Vegetarian

That's a pretty complex question... as everyone defines "healthy" differently.

By cutting meat out of a diet, you are cutting out a big source of protein. Some vegetarians (including me) will advocate that humans do not need the vast amounts of protein "they" say we do - and focus more on eating a well-balanced, healthy variety of foods. Others take protein supplements to make up for it.

You can be a healthy vegetarian, and a very UNhealthy vegetarian. In my opinion, a healthy diet willbe well-balanced and include mostly plants and whole grains, with very little dairy. But the next person, who may very well be HEALTHY, can have a vastly different approach.

You say you're not "eating the way you should be..." -- if you know that, then what's stopping you from changing it?

Whats stopping me is I dont know what I should be eating. I mean I eat chicken and veggies. i try and steer clear of red meat. More white meat. But Carbs are my best friend. and lately Snacks like french fries and candy is my favorite. I mean I am not gaining weight back because I am training so much, I just want to know how and what I should be eating

How and what you "should be" eating depends on a few things. First, what are your goals? Maintain weight? Loose more weight? Fuel long workouts? Or simply "eat healthy?"

I don't mean to be insensitive, but are you saying you truly don't know what healthy foods are beyond chicken and vegetables? Or that you simply need more meal ideas with a vegetarian emphasis?

Your questions seem pretty vague and open-ended... just trying to narrow it down a bit to help you get the answers you want.

No I know what foods are "healthy foods" But I guess what my goal is, really just to maybe loose a few more pounds but really maintain my weight and fuel my training and basically just live a healthier lifestyle. I dont want crap in my body...

I mean i know what not to eat, but i guess what my real question is what to eat and when... Like No carbs after certain time. What to eat prior to a work and post workout. How late is to late to eat. Can I treat myself every once in awhile.... Stuff like that..

i have a hard time going to the grocery and buying things...

Thanks for your help 

Perhaps what you need is good book. 

I've been vegan for 15 years, and pretty successful locally with Tri races since I started one year ago, and Masters swimming racing since 2000. 

The formula you *seem* to be asking doesn't quite exist, at least as far as I know. You might be setting yourself up for failure. At this point, you might want to talk to a nutritionist. They'll fill you in with the details that won't be filled online. However, from my perspective, it looks like you are on a road to failure (at least on the veg*n part).

I strongly suggest doing one of three things: 1) talk to a well respected dietician who understands vegetarianism and athletes (there are many! If you live in MI, I can suggest a few). 2) go to a bookstore and get a book on vegetarianism and start there or 3) call a veg*n athlete and talk to them in person. There are hundreds of pro-level vegetarian athletes. A few are top tier, but most are middle of the road pros. Getting a top tier pro to talk is always difficult, so you can always email or chat with veg*n athletes who are amateur as well. All it takes is an email. I'd suggest google-ing "vegetarian bicyclist" or "vegetarian triathlete" or something like that. You can always look up "Brendan Brazier" who is a pro-vegan triathlete. Heck, you can even email me, a new triathlete but a long time vegan. 

keep on trying!



 

You might also want to check out a book called, "Sports Nutrition for Endurance Athletes" by Monique Ryan. It's a great book and addresses the when, what, why you should eat before/during/after working out.

An a new report just came out from the American Dietetics Association (ADA), the group of dieticians that sets up general policy.

Here is part of the text:
 

The report is here:http://www.eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg/ada/hs.xsl/advocacy_933_ENU_HTML.htm

You can do it.  

You can totally do it - pick up The Engine 2 Diet and Skinny Bastard, those will get you started.

The Engine 2 diet is written by Rip Esselstyn and he used to be a triathlete. Dave Scott (6 time IM champion) follows his vegan way of eating, and Lance does his diet 80% (so this plus tweaks, Lance does eat meat).

Skinny Bastard is just fun and funny and has some great transition recipes.

Happy eating - vegan and vegetarian as an athlete isn't hard, it just takes some getting used to :-)

Is this the male version of Skinny Beeotch?? I love that book. I need to read it again

Yep!  I loooove Skinny B*tch and Skinny B*tch in the Kitch! Skinny Bastard is the one for guys, I bought it for my hubby.

I would like to "bench" the vegetarian portion of your post to address the bigger picture which is general wellness. Eating a vegetarian diet may or may not be a factor in this, but there is a lot more in your history and post that, IMO, is more pressing. You did say that you know you should be eating healthier- fries and candy are not the most nutritious foods. ok.

Exercise is very important, and can help someone lose weight, but it should not be the only way to lose weight. I believe that nutrition plays more of a role in overall weight management over the long term. YES- exercise is key-- but if the nutrition is not there, weight will always be an issue when "life happens" i.e. injury/illness & life changes so that we can't train X number of hours to keep up with the fries etc. Also, 2 things that makes us become really good athletes (adaptation & efficiency) will cause us to be super efficient in how we utilize calories for the exercise, and thus weight again can be an issue if we don't monitor our intake/output over the years. People new to a sport will burn more calories for the new activity, but as they become adapted to it, require fewer calories for the same movement.

If you have a history of being overweight, then learning to eat for health and body composition balance is vital for long term health. What is the nutritional investment that you make for your health today and long term? Not only do we have body composition concerns, long term wellness, but as athletes, what will help us recover faster, have less inflammation, and be in OPTIMAL health. I believe that you can be "fit" and not be healthy.....I've seen many elite athletes struggle with very serious illness. 

Before a major overhaul- just start adding more veggies and fruits to your daily food intake, limit or omit foods that take away nutrients (junk food/alcohol) that offer high calorie for few nutrients. One way to look at it is: eat more nutrient dense foods that are calorie "poor". I see people who make small tangible changes stay with it long term.

Here is a book that could be very helpful in the details of sports nutrition and how the nutrition needs to change with our training etc..: Nutrition Periodization for Endurance Athletes by: Bob Seebohar.

Good Eats & Happy Training! 

^quoted for truth.