Vegan vs. Paleo Diets For Athletes: My Experience
Thursday, December 27, 2012 at 8:59AM 
There are so many diets out there- some based on science, others on religion or ethical beliefs, and more than I can attempt to count based on nothing other than anecdotal experiments or strange food combinations! But what’s the best for physical endurance sports like marathoning and racing triathlon?
Choosing A Diet as An Endurance Athlete
Having experimented with my own diet (including the ‘healthy balanced American diet’, the Zone diet, the Blood Type Diet, a Vegan diet and finally, what I found to be the best fit for me, my family and many clients worldwide, the Paleo diet) over the years, I wanted to share my own experience with being an endurance athlete who’s followed several different types of eating plans over the years, all the while training for and racing triathlon. Two in particular were the Vegan Diet and The Paleo Diet.
(Keep in mind that this piece serves only to describe how the two diets applied to training and performance and is not an attempt to stimulate argument or controversy over the animal rights issues that were the very reason I followed a vegan diet for two years, about a decade ago).
My Experience as a Vegan Athlete
When I followed a vegan diet, I felt quite strong and able to sustain my short course triathlon training and racing, but when I began racing longer course (Ironman) distance and marathons, I did feel as though I was not getting enough protein. There are many ways to decipher how much protein one needs; for example, the American College of Sports Medicine suggests 0.5 to 0.8 grams per pound (1.2- 1.7 g/kg) body weight1 , while the current MyPlate recommendations simply suggest “The amount of food from the Protein Foods Group you need to eat depends on age, sex, and level of physical activity.“
I have found with clients that the best approach is to start with a guestimate and then based on a collective trial and error approach, determine how much protein one needs in keeping with the balance of the Paleo diet, which is often erroneously referred to as being high-fat, high-protein and low or no carb. None of those statements are correct. The balance of the Paleo diet is forty percent carbohydrate, mostly coming from fresh vegetables and some fruit and thirty percent each from lean, wild proteins and natural fats.
Back when I was vegan, I knew I was lacking something in my diet as, I began dreaming about eating fish! Because of my ethical beliefs at the time, I opted not to have any animal products for months and months, waking each morning feeling guilty, but I grew more and more hungry for animal protein and ultimately added it into my diet. What I found to be the single most important thing in achieving the balance was to be sure I source all my protein from reliable, sustainable, humane sources. I still believe in animal rights; at the same time, I have read countless studies demonstrating why eating meat is the very thing that set us apart from other mammals and allowed our brains to evolve into what they are today.
Ultimately, I do not believe that being vegan is the best way to support endurance athlete’s training regime. Furthermore, not only does a vegan diet not provide essential foods to a human being, regardless of whether they are an athlete or not, it puts them at risk for many health issues. One of many examples is the amount of soy and textured vegetable protein that is all too often a part of the vegan diet; when I think back to the amount of this acid-forming, anti-nutrient foods I used to ingest and the damage I caused to my body, I can only wish I knew back then what I know now!
However, as eating is such a personal choice, I also feel it’s necessary for people to try different types of eating plans in order to see what fits them best. I have been contacted by many vegan athletes over the years who faced the same dilemma and asked for help keeping the delicate switch from vegan to Paleo while still being concerned about animal welfare.
Certainly, there are those who are vegan and perform at a high level, and my position is not to say that they’re ‘wrong’; however, the negative impact that eating grains and legumes has on the body is not conjecture. There are decades of studies showing how significantly damaging these foods are on the body as a whole, causing inflammation and disease, leading to a whole host of illnesses.
My Experience as a Paleo Athlete
Without going into too much detail, between that time and the subsequent several years, I learned I was gluten intolerant (ironic, given the fact that I’d been consuming lots of wheat-gluten heavy and texturized veg protein ‘fake’ meat products!) and as such, removed grain from my diet. When I researched a bit and learned about The Paleo Diet, I adopted its principles and removed all other grains, legumes and dairy from my diet as well. I felt incredible, and continue to have amazing amounts of energy, rarely get sick, recover from strenuous training quite quickly and have arrived at a lean bodyweight and a fast racing ability that I never dreamed possible!
One mistake I see a lot of my clients make is to omit the non Paleo foods so often marketed to athletes, like bagels, pastas and bars, then not replace them with Paleo friendly alternatives, like yam, sweet potato or kumara. Another important part of the equation is to incorporate some fasted training in order to teach the body to become more efficient at using fat as a substrate.
