Fueling the vegetarian athlete

Fueling the Vegetarian Athlete – nail the basics

In the current (May) issue of Triathlete Magazine (pg 64), I discuss some of the important considerations in fueling the vegetarian athlete.

This month I am celebrating 24-years of being a vegetarian (lacto-ovo).
In the month of April, when I was 10 years old, I came home from school one day and told my parents that I didn't want to eat animals anymore. I've always loved animals and even at a young age, it was my love for animals that prompted me to be a vegetarian.
I'm pretty sure I didn't call myself a vegetarian in my early years as that word wasn't part of my vocabulary but instead I just told people "I don't eat meat".
My diet has evolved over the past two decades, especially as I learned more about nutrition and sport nutrition.

But in all reality, my diet is no different than yours except for that I don't eat meat or fish.
I'm assuming you eat a lot of plants too, right?


Even though my diet has a name, there's no reason why athletes should shun away from plant-strong eating because the word"plant strong" does not mean "don't eat meat."


Regardless of what you name your diet, all athletes will benefit from a more real food (foods originating from a farm or garden, not made in a factory) diet.

However, for the vegetarian athlete (or the athlete who eats little to no meat or fish), I hope you find my Triathlete article helpful.
A few plant-strong, vegetarian takeaways.
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• Well-planned vegetarian diets can be very healthy and performance-enhancing but going meat-free doesn’t guarantee better health or podium-worthy finishes.
  
• Carnivorous or plant-eating, a poorly planned diet can make you feel lethargic, sick and weak, especially if you are not eating enough to meet your energy and nutrient needs.
  
• Relying too heavily on meat-free processed food, only eating fruits and veggies, consuming an excessive amount of carbs, consuming an inadequate intake of plant strong protein and consuming too little healthy fats, are reasons why athletes who go "meat free" often fail to meet nutritional requirements (or struggle with constant hunger or poor energy).
  
• As for the vegetarian protein debate, if adequate energy and an assortment of plant foods, rich in essential amino acids, are consumed throughout the day, physiologically processes shouldn’t be compromised in a plant-based diet.
  
• Vegetarian athletes should make an extra effort to consume nutrients like calcium, iron, zinc, omega-3, vitamin D, B12 and niacin, particularly if the diet is lacking in food variety. Understanding that many essential nutrients are required in the countless metabolic pathways that support a body in motion, a chronic nutrient deficiency (or absorption issue) may result in health and/or performance complications.
  
• Although a real-food approach should be prioritized over nutrients found in a pill or powder, supplements and engineered fortified foods are an option to protect against (or to fix) a nutrient deficiency.
  
• Considering that plant-strong diets are high in both soluble and insoluble fiber which are beneficial for blood sugar control (among many other health benefits), athletes should be mindful that if the diet is lacking in sufficient fat and protein at meal time, athletes can risk overeating due to constant hunger pains from too much nutrient-dense volume (or too many carbs) but not enough long-lasting energy.
  
• Speaking of fiber, athletes will benefit from limiting high fiber foods close to workouts and race day due to possible GI distress and discomforting digestion issues (ex. stomach cramps, diarrhea, bloating, gas) from too much residue in the gut.
  
• As for long workout days when calorie expenditure is at its highest (and “reward” carb-heavy junk food is often anticipated), it’s important to be mindful of healthy lower-fiber carbohydrates (ex. rice, potatoes, juice, honey, syrup, watery fruits) which can help with quickly replenishing glycogen stores and meeting energy needs, without promoting uncomfortable fullness, while offering beneficial nutrients to your depleted body.
  
• Whereas most American’s have an increasing obsession with meat consumption, there are many countries in this world that thrive off a mostly plant-based diet and live a long, healthy and active life. Therefore, it is inaccurate to view a vegetarian diet as “restrictive” because in America, we don’t really have a traditional American diet as a “healthy” reference.
  
• Because athlete lab results may contrast with “normal” population ranges, consider periodic blood testing throughout your season and correlate lab numbers with how you feel and retest every 4-6 months (starting in early season) for a personalized reference range. For plant-based athletes, the following blood tests are recommended:
  CBC, CMP, ferritin, folic acid, homocysteine, iron (total and TIBC), lipid profile, vitamin B12, Vitamin D, 25-Hydroxy.
  Supplementation may be necessary but not without prior testing to confirm a deficiency. 

Can you succeed as a plant-strong athlete?

Hello, my name is Marni and I am a 9x Ironman finisher, 4x Ironman World Championship finisher, USAT coach and the female winner of the 2014 HITS Ocala half ironman, the overall amateur female winner of the 2012 Branson 70.3 triathlon and overall winner of the 2012 Iron Girl Clearwater Half Marathon.

This month I will celebrate 23 years of eating a meat-free.
I eat carbohydrates like grains, potatoes and even cereal.
I use sport nutrition when I train - always.
I drink milk and eat yogurt - daily.
I love fresh bread and I eat dark chocolate.
I love real food.

