by Susan M. Kleiner, PhD, RD, FACN, CNS, FISSN
Put your fears aside. Vegetarian diets are typically rich in carbohydrates, with plenty of protein and high performance fats. That’s the perfect prescription for exercisers and athletes. With 60 percent of your diet coming from carb-packed grains, beans, fruits and vegetables, there’s no way your performance will drop off. And you can certainly get enough protein to pack on plenty of muscle. But you do have to plan your diet well.
And just for clarity-sake, although research has taught us that eating too much of animal-based foods may result in the development of chronic diseases like heart disease and cancer, the problem is not that eating any amount of these foods is bad for you. But if you make animal foods the center of your diet, you just don’t have enough room left to eat all the fabulous plant foods like grains, beans, nuts, seeds, fruits and vegetables necessary to ward off disease.
ENSURING THE PROPER NUTRIENTS
Changing from a meat-centered to a plant-centered diet is not as simple as just eliminating the meat. The trick is to make sure you’re not skimping on any nutrients as you cut out certain foods. Vegans run the greatest risk of deficiencies because several vital nutrients including protein, vitamins B12 and D, iron, zinc, and calcium, are found in highest qualities or most significant amounts primarily in meat, eggs and dairy products.
SPECIAL FOCUS ON PROTEIN AND CARBOHYDRATE
When it comes to carbohydrates, don’t be misled by fads. The research is clear: if you want to train hard and long, you need plenty of carbohydrate to achieve your goals. Eating a vegetarian-style diet will make this easy. Plant-based foods are great sources of all the different carbohydrates and fibers that will keep you healthy and fuel intense workouts.
To get enough calories and nutrients, vegetarians should eat at least 1,800 calories a day. The following list gives you minimum servings for each day, with a suggestion of where to add more to increase calories.
Lacto-vegetarians:
Vegans:
Serving size guidelines:
| Food Group | Serving size |
| Whole grain bread, cereals, and grains | 1 slice bread; 1/2 cup cooked cereal, rice, or pasta; 1 ounce ready-to-eat cereal; 1/2 bun, bagel, or English muffin; 1 small roll, biscuit, or muffin; 3 to 4 small or large crackers |
| Vegetables | 1/2 cup cooked or chopped raw vegetables; 1 cup raw, leafy vegetables, 1/2 cup cooked legumes; 3/4 cup vegetable juice |
| Fruit | 1 medium piece of raw fruit, 1/2 grapefruit, 1 melon wedge, 1/2 cup berries, 1/2 cup diced, cooked or canned fruit, 1/4 cup dried fruit, 3/4 cup of fruit juice |
| Milk | 1 cup nonfat or lowfat milk or yogurt, or kefir |
| Meat, poultry, fish, eggs, cheese, beans | 1 oz. cooked lean meat, poultry, or fish, 1 egg, 1/2 ounce cheese, 1/2 cup of cottage cheese 1/2 cup cooked cooked dried beans |
| High Performance Fats | 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil, canola oil, sesame oil, peanut oil or other nut oil; 1/4 of a small avocado; 8 large olives; 1 Tbsp seeds; 6-8 nuts; 1 Tbsp natural peanut butter |
A GOLD MEDAL LIFETIME
You are now on the road to improving your performance, and your life. Many successful athletes have chosen a vegetarian lifestyle. Not only could they perform at peak levels during their athletic careers, but they have maintained good health and longevity throughout the rest of their lives.
SIDEBAR
DETERMINING PROTEIN QUALITY
Approximate protein quality of various forms of protein found in food and supplements.*
| Protein | PDCAAS | PER |
| Gelatin (Collagen) | 0.08 | - |
| Wheat | 0.43 | 1.5 |
| Beef/Poultry/Fish | 0.8 – 0.92 | 2.0 – 2.3 |
| Soy | 1.0 | 1.8 – 2.3 |
| Ovalbumin (Egg) | 1.00 | 2.8 |
| Milk Protein | 1.00 | 2.8 |
| Casein | 1.00 | 2.9 |
| Bovine Colostrum (BC) | 1.0 | 3.0 |
| Whey | 1.0 | 3.0-3.2 |
*Data compiled by Dr. Richard Kreider, University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee
