Vegan diet and tri - long term compatibility?

[Fat of the Land]

I've always followed a reasonably healthy (but could have been much better!) omnivorous diet in the past and was training / racing well enough but nothing special (best marathon 3:28 way back in 2003). The issue of late was weight loss and results out for hours put in, coupled with what I guessed was the inevitable “middle age spread” (37). I’d been reading loads on the net about nutrition and the more I read the more it pointed me in the direction of plant based nutrition.

I’d been reading a LOT about numerous cases of people who’ve taken to an entirely plant sourced nutritional approach for health and had found their performance improve dramatically as a side effect. This was alleged to result not only from the weight loss, but a massive upturn in energy and well being. (For example: http://www.brendanbrazier.com, http://www.richroll.com, http://www.ruthheidrich.com, http://www.durianrider.blogspot.com, http://www.davescottinc.com, etc).

I have to say I was NOT convinced, but I was fascinated and intrigued. I’m a great believer in practical experimentation as theory is quite often just that, nothing but theory and doesn’t apply to the practical world.

So, five weeks ago I made the switch (over night). Omnivore on Sunday to eating as a Vegan (eating no animal products at all) come Monday. I have to say at this point that I liked eating an omnivorous diet and very much enjoyed hunting and fishing also. I have no ethical or moral axe to grind, though I do respect all life as any good hunter / fisherman ought to. I also respect the Vegan standpoint on ethical grounds and their right to do so. It just isn’t what I was looking at this way of life for.

From what I read – 90 days of eating this way would give a reasonable trial of what it had to offer. Since then I’ve stuck to 100% plant based nutrition (about 50% raw 50% cooked, no junk what so ever).

On Monday the training went well, no problems. Monday night however was very odd, lots of headaches and feeling like I had a bad cold / flu. Lot of water and an early bed ensued. The second day however I felt fine again, back to training as normal.

That was my one and only rough day so far. Since then my training has gone from strength to strength and I’ve started to shift the weight steadily to. I’ve dropped 7 Kg of fat in 5 weeks (checked using body stat fat monitor scales, not 100% accurate I admit). I feel literally full of energy all day and all night long. I haven’t needed, craved or used an energy drink whilst training since starting (longest sessions being 1 hour 45 minute hill run and 40 mile group ride). I’ve lost all cravings for eating junk, literally it’s just stopped appealing to me. I no longer feel tired after meals, but can train within 20-30 minutes of eating. I also seem to be sleeping deeper and be more rested and alert on waking.

What started out as an experiment adopted whole-heartedly, but 100% sceptically, has kind of back fired on me! I not only like the training / racing result, but my whole well being is just… better. Health, fitness, weight, training, racing and recovery… everything is just better.

I’m a long way off completing my 90 day experiment but I’m now starting to panic! What if these result are just too bloody good to give up on and I end up having to live as a vegan to hang on to this addictive “drug”? I cannot deny that this experiment may well have worked just as well had I maintained an omnivorous diet and just cleaned it up significantly. I’ve been so much more thorough in monitoring my intake now using a free bit of software CRON-o-Meter (http://spaz.ca/cronometer/) to ensure it meets all appropriate requirements, including B complex supplementation etc. Could I have achieved all of this, maybe even more, by just cleaning up my normal diet, very possibly, more experimentation required possibly?

Has anyone else tried living as or is a vegan triathlete long term (I understand Dave Scott made the change back to an omnivorous diet post 1992 and numerous Ironman Kona wins)? Is it really as sustainable as it appears to me now? Do you have to start wearing tie-dye tri-suits to race in as a vegan triathlete?

Sorry, the whole vegan lifestyle has just always had such negative connotations for me and I’m feeling a bit silly for being forced to eat humble pie, because of my own experiment. (All be it organic vegan lentil and chickpea humble pie!)

Answers on a post card please to:

Self-induced pseudo-vegan steadily diminishing in his fatness, increasing in his fitness and feeling very silly for years of self righteousness regarding his omnivore antics!