My name is Marni and I am fueled by plants.
And my hubby Karel eats meat but I'll still call him a a plant-strong athlete because his diet is rich in fruits, veggies, whole grains, dairy and a variety of plant strong proteins. 

When you see a meal like this (above), a meal of 5 different kinds and colors of veggies tossed in olive oil, baked tempeh, cooked lentils and quinoa, do you think unhealthy athlete who can not maximize performance? 

How about this meal? 

Baked kale tossed in olive oil dressed with rice, beans, onions, lots of garlic and topped with peanuts and a side of Greek Yogurt (no pictured). Do you think inflammation, unstable blood sugar or low nutritional value? 

Yum. Sliced bananas, fresh, local poppyseed bread and a cup of 1% organic milk with 15g whey protein powder.
Is this a performance-damaging, metabolism wrecking, "bad food" post workout snack that should be off-limit in the diet? 

Roasted potatoes with baked cauliflower, beans and mushrooms. A bowl full of deliciousness.

This is how I eat every day and my good health, great performances and wonderful quality of life give me no reason to think that I am sabotaging my health or performance as a plant strong athlete by avoiding meat.

Not too long ago, my friend Molly from Girls Gone Strong asked me to provide an article on fueling the plant strong athlete.

Vegetarianism in athletes is a topic that is just as overwhelming and confusing as weight loss in endurance athletes for we are talking about the diet and in today's society, there is information overload and much of it is not sound advice.
You can read the article here:
Part 1
Part 2

Obviously, I am passionate about fueling the plant strong athlete as a sport RD but with almost two decades of experience, I have spent plenty of time dialing in my own nutrition as an endurance athlete so it makes me happy and excited to help out others. 

I want to give a big thank you to Rachel with Smart Girl's Guide to Going Vegetarian for the interview!

I wish I knew more about how to be a healthy vegetarian athlete when I decided to choose a plant-strong diet almost 23-years ago at the age of 10.

In my mid 20's, I was told that I would never succeed as an endurance athlete because of my meat-free diet. Well, I'd like to think that I've proved many people wrong. Recognizing that it's not easy to fuel an athlete regardless of his/her diet preferences, I really enjoyed providing my thoughts on vegetarianism for teenage athletes and how to ensure that young athletes meet their nutritional needs to maximize their full athletic potential.

READ THE INTERVIEW HERE

(and don't forget to leave a comment after reading the article for your chance to win a Clif Bar/Luna Bar giveaway prize!) 

Fueling the vegetarian endurance athlete - Part 2!

Thank you Girls Gone Strong for letting me share my thoughts on fueling the vegetarian endurance athlete. 

As a 22-year vegetarian and 9x Ironman finisher, I had so much to say on this topic so we decided to make it a two part series and finish with a Q&A on the Girls Gone Strong Facebook page!

                                                                            

To read the articles: Part 1 & Part 2 

Q&A

Q: On Tuesday, in this article you gave some guidelines for protein, carb, and fat requirements for female endurance athletes. Do the numbers look different for women who mostly strength train, and whose goals are strength-based?  If so, how do they differ? 

A: Thanks for asking ! The main focus of fueling an endurance athlete is ensuring that glycogen stores are not the limited as we want to keep our bodies energized for the long haul. I am a firm believer that endurance athletes need a healthy amount of fat in the diet to stay satisfied and healthy as well as protein for recovery/repair but the carbohydrates would be on the greater range for endurance athletes compared to strength-focused athletes. There is also a timing issue because endurance athletes need to consider how digestion affects the gut so I encourage athletes to focus on more low fiber energy dense foods around workouts which should be low in fat/protein and fiber. Example, whereas a strength athlete may be fine with eggs and oatmeal before a workout, an endurance athlete may find this too hard on the gut before a long run so she may opt for cream of wheat with a little nut butter and maple syrup.

Q: If you would like to transition to eating more vegetarian meals what would you consider the core staples that can be used to make quick healthy meals and build the right nutrition behaviors for early adopters? Sorry, I know I am not a girl but I know you are the best at building strong healthy bodies!

A: Thanks for the question!  Whenever transitioning to a more plant strong diet we want to make sure a good solid foundation is in place. So if the diet is already rich in fruits, veggies, grains/starches and healthy fats then the modification to take place would be swapping out animal protein for plant strong protein. For example, if a standard lunch is a salad with a chicken wrap we could replace the chicken with any plant protein (ex. beans, lentils, edamame, tofu, tempeh) as an easy swap. If a standard lunch is just a chicken wrap, then my suggestion would be to get this meal more plant strong by adding some type of veggie component to this meal (salad or stir fry or raw veg) as a starter and then once that habit is in place, swap out the protein option.

Q: For a female athlete (or family) who is looking at having protein strong plant based meals. What would you suggest as an appropriate equivalent of protein in non animal protein sources

 A; In reference to the guidelines in the article (~1.3-1.8g/kg body weight of protein per day) this would be a nice starting point for total protein. I recommend to break up protein consumption per meal, around 20-30g is a nice range. 1 ounce of animal protein = ~7g of protein as a guideline so to swap out 4 ounces of chicken (28g of protein) this would look like 1/2 cup lentils, 1/2 cup peas and 1/2 cup cooked tempeh for around 29g of plant strong protein.

Q: A question we get a lot is whether or not endurance athletes need to strength train? Is it an important part of their overall program?  Where does it fit in? How often? What kinds? Does it ever take priority over endurance training?  How does this differ between in-season, post-season, off-season, and pre-season?

A: I actually went into this in great detail at the The Women's Fitness Summit because I think many endurance athletes do not understand the importance of strength training OR they don't make time for it. I am a firm believer that strength training needs to be part of an endurance athletes training plan but it must be periodized with the season plan. For my athletes/myself, I emphasize foundation building first to work on good motor patterns and mobility. Pretty much breaking down sport-specific movements and refining the movements. We take about 6-8 weeks in this phase while the cardio is focused more on strength (ex. using bands/buoys and paddles in the pool, heavy gear and climbing sets on the bike and slow form focused running with a few pick ups at the end of the workout). The next phase I transition my athletes to is more complex and dynamic training. Plyometrics should come to mind. Whereas the intensity and volume of the cardio training will increase a bit, the body is in a good place to accept this added stress. The goal for cardio is to keep the hard workouts hard and easy workouts easy and to plug in the dynamic strength movements that will yield favorable results to swim, bike run fitness. We call this the build phase and this will take us to the peaking phase of the season for the first key race of the year. Around 4-6 weeks before this race, the frequency of the strength increases but it is still good to keep the body primed for power in the gym once a week and then the other cardio workouts take priority as the focus is race specific workouts. There is always a continued focus on glute, hip and core/lower back strength to ensure that this is never a limiter. The #1 goal of strength training for endurance athletes is that the strength should make the athlete better at the sport she is training for. So strength training should not be designed to get an athlete strong just to be strong but to be strong, fast and powerful at her sport.

A great book for triathletes to better understand a quality approach to training alongside focusing on the strength and recovery component is from Matt Dixon with Purplepatch fitness - The Well Built Triathlete. 

Q: I'm more of a paleo eater now, but my doctor suggested vegetarian for my PMS/PMDD symptoms. Have you seen any evidence to support this or would high protein be better?

Thanks for asking Katrina Skurka Howard - I personally do not advocate a specific diet for athletes as I strive to encourage variety and balance in the diet and no food rules. But when it comes to PMS symptoms, it is important that female athletes understand how their menstrual cycle is affected (or may affect) training and fueling. Stacy Sims discussing this topic in great detail but to help manage these symptoms, I don't feel a specific diet will alleviate these issues but instead to focus on your own individual needs. You may want to start with a lab test to see your vitamin D and ferritin levels which can affect PMS symptoms if inadequate or deficient. For women who are not on the pill or other contraceptive and have a natural menstrual cycle, metabolism will be affected by the different phases (follicular and luteal) but I personally am opposed to any restrictive style of eating that eliminates major food groups. I hope this helps a little. I feel you on the symptoms, I have had my menstrual cycle naturally for the past 7 years every month so I am no stranger to these symptoms  

This is a fantastic reference from Stacy Sims.

Q: As a female endurance athlete how would you suggest balancing the nutritional needs of sport with the desire to lose weight?

A:  This is always a tough question because we want the body to be in a healthy place to tolerate the demands of training but we do not want to underfuel in an effort to lose weight. I think there are many approaches to this but it certainly can be done in a healthy way and depends on where the individual is with her relationship with food and the body. I think the focus needs to be on supporting the workout as many athletes underfuel around the workouts and end up overeating later in the day. As an athlete, making the effort to understand how to eat before, during and after workouts will help take training to the next level. I think another common issue is athletes undereating during the day which affects metabolism. Skipping snacks, not enough adequate carbs, skimping on calories/fat, etc. We need to eat enough to support the demands of training so planning out the day before it happens can be an easy way to see what the day will look like in the most balanced way possible with healthy and satisfying meals and snacks. Lastly, the evenings can be a time of overinduging or overeating so I encourage athletes to not beat themselves up if this happens in the evening but to identify any triggers during the day that may be tweaked to ensure a good balanced dinner in the evening and an early bedtime without excessive snacking. If all of this takes place and an athlete still finds it hard to lose weight, then additional modifications can be made in training to make sure that the workout routine is not too stressful for the body.

Fueling the Vegetarian Endurance Athlete

Fueled by plants

 

With so much information on healthy eating, sport nutrition and dieting, I really enjoy writing about topics that I know a lot about from first-hand experience.

When Girls Gone Strong approached me to write an article about fueling the vegetarian endurance athlete, I was super excited about the opportunity to introduce others to my plant strong lifestyle. 

As a 22-year vegetarian and 9x Ironman finisher, I think it is safe to say that my diet is not a temporary fad and perhaps I know a thing or two about fueling the plant-strong athlete. 

I hope you find that my article is an informative way to help you understand how to eat to be a healthy endurance athlete and how to do so, if you choose vegetarianism.