In addition, many people do not recover properly from their training sessions. Right after a long endurance work out, consuming a home-made recovery drink, such as Homebrew (recipe in The Paleo Diet for Athletes by Dr. Loren Cordain, PhD with Joe Friel(Rodale) allows the body to repair, recover and prepare for the next session to come. Based on a simple formula particular to your bodyweight, it’s a combination of easily digestible protein (ideally egg white powder) along with a high glycemic fruit, like banana. Taken right after a long workout, it’s an essential part of a paleo athlete’s training regime, just as crucial as sleeping properly, eating well throughout the day and getting regular bodywork!
If you’re questioning whether it really supports endurance training, check out my race history and see for yourself how my Paleo lifestyle over the last seven years not only supported my training and racing, it proved to be one of the main facets of the foundation of how I was able to go from a middle of the pack age grouper to podium finishes! I’ve won multiple 70.3 races; in 2009 I was the fourth woman overall, including the Pros at Hawaii 70.3 and the first amateur across the line. I have raced twelve Ironman triathlons including Ironman World Championships in Kona six times (PR of 10:17, 6th age group) and have a marathon PR of 3:01.
This is not to brag; rather, to prove that with dedication, commitment and a well thought out nutrition plan (Paleo), there’s no reason not to set high athletic goals for yourself.
How to Adopt Your New Diet Effectively
Whether you are considering going Paleo or vegan, the most important thing is to make sure you’re fueling enough. Most athletes, with whom I’ve worked, tend to under eat calorically before, during and after training. Granted, there is a time and place to incorporate some fasted training into your regime, as it does help the body to become more efficient at using fat as a substrate, but that is not to say that one should head out for a three hour run on empty!
Keep in mind that many of the theories we all hear when we’re new to the sport like the concepts of ‘bonking’ or ‘hitting the wall’ are easily avoided and needn’t be an expected part of your training. Rather, if you fuel and hydrate correctly, you should be soaring ahead from an energy stand point, despite how hard you might be pushing and no matter what diet you’re on.
The best way to find out whether a diet is right for you? Simply to give it a try. I’ve found the Paleo diet to be the best fit for me, my husband and several of my clients and virtually everyone I’ve known who has given it a fair try at least for a period of a couple of months.
If you don’t give it a try at 100%, you’re not fairly giving it a chance. Even a little bit of gluten, or soy, or milk, is enough to keep the body’s inflammatory reactions going on. You can ease into it if you prefer, but aim for at least a month or two of clean fuel before you judge it.
Ultimately, one has to be open minded to begin to follow The Paleo Diet, whether coming from a Vegan background, or the traditional athlete’s diet, high in processed, grain-based carbohydrate. It does seem difficult to follow at first, and there is a period which many (including myself) go through, of feeling low energy and thus questioning whether it’s the right diet for you or not. Fortunately, this typically lasts only a week or two, and granted, they are a tough couple of weeks, but if you see it through, you’ll find yourself fitter, faster and leaner than you could ever imagine!
Nell Stephenson, personal fitness trainer, nutritional counselor, Paleolithic eating coach & athlete, graduated from University of Southern California In Los Angeles, with a BS in Exercise Science, and received her Health/Fitness Instructor Certification from the American College of Sports Medicine. Read more about Nell and view her nutrition plans on TrainingPeaks here.
Reader Comments (7)
You don't have to eat tons of soy and wheat gluten to be vegan nor to get enough protein to be an endurance athlete, but you do need to change your perception of what vegan is supposed to be (from reading what you think it was here I can say you are off by miles).
I am vegan and source most of my protein from nuts (a lot !!) beans, lentils and even vegetables. I occaisionally use organic tofu made with nigari - similar to Japanese use of soy and I never use soy milk or other processed fake meat soy products at all. I use almond or rice milk for recipes that call for milk. I cannot and will not eat animals - it revolts me to my moral core.
I also am gluten intolerant. I never have a problem with protein and am very muscular. I only eat non-acid forming grains like quinoa being a good example and tons and tons of vegetables, lots of greens.
I have noticed much better performance in my work outs, faster recovery from hard work outs etc. since switching to this diet (low inflammatory response, non-gluten vegan) from a vegetarian diet that had gluten, cheese and eggs in it (I have not eaten meat since I was 12).
