Posts Tagged ‘Vegan diet’

Maintaining a healthy Vegan Diet on Holiday

November 2nd, 2009

Holidays can prove a challenge for anyone following a diet. I’m currently in Florida for 2 weeks on a training course. Here the Americans are big meat eaters. They don’t seem to understand the concept of vegetarianism. Therefore to be a vegan requires you to be resourceful. Finding a good supermarket with fresh vegetables, nuts and seeds. When eating out you may have to be inventive don’t be afraid to change dishes, take meat out add things on. For example, last night there was a spinach salad on the menu with raspberry’s and cheese, therefore, I asked the waiter for the salad without cheese and to replace it with Avocado and olive instead.

My diet whilst in Florida, has consisted of fruit and vegetable smoothies for breakfast, brought from the supermarket, lunch is usually avocado, hummus, tomato, cucumber, celery and for dinner I eat out and usually have a salad. I brought supplements with me, my green drinks and oil capsules.

Vegan Triathlete Diet Improved

October 25th, 2009
Drinks & supplements Food Overview
Breakfast 3/4 litre of Dr Brocs Power plants with baking soda

Supplements: Borage oil capsule & vitamin B12 capsule

Fruit & Vegetable smoothie

Snack ¾ litre of water with baking soda

Peppermint tea

Almonds, Brazil nuts, Walnuts

Dates, Raisons, Figs

Lunch Peppermint tea Salad:

Lettuce, Cucumber, Tomato

Sugar snap peas, Peppers

Onion, Mixed Sprouts (chickpea, aduki beans, lentil)

Quiona or amaranth

Olive oil, udos choice oil

Salt & pepper

Hommus, ground flax

Snack ¾ litre water with baking soda

Peppermint tea

Banana or apple or raw food bar

Another vegetable juice with a green drink if I’ve done a hard exercise.

Dinner Herbal tea

¾ litre of greens with baking soda before bed

Vege curries, stir frys, chillis, salads

Quinoa

Rice

Brown Rice noodles

Vegan diet plan for Triathlon training

September 16th, 2009

Here’s an overview of my current daily diet. I’m feeling really good for avoiding wheat and sugar. I find the wheat free alternatives like spelt, quinoa and rice noodles much nicer than wheat.

Breakfast Snack Lunch Snack Dinner
3/4 litre of greens with baking sodaHerbal tea (redbush or peppermint) ¾ litre of water with baking soda

Peppermint tea

Peppermint tea ¾ litre water with baking soda

Peppermint tea

Herbal tea

¾ litre of greens with baking soda before bed

Toasted (yeast free) rye breadTomato or cucumber or avocado plus olive oil salt and pepper AlmondsBrazil nuts

Walnuts

Dried fruit:

Goji berries

Blue berries

Raisins

Figs

Salad:Lettuce

Cucumber

Tomato

Sugar snap peas

Pepper

Onion

Mixed Sprouts (chickpea, aduki beans, lentil)

Spelt pasta

Olive oil

Salt & pepper

Hummus

Banana or apple or raw food bar Vege curries, stir Fry’s, chilli’s,Quinoa

Rice

Brown Rice noo

Vegan diet avoids DOMS (Delayed onset muscle soreness)

September 14th, 2009

Yesterday was my first training session on the road bike.

Instead of a nice, easy plod through the country we picked a hilly 30 mile route and kept the pace up (to as much as I could cope with).

By the end, I was physically and mentally exhausted! Legs wobbling!

I expected to wake up feeling really stiff, struggling to climb stairs but instead  don’t even feel like I’ve sat on a bike!

I put it down to the sauna last night and a healthy vegan diet, plenty of water and I went to bed with a pint of greensand baking soda to help repair my muscles and neutralise the lactic acid.

Sugar Debt in Sport

September 10th, 2009

Since a week before I started training I’ve stopped eating sugar, (drinking alcohol and caffiene) .

Today is the first day I’ve experienced sugar cravings (which I haven’t given in to!)

The last couple of days have been really busy and I’ve felt more tired than usual, feeling the need for a boost!

Yesterday was a rest from exercise and tonight I didn’t feel like going to the gym and also thought I wouldn’t have time. However, I decided I could squeeze a 15 minute road run in. 15 min soon turned into 30 and I felt so much better for it.

As for the sugar cravings; sugar gives us a false high which then results in an energy debt which has to be repayed.

Following a sugar high we experience a low as the body repays its debt, this low makes us feel tired and we crave even more sugar and stimulants, if we satisfy this craving we build an even bigger debt, becoming trapped in an downward spiral, towards low energy levels and fatigue. The only way to break this cycle is to stop the stimulants such as caffeine and sugar (or detox). When detoxing you may feel more tired to begin with, once over this period, energy levels rise rapidly.

So the next time you eat something sweet to give you a boost, remember the debt you will have to pay!

Training for a triathlon on a vegan diet

September 6th, 2009

Hello,

Welcome to the first entry into my Triathlon training diary.

This began a couple of weeks ago on holiday, me and my boyfriend Jon were writing our goals and both realised we had the same goal of competing in a Triathlon. Both recovering from injury, me an Achilles tendon tear and Jon a slipped disc, we felt it would be a good goal to motivate us at returning to fitness.

I have been mainly vegan for a couple of years and am keen to disprove the myths about the need for animal protein and dairy in sport.

My belief (and I have read and seen plenty of evidence to support it) is that the human body is vegan by design and a vegan diet is far superior to an animal product diet. Producing amazing results in energy levels, weight, clear skin, bright eyes and recovery time.

Before turning vegan I had a high meat and diary diet, being a farmers daughter. I decided to try a 28 day detox just out of curiosity, the detox was meat, diary, sugar, caffiene, wheat, fish and processed food free. I was astounded by the results and didn’t want to go back.