This article is not persuading you to become a vegetarian athlete to boost performance, nor is it telling you that your health and performance will automatically improve should you choose to remove meat from your diet.

All endurance athletes must understand the importance of consuming a balanced, wholesome diet and this article will clear up any confusion you may have in regard to how to nourish your body as you fuel for performance.

Despite naysayers believing that endurance athletes must eat meat to be a healthy and strong endurance athlete, there is no shortage of high level athletes, achieving great endurance accomplishments, by thriving off a plant strong diet.

There are many apprehensions by athletes, coaches, and outsiders who question the athletic potential (or lack thereof) of vegetarian endurance athletes.

 

But remember, it is within a restrictive diet that there will always be concerns for nutritional deficiencies.  It would appear that vegetarians are undoubtedly lacking key nutrients by not eating animal protein but, let’s not pick too hard on vegetarians. Remember that an under-fueled and undernourished athlete will always under-perform.

 

 

There are often concerns of anemia or iron deficiency, inadequate consumption of quality dietary protein, zinc, calcium, vitamin D, and B12 and an alleged inability to eat “enough” calories/energy from plants.

But vegetarian or not, a poorly planned or restrictive diet with an extreme exercise routine is not a winning combination. 

A deficiency in iron and B12 isn’t limited to the vegetarians. 

So, even for the omnivorous endurance athlete reading this article, hopefully you can use the following information to fill in any nutritional gaps that may be keeping you from reaching your full fitness potential.

If you find that this article was a beneficial read, please share with a friend/training partner/group. Help me spread the message about the importance of eating for fuel and for health. 

Also, be sure to mark your calendars for Friday December 19th when I will be hosting a LIVE Q&A on the Girls Gone Strong Facebook page from 11:30-12:30EST to answer any questions you might have! 

A big thank you to Girls Gone Strong for asking me to contribute to this fabulous organization of motivating, inspiring and hard working female athletes and fitness enthusiasts! 

FUELING THE VEGETARIAN ENDURANCE ATHLETE

Trimarni wheat and gluten free pancakes

It's National Pancake Day!!!

It was very important to me that my campers at the Trimarni endurance triathlon camp had food that would help their bodies stay nourished and fueled throughout camp. It was never even a thought to get lunches catered, to order pre-made meals from a restaurant/fast food establishment or to buy pre-made options at the grocery store. It gives me great joy to enjoy food around others and I wanted my campers to enjoy food that makes them yum, with their fellow campers (and new friends).

So, since I was providing food for the campers at the Trimarni camp for lunch on Day 1 and Day 2, I wanted to make sure that I could accommodate all dietary preferences that were listed on the camper questionnaire (provided pre-camp). As a dietitian who specializes in sport nutrition, it was important to me that I also provided food that would be easy to digest post workouts, would help with refueling and repairing post workout and would ensure happy tummies throughout our camp. My goal was not make the athletes eat like me (an almost 21-year lacto-ovo vegetarian) but instead, have a variety of real-food options so that each athlete could to be creative with their food choices to meet their individual needs and taste buds but also to eat food for fuel and for health to ensure consistent energy levels throughout camp.

Although Karel and I have never had any GI/nutritional issues with gluten, bread, whole grains and wheat (as they are all part of our daily diet), I decided to go with a gluten and wheat free flour from Bob's Red Mill which offered a variety of nutrients from blend of gluten-free flours to ensure that every camper could enjoy the pancakes. We did not have any vegans at our camp so the pancake recipe I used included milk and eggs.
Ingredients in the flour: Garbanzo bean flour, potato starch, tapioca flour, white sorghum flour, fava bean flour.
Although the pancakes were the spotlight for our post long ride + interval run meal, each athlete used the pancakes as a base and dressed up their 2-3 serving pancakes with a variety of yummy toppings.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups flour
2 tablespoons sugar (I used white sugar)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 tsp iodized salt
1 1/4 cup skim milk
1 egg
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
Olive oil for cooking.

1. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in medium bowl.
2. Warm milk for 30 seconds in microwave. Whisk milk, egg, melted butter and vanilla extract in small bowl.
3. Heat large skillet to medium heat and drizzle with a little olive oil. 

4. Pour milk mixture into flour (into the center) bowl and use a fork to stir until no clumps remain.
5. Use 1/4 cup measuring cup to pour batter onto skillet and with fork, gently spread the batter into a large circle (about 3-4 inches across).
6. After ~2 minutes, flip pancake and cook the other side for 1-2 minutes (add a little olive oil as needed to prevent sticking - around 1 tsp per 4 pancakes depending on size of skillet).
7. Serve with your choice of toppings. Enjoy!

Trimarni Tip: Inside-out sandwich

I'm sure you can only imagine the fun I had at the grocery stores in Czech Republic during our trip in May. And oh did it all taste great too!

Have you been adding to your "off limit" food list over the past few months/years?

How about rethinking your meals as you learn how to develop a healthy relationship with food?

It's time to free yourself from food rules and "bad" food.

