LFRV - Low Fat Raw Vegan Diet

[capeofstorms]

Unless your current diet is making you sick or obese why change it?

[Winstonian1984]

Unless your current diet is making you sick or obese why change it?

 

The question I posed in the opening post was what effect it had on cycling performance.

[Paul Ruinaard]

A friend of mine's wife who was a full blown bunny hugging vegan got in to body building.

 

Needless to say after 3 months she was eating meat with the rest of us and because of the body building and the protein needed for the muscle growth she has more than her fair portion.

 

And is loving it.

 

Says she cant understand how she managed to eat all the cr@p tasting meat substitutes...

[wanderwoman]

Life is too short to try this one.

[Guest Travis.]

http://i.imgur.com/wqMWK7z.gif

[Ratty]

The question I posed in the opening post was what effect it had on cycling performance.

Very difficult to get enough iron. Some veggies etc contain it, but your body doesn't absorb it as easily as it does from read meet. If you don't have enough iron, you won't have as much energy so I am sure if will affect your cycling performance unless you find another way to get the required iron.

[Mojoman]

I am pretty much vegan, went vegetarian almost 2 years back and vegan at the beginning of this year. I don't feel any adverse effects when it comes to my cycling. If anything I don't get that bloated and heavy feeling when you eat meat (digestion takes some time). I did it primarily for ethical reasons as well as the fact you do not know what is in your food these days, especially high growth products such as meat etc (if you have the balls for it do some reading on the dairy industry as well, the most disgusting of all). I get a lot of crap for being this way (but if I need to drink coffee with milk in it etc I don't make a song and dance over it!) and funnily enough the stupid comments are generally by overweight and unfit people. I just tell them there is a spare bike in my office and they are welcome to come for a ride and see just how 'lethargic' and 'sick' this vegan really is....!

[Winstonian1984]

I am pretty much vegan, went vegetarian almost 2 years back and vegan at the beginning of this year. I don't feel any adverse effects when it comes to my cycling. If anything I don't get that bloated and heavy feeling when you eat meat (digestion takes some time). I did it primarily for ethical reasons as well as the fact you do not know what is in your food these days, especially high growth products such as meat etc (if you have the balls for it do some reading on the dairy industry as well, the most disgusting of all). I get a lot of crap for being this way (but if I need to drink coffee with milk in it etc I don't make a song and dance over it!) and funnily enough the stupid comments are generally by overweight and unfit people. I just tell them there is a spare bike in my office and they are welcome to come for a ride and see just how 'lethargic' and 'sick' this vegan really is....!

Thanks for your response.

[Rocket-Boy]

Thanks - I agree. Fat to ride far and carbs to ride fast. Live low carb but race with carbs.

The articles I have read agree with that. For shorter faster times carbs are better. For longer endurance stuff fat seems to work better.

[HappyMartin]

I have posted on this issue on this forum previously so apologies for boring people.

 

I was vegetarian for 26 years. You can survive on a vege diet obviously. My iron levels tested normal. No problem there. I did have some other concerns however.

 

Very poor recovery. I got sick a lot. Mostly after hard training sessions. I moved to a two week on and one week off regimen. I thought it was just an aging thing.

 

I battled to get my strength up. Despite doing strength work I struggled in this area.

 

I had loads of sweet cravings. Slowly over years I developed a sweet tooth.

 

Very dry skin. I tried to get more oils and did all I could think of in this regard. From drinking the stuff to rubbing it on my skin.

 

I started to rapidly lose muscle tone. I had achy joints and thinning hair. My digestion was not good. On the verge of IBS.

 

I also had very very high cholesterol

 

I ate a fair amount of fruit, sometimes too much I guess. I ate a lot of raw vege and tons of salads. I did eat dairy and most of the almost three decades ate eggs. I ate no meat fish or chicken. I did end up using a lot of supplements in an effort to fix my increasingly deteriorating health. I used creatine, l glutamine, whey protein shakes, protein bars. I also ate soya protein, tofu, beans and lentils and other vegetable sources of protein. I don't drink, at all, and don't smoke.

 

Less than a year ago I started eating meat. My weight stabilized. I don't get wild weight swings anymore. No more sweet tooth but I do sometimes eat sweets. I am back to a three week on one week rest training cycle. Skin no longer dry. Haven't been sick in ages. On my old trainer my power increased by around 10%. The new trainer gives such different numbers that I don't compare back anymore. I suspect that improvement has now flattened. My recovery is better. Not just over days but within a ride. I can make a hard effort and recover better to go again within a ride. That never used to happen. My mood is better. I feel more optimistic and handle stress better but there are other factors that could be responsible for this.

 

I still eat lots of fresh food. Prepare food at home mostly. Limit my fruit to three of 4 servings a day. Not a big soda drinker but do like coke. I guess I drink a can of coke about once every three weeks or so. I eat meat every day. To start with I ate a lot of meat. It seems to have moderated lately. I do go for the fatty cuts when I can.

 

So eat what you want and believe what you want. You must try it for yourself. There are so many variables that it is hard to make any real findings from the experiences of another person. People will believe what they want and look for evidence to support those beliefs. I do the same of course.

 

Good luck

[blondeonabike]

Life is too short to part company with steak and snickers bars.