Tips For Working Out While On A Plant-Based Diet
Everyone knows that in order to be a successful athlete or body builder, one must consume protein on a regular basis to aid in his or her fitness goals. The misconception though, falls in the fact that many also wrongly believe that animal proteins are the ONLY and most effective/efficient way to get what your body needs. This is NOT true! With plant-based diets becoming more and more popular within every lifestyle, we slowly see a rise of more and more vegan bodybuilders or athletes who follow a complete plant based diet and are physical powerhouses!
Here are some tips to follow in order to successfully work out, stay fit and stick to a Plant-Based Diet!
Eat The Right Pre-Workout Foods
Your body needs to be correctly fueled in order to have an impactful workout. It is essential to eat the right foods so that your performance while exercising doesn’t falter and you can push on till the very last set.
Before starting a workout make sure you load up on the right carbs. A handful of fresh, medjool dates are an amazing option to optimize your performance. High in glucose, they will give you that much-needed energy-boost that will keep you going while you workout.
Eat The Right POST-Workout Foods
Within 15-60 minutes after finishing your workout, you should be eating a recovery meal or snack, as this is the optimal window when your muscles start to repair themselves.
This is when you want to make sure that you are having a protein rich option!
Opt for:
- Fruit smoothies with added soymilk and coconut yoghurt – Fruits such as grapes, mangoes and pears are heavily alkaline and can help to reduce lactic acid build-up after a workout.
- High-quality Vegan protein powder – some of our personal favourite Plant-Based protein powder brands include Sunwarrior and the newest protein from Four Sigmatic. With so many different products ranging from powders to bars, they have something to appease everyone’s needs!
- Chickpea Pasta or Lentil Spaghetti – With the your favourite tomato or avocado pesto sauce, this hearty meal will get you the right carbs and proteins to facilitate a speedy recovery.
Take Vegan-Friendly Supplements
Since your intake of protein will be going up we suggest taking BiOptimizers Masszymes. It doesn’t matter if you’re consuming 30 grams of protein… or 300 grams of protein — if you don’t have a sufficient supply of enzymes to digest the protein, your body will be starving for those vital building blocks.
The more cooked food you eat (this includes almost every protein powder) — the worse it gets. The enzymes get drained faster and faster… leading to digestive nightmares. All this undigested protein leads to a disgusting caked up intestinal tract that blocks amino acid absorption.
The truth is: if you’re not using enzymes — you’ve got a serious handicap when it comes to absorbing nutrients. You’re lucky if you’re absorbing 40% of the protein from your food.
Rest and Relax!
Giving your muscles time to relax and recover is an essential step to keeping your fitness goals on track. Make sure you take one or two days in between workouts to recuperate and make sure your body is ready to take on another high intensity workout.
If you still want to get up and moving, opt for a low-intensity exercise like yoga or walking.
We love sipping on a mug of Four Sigmatic Hot Cocoa with Reishi. This mushroom blend will melt away your stress while it’s nutrients help slow down the aging process.
Exercising on a Vegan diet shouldn’t be complicated. Simply keep your body fuelled with a high quantity of high-quality foods and you’ll be right on track to achieve your fitness goals, and hopefully exceed them!