Trimarni Tip (from the Sumbal household who always has a loaf of fresh local bread in the house at all times):

Pics from our Czech Republic trip in May

I find many people are all or nothing. Either you LOVE bread and eat it all the time or bread is bad and it is off limit. I think the same is true for any food or food group. People hear low and they think no and if they hear something is good, it is consumed in excess. Since when did our society become so extreme with everything?

The key is balance for any meal but hopefully you are looking for easy ways to create more plant strong meals to provide your body with lots of vitamins and minerals to reduce risk for disease and to support your immune system.....but you also need to feel satisfied. Whereas a plate of lettuce and veggies is not going to satisfy you or fuel your body, the same may be true for two slices of bread with veggies and a few slices of meat in between.

Since I do not have any bad, off limit food in my food vocabulary, I welcome any opportunity to enjoy real food. Eating time is always a happy time for Karel and myself. There is no food critiquing but instead lots of yumming.

Consider turning your sandwich inside out and use your veggies as the base and then top with your choice of protein, whole grains and heart healthy fats. Keep in mind that you can only stuff a limited amount of plants between two slices of bread and a plant strong meal may require the use of silverware and a table (instead of eating with your hands or behind the steering wheel). As a side dish, no need to give up bread. Enjoy an open face sandwich with cheese/yogurt spread, avocado or hummus or enjoy your bread as a pre/post training snack with nut butter. Tweak your diet to find what works best for you.

Here is a creation I made to help you get excited that you don't have to have an off limit food list when it comes to enjoying plant strong meals to fuel your active and healthy body.

In case you missed this post, here is a blog on our experience to a vegetarian restaurant in Czech. 

How we eat: The Sumbal's

Every day we go to bed with happy tummy's  and wake up with a body that is energized and ready to train and have a great day. We owe it all to real food that fuels our active lifestyle and keeps our immune system healthy and our brain thinking clearly. 

No matter how many legs you have in the Sumbal house, we all love real food. 

I created the plant strong meal for Karel  (see below - my entire dinner) and he finished it off with Kuřecí řízek (chicken schnitzel) and local sourdough fresh bread. Nothing like European food that brings memories from home. 

So simple yet so delicious. Frozen mixed veggies with fresh mushrooms and sliced onions sautéed in olive oil with toasted quinoa and brown rice. I can't believe my 21 year plant strong diet is gearing me up for my seventh Ironman in 32 days. Yay for real food that makes my tummy and body happy.

And for my little furry child who is not a fan of any type of dog food (we've tried so many!), even Campy got a real food dinner tonight. He loved his Trimarni creation of boiled shredded chicken breast with mixed veggies, eggs and brown rice. (if you make your dog real food - please send me a recipe because Campy is a bit picky with his food and he would rather play outside than eat doggy food)

I wanted to share part of the lecture I gave to Wesleyan University in Macon, GA last week (Thursday). I absolutely love public speaking and having the opportunity to change lifestyles.
Sadly, my camera stopped working but I hope you enjoy the first part!
To conclude the part of my talk that was not recorded (the tip on developing a healthy relationship with food and the body), I find that many people do extreme things when they let a number on the scale run or ruin their day. Sure, the scale can be used wisely but many people use it irresponsibly. For I would never put Campy on a fast, a cleanse or a juice diet if he gained 5 lbs. I would never over exercise him or restrict his diet. So if it seems absolutely ridiculous for me to hypothetically do these things to Campy if he gained 5 lbs, why would you ever put your body through such extreme measures just because you are letting a household appliance determine your "health". Create a positive relationship with food and the body and stop using words like off limit, bad, fat, guilty, ugly, disgusting, gross, horrible, cheating and instead, give your body some credit for what it allows you to do on a daily basis such as getting you up in the morning, having a productive day, crossing finishing line and enjoying your one and only life. 

                             

2013 Speaking of Women's Health event recap (w/ recipes)

When I started triathlons, I was rather obsessed. My life revolved around training morning and night. Twice a day, everyday. The training lifestyle was not too much different than my college life of swimming twice a day, 5 days a week and then a long workout on Saturday, day off Sunday. Although I had about a year of discovering triathlons after college in 2004, I welcome my new triathlon lifestyle when I was in graduate school as I loved having something to prepare for and look forward to every day, all day. 

That passion, excitement and motivation has not gone away for if it did, I would not be doing triathlons now 7 years later. But instead, my approach to training has changed as I have discovered that triathlons is not my life, but instead my lifestyle. Life has presented many obstacles, highs and lows over the past few years and as much as I had my swim-bike-run routine to look forward to every single day, I had other commitments in life that required more of my attention and energy. 

Before I started my journey to be a RD I remember my dad, Dr. James Rakes, sharing his wise words with me (as he always does)...

"Marni, make sure you have something in life besides triathlons that makes you happy."

Like any stubborn daughter, I listened to him but it took a while to grasp what he was saying. 

My dad never wants me to stop dreaming big and instead, he is my #1 fan that will be cheering me on as all my dreams come true with everything I do. He has encouraged me to dream big but has installed a "hard work" mantra to everything that I do in life. Nothing worth having comes easy. 

