Greetings from the middle of Virginia!  While I am transporting my life across the country, I have a special surprise for you guys.  No Meat Athlete is one of the first vegetarian blogs I started reading way back in the day, and I still look forward to each new post that pops up in my reader.  I even have the t-shirt (ignore my scraggly hair). 

Matt’s blog is all about helping people run marathons and ultramarathons on a vegetarian diet – VERY cool.  You guys are in for a real treat today, because he wrote a special guest post just for Front Burner readers!  And it’s on a topic that I know a lot of you are interested in, because I get emails about it ALL the time.  So without further adieu…

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5 Warning Signs You Aren’t Getting Enough Protein

A guest post from Matt Frazier, writer of the No Meat Athlete blog.

Where do you get your protein?

If you’re a vegetarian, especially an athletic one, you’ve likely heard that question dozens of times. We hear it so often it becomes a joke. But the question is a valid one: So many people who try out a vegetarian or vegan diet can’t make it last. After the initial energy gains, an imbalance in their diet (usually a protein or iron deficiency) catches up with them, and everything goes downhill. Their bodies crave meat again, they obey their cravings, and that’s the end of it.

What I did wasn’t perfect either

When I became vegetarian, I felt incredible. And I ran better than ever, qualifying for the Boston Marathon and running my first 50-mile ultramarathon, thanks largely to a lighter frame and more energy that allowed me to train and recover like I never had before. But with this energy and these accomplishments came the idea that my diet, by virtue of being plant-based, was exempt from traditional sports nutrition rules. I concluded that we don’t need nearly as much protein as the people in charge would have us believe. This belief caused me to let my diet slip, loading up on carbohydrates and slacking on the effort I once made to include protein in every meal. And—surprise, surprise—my performance suffered. And not just in running, but in my day-to-day activities. Fortunately, I recognized what was happening and addressed the problem. But had I been a new vegetarian when this happened, it might have led me to conclude that "a vegetarian diet doesn’t work for endurance sports," and I never would have made gotten all the benefits of such a clean diet. In case you’re that new vegetarian, here are five signs that (just once!) you need to listen to the critics when they say you need more protein.

1. You’re tired when you shouldn’t be.

Most vegetarians will tell you they have more energy now than when they used to eat meat. If you experience less energy, not enough protein might be the cause. I’m not talking about feeling groggy when you wake up. I mean wanting to take a nap in the middle of the day or evening when you never used to. And it doesn’t have to be just physical—a mental lack of motivation is also sometimes associated with protein deficiency.

2. You’re weak when you lift weights, run, do yoga, or do any other strenuous activity.

When you don’t get enough protein, your muscles aren’t able to repair themselves after a workout. In such a case, strenuous exercise can actually be counterproductive—you aren’t able to rebuild what you tear down, and you actually become weaker.

3. You’re flabby where you used to be muscular.

It’s not just the performance of your muscles that declines when you’re protein-deficient: Their appearance and size does, too. Why? If your body can’t find enough protein in your diet to sustain itself, it takes it from wherever it can find it. And wouldn’t you know it, your muscles, not your body fat, are where the protein is. Bottom line: If you don’t give your body enough protein, it’ll cannibalize its own tissue to get what it needs.

4. You’re getting injured and not recovering quickly.

Slowed recovery doesn’t just apply to rebuilding muscles after a tough workout—when you’re injured and protein deficient, your body will take longer to heal. Again, it’s pretty logical. Protein is necessary to build new tissue, so if it’s not available, your body can’t rebuild itself.

5. Your hair is falling out.

Seems like a weird sign of protein deficiency, doesn’t it? What’s going on here is that when you’re not getting much protein, your body goes into conservation mode. Among other things, it stops spending valuable protein on the production of things like hair and nails. The result: Hair in your shower, broken, brittle nails, and other pleasantries.

What to Do About It

So while the protein question is fair, there are plenty of good answers to it for vegetarians and vegans. Here’s what to do if you think you’re not getting enough. To figure out how much protein you should be getting each day, take your body weight in pounds and multiply by 0.4. That’ll get you slightly more than the U.S. recommended daily allowance. And as an athlete, you may find you need to up that number. There are plenty of fine non-animal sources of protein, even if you’re not down with eating soy at every meal. My favorite sources are beans of all kinds, but you’ll also find a good amount of protein in nuts, grains and seeds like quinoa, and even vegetables like spinach and broccoli. (Vegan bodybuilder Robert Cheeke has a great list of vegan protein sources on his website.)

