CFOIB is closed today.
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Being Vegan on the Whole Life Challenge
By Danette “Dizzle” Rivera
I’m the resident vegan at CrossFit LA and like most boxes, CFLA is packed with paleos. We get along famously and respect each other’s decisions, as we should.
I’ve participated in the Whole Life Challenge twice. When I first learned the rules, I thought for sure they would make allowances for me because I’m vegan. They didn’t. My initial reaction was defensive: How could I even participate with no grains and no soy? No miso? No brown rice? What the hell was I supposed to eat? I believed the challenge wasn’t for me.
After the immediate panic subsided, I realized that most participants in the WLC are not perfect practitioners of paleo; some hardly at all especially going into the challenge. They too would feel the panic of restricting themselves and going without some of their regular foods. What would they eat without bacon, cheese, whey in their protein powders, cream and sugar in their coffee? Not that I cared because that stuff is gross (ha!), but what I realized is that we would all be challenged. As a vegan maybe I would be challenged a little more, but it was still going to be difficult for everybody, not just me.
I also asked myself why I was so set on the notion that I could not survive without soy or grains. I don’t necessarily subscribe to the isoflavones panic nor am I convinced by the hard pitch against brown rice, but if there are some reported cases where grains and soy causes inflammation or digestive irritation, why would I not use the challenge to explore this personally? I accepted the fact that there is nothing wrong with mixing up my regular routine for a possible better result. Deep down I knew processed soy was crap, as is all processed food. Deep down I had suspicions about gluten. Instead of thinking the WLC was a conspiracy against me and my veganism, I used it to sharpen my personal perspective and habits based on things I already suspected within my own lifestyle.
At the start of my firstWLC, I was going to show all the meat eaters that I could win this thing by their rules. I was gonna stick it to them! I was near perfect with points, and holy crap that was hard. Though I felt pretty proud of this, I did not feel optimally at the end of the challenge physically or emotionally. I did a lot of great things, but in hindsight I took plenty of missteps, too. I’m proud that I challenged my normal approach to my diet. I cooked a lot. My cooking became creative and fun. I gave up soy creamer during this first challenge and have not had it since. My main misstep was that I was dead set on being perfect. We are all competitive, but just like in a workout, one should stick to their own game plan for success instead of letting another competitor set the pace. This is especially true of vegans and vegetarians participating in the WLC. My other misstep was eating too many sweet potato and plantain chips. Just because something is WLC approved doesn’t mean a truck-load of it is a good idea. Oof.
I approached the second challenge differently. I set ground rules for myself for specific goals that I wanted to achieve even if those were a bit outside the WLC rules. I set goals that I wanted to last after the challenge ended. I wanted to drastically reduce gluten, and I wanted to adopt a more raw lifestyle, which is automatically WLC compliant! I stuck to my game plan even if that meant purposefully losing points here and there. I almost never lost points “by accident” or because of an “eff it” mentality. The second challenge went so much better in a big-picture way. I felt so much more successful than the first though I placed much lower on the score board. I am still low gluten and high raw.
Many people, ask me about the protein issue. Personally, I don’t believe we need an overload of protein. Protein naturally occurs in all plant foods. I understand that protein rebuilds muscle tissue and that many athletes believe they need a ton, but I personally don’t believe in pulling one particular nutrient off balance at the expense of others, which I feel in turn throws optimal health off balance. During the challenge – the second specifically — I ate plenty of beans and I drank a hemp-based raw protein powder in coconut water. I ate raw nuts and nut butters. I took points for brown rice and quinoa, both fairly high in protein, a few times a week, and I lost a few points on tempeh. The rest of my diet consisted of a lot of raw fruits and vegetables. I felt great after the challenge, and post challenge I continue to eat a pretty clean diet, barring the weekly cheat meal that sometimes slips into a cheat weekend. (More of what I eat here http://breakingmuscle.com/nutrition/vegan-crossfitter-mad-scientist-what-vegan-athlete-eats)
As for the daily fish oil, I was able to get an EPA/DHA algae oil approved (http://www.vitacost.com/Amerifit-Nutrition-Ovega-3/?pd_section=pr&fb_source=message#productReviews). Take that daily.
This challenge is not about asking you to give up core beliefs. I hope that you wouldn’t for a gym. It’s about how you can challenge yourself – honestly challenge yourself — to make positive and real changes. Only you can determine what that means or how it goes. Good luck, fellow veggies. You’ll do great.