Yeah sure it can be done, but where do they get their 200g+/day of protein that's not beans?
Hmm...try this:
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=vegan+athlete+meal+plan
It's that easy.
If my buddy, a vegan athlete, can support a family of 5 on $25k/yr and be a vegan triathlete I suspect others can do it to without having a scientist figure out their diet.
If you can't find this information in this day and age you don't want to know.
Turns up a bunch of websites and meal plans for skinny endurance athletes. Not really what I was wondering about. It's not a problem for me to eat 400g of carbs from bread, bananas and mangos. To get nearly 200 grams of protein per day
on ~$200 per month, while eating around 2000-2500 calories per day is challenging when you take away beans.
Keep in mind that I actually did this, for about four months last year. During that time I spent about 25-30 hours a week running, swimming, cycling and powerlifting. I think veganism is fucking awesome and love it, but it doesn't seem to fit in with my experience as an athletic person or my particular goals. Here's my response to each food group, as it happened for me:
All kinds of vegetables, cooked and raw:
Sure, lots of fiber for anything over 15g of protein.Vegetable sprouts:
Yeah, see above.All kinds of fruits, usually raw:
Dubious protein content, lots of calories.Beans and other legumes: lentils, chickpeas, black beans, pinto beans, adzuki beans
Prepare to have flatulence that destroys furniture.Starchy vegetables like potatoes and sweet potatoes:
Lots of calories for not much protein.Brown rice:
LolPasta:
LolWhole-wheat bread, pitas, and bagels:
Yeah, eat 200 calories of bread, get 5g of protein. Great.Other grains and seeds: bulgur wheat, buckwheat, farro, millet, quinoa, flaxseed, hempseed, chia seeds:
Tons of calories, small amounts of protein.Hummus:
Love hummus, but it's still only like 6g/100 calories.Nuts, nut milks, nut butters: almonds, cashews, walnuts, almond milk, hazelnut milk, peanut butter, almond butter, sunflower seed butter:
Yeah you get like 200 calories in a tiny handful and <10g of protein.Oils: grapeseed, olive, canola, coconut, flaxseed (unheated), hemp (unheated):
fatAgave nectar (as workout fuel, not an all-purpose sweetener):
Carbs, I can eat fruit for that.Protein powder (I like this hemp, rice, pea, and chia blend):
How much do you pay for that? I buy my whey concentrate in 25lb crates and it averages about $7/lb.Soy products (limited): tofu, tempeh:
See legumes.Tea and coffee (limited)
No need to get defensive about this, I think veganism is excellent, the OP just said he lifts, I was wondering how he was getting a lifter's amount of protein while being vegan. If the answer is legumes and gold-plated protein powders, well, cool I guess!