After receiving my RD credential, I discovered that he was right, like always. Triathlons are my lifestyle and I never want that love of sports to go away. But, I have so many other things in my life that make me excited and motivated every day to see what the day will bring. And although I have not slowed down my life in the past 7 years, I have learned to create a routine where I can train hard with the least amount of training stress to experience big performance gains. With quality training and a less is more approach, I have so much room left in my day to spend the unused energy that I could spend training more for triathlons to other things that carry the same value (or more) as triathlons. 

                                         

One of the reasons why I went back to school to earn my RD, LD/N credential (Registered Dietitian, Licensed Dietitian/Nutritionist) was to become more credible as a speaker and writer. Now a day, any person with a strong voice and personality can provide info to the public and receive fame and recognition but I never wanted to the loud voice. I wanted a higher education to learn more to give the right advice with a caring voice. A voice that shows that I "get it" and I also practice what I preach. Two things that required time, patience and hard work...skills also used in triathlon training. 

I was invited by 2013 Speaking Of Women's Health to speak on behalf of Baptist Heartwise for Women a few months ago. I love public speaking but with my audience full of women, there was no way I could say no. I love my job and what I get paid to do and changing lifestyles is what I am all about. 

Months of preparation on a power point presentation, time spent preparing for the cooking demo. Practicing, setting things up, rehearsing over and over. The excitement and nerves of when the day will come and then the rush before it starts and the comfort of when it actually begins. Then, the sadness when it is all over.

Public speaking is my release from triathlons. It brings me a similar excitement, passion and energy that I can not explain but welcome when I have the opportunity to provide my philosophy and knowledge about food, health and exercise.

I don't feel that everyone needs to be a public speaker or a writer but instead, finds a few things in life that bring you happiness and require hard work. Perhaps for you, signing up for that upcoming running or tri race is your hard workout and happiness and for others, finding a different outlet to bring happiness, besides training is needed. Whatever you choose to do, remember that to be successful in life, you must love what you are doing. If you are wasting your time doing something you don't love or haven't learned to love and appreciate, step back, re-evaluate and consider your goals and dreams. Sometimes hanging in there is needed and other times, it's time to move on. If something is very important to you, you will find yourself looking back sometime down the road, thinking that you couldn't believe where you were when you started.

My 45 minute presentation was not long enough for me but I did my best to squeeze in as much as I could for a room of 225 chairs. Amazingly, there were people standing in the back and guesstimates were around 240-250 people in the room. Thank you HeartWise for asking me to speak for this was my largest audience I have ever spoken to and I loved every minute of it!

                          

I have to give a HUGE thank you to Mai Oui Gourmet Catering for they were hired by Baptist HeartWise to prepare 4 of my creations for the participants in the talk. They perfected my 3 recipes (tempeh stir fry, avocado mango salsa with pita chip and homemade granola bar) and also provide trail mix for dessert as the participants were leaving. I never like to talk to hungry bellies so even though my talk was at 10am on Saturday, everyone was very happy during my talk...and lots of yumming was occurring too.


                           

Who doesn't love a lecture that has free samples?

                        

What a beautiful presentation!

                       

Yummy trail mix for dessert.

                                  

After spending about 20 minutes discussing my philosophy for eating for fuel, for health and for pleasure and providing a few tips supported by the research of a Mediterranean style of eating, it was time for my cooking demo. When I speak, I try to make sure that my audience leaves feeling inspired and has information that they can easily apply to their every day lifestyle. I don't waste too much of my time talking about grams, portions and recommendations beyond what I feel is most important. Therefore, I stress the importance of the lifestyle component and considering the thoughts behind our actions. I feel there is enough info out there for people to learn what it means to eat healthy but it gets wrapped into a tangled mess because there are too many "experts" out there trying to make a simple concept of eating a more real food diet far too complicated. I try to make eating fun and easy to understand and to break the cycle of women having a negative food vocabulary and to stop the body bashing.

I had a few GREAT volunteers to help me with my cooking demo.

I showed how EASY it was to prepare a homemade trail mix and to bulk it up with cheerios (one of my favorite processed foods for it is fortified very well and is very wholesome) OR popcorn from a brown paper bag (1/3 kernels, roll down back twice and pop for 75-90 seconds in microwave).

While we were preparing the trail mix, I had a volunteer read the ingredients on a protein bar. She was still reading it after we prepared the trail mix in less than a minute.

The Hyatt kitchen hooked me up with a hot plate and I had a blast actually "cooking" in front of everyone. I am not a trained chef but I know food and love to talk about food so my volunteer (Who was a male, a husband of a wife who always attends this conference) was outstanding and we had so much fun cooking my tempeh stir fry. I kept it super simple: 1/2 package of tempeh (chopped) and sautéed in a few tsp olive oil on medium heat with with a cup or two of frozen mixed veggies. We seasoned it with ginger, oregano and garlic and then added prepared quinoa in the skillet for a little toss and voila....a beautiful creation serviced on a bed of greens to make our dish more plant strong.

