Definition for Ladies Spring 2014 Issue 001 April 2014 | Page 17

CALORIE AND PROTEIN REQUIREMENTS
If you’re training hard, you need the calories to support your training. Strict vegan diets can be
lacking in calories. More food is needed to compensate for the low calorie density of plant foods. If
you’re not meeting your energy needs this can lead to decreased sleep quality, decline in sex hormone
concentration and decreased muscle mass. Your overall performance will be compromised.
Of course, we all need protein. On average, people consume far too much protein. If you are
an athlete, regardless of whether you’re a vegan or not, your protein requirements will increase.
A deficiency in amino acids (the building blocks of protein) can lead to decreased muscle and
bone mass, as well as negatively impact our health on a cellular level. I have a scoop of vegan
protein powder in my green smoothie daily. Include a vegan protein supplement daily as well as
a branched chain amino acid supplement (BCAA – isoleucine, leucine, valine) to aid in repair
of muscles following intense training. The BCAA’s can help significantly in attenuating muscle
damage as well as promote muscle protein synthesis, but your protein powder may have enough
on its own. Food is always the best way to obtain your nutrients, however, especially if you’re a
vegan athlete, a high quality vegan protein supplement is advised. Some excellent sources of plantbased protein are organic tofu, edamame, tempeh, beans, seeds and nuts. Foods high in BCAA’s
are pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds and tofu.

INCOMPLETE PROTEIN = MYTH
I do not like this term. Any food that contains protein has all of the
“essential” (meaning we are unable to produce them in our body)
amino acids. The amount of the proteins may be lower, but if you eat a
variety of different higher-protein foods (mostly all foods contain some
protein), you will be obtaining all necessary amino acids; some are just
higher than others. All the amino acids you’ve consumed throughout
the day add up and meet your protein needs. I’m sure you’ve heard
of combining proteins certain foods together in one meal to
achieve a ‘complete protein’, but it’s not necessary as it will occur
naturally over a days’ worth of meals. Eat a wide variety of foods,
and you will meet your protein needs. There are plenty of sources
available to read that highlight the protein content of many foods.
The amount of protein recommended for the general popul ation
is 0.8g/kg of body weight. This is increased for an athlete.
Recommendations for athletes range from 1.0 to 2.0g/kg
body weight. Research does not show that there is a benefit in
consuming greater than 2g/kg body weight daily. The amount
recommended is dependent on multiple factors and is very

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