What do vegetarian athletes eat to keep fit?

What do vegetarian athletes eat to keep fit?

Many athletes have given up meat, including Serena Williams and Lewis Hamilton.

Vegetarianism of athletes is still a controversial topic among nutritionists and nutritionists. Many believe that in this case it is impossible to engage in many sports or, for example, strength training. However, even among professional athletes there are quite a few who have completely given up meat. Serena and Venus Williams, Lewis Hamilton, Kyrie Irving – and this is not a complete list. So what do vegetarian athletes eat?

Nutritionist

In athletes, the daily diet should consist of 40% protein. It is mainly found in meat products.

What does the diet of vegetarian athletes consist of?

Most often vegetarians eat vegetable and legume products. Vegetable foods include: vegetables, fruits, berries. Also popular foods on a plant-based diet are:

• dried fruits;
• nuts;
• tofu;
• quinoa;
• cereals;

• sprouted seeds;
• dietary supplements;
• hemp plant proteins;
• rice protein.

Sesame, as well as other grains, it is better to soak, as it is difficult for a person to digest them in their usual form. And sprouted wheat has a lot of useful nutrients. Eating even a little, you can get a lot of nutrients.

What do vegetarian athletes replace animal protein with?

Protein is found in many foods, not just meat. For example, 100g of buckwheat has about 11g of protein. There is also enough protein in:

• greens;
• spinach;
• quinoa;
• legumes;
• tofu.

Moreover, it is better to eat these foods together, because they contain different types of vegetable protein. Therefore, vegetarians often put a lot of different legumes, cereals, nuts in one plate.

Worse digestion – you have to eat more of it
In addition, protein from plant foods is digested worse than from meat products, almost twice as much. Therefore, you have to calculate the norm differently. If meat-eaters need to eat about 1.5-1.8 g of protein per kilogram of body weight, vegetarians need 1.8-2 g and more.

Lots of fiber – few amino acids
Fiber is good for the stomach and for the gastrointestinal tract. And vegetarians consume a lot of dietary fiber. But it has a special property – it “eats” amino acids. They are digested worse and in smaller quantities.