Vegan Forum

[BigBecka]

Hi everyone! Just posted this in another thread because I didn't see the health-specific forum here

I was wondering if there were any athletes, particularly marshall artists on this site, who could give me some nutritional ideas?

I'm a kickboxer, and I'm starting to get to a level where I need to do some serious training to get to the higher gradings and start competing. However, I'm finding it tough and am getting really run down. A lot of nutitional advice for kickboxers assumes you eat meat, and I'm not too happy about wolfing down chicken, fish oil and whey-powder for obvious reasons.

A lot of vegan nutrition advice on the web seems to be for either body builders or endurance sports like cycling and running.

At the moment I eat a pretty standard diet: porridge or bread for breakfast, sandwiches or pasta for lunch, chilli/curry/veggisausage and mash/etc. for dinner. Plus a multivitamin and a carb drink to take training.

Assuming I need the protein (how much do you need?) I don't particularly like the idea of eating soy isolate or huge amounts of tofu, since I have a vague idea there's health / hormone problems associated with some soy? Is there anything else I need to be paying attention to that vegans don't get a lot of? Does anyone else take supplements or isolates and how do you get on with them? Has anyone tried, for example, hemp protein?

Being a big girl already, I don't want to bulk up too much; just get through a session without feeling dizzy and letting my guard down!

Thanks!
Beck

[AndyBa]

Hey, BigBecka!
I'm a martial arts fun myself. Practicing a lot of kung-fu and jujitsu..
What kind of porridge do you eat in the morning?
How often do you eat legumes like beans, peas etc? Legumes are a must when you have hard trainings daily including soy, you can safely eat a soy serving daily(as long as you don't eat only soy, soy is safe to eat and that's true for all veggie foods ).
Also eat a lot of fruits between meals kiwi, bananas, oranges all fruits are good. I have noticed that I have the highest amount of energy and endurance during training when I eat a lot of fresh fruits that day.

Do you feel really dizzy after trainings? May be it's not related to diet?

Cheers!

[BigBecka]

Thanks Andy,
Ju-Jitsu's great! I've had a couple of (very basic) sessions so that I stand a chance against you guys in Mixed Marshall Arts competitions! Do you compete?

Anyhow, I get legumes 2 or 3 times a week, alternating with TVP (veggie mince or sausages) or nut roast. The porridge is oatmeal and bran, made with water. I have been neglecting the fruit though - don't think I've had a kiwi fruit since school! Will let you know how I get on.

Do you feel really dizzy after trainings? May be it's not related to diet?

I guess it could just be winter blues or feeling a bit tired, or my body just not liking the extra sessions! I'll see how it goes before I worry unnecessarily.

BTW, was really good to see the Mac Danzig post.

Thanks, Beck

[AndyBa]

.. i doubt some basic lessons will help.. or.. it depends..
I'm not competing yet... we have a lot of wrestling and fights on our trainings but it's not competition..

Yes fruits are very important.. kiwi is the champion nutritionally btw..
also I would recommend including buckwheat porridge in your diet.. it's also very nutritional and has a lot of magnesium which is good when you have hard training...

it's also important to have enough fats in your diet. olive oil, rapeseed oil, linen oil, nut oil, hemp oil, coconut oil it's a good idea to change them monthly because each oil has it's unique properties... some oils have to be eaten raw.. i.e. you have to add them directly in your plate
oil is important not only because of it's nutritional properties but because it stimulates the elimination of bile in the stomach.. So if you want to have a healthy gall-bladder, some fat food is necessary.

also enough sleep is important to recover after hard training..
i remember a period of my life when I couldn't sleep enough, had too many things to do.. + really heavy training - i was exhausted..

[BigBecka]

Hey, I promised I'ld let you know how I was getting on (in the duplicate of this post that has gost lost somewhere ) so here I go!

First off, I followed Sergio's excellent advice to get a bit more rice protein, and made myself a massive plate of chilli and rice. Followed it with some kiwis. Slept like a baby, then came down with a massive bout of flu - so I must have been getting run down! Not really surprising, since I was working long hours to get some projects finished by the end of the year, and getting stressed about organising my time over the holidays. So I had a restful xmas holiday season, posting on here, learning to knit a nice warm vegan scarf for myself, and sleeping lots between visiting people

I then raided the local healthfood shop for tofu and some oils, and devised some indonesian-inspired steamed rice and veg dishes with spicey oil dressings (you can leave them in the rice steamer while you get showered after training...) Also got some soy-mince pies and beans for those cold evenings when you need some stodge with chips Also got an immense volume of fruit to take to work with me I've had some trouble finding buckwheat though

After years of cutting fat out (low fat diets are heavily promoted here in the UK, because heart disease and obesity are such an issue), it feels really weird pouring it on my dinner! My hair and skin seem to be a lot less dry for this time of year, and my joints aren't 'clicking' as much, so I must need it.

