You may be surprised to know that vegetarian athletes can easily meet recommended protein recommendations for athletes of 1.2-1.8g/kg/bw protein per day. As a 24.5 year lacto-ovo vegetarian, I have acquired several go-to protein sources in my diet, like cottage cheese, yogurt, milk, tofu, tempeh, beans, lentils, nuts, seeds, grains and whey protein. As a heavy proponent of real food in the daily diet, my food choices become much more functional before, during and after workouts and thus, I see the purpose of food (and engineered products) differently when it's used to support a training session. As an example, whey protein is often consumed post workout, specifically when I have an intense or long workout (or two workouts close together). There is a tremendous amount of scientific research on whey protein, in relation to athletes, the elderly, menopause, weight management, preventing muscle loss in trauma patients and burn victims and assisting in performance gains. Seeing that ...
3x Author, Board Certified Sports Dietitian, Master of Science in Exercise Physiology, 20 x Ironman finisher, 3x XTRI finisher, 6xIM World Championship finisher, Triathlon Coach, 32-year Vegetarian. Trimarnicoach.com