Vegan diets such as those practised by Lewis Hamilton do not give athletes enough nourishment, according to Romain Grosjean.
Hamilton adopted what he calls a “plant-based” diet a year and a half ago and says it has improved his health and fitness. But Grosjean is sceptical.“If you’re an athlete I think vegan is actually negative,” said Grosjean. “From what I know there was some examples of endurance athletes going vegetarian or vegan and they had to stop their vegan diets because they just couldn’t have enough nutrition in their system for high-demand, exercising.
“It’s not a secret that I [do] a lot of track, a lot of cycling, long sessions, so I do need to eat as much as I can [though] not quantity-wise.”
However Grosjean, who co-wrote a cookbook with his wife Marion in 2017, said he “fully respects vegan” consumption and said plant-based food “tastes quite good in some aspects.”
New driver weight rules introduced for the 2019 F1 season have allowed them to increase their muscle mass by consuming more food, Grosjean added, though he admitted “I don’t each as much as I will when I retire.”
“The new rules have been very welcome in terms of health and weight, putting a bit of weight on for your benefit and your health,” he said. “I am careful in some of the food I take, you won’t see me eating fish and chips and stuff like that, drinking beer the day for the race. But I’m not vegan or vegetarian.”
Hamilton insists switching to his plant-based diet has been a change for the better. “I don’t like to talk about it too much because I don’t want to give away too much,” he said.
“[But] it’s something I really wanted to do. For sure it hasn’t been easy to learn new things and new ways but I’ve felt so good for the last year and a half. It’s been such a great decision and I don’t want to go back just because it feels so great.
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“I’m looking at what I eat as fuel now, as an athlete, rather than just eating because I’m hungry. So I’m constantly working with Angela [Cullen], who’s with me all the time, we’re looking at the ingredients of the different things that I’m eating. Sometimes I’m just having room service in a hotel and I don’t know what the hell to eat so then I have to hit someone up or I read online and see what else, maybe there’s a restaurant I can get it from or maybe I can get the chef to whip up something different that they haven’t done before.
Last month Hamilton opened the first of what he intends to be a chain of restaurants selling plant-based fast food.
“Ultimately it’s just about changing your mind,” he said. “We’re taught all these things and we learn all these things from a young age, what you should and should not eat.
“I’ve got friends who see me eating a vegan burger and they’re like ‘no, I like the real meat’ and then I give them a piece of vegan burger and they’re like ‘oh my god, it tastes amazing’. So I think it’s really just about educating yourself and being open to it.
“I talk to some people and they’re like ‘there’s no way I could not eat chicken and there’s no way I could take this out of my diet’. But honestly it’s just how much you want to do something.”
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bukester (@bukester)
21st October 2019, 7:26
Tattoos , piercings, veganism, fashion shows and a carbon footprint equal to a coal fired power plant in China. Lewis cares
Silfen (@silfen)
21st October 2019, 7:47
The carbon footprint of F1 is zero, as the FIA invests in environmental projects to neutralise the amount of emitted carbon. This includes transportation to all the races. The FIA does this since 1997.
Besides F1 is going to use more and more synthetic fuel to lower these emissions.
I doubt Formula E is as carbon neutral as F1 as I don’t think they neutralise the emissions from transportation.
Jere (@jerejj)
21st October 2019, 7:50
@silfen ”This includes transportation to all the races.”
– Well, to this day, the race calendar still isn’t formed as ideally as it ‘could be’ logistics-wise.
Ivan Vinitskyy (@ivan-vinitskyy)
21st October 2019, 8:26
@silfen, “carbon footprint of F1 is zero” – really? That just sounds like they are buying their way out of a problem. Tech to remove carbon out of atmosphere isn’t really there yet, so the only way to be carbon conscious is to not pollute. Those project you say they invest in, what are they really? Do they have any return on them, or just the knowing they help the environment? Please provide some sources for their investments, it would be good to know.
Joseph (@bigjoe)
21st October 2019, 8:54
@ivan-vinitskyy
F1 is funded by consumerism which is dirty money, not green.
David Tata
21st October 2019, 9:18
Tech to remove carbon from atmosphere = trees
Flyingbasil
21st October 2019, 9:26
Tech to remove carbon from the air is called “planting trees”. Its been around since forever). They just pay for it.
https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/56953/f1-already-carbon-neutral-since-1997
Ivan Vinitskyy (@ivan-vinitskyy)
21st October 2019, 21:54
@Flyingbasil @anunaki That article is from 12 years ago, and without sources. As for trees, that’s not tech… trees take years to give back.
Patrick (@anunaki)
21st October 2019, 10:08
Really…. it’s there. They’re called plants or trees.
frood19 (@frood19)
21st October 2019, 10:36
planting trees is helpful but there are other ways to off-set carbon, such as investing in renewable energy projects. for example, if you pay to off-set your carbon for a flight, some of that money might go towards introducing solar powered farm equipment that previously ran of a petrol/diesel powered generator. i am a bit sceptical about some of the creative accounting that carbon off-set organisations offer, but it’s got to be better than not doing it.
the other thing that is much better than planting trees is not cutting them down in the first place. if there was a way to pay to stop people doing that (e.g. subsidising logging companies to encourage them not to!) then that should be the way forward.
