I wasn't sure about this because it contradicts my priors so I did some quick searching:
Venus Williams is a "chegan" and uses milk-based protein.
Lewis Hamilton is a driver and is unlikely to have protein demands related to his sport that are different than the average person.
Colin Kaepernick became a vegan at approximately the same time he stopped playing professionally.
Kyrie Irving: I can't find what he does for protein but SI says he may not be a pure vegan. [0]
Tia Blanco is a surfer and also unlikely to have protein needs different from a normal person.
Meagan Duhamel is a good example and seems to be one of the few people who is known to have achieved professional goals while vegan.
> I don't know if you're talking about the broader community of people who self-identify as athletes but I'll restrict the discussion to professional athletes for the sake of clarity.
There are some confounders with professional athletes that make those examples less persuasive than they might be otherwise. Pros have access to more resources (such as medical/endocrine assistance) and are able to structure their lifestyle around their training and competition. Additionally I'm unable to find anyone who went from an amateur to a professional while vegan in a competitive sport that requires one to build a physique. It is somewhat more believable that some people can maintain a professional-grade physique on a vegan diet.
> No disrespect but I see this "I'm an athlete, I need more protein" thing all the time. It's yet another meme that has spread that has the convenient side effect (or main effect) of shutting people off from considering the effects of their food choices.
I'm not really repeating a meme but arguing from my personal experience and my understanding of diet and physiology. The effect of relying on plant-based protein is that your protein sources are more difficult to digest.
> I would wager that veganism might have a higher percentage in the athlete population than the general population. Pure speculation, though, and obviously I'm biased.
I'm glad you're conscious of your biases and while I would take that wager opposite you, I will also admit that is more a result of my biases. I'll also mention that professional athletes tend to be outliers and if a genetic freak can build muscle on a vegan diet, it may be evidence that they are a genetic outlier their rare physiology is able to build muscle on any diet with protein but more sensitive to the byproducts of animal product consumption.
> But I follow lots of vegan channel and they're very proud and vocal about vegan athletes
Thats because they are passionate about veganism and want to counter the meme you referred to above. I would be more persuaded if people who were passionate about nutrition or athletics were vocal about veganism as a performance enhancer.
Thanks for the reply and much respect to you for making ethical decisions a central part of your lifestyle.
Formula 1 athletes (Lewis Hamilton) get that critique a lot but from what I've heard, it's a physically demanding activity that requires a lot of physical fortitude and therefore the "F1 drivers aren't athletes" argument is dubious (although I admit it's not a persuasive argument on my side precisely because people don't automatically think of F1 drivers as athletes).
Professional surfing is not physically demanding and doesn't require needs different from normal people? Do you think that they just casually go out on the water once a week? Also, from my brief experiences surfing, I seem to recall it being one of the most physically taxing sports I've ever done, in terms of total body usage.
Valid points about needing to distinguish between professional athletes who were vegan at their peak versus after their peak, and diving into the details about how precisely how "vegan" each of the people I quoted actually are.
> Thanks for the reply and much respect to you for making ethical decisions a central part of your lifestyle.
I avoided saying that they weren't athletes for specifically those reasons. Driving at a professional level and surfing competitively are indeed strenuous, difficult, and athletic activities but they do not seem to require building lots of muscle, which would mean they wouldn't be good counter-examples for our protein discussion.
While it’s hard to rule out genetic abnormalities, there is a huge difference between being fit and the kind of physical trauma associated with absolute peak human performance.
Plant based protean is often used for pure muscle building simply due to cost. With actual vegan examples being Barny du Plessis a bodybuilder, and Kendrick Yahcob Farris a weightlifter.
In terms of endurance Jack Lindquist a track cyclist shows that’s likely viable for the overwhelming majority of people. So while I think it likely takes more effort that’s in part due to market forces and economy of scale not inherent physical differences. If anything the higher amount of calories burned by top athletes often mean they need a larger quantity but lower percentage of protein in their diets.
Venus Williams is a "chegan" and uses milk-based protein.
Lewis Hamilton is a driver and is unlikely to have protein demands related to his sport that are different than the average person.
Colin Kaepernick became a vegan at approximately the same time he stopped playing professionally.
Kyrie Irving: I can't find what he does for protein but SI says he may not be a pure vegan. [0]
Tia Blanco is a surfer and also unlikely to have protein needs different from a normal person.
Meagan Duhamel is a good example and seems to be one of the few people who is known to have achieved professional goals while vegan.
> I don't know if you're talking about the broader community of people who self-identify as athletes but I'll restrict the discussion to professional athletes for the sake of clarity.
There are some confounders with professional athletes that make those examples less persuasive than they might be otherwise. Pros have access to more resources (such as medical/endocrine assistance) and are able to structure their lifestyle around their training and competition. Additionally I'm unable to find anyone who went from an amateur to a professional while vegan in a competitive sport that requires one to build a physique. It is somewhat more believable that some people can maintain a professional-grade physique on a vegan diet.
> No disrespect but I see this "I'm an athlete, I need more protein" thing all the time. It's yet another meme that has spread that has the convenient side effect (or main effect) of shutting people off from considering the effects of their food choices.
I'm not really repeating a meme but arguing from my personal experience and my understanding of diet and physiology. The effect of relying on plant-based protein is that your protein sources are more difficult to digest.
> I would wager that veganism might have a higher percentage in the athlete population than the general population. Pure speculation, though, and obviously I'm biased.
I'm glad you're conscious of your biases and while I would take that wager opposite you, I will also admit that is more a result of my biases. I'll also mention that professional athletes tend to be outliers and if a genetic freak can build muscle on a vegan diet, it may be evidence that they are a genetic outlier their rare physiology is able to build muscle on any diet with protein but more sensitive to the byproducts of animal product consumption.
> But I follow lots of vegan channel and they're very proud and vocal about vegan athletes
Thats because they are passionate about veganism and want to counter the meme you referred to above. I would be more persuaded if people who were passionate about nutrition or athletics were vocal about veganism as a performance enhancer.
Thanks for the reply and much respect to you for making ethical decisions a central part of your lifestyle.
[0] https://www.si.com/eats/2017/10/12/kyrie-irving-celtics-plan...