Vegan Climbing Food
Steph,
Totally awesome blog, lots of good photos! Do you have any good suggestions for climber-friendly vegan diet? What do you do on longer expeditions, where the only things available are basics like nuts, rice, beans, fruits and veggies? Also, any on-the-wall and base-camp snack ideas?
Cheers,
Sam
Hi Steph!
My name is Nadya, I’m from Ukraine. I wanted to ask you about advantages and especially disadvantages of being a climber-and-vegetarian.
I don’t eat meat and fish for 1 year beacuse I don’t want and I feel that I don’t really need it. I eat cheeses, nuts, vegetables and grains and feel pretty fine. But I’ve noticed some changes in climbing which I can connect with not eating meat.
For example, this summer my friend and I were in the Caucasus mountains (Russia) to climb. It wasn’t my first time there and previously I never felt such awfully during the walks with a backpack. And this summer it was the first time, when it was difficult for me. Thank’s god, it was only during the first part of our trip, but anyway…
A friend o’mine, who also doesn’t eat meat, warries that a year ago he could do 24 pull ups with 10kilo of additional weight, and now he hardly does 15. And we didn’t stop training since that time.
Have you ever notices some similar changes in your body? And how is it possible to deal with them? To become as powerful as you were before and not to damage your body.
Thanks and all the best!
Nadya
Dear Nadya and Sam,
It seems like most people agree on general good nutrition: avoid all processed/pre-made “foods,” and eat simply. If you eat whole foods, whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables, legumes and soy, avoiding artificial sweeteners (I would include refined sugar and corn syrup there), you are going to be healthier and perform better.
It’s hard to know for sure about performance decrease under a vegan diet, because a lot of people go vegetarian, but then are still eating processed foods and things like white flour and white sugar, rather than a balanced, whole foods diet, and this will definitely result in decreased performance and energy. But I’m not sure what your experience has been, exactly. Eating animal products is a shortcut to energy, even if the diet as a whole is less than optimum, which I think is why it works well enough for people in general. But in my experience, eating a good, well-rounded vegan diet is better for performance and health. I think overall, it’s good to make thoughtful decisions about food, rather than being guided by taste buds, habit or convenience. And to be aware of what works for you.
But maybe you could look over your eating habits, and eliminate sugar and processed foods, and replace those with whole grains and fruits and vegetables. Also, think about how much soy and legumes you eat, because those are important nutritionally. For myself too, sometimes I slack with my supplements (especially B vitamins) and notice I feel a little run down, which reminds me to get back on it and take them. I take B vitamins, calcium, biotin, lysine and iron. I really notice the difference when I take them consistently. Most people are susceptible to B deficiency, especially if you are very active.
To answer your question Sam, when I have been in a place like Pakistan, I have been pretty happy with the expedition food choices, because I love spicy dal and rice. That’s mostly what you get in that part of the world anyway.
It seems like wall food is almost always vegetarian for the most part anyway, unless you eat beef jerky and cheese, but I eat soy jerky.
Usually if I am going in the backcountry or on a wall, I take:
breakfast: ginger tea, earl grey tea or coffee, powdered soy milk
muesli and powdered soy milk (hot or cold)
climbing food: nuts, Mixed Nuts Mojo bars, margarita flavor Clif Bloks, almond butter, soy jerky, dried fruit
dinner: lentil soup, brown rice ramen, crackers with soy cheese, nutritional yeast
The main thing lacking is vegetables and fruit, but this is usually only for a few days at a time.
Steph
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