I became a vegan my sophomore year of high school. Not only was I very busy with my homework, the school newspaper, culture club and a job, I was also an athlete. Being an athlete and a vegan was difficult at first, but through trial and error I discovered the way to fuel my body so I could perform my very best.
I joined the girls track team my freshman year and absolutely loved it. Previously, I had been active, but not athletic. I have little coordination so I was miserable at soccer, basketball and most other sports. Running came naturally to me, however, and I gravitated towards it. That first year, my first year ever in competitive sports, I astounded my coaches and myself by being one of the best JV sprinters on the team. I often had the best time in the 400-m and at our JV conference, our 1600-m relay team took first. I had the fastest time in that relay.
My diet after I became vegan and before I started my second track season was not a healthy, balanced vegan diet. I usually had a small bowl of oatmeal with soymilk or a bagel for breakfast. Then I would wait for another five hours until lunch, when I would eat a salad with minimal dressing. The salad, which I bought from school, didn't even have much nutritional value - it was mostly just iceberg lettuce. For dinner, I'd have a cooked yam or a soy burger with some broccoli or carrots. My diet was bland and lacked variety and it didn't provide me with enough protein or calories. I'd say it was typical of a beginning vegan's diet.
By the time track season started, my body was a wreck. I was too thin, and my muscles weren't strong enough to let me run very fast. Due to my obsession with weight loss, however, I didn't change my eating habits at first. I felt weak and light-headed during practices, and I wasn't improving my racing times. Something had to change. The most I did to change my diet, however, was eat larger quantities of the same foods. I would often binge just because I knew I had burned all of the calories off. I found out later that bingeing can put strain on the cardiovascular system. I was uneducated not only about veganism, but also about an athlete's diet. That soon changed.
I bought a book that dealt with the diets of vegetarian athletes, The Vegetarian Sports Nutrition Guide by Lisa Dorfman. It gave guidelines for the amount of calories, carbohydrates, protein and fat different types of athletes should intake. Not only did it make me realize that I should adjust my diet during track season, but I also had to change my diet during the off-season as well. I slowly incorporated different foods into my diet, ate more, and ate certain food at certain times of the day, especially on days of track meets.
I did see improvement over the rest of the track season, but unfortunately it wasn't enough to bring me back to the level I had been at the previous year. I don't blame my poor performance on lack of meat and animal products, however. It was my poor eating habits that affected me. So in the end, I had not only learned more about eating to win, I also learned about eating to better help my body. So my advice to vegan athletes would be take the time to assess your diet! It can make the difference between winning and losing, and between fueling or harming your body.
I've included a meal plan that any vegan athlete could use and adapt for day-to-day use. It's roughly 2000 calories, which should be a MINIMUM for both male and female athletes. Athletes who compete in long distance events, such as marathons, cross-country, or distance swimming should have many more calories each day, preferably from carbohydrates. I've also given the plan I use for eating the day of a meet, which could be used by athlete before a big game.
A Vegan Athlete's Daily Diet:
Breakfast:
- High fiber cereal such as raisin bran, muesli or granola, about 1-2 cups
- Fiber helps utilize carbohydrates after a "carbo cram," so you should always be getting enough.)
- Soy, rice or nut milk, 1 cup. Soymilk has the most protein, so that's what I recommend.
- Piece of fruit. An apple or berries are good choices, when in season.
Snack: (You should never go more than four hours without eating, so always snack!)
- Dried fruit or nuts or seeds, about ½ cup. Good nuts are walnuts or almonds.
Lunch:
Carrot sticks.
Side salad - always choose the deepest, darkest greens! Avocado is also good on salads and provides good monounsaturated fat and nutrients.
Vegan salad dressing, 2 tablespoons. It can be full fat, because fat is needed!
Natural peanut butter sandwich on whole grain bread, or tofu wrap: cooked and thinly sliced tofu with hummus, tomato and sprouts on whole grain tortilla.
Snack:
Piece of fresh fruit and soy yogurt. Or, if before a practice, two graham crackers (watch out for partially hydrogenatedoils, however) or half of a whole grain bagel. Vegan nutrition bars are good but often high in fiber, which can be uncomfortable to digest during physical activity.
Dinner:
Black bean or other high-protein soup
Whole wheat crackers
Steamed broccoli with lemon juice and sesame seeds -delicious and healthy!
Cooked sweet potato - pop a medium sweet potato in the microwave for about 5 minutes at a time until completely cooked (Should be soft in the middle.) These are good with a tofu-based vegan dressing.
Dessert (optional!):
Half cup of natural sorbet or 100% fruit bar or fresh fruit. Fresh fruit is the best choice.
Eating plan before a big game: (I adapted this for myself from several books on sports nutrition, so it does have scientific basis!)
Load up on protein foods the day before.
Eat mainly carbohydrates on game day - breads, pasta, crackers, cereals, bagels, fruits and vegetables are all good.
Eat more high-fiber foods in the morning so the can be digested before the meet. Dried fruits and nuts are ok in the morning, too.
Eat more low-fiber things later on.
Make sure you drink at least 64 oz of water that day.
Eat something high in carbohydrates but low in fiber one hour before you do any physical activity - like graham crackers or a bagel.
After you finish your game or event, I recommend a banana or an orange. Both replace potassium that may have been lost. They're great recovery foods.
This type of plan has never failed me. Be prepared to feel your food digesting rapidly if you eat this way, however. It will pass right out of you!
--Kassia Karr is an editor of her school newspaper and is also working at a major newspaper.
Send feedback about this article
I am 16 and I run track and cross country, and I want to become a vegan myself but I wasn't so sure that I could take it. Seeing as when women get older they are more prone to osteoprosios (weakening/breaking of the bones), well, I know that to prevent such a thing from occuring in my later life I needed calicum. But vegans don't do dairy, therefore creating a major problem: how was I to be active in sports, stay hydrated/fueled and live the vegan lifestyle without permanently putting my bones on death row. Well, I got online and read many articles UNTIL I CAME ACROSS YOURS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You had the same problem I was having (being a runner and all) so I went out and bought that book you mentioned in your column and used that table for eating vegan and running. Now I, too, am running my races and still winning. In conclusion I would like to thank you for your article submission because now I can eat healthy/vegan and still stay fit and fueled!!!
Yours truly,
Cyndi (from TN)
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