I do ultra marathons finishing in the top 1/4 of the pack normally, but I have never aspired to be a top finisher so I cannot comment on that end of things as I really do not have the time to dedicate to getting that good. But a couple of very long distance top athletes recently published books on what type of vegan diet can sustain this type of work out and keep your body healthy and low inflammation. Rich Roll and Scott Jurek could hardly be called slackers in the endurance department, and do manage to get enough protein from vegan sources and their recommended diets do not contain TVP, fake meats etc.. If you read their books - it is all stuff that does not promote inflammatory responses in the body and is healing to the body.
It sounds to me like you did not go down that road and try these types of vegan diets that are anti inflammatory, but went with the "whatever is made to look like meat I will eat" "convenient vegan" road, which is not what they are saying to do at all. You can adjust a vegan diet many ways - I mean, potato chips and french fries are vegan but not recommended !! ....
I do not agree at all with the Paleo diet fad on purely moral grounds. I just don't think there is any humane way to murder another creature. No way around it. And study after study shows that animal protein damages the body (and is very acid forming) compared to a vegan diet high in green leafy vegetables, low grain and no gluten. Similar to Paleo but without the meat !!!
"Ultimately, I do not believe that being vegan is the best way to support endurance athlete’s training regime. "
Let's clarify this: your type of vegan diet wasn't working for you, not the vegan diet itself ! I have been a vegan for quiet a while, and improving continuously in my times for any distance from 5K to 50K runs. Also I work as a bike guide, what means that during summer I ride about 30-35 hours / week + I run 80-110mi/ week.
There are tons of other lot more successful ultra endurance, martial art, bodybuilding athletes: Mike Arnstein recently run sub 13hours for 100mile, Scott Jurek multiple WS100 and Spartathlon winner, Mac Danzig UFC champion, and many many others.
Your diet was lacking probably a lot of things, that is the reason that you cannot sustain it. The diet itself definitely works fine. It is not a negative, or personal compliment of you, just a fact, doesn't make you a bad person.
It's interesting to notice that you can rewrite pretty much the whole article to a different perspective just by doing some "search and replace". For instance:
"Certainly, there are those who are meat eaters and perform at a high level, and my position is not to say that they’re ‘wrong’; however, the negative impact that eating animal products has on the body is not conjecture. There are decades of studies showing how significantly damaging these foods are on the body as a whole, causing inflammation and disease, leading to a whole host of illnesses."
It all depends which studies you read and believe.
To me this is a no-brainer: I perform better, both physically and especially mentally, on a vegan diet, and even if I didn't - the animal rights and environmental issues are far more important than any athletic performance gain.
I really appreciated your article. Self experimentation, in my opinion, is the most honest way of researching any diet and places you in the unique position of being completely honest of how this worked for you. But your article also discusses other research that states that grains and legumes are damaging foods. What about the numerous studies that have shown that animal products are also damaging foods? In fact, I would think that a greater amount of evidence links health issues to meat consumption rather than grains and legumes. Heart Disease, High Cholesterol and even Cancer have all been linked to a diet high in animal fat and protein.
I'm not arguing for the Vegan cause here, but I do think if your going to bring up the concept of damaging foods and related studies, all the facts should be displayed, not just the ones that support your dietary choices.
i found it quite interesting to read in the beginning, but then i see: i began to dream of eating fish..!?! and month after month..feeling guilty etc.
i am vegetarian for more than 25 years and you get more and more conscious over the years..so i find your feature really quite disappointing and simple..
anyway, respect for your race results..
The author believes that whole grains and legumes damage the body, but that meat doesn't. This is the exact opposite of the bulk of nutritional studies over the last several decades. Need I say more?
This is a very biased article.
1) if you're going to claim that there are studies that support your diet then you should cite them. Otherwise, how do we know that you didn't just pull that out of thin air?
2) if you're going to be objective you should include the numerous studies that link meat to cancer, diabetes, high cholesterol, heart disease, etc. Otherwise, this article is simply propaganda.
3) your allergies to gluten are NOT shared by most of the population, perhaps you should write an article encouraging athletes who are allergic to gluten to eat a diet free of gluten, instead of encouraging ALL athletes to go Paleo.
4) your success in the sport can also be attributed to other factors other than Paleo, like not eating something you're allergic to (no brainer), or getting better with time, hard work, experience. Isn't that what normally happens? Practice makes perfect?