It’s funny how things shift over the years. It used to be that the “meals of champions” consisted of downing raw eggs, eating steak, chicken and veggies for every meal, and generally relying on a very high protein, and usually high animal fat diet to train and get ready for any sort of major sporting event or game.
Now, it seems that the trend is going a bit more toward vegetarianism in the world of professional and semi professional sports. Athletes are choosing the vegetarian or vegan lifestyle now in droves, and many of them are finding that they can actually perform better and train harder than their counterparts who eat a lot of meat.
However, if you look at athletes like Michael Phelps, who ate a lot of meat and generally a lot of other calories to sustain his ridiculously long and grueling swim training sessions, this doesn’t seem to hold true.
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What I actually believe is that vegetarianism and veganism can work fantastically for some people. However, others, like myself, may actually need a little meat in their diet in order to feel their best and perform at their highest levels. Some people report trying vegan diets and just never feeling full or energized, while others think that this type of diet is the best thing they’ve ever done for their bodies.
That’s because each pe
rson is built differently. One person may get a lot of fuel and a lot of benefit from animal based proteins, while others just may generally feel sicker and less energized while eating this type of diet. We all have different chemical makeups, and they certainly can dictate what types of foods generally agree with our chemical makeup and which just don’t make the cut.
Granted, we can pretty much rule out the fact that a fast food and junk diet is not good for ANYONE. However, that’s different than saying to rule out one food group entirely, whether it’s prepared healthfully and organically or not.
I’ve actually tried a vegan diet. While I did have better luck with my digestive problems as well as bowel issues, I just never really felt full. I felt like I had to eat once every two hours to even feel somewhat satiated, and this could definitely interfere with life and goals when you are constantly having to nosh on something.
In the end, I found that a good balance between plant based and animal protein based was ideal for me, with an emphasis on plant based foods.
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