And lastly, who doesn't love salsa? Salsa actually means sauce but many people think of it as a dip. My volunteer was incredible as she had great cooking skills and I could do all the talk. What a great combo!

I kept the salsa SUPER simple - mango, peaches, cilantro, avocado. All seasonal ingredients for a delicious topping to any sandwich, dish or salad...or straight from the bowl to help boost your vitamin and mineral intake. 

I had such a great time talking that I ran out of time and had to quickly clean up before the next speaker began. What a bummer because I didn't get to answer questions so if anyone has any questions...send me an email as I'd love to help you out.

I also want to send another BIG thank you to Mai Oui and HeartWise for helping me out with my talk. I couldn't have done this without both of them! Also, for the event putting on a top-notch, inspiring, life-changing event for women. I love being part of events like this for I love helping to inspire women and I feel everyone deserves to have good health, happiness and fun in their life and I want to make sure that no day is left wasted. 

                        

At the catered lunch, there was an inspiring video with a segment on Julia Child. I just love her message and what she was all about in life and most importantly, how she approached life and cooking. There are too many quotes of hers to choose from as I love them all but pertaining to my talk, I feel this one is most appropriate. 

Nutrient-dense event-day creations

Salads don't have to be boring unless this is your idea of a salad.



And certainly, you don't have to be the party-pooper if you bring a plant-strong meal to a holiday event. Certainly, there will be plenty of options to enjoy a little of everything and of course, I want you to enjoy your options and feel great about whatever you put into your body. But, perhaps, as you happily indulge in some occasional treats/eats, you may inspire others by your delicious, nutrient-dense creation.


Growing up as a competitive swimmer, I was never a salad eater and didn't really focus on eating a lot of veggies..... unless they were drenched in ranch dressing and covered with croutons and cheese.  And even though I became a lacto-ovo vegetarian at the age 10ish, my definition of plant-strong was "I don't eat meat"....so that meant, bring on the cheese and anything that doesn't have meat or fish in it!

Oh how times have changed. Still a competitive athlete but I have a great appreciation of how plant strong meals can give the human body a powerful dose of nutrients.

So, in honor of any event/party that you may be going to tomorrow or in the future, here are 3 of my many favorite plant strong creations for you to enjoy!

Have a great 4th of July and be safe.

Mango-kiwi fruit salad
3 kiwis (sliced)
1 mango (cubed)
10 baby carrots (chopped)
1 small apple (chopped)
1/4 cup grapes (halved)
1/2 large lemon juice (or small lemon) for dressing




To cut kiwi's:
1)Cut kiwi in half.
2) Use a spoon to remove skin from kiwi
3) Turn skin inside out.
4) Cut off the ends.





To cut mango:
1) Cut segments out around the core
2) Use a sharp knife to make a grid on mango segments.
3) Use your thumbs on skin-side to pop out the top of mango segment.
4) Cut off cubes with knife.






Carrot, Coconut and Raisin salad


1 bag pre-cut matchstick carrots
4 tbsp shredded coconut
2 tangerines (sliced, seeds removed) + juice
1 pear (chopped)
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup cranberries
1/2 lemon (juice)


Cucumber Tomato salad



1-2 large cucumber - halved then sliced again in half (I made it look extra pretty by scraping a fork on the outside of the cucumber before cutting it)
5 roma tomatoes - halved, then sliced again in half
2 ounces block mozzarella cheese - cut in small cubes
Pepper, pinch of salt, pinch of sugar
2 tbsp balsamic or any vinaigrette
1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Food trend - plant strong athlete

If you are like most individuals, you are not surprised by the number of new, trendy, hip or cool foods on the market. From fresh to processed, our culture loves to eat trendy foods, companies love to profit it off of them and the media loves to talk about them. (perhaps I have reversed this timeline as the media has a major influence on how, what and why we eat). 

Coconut, kale, gluten-free, greek yogurt, juicing, quinoa. Just a few that come to mind when you think of the recent foods that are most talked about when discussing "healthy eating" or dieting. Anyone remember Olestra?

Did you know that there are over a dozen types of lettuces? I wrote a blog a while back on the many types of green leafy options that you can add to your current diet. 

How come the media isn't obsessing about Mâche, Mesclun or Mizuna and how come the grocery stores aren't carrying them for us to enjoy? 

When I work with individuals on the diet, specifically for performance or health purposes, it is very important to me that I treat each athlete/fitness enthusiast as an individual. But in our quick-fix society, it is so easy to want to be like the masses - do like others to receive the same results. 

In the past 20 years, I have "worked" on my diet to create a diet that gives me food freedom and peace with food. Comfort with my food choices without obsessing about calories or portions or food preparation. I have worked on mindful eating the most in that keeps me constantly in the moment when it comes to eating. I know how it feels to overeat and it doesn't feel good. So I don't do it. I don't get cravings or drops in blood sugar because I have tweaked my diet in a way that prevents these issues from happening. It may not work for others how I eat but my body is happy and my body is healthy. Why should I try to  follow a food trend or diet if I have created my own diet that allows me to function well in this world (and performance to the best of my ability during training/racing)? 