Supplementing is another option. I find that starting the day with a smoothie with protein powder helps me ensure I get enough. Hemp protein is my favorite, but pea, rice, and soy protein powders are all viable vegan options. Finally, make sure you’re getting all the essential amino acids. If you rely too heavily on a single protein source, it’s likely you won’t be getting all the amino acids you need. On my website, I have page dedicated to helping people go vegetarian, which includes a chart of the amino acids in vegetarian foods.

So the next time someone asks you the protein question, don’t just blow them off. They have a point; protein should be a concern for vegetarians and vegans. But it’s absolutely not something you can’t overcome if you’re committed to experiencing all that this diet has to offer.

Many many thanks to Matt!  You guys make sure you check out his blog – I guarantee he has a lot more to teach you. 

Next time you hear from me, I’ll be in my new home – wheeeeeeeeeee!

Despite all the craziness of this move, I’ve been trying to keep this blog fun and positive.  And while most of it has been fun and exciting, there have been a few hiccups too. 

Last week I had a minor meltdown when I realized that we were NOT going to sell a car (as we originally planned), and we were now dealing with the situation of having 2 cars, 1 moving truck, and 2 dogs to drive – all with just two people.  I was also starting to get veeeery nervous about it being just the two of us on the other end in DC, trying to unload our truck and manage the dogs at the same time.  So I did what any almost 30-year old would do – I called my mom.

And in case you didn’t already know, I actually have the BEST MOM EVER, because she scrambled to find dog-sitters and take two days off work so that she could fly to our rescue.  She’s HERE!

After a morning of packing and loading,  we were starving by the time we picked her up, so we headed to our favorite (and only) vegan spot – Luna’s Living Kitchen.  I couldn’t resist getting my favorite quinoa burger yet again. 

My mom got a delicious zucchini pasta dish – doesn’t that look good?

She got to the house and was greeted by two very excited grand-doggies!  They haven’t seen her since Christmas!

I put her to work right away, and she was nice enough to scrub our ENTIRE kitchen top to bottom!  I really don’t know what we would do if she hadn’t come.

While mom cleaned, Casey and I disassembled and carried out all the big furniture.  This dining room table weighs close to 400 pounds, and might be the death of me tomorrow.

The dogs acted pathetic in their corralled off kitchen spot. 

And after hours and hours and hours of hard work…it was EMPTY!

My life, in a truck.

So excited for our next big adventure!!  Love this guy.  :)

And love my MOM!  I am so grateful and excited that she can be here to help us get moved and settled.

See you from VIRGINIA!

Packing up the last of the kitchen this morning, I finally cleared off the fridge.  I smiles when I went to take down this fortune…

When we moved to Charlotte, I had a horrible transition.  I spent the entire first day we lived here in tears.  My little sister and Casey were my saving graces, and assured me that we would okay, despite my hysteria.  That night we went out for Chinese takeout after a long day of moving, and this little gem was my fortune.  Sarah pinned up in the fridge, gave me a big hug, and it has remained there ever since. 

Well I’d say we definitely turned around.  :)  It has been the craziest and most exciting year of my life.  I have said to Casey many times that I know years and years down the road, we will look back on our time in Charlotte and think “that was the year that it all happened, and everything changed.”  Ahhh better stop before I get teary again.

Onto less emotional topics – breakfast.  You are correct if you think you are looking at a disposable coffee cup full of oats and almond milk.

The ONLY thing edible that remains unpacked in our house is a tub of oats, raisins, almonds, a bag of frozen blueberries, and a tiny bit of Almond Breeze.

Eaten with a fork, because the spoons needed to be packed.  When in Rome…

I made lots of big progress in the moving van this morning!  See that huge pile on the left?  I moved it ALL myself!  My muscles are going to be burning tomorrow.  Casey will be done working by lunchtime, and then we’ll be able to do the rest of the big stuff together.

Who needs movers when you have muscles, right?  (I look like a crazy person.)

The poor pups are getting really worried and sad about the state of the house, so I thought it might be fun for them to see what was happening outside.  I coaxed them into the moving truck and showed them how to walk up the big ramp.

Huey considered jumping off the edge, but then realized the ramp was a much better way to go for his old bones.

Indy was really scared of the ramp, but he was willing to follow after his big brother headed down first…

With the big adventure over, we all headed back inside.

And now it’s back to work for a bit until a mid-day break to head to the airport!

Almost there!!