Sample Vegan Diet
I’ve been eating 99% vegan for a couple months now, and while I’m far from an expert, I’ve learned enough to get into a pretty good routine. I say 99% vegan rather than 100% vegan because I’m using Shakeology, which has whey protein in it. Once the new vegan Tropical Shakeology comes out in early 2012, I could easily go 100% vegan, but until then 99% will have to do.
I’m a creature of habit, so I like to have a fairly set menu that I eat nearly every day. It helps me listen to my body, know what to expect from the perspective of energy and hunger, and fine tune it based on what I’m seeing / feeling.
One of the benefits of a whole foods plant based diet is the wide variety of tastes, foods, and meals available. With that said, I’m unfortunately a pretty bland, simple person with bland, simple tastes, so my vegan diet is not nearly as fun as it could be with some creativity. It’s working well for me and I’m enjoying it though. Plus, I feel great, I’ve been getting stronger, and I’ve even gained about 4 lbs in the past 5-6 weeks. I’d say my body fat is about the same as always (although I haven’t done full measurements — I’m saving that for day 90 of my Misfit P90X challenge). So I’m definitely not withering away, and I’m even getting stronger without tons of meat and protein!
So what does my typical vegan day look like? Here’s my menu =
Morning Workout Shake =
(I drink about half of this before my workout and the other half after my workout) = consists of 1 cup coconut water, 1 banana, ½ cup blueberries, water and ice, sun warrior plant protein powder (1 scoop), acai powder (1 tbsp), maca root powder (1 tbsp), beet root powder (1 tbsp), and chia seeds (1 tbsp). This has about 250 cals, but I’m not “counting cals” officially.
Breakfast =
– Simplified PB2 Shakeology (1 scoop Shakeology, 1 tbsp PB2, ice and water)
– Oatmeal (1 cup precooked)
Morning Snack =
– Banana, Apple, Whole carrot
Lunch =
– Brown rice and black beans
– 2 Whole Carrots, Apple
PM Snack =
– PB Sandwich (2 slices of millet bread or homemade wheat bread, natural peanut butter). If you are going gluten free, use the millet bread. If you are going vegan but not gluten free, then the whole wheat products are fine.
Dinner =
– A full fledged vegan meal (like vegan burritos, bean chili, etc. We have TONS of awesome vegan recipes that my wife has become an expert at preparing. Most of these we learned from our vegan challenge FB page and the Karma Chow website of Tony Horton’s chef).
Late Snack =
– Fruit, berries, or veggies (depends on how hungry I feel and what I am in the mood for.
That’s it. Pretty simple. Pretty easy. And it’s got me in a good whole foods routine. I’ve broken the habit of using protein bars for snacks. I no longer eat much (if any) processed food of any kind. And I feel great.
I could see eating like this long term. I don’t think a little meat, dairy, or processed food occasionally is the end of the world, and I may allow myself to have some of the above occasionally just for convenience sake after the challenge is over, but I definitely don’t feel like my body needs it. The Shakeology takes care of any deficiencies in my “bland routine”, so I don’t have to worry about whether or not I’m getting enough variety.
I hope this helps y’all get a picture of how Coach Wayne is eating lately. And more importantly, I hope it helps you see that eating a whole food plant based diet isn’t all that tricky or complicated.
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94 Responses to “Sample Vegan Diet”
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Yo Coach,
Are you still having that same drink for energy? Any new vegan tips?
Hey Adam, yes I have still been using the same recovery drink during the vegan challenge, but I’ve missed my Results/Recovery formula and will be going back to that after the new year.
Coach Wayne, I can’t find your homemade whole wheat bread recipe. Is that a family secret or can you share? Thank you. P
Coach Wayne, I can’t find your homemade whole wheat recipe anywhere on your site. Is that a family secret or can you share it? Thank you.
Hey BoysMom! My wife actually posted the recipe in an article several months ago called “homemade bread recipe” do type that in the search field and you should see it if you scroll down a ways. I’d link it directly but I’m on my iPhone and can’t.
Hey coach, could you see eating this way being concussive to burning bf and gaining muscle. I am gonna begin p90x this week, I was wondering your thoughts on this as a beginning diet regime.
Hey Paul, I think it can be, although I hate to speculate on something I haven’t tried (using a vegan diet for fat shredding). I did the typical high protein fat shredder and it worked awesome. I see a vegan diet as being a great way to maintain or even build muscle because of the great sources of carb energy. I know people lose body fat doing it as well, but since I haven’t used it for that I can’t say I guarantee it.
Ill give it a try, it can’t do any harm lol. However, im leaning towards a raw vegan diet in the long run. I’m thinking ill follow something similar to monicas
I ll give it a try, it can’t do any harm lol. However, im leaning towards a raw vegan diet in the long run. I’m thinking ill follow something similar to monicas sample diet on vbb. Do you think I should track my Cal intake? I read on one of your post that you dont track your cals on a vegan diet.