Anyway, I've had a couple of people at kickboxing remark that I seem to have suddenly got a lot fitter: I can now do 15 squat thrusts, whereas my legs used to give way after about 5! I also seem to have lost some weight without actually reducing my calorie intake - maybe I burnt more? I gained permission to grade for my next belt (an intermediate belt between blue and brown), and undertook the fitness and techniques part of my grading on Thursday. I still struggled a bit, but my instructor seems pleased with my progress and has complimented me on my smooth and fluid fighting style (!). So, wish me luck with the rest of my grading!

My next belt after this will be brown, which requires a high level of fitness. So, I'll post any discoveries I make with regard to nutrition on here? One of my friends at kickboxing is in a similar position of needing to get fit, and has the more standard diet of steamed fish / chicken salad, and whey powder protein with milk and cereal, so we're comparing notes!

[Sergio]

Hey, I promised I'ld let you know how I was getting on (in the duplicate of this post that has gost lost somewhere ) so here I go!

First off, I followed Sergio's excellent advice to get a bit more rice protein, and made myself a massive plate of chilli and rice. Followed it with some kiwis.

I meant rice protein isolate, something like powder.

[skip]
Anyway, I've had a couple of people at kickboxing remark that I seem to have suddenly got a lot fitter: I can now do 15 squat thrusts, whereas my legs used to give way after about 5! I also seem to have lost some weight without actually reducing my calorie intake - maybe I burnt more? I gained permission to grade for my next belt (an intermediate belt between blue and brown), and undertook the fitness and techniques part of my grading on Thursday. I still struggled a bit, but my instructor seems pleased with my progress and has complimented me on my smooth and fluid fighting style (!). So, wish me luck with the rest of my grading!

My next belt after this will be brown, which requires a high level of fitness. So, I'll post any discoveries I make with regard to nutrition on here? One of my friends at kickboxing is in a similar position of needing to get fit, and has the more standard diet of steamed fish / chicken salad, and whey powder protein with milk and cereal, so we're comparing notes!

It's great that you're making success. I wish you luck in your grading

[BigBecka]

Thanks

I meant rice protein isolate, something like powder.

[blushes] OK haven't been able to find any in the shops round here. Seem to be doing OK at the moment though and chilli with rice rules anyway

[AndyBa]

I've had some trouble finding buckwheat though

Did you find it in the end? Or still looking?
When I was living in Dubai i could get it only in Russian stores.

[BigBecka]

Aha, I went to a health food shop yesterday that sells loads of bags of cereals / dried beans / lentils etc, and they had some raw buckwheat It didn't have any instructions on the bag though I gather I can just boil it like rice? I bought some dill, because I used to have a flatmate who cooked lots of buckwheat and dill, and it smelled nice

Do you have any authentic recipes you could share? I found one for pancakes on vegweb that I might try...

BTW, I passed the second part of my grading so I am now... blue belt with a black stripe... which doesn't mean anything to anyone outside my club!

[AndyBa]

buckwheat recipes.. hm..
I just boil it in plain water with a bit of salt and sugar.
I like it's smell alone when boiled, dill has it's own strong aroma that might spoil the things. Didn't try it though

Then you can eat it like a sweet dish by adding soy milk and some sweet stuff. May be dried fruits.
I tried with halva and liked it. Also tried it with soy milk and corn flakes.

Or you can eat buckwheat like a salted dish, with some sour sauce with soy Textured Protein.

so I am now... blue belt with a black stripe... which doesn't mean anything to anyone outside my club!

Congrats! We too have black stripes in our club

[BigBecka]

I'm ill at the moment so I reading about training instead of doing any! The WKA website's had a bit of a makeover since I last visited, and now has a few diet and training tips Although they're not openly promoting veganism, they're quite keen on eating greens http://www.wka.co.uk/healthfitness.htm

Now, when I stop sneezing over everyone, I need to perfect flying kicks... I've been told to practice jumping in the air as I walk to work(?!) Gymnastics has never been my strong point: anyone got any tips?

[WarChild]

I've been told to practice jumping in the air as I walk to work(?!)

If you do that, make sure to upload a couple of pics