Thecollaroyboys (@thecollaroyboys)
21st October 2019, 22:13
I thought that the tech to get carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere was a tree.
NewVerstappenFan (@jureo)
21st October 2019, 11:50
I don’t buy this for one second. Global sport, all the televisions running, all the streams, all the news, all the internet articles. No way F1 is carbon neutral.
Nulla Pax (@nullapax)
21st October 2019, 12:38
@silfen
Brilliant.
So long as there people who can something like this with a straight face then our species is doomed.
It’s like saying,
“Yeah well, I shoot rare and endangered species but I offset that by contributing to the World Wildlife Foundation so that makes it all ok”.
Tango (@tango)
21st October 2019, 13:17
I get where you’re getting at, but you actually get it wrong with the last example @nullapax. Well regulated, taxing people so that they can shoot off old animals and use the money to protect the other animals actually works. doesn’t make their urge to shoot a defenseless animal any better (or in my view, any more understandable and defensible), but still works as a system.
Nulla Pax (@nullapax)
21st October 2019, 13:47
@tango
I like the idea of allowing so called “Hunters” (I don’t like them either) to get whatever it is they need by paying money in order to murder animals that are close to death anyway from great range.
(what is that kind of hunting about? – I don’t get it at all.
“Oh look at what a great hunter I am! – I shot a Lion from a half a mile away with a snipers rifle while it was taking a nap”
I don’t get it – personally I would feel ashamed)
But I would definitely pay a share to see these bold “Hunters” go up against a dying Lion with a knife.
If the WWF pick up on this I want my cut by the way … charity only goes so far! ;P
petebaldwin (@)
22nd October 2019, 1:49
Can I pay money to shoot old hunters? The money could go to providing better healthcare for the rest of us….
Dragi Matic
21st October 2019, 20:27
I couldn’t have said it any better.
Kevin
22nd October 2019, 1:56
As North America Wil not meet the carbon imprint demands they agreed too yet China opened 9 coal powered facilities. How a nation so intelligent and man 8 billion people get away with yea murder is allowed. Yet the u.s. and Canada will be fined for not meeting these ludicrous demands. Mr. Trump as we j ow the Canadian P.M has nothing say exactly what we feel this is incongruous and we will not tolerate this. Please Mr.Trump you ate the voice of reason despite your many enemies . You have increased employment brought down the deficit and increased the economy. Please help our P.M . Who is endorses by a Mr. Scherer who get this is an American-canadian yea dual citizen. Do you see the wrongness. Heĺp as your dining North America . Syria and Afghan Iraq etc will still be wearing long past your grandchildren deaths. We cannot stop that. Thank you for pulling out of these insane nations. Let’s take care of our own for once . Thank you
Wayne (@wyndzzy)
22nd October 2019, 10:15
Are tattoos and piercings that bad for the environment? Strange examples to start your point with.
Abhishek
6th December 2019, 12:13
He has given up his private jet and other luxuries. At least he is making a start unlike keyboard warriors like u who have no idea what their carbon footprint is. U typing the message on ur laptop/mobile is also contributing to emissions in 1 way or another. That’s not the point here.
Point is giving up on things which are a burden on nature created by man’s business greed. F1 full season emits less than a flight from Sydney to NY. Drill that into ur brain.
Chaitanya
21st October 2019, 7:29
Djokovic and few other athletes are also going the route of abandoning meat based diets. Finding right balance is difficult but it can be achieved and not hard to follow.
Valinor
21st October 2019, 10:28
Honestly its easier for them. They have someone that prepares or makes their meal plans because they are athletes.
Also for some people it may work others it may not depends on the body type,
I personally think its bad for the body. Most people who are promoting veganism are in their prime. There is a reason vegan diets are not allowed for children, so what about when you get older and your body has a harder time retrieving nutrients from food.
Its like when you were 18 and went out every night not sleeping and still feel good. Try it when you are older lol…..
Truth is it always ends with: balance is the best way.
Eat less meat, 1x beef. 1x chicken, 1 time fish, 4 days vegetables. Nothing wrong with that…..
Valinor
21st October 2019, 10:31
And there is the fact most unhealthy food in our society is meatbased. But its processed so much you cant really call it meat anymore.
When you go vegan you automatically stop eating that crap so ofcourse you will feel healthier.
How about quitting that crap and switching to good quality meat…..
NewVerstappenFan (@jureo)
21st October 2019, 11:52
:D Yeah anyone thinking of going vegan, should think about removing crap food.
Getting a good locally sourced beef steak feels great for the body aswell. But many countries don’t have that regularly available.
And without a personal chef or investing hours in to food production, a balanced vegan diet is difficult to achieve.
Chaitanya
21st October 2019, 14:41
According to Ayurveda you should always eat local and seasonal(which is why even meats are allowed according to ayurvedic diets). Even this has far more positive impact on carbon footprint of us humans.
Biggest problem with meats is the amount of crap we humans have introduced to enviornment means effectively humans end up consuming all of the crap(plastics, pesticides, fertilizers and heavy metals) and animal products have much higher concