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Nutrition and weight management


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So back when I was in school having a plant based diet was almost if not unheard of. With more and more studies being done and more athletes switching and being able to compete at the highest level with a plant based diet, I was wondering your guys thought on this type of diet. Do you know of any current high level guys using a plant based diet for weight management? What do you guys think are the pros and cons for using this during the season? 

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I love these nutrition and performance discussions. I won't speak for current athletes, but I've read lots of accredited scientific research on the topic. There's plenty of scientific evidence out there now that shows that as long as you're getting the right amino acid combos, there's no difference in your body's ability to build muscle or perform athletically on a plant-based diet. However, you do typically have to supplement proteins to get the right calorie balance to maintain muscle as well as a diet with animal proteins. Most non-supplement plant proteins come in a calorie-rich combo with lots of fats or carbs (as opposed to the lean proteins like chicken or fish that animal diets allow). That means that if you're in-season and counting every calorie, you're especially going to have to lean into those vegan protein supplements to keep your protein balance high.

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4 hours ago, maligned said:

I love these nutrition and performance discussions. I won't speak for current athletes, but I've read lots of accredited scientific research on the topic. There's plenty of scientific evidence out there now that shows that as long as you're getting the right amino acid combos, there's no difference in your body's ability to build muscle or perform athletically on a plant-based diet. However, you do typically have to supplement proteins to get the right calorie balance to maintain muscle as well as a diet with animal proteins. Most non-supplement plant proteins come in a calorie-rich combo with lots of fats or carbs (as opposed to the lean proteins like chicken or fish that animal diets allow). That means that if you're in-season and counting every calorie, you're especially going to have to lean into those vegan protein supplements to keep your protein balance high.

Awesome feedback!

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Nutrition is one of my biggest regrets when I was competing. I cut weight horribly and did not eat well at all. I know a lot of DI teams have a nutritionist that is team specific. At Purdue they have talked about it a lot on their Always Aggressive podcast. 

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I did not diet well either. Mom really stepped up to the plate during wrestling fixing very healthy meals lean chicken was a staple at our house but I worked at McDonald's every Sunday night and blew my diet. Cheeseburgers were my kryptonite. I coach grade school wtestling and preach to wrestle what you weigh but there's still one or two that cut. I wish as a sport we could get away from cutting weight but even at that a proper and nutritious diet can be a big advantage. I know nothing about a plant based diet but as with anything if you're going to go all in it gets complicated and how expensive are supplements?

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