar is nature's version of high fructose corn syrup, it is no better for you. I eat pretty similarly to you, although I assume that I eat more soy than you, seeing that I cannot have almond subs. I switched from soy milk to coconut milk for drinking (still use soy for cooking), but use a lot of tempeh and tofu. I find that some of the meat subs are not terrible if I buy good brands and don't try to think of them as meat, haha.

Most everything I eat is vegetable based (tomatoes, bell peppers, onion, garlic, kale, spinach, broccoli, peas, carrots).
I make a lot of stir-frys, and try to eat smaller meals throughout the day. I drink as much water as I can handle (I recently cut my coffee intake from 60oz per day to 16oz, so I drink water instead).

I'm trying to get back in shape, I'm 5'4" and 145lbs. Almost a year ago I quit smoking and since have gained 30lbs (and lungs of steel!) I bike everyday at lunch for a 1/2hr, run MWF, bike TR nights and weight lift all nights. On the weekends my girlfriend and I do some sort of adventurous, rigorous activity, usually some sort of biking.

Initially I was nervous that my new, plant-based diet would inhibit my fitness, but now I see that it is imperitive to my success. My only true struggle right now is eating enough fruit...

Great to hear, plant/fruit based diets are awesome! While my diet is also mostly vegan, it is not something I claim.. simply due to the fact that I don't limit myself to vegan items when purchasing food (simply a preference). You are right about agave not being great, but again I use this purely for sugar intake (usually while riding), but it is vegan and raw so I thought I'd toss it out there. Like others on the forums, I also once in a while will do high cocoa % dark chocolate for recovery (I also drink dark chocolate almond milk for dessert as needed :)).

Soy is fairly easy to cut out if you increase your egg white/nut intake, or at least it was for me. I personally like the results I've had since dropping soy protein, might be worth a try if you want to put on more muscle mass. Regarding fake meat, it isn't that I don't like the flavor, I just prefer unprocessed foods... and the idea of fake meat is just awkward to me (I am a vegetarian, so why would I still looking to eat any kind of meat?). For fruit, try making some homemade green smoothies, I often make my smoothies with apples, berries, carrots, kale, spinach and bananas (sometimes I even put a grain in there for carbs). Fruit should be a pretty easy thing to add to your diet. If you are still struggling, try riding to a local farmers market and picking out a few of the yummiest looking fruits and scarf them down :).

That being said it sounds like we have fairly similar diets. I rarely drink green tea, sometimes before a ride for caffeine, but other than that I am caffeine free (prefer to get my energy elsewhere). I also drink 100+ oz of water each day, I pretty much have a water bottle with me 24/7 to insure that I am always hydrated.

Currently I am 6'2" and 172lbs, with a large upper body build (wide shoulders/chest). Since starting cycling, I've decided that I ideally would like to drop to 165 for climbing/increased speed.. but I also want to put on 5+ pounds of leg muscle. I may allow myself to drop some upper body muscle, but hoping to drop a pound or two of fat as well. You noted that you lift every night (I imagine M-F), if you are trying to bulk, you may want to decrease the number of weight lifting session and increase the intensity. Perhaps talk to a trainer at your local gym and get some recommendations. While, there are some workouts that I believe in doing everyday (mostly isometric), some more intense muscle workouts are best left for every other day.

If you have any questions about my diet or the cheater supplement mixes I've tried, please feel free to shoot me a PM. Good luck with the new diet, sounds like you are well on your way.

Also, I am by no means a professional when it comes to athletics/health, this is simply what has worked for me over the past 10 years or so.

I'm primarily a vegetarian and found these web pages helpful when I started riding centuries. The first is geared more toward marathon runners, but I think that the concepts apply to most endurance sports.

http://www.nomeatathlete.com/
http://www.livestrong.com/slideshow/...r-vegetarians/

[QUOTE=PJCB;14344924]We eat mostly veggies and fruits, quinoa, beans and a few carbs.


You do realize that veggies, fruits, quinoa, and beans themselves are very high in carbs? You are eating more than a few carbs with a vegan diet. The only thing without a carb in it is meat....and of course you aren't eating that.

[QUOTE=slowandsteady;14420646]
I understand that technically speaking, fruits and veggies are carbs. I was speaking about "grains". Meat is one of the worst things you can ingest...

Sugar, highly processed foods, and GMO wheat/corn are far worse than meat, IMO.

I do my best to stay away from them all.

In the end, it is all about everything in moderation (as always). Do what makes you feel great and happy :).

Thanks for the info. These sites seem to be promotional tools to sell books and whatnot. That doesn't mean that they're wrong, but basically I don't consider them to be very credible.

Anyway this is all interesting stuff, good to hear about people's diets and their experience.

"Everything in moderation" really bugs me. I shouldn't do crack in moderation, or smoke in moderation, but people use it to justify eating things things that cause harm to themselves.

I guess I don't understand your purpose for criticism here...I'm not going to argue that you should be vegan or raw or 80/10/10 or anything else, but I started this thread to talk about vegan diets for cyclists and you just seem to be trying to battle it out over semantics.

It's a perfectly reasonable statement applicable to foods like sugar which you claim are harmful. Presumably, you think they're harmful in any quantity even though there isn't any evidence to support that position.

Just going back to the 60's in this thread, when the standard greeting was, "What are you eating?" The really fun thing is that we can see how much we humans are total omnivores. We survive eating nothing but seal and nothing but bananas. I talked to a fellow in Morocco who claimed to have walked across the Sahara eating nothing but bread and dates. I remember back in the 60s seeing a Bild photo spread on a German decathalon star, showing everything he ate in a day - quite a bit, including 1.5 liters of bock beer. See, beer is much underrated as a dietary supplement. Drink more beer! I had a beer the night before my Sunday pass climb, and it completely fixed my overtraining syndrome. My MRHR dropped by 10 beats. Seriously.

I drink a beer one day a week after my rest rides :), and sometimes when I do nice long rides in the sun.

Also, why not do drugs in moderation? But moderately doing drugs would be more along the lines of taking in small amounts of caffeine (pretty standard for cyclists to consume this) and alcohol (not crack-cocaine, as that isn't a moderate drug). I agree that "everything in moderation" is a very general statement that doesn't always work, but no point in arguing over it. When the statement is applied to diets, things like beer and sugar (dark chocolate!) in moderation can be helpful and good for your body. I am not one to "justify eating things that can cause harm" with this statement. Rather I was pointing out that sometimes it is okay to give in to what your body is craving; if you have a balanced and regimented diet, you probably need it :).

Our bodies have a wonderful way of getting rid of useless or even toxic substances pretty well provided we don't overload it. I would wager that having that occasional "moderate" social smoke is probably not going to harm you as much as you think.


Haha, that reminds me the other day where I worked out heavily at the gym, then met up with friends in the evening for a few beers. I know people say alcohol undermines your gym-efforts, but the whole next day I felt super energetic and refreshed :P

It was just a random thought I had. I wasn't arguing any point. In retrospect, I should have just kept it to myself since it wasn't directed at anyone specific.

We recently interviewed Maureen Roy, who is a Pro CX racer that is strictly vegan. She has some good points in the interview, as well as recipes on her blog.

Ill throw this out there as well; Enzo's Buttonhole is one of the only strictly Vegan chamois creams out there.

"Eat to Live" by Dr Joel Fuhrman is another good one in those same lines.