 At age 10-11, I decided to not eat meat for animal reasons and since then, I have learned how to eat as a healthy and active athlete/health conscious individual. I call myself a vegetarian because I don't and will never eat meat. It isn't a fad or a temporary trend. 

I know how to maintain my diet when traveling, eating on the road, eating at events and eating at home. I am always excited to better myself with my food choices, especially when it comes to bettering my health and performance but I am not "trying" new ways of eating as if I need to fix what is not broken. I have never fasted, cleansed or detoxed for my body never gets out of whack. 

I see nothing wrong with trying new things and tweaking the diet. Some styles of eating that are trendy (Ex. Mediterranean, vegetarian) actually come with a host of health benefits but that doesn't mean that you have to follow them strictly to still receive health benefits. That is how I work with others for I believe that learning how to create a healthy relationship with food is best mastered when you recognize what foods make YOU feel the best and enhance your lifestyle. Although adding kale and greek yogurt to your diet will not override other dietary choices, certainly there are many great foods out there that without the media, perhaps we would have never seen in the grocery store or recognized at farmers markets. 

When you think about the food trends in 2012, I am sure you have tried those foods or have adopted a diet that includes those foods (some or all). Nothing wrong with that as I hope that you are still working on your diet to support your individual needs and goals and not eating something temporary or for a quick-fix because the news, a celebrity, coach or nutrition guru told you that if you eat this, you will be "healthy". 

As I mentioned above, my plant-strong diet is with me for the rest of my life. It is not something that I will deviate from but instead, enjoy it as it helps me live an active lifestyle. But in the past 20 years, I have worked at it and I invite you to do the same for your own diet. 

Elimination diets are very trendy and I am not a fan. I feel that spending your energy on what not to eat is only going to set you up for failure and restriction in the diet and lack of flexibility with eating (especially around others). Banning food is not the way to go if you want to "be healthy" so instead, I invite you to think about what you aren't eating, possibly what you could be eating instead, as a way to create a positive relationship with food and perhaps, stop blaming the outcome or effect and instead, direct your positive energy to the missing link(s). 

I love writing about plant strong eating because not only do I practice what I preach in consuming a plant-strong diet for health and performance benefits but also, because we all need to do a great job, every day, of making sure we nourish our bodies with real food, mostly plants. If you feel you have "bad" food in the diet, perhaps you just don't have room for other foods (or not making room or the time to consume them) and it is within those other foods that you can make a positive impact on your health, mood, body and performance. It isn't as if one food is better than the other and certainly, no food is "bad" when consumed on occasional eats/treats but take some time - a few weeks at the minimum, to give a little thought to your diet to make sure that you are not "working" on your diet to be like others or to "fit-in" but instead, create a diet that works for you and is here to stay.

Is Plant-Strong "Healthy" for an Athlete? By Marni Sumbal

Healthy eating can be confusing when it's aimed to the masses. With many research-supported guidelines for "healthy" eating, a plant-strong diet is often celebrated as the most effective way to reduce risk for disease and manage a healthy weight. Although it is not required that you give yourself a dietary title as to what you don't eat, consider a variety of health promoting plant-strong foods to fuel and nourish your active lifestyle.

Protein is essential to assist in growth and repair of muscles, bones and tissues, keeps hair, skin and nails in good health, is helpful for the immune system and helps to keep the metabolism, digestion and brain in optimal health.

For most athletes, meeting recommendations for protein (1-1.5 g/kg/d) can easily be accomplished through a varied diet. To ensure a decrease in fat mass (and not lean muscle mass) if striving for weight loss/body composition changes, do not neglect quality, portioned controlled protein at meals, snacks and for workout recovery. 

For proper digestion and absorption, satiety and control of blood sugar with carbohydrates, all individuals should aim for around 20-30g of protein per meal and addition protein with workout recovery/daily snacks to meet your individual daily recommend protein intake.

Nutrition plays a major role in your training regime and the choice for a specific dietary regime (or any variation) should not sabotage your training plan. Because you can't out-train a poorly planned diet, your diet should keep you healthy, active and happy. If your eating today is restrictive based on how you ate yesterday, ditch the diet plan mentality. 

Maintain a healthy relationship with food and consider a more plant strong, balanced diet as you enjoy the creativity, freedom and flexibility that come with eating a variety of whole foods.

Meat or no meat, choose foods that are simple to prepare, convenient, safe, wholesome and pleasurable as you support your healthy lifestyle with consistent fitness/performance gains.

Here's a protein-rich, plant strong meal which has an extra bonus:  many valuable vitamins and minerals within this meal aside from protein!

1 cup mushrooms - 2 protein
2 cups cooked broccoli - 8g protein
1/2 cup farro - 4g protein
1/4 cup black beans - 3.5 g protein
3 ounce tofu - 7g protein
1 cup cherry tomatoes - 1g protein
1/2 cup peas - 3.5g protein
1/2 ounce pumpkin seeds - 2.5g protein
Total: 31.5g protein

Read more: Iron Girl