Btw, im still taking shakology, and my target Cal in the p90x guide is 2400 hundred. Should I run a deficit im at 10%bf.
It’s very difficult to track calories on a vegan diet since everything is hard to approximate / weigh / etc. But if you want the precision, then yes track it. I have not really liked the feeling of being “out of control” by not tracking. As soon as this challenge is over and I add back a few non-vegan things, I will also go back to tracking for my peace of mind.
I’d run a slight deficit (maybe 2200) but at 10% bf you won’t have a hard time getting lower on a vegan diet as long as you aren’t overeating.
Thanks coach
hey coac wayne i know you were not tracking calories on the vegan diet but do you have an approximation for the nutrient breakdonw for protein, carbs, and fat? just wondering how to fit a fat shredding plan in with the vegan diet
Hey Sean, I was at about 75% carbs, 15% protein, and 10% carbs on the WFPB diet.
Hey Coach Wayne. Im on a vegeterian diet, i allow for diery products, but im having problems geting the protein high enough. Do you have any tips on products that are above 50% protein?
Hey Conny, percentages go out the window with a vegan diet. Read my article here for more = http://teamripped.com/vegan-thoughts
I’ve been on a vegan diet for about two months now. I don’t really consider myself ‘vegan’, I just decided to stop putting garbage in my body and it so happens that meat and dairy contains growth and reproductive hormones. My new diet gave me tons of energy, and fat started melting off of me. With all this energy I’m ready for my next challenge, p90x (I just finished my first workout).
If you want really good vegan recipes check out peasandthankyou.com.
btw… I’ll be needing a p90x coach!
Thanks for the link Gary! If you want to join up and make me your coach for P90X, just click the “join our team” link. I’d love to help you out!
I’m guessing you ate a lot of black beans and rice for lunch but I was wondering could you estimate just how much black beans and rice you ate? I’m thinking about doing a vegan diet with lots of grains in order to gain mass and muscle… also did you still have your cheat day every 7-10 days while doing this vegan challenge?
Hey Greg. No I didn’t have a “cheat day”. I ate only a whole food plant based diet because I wanted to get a complete feel for what it was like and what the results would be (which I’ll be posting today around lunch time so check back!).
I ate about 1 cup of brown rice and 1 cup of black beans at lunch (maybe a bit less but around that amount).
Wayne,
I love the vegan article above. It is an interesting concept I have been curious of for some time now. I would love to hear more on how you decided portion size for these meals since you were not counting the calories. Also, I love cooking and I would love to see some of these vegan dinner recipes that your wife prepares.
Hey Adam, I was going off the concept that I would simply eat when hungry and stop when full. “Listen to my body”. That has some risks, and didn’t work out as perfectly as I would have hoped LOL! See my discussion of that in my recent article “Vegan Conclusions” = http://teamripped.com/vegan-conclusions
Hey coach, do you know roughly how many calories this sample diet is?
Hey LJ, it totally depends on the size of the portions eaten, but I would guess I was eating about 3500 cals per day.
Hey coach, I have a question. After my workout I have a protein shake with 1 scoop peanut butter/chocolate protein, 1 banana, and 1 cup of strawberries. Is that enough to replenish my glycogen levels?
Do you think itd be a good idea to do this diet to cut fat? I wanna do something similar to this but at around 2000 calories, but I’m worried that since I’m not going to be getting much protein I might lose muscle mass..
Hey Robert, as an alternative to a true recovery drink, that’s great.
Hey LJ, did you read my “vegan conclusions” article yet? I probably wouldn’t recommend this for a fat shredder diet. I know people can lose body fat with a vegan diet, but I didn’t and I don’t like recommending things I didn’t do myself. I KNOW the fat shredder diet works, and I’d recommend that for dropping body fat.
I can’t afford the recovery drink. Do you think glucose tablets would help?
Hey Robert, no I wouldn’t recommend glucose tablets. If you can’t afford a recovery drink, I’d recommend 1-2 bananas and some whey protein. That’s the best cheap alternative.
Hey coach Wayne, you should check out Doug graham’s 80, 10, 10 book. Its a vegan diet based around 80% carb’s from fruit 10% from protein and 10% fat” don’t worry about your protein intake so much. I say don’t worry about protein so much because all the body does to animal flesh is derive amino acids from it and if you are eating enough on a vegan diet based on fruits and vegetables “and some nuts” and/or flax oil you are getting amino acids in enormous amounts plus your essential fatty acids” most people on vegan diet do end up eating high fat at first because they are working out the kinks in the beginning. You can also check out Durian riders videos on youtube just search durian rider. I am happy to know you are going to be eating an 80-90% vegetarian diet long term.
Thanks for the links Lee! I’ll check them out!
Hey Wayne, what’s your opinion on soy protein? Did you ingest a lot of soy based products during your vegan diet? The reason I ask is because I like lactose free soy milk but I hear it lowers testosterone and can effect muscle gains.
Hey Robert, I don’t necessarily believe soy is as bad as some say, but I still avoid soy protein powders and foods made with processed soy. Plain soy (like tempeh and edimame) are not linked to any of the estrogen issues so I think that’s fine, but I prefer to steer clear of processed soy like milks and proteins just to be safe.
Very interesting…didn’t really have any interest in checking out your vegan section but now that I have I actually want to give this a try.
I am currently trying to drop body fat and lose weight, I’m trying to drop about 15% body fat since I’m currently in the 24%-25% range.
But I have some questions that I hope you can answer about the vegan diet.
1. I’m currently on a 1200 calorie fat shredder diet, on a vegan diet would I need to keep the calories the same or drop it a little lower? (I plan on tracking what I eat)
2. I know you were saying that the percentage of calories would be heavy on the carb side but what percentages would you recommend for someone trying to shed body fat, lose weight, and build muscle?
For instance is there a minimum amount of protein I should try to reach for the day, and is there a maximum that I shouldn’t exceed for carbs and fats?
3. For vegetables and maybe fruit would I still be able to buy them canned and/or frozen OR would they have to be fresh on a vegan diet?
4. Dumb question but is there a difference between wheat bread and “whole wheat” bread?
And if so, when I’m shopping for bread what should I look for on the packaging to let me know which one is good to buy?
5. Are items like whole wheat tortillas/burritos, wheat pasta, canned refried beans and Ragu sauce okay to buy?
6. Would I be able to add spices to my food like pepper, cinnamon, chili powder, etc. to my food on a vegan diet?
Hey Brittany, like I have said in my vegan articles, I never used it as a “fat shredder” diet, so I’m no expert on that. But where you will find lots of helpful info, lots of tips, and folks who HAVE lost weight and body fat with it is in the “vegan challenge” facebook group. So definitely come join us there.
There is a big difference in whole wheat and white bread. Never eat white bread or pasta. It’s been processed and basically all that’s left is sugar.
Vegan recipes are actually tasty and amazing. There are lots of great seasonings and spices.
Last question for you Coach Wayne (concerning the vegan diet anyway lol), since I’m still trying to lose weight and body fat should I avoid wheat as much as possible still?
I read an article on your site that said to avoid not only nuts, cheeses and certain protein bars but wheat as well…should I still continue to avoid wheat on a vegan diet?
Hey Brittany, a vegan diet is naturally high in carbs, so the rules of a typical high protein fat shredder diet don’t apply. Wheat is fine on a vegan diet. But it should be whole wheat that is not highly processed.
Hi Coach Wayne,
Just saw your response to my wheat question.
So just to be clear as long as the packaging for my wheat bread, wheat/whole grain, etc. says 100% whole grain I should be okay?
Not certain what to look for on the packaging to tell if it’s ‘highly processed’.
Also, since the rules about a lot of carbs don’t apply for a vegan diet like it does for the ‘fat shredder diet’ is it okay to eat 2-3 servings of wheat per day or should I limit that more?
Last question, I know you don’t have any experience with losing weight on a vegan diet, in fact, you gained weight but I would still like your opinion anyway…
How many calories should I be taking in over the next 60 days on a vegan diet if I want to lose 20 pounds?
I’m currently doing 1200-1300 calories but people from the Facebook Vegan Group said that’s too low…what’s your take?
Keep in mind I’m 5’6 1/2″ weigh in at 146 and I’m at about 22% body fat, and I want to lose 20 pounds in the next 60 days…
Look at the ingredients Brittany. If it’s full of stuff you can’t pronounce, that’s not good. The fewer the ingredients, the better.
Wheat is fine, and 2-3 servings of it is fine.
I would agree with you that 1200-1300 is a good target for total calorie intake to help you lose weight. You may not lose 20 lbs in just 60 days (that’s A LOT for a female to lose that fast), but you’ll definitely make a lot of progress towards it in 60 days.
So 1400-1500 calories would be too much even with me doing treadmill 6 mornings per week and doing P90X in the evening?
I’d shoot for 1200-1300 if I were you Brittany (that’s what you said you were doing, right??).
Yep. That’s what I was doing on the “fat shredder” diet. Lost a little over 5 pounds…just wasn’t sure if I was supposed to take in the same amount of calories on a vegan diet or more…
Although I just finished my recover week and that same week I started the vegan diet and my calories were between 1250-1400 calories and I didn’t lose any weight…didn’t gain any either…
Not certain what was going on last week with that…maybe its because of the drastic change in diet…I don’t know…
Anytime you change the diet a lot, it takes a couple weeks for the body to adjust and settle in. Try to keep your total cals the same as before and you’ll be fine.
Thanks Coach. Your advice hasn’t ever steered me wrong so I know I can trust it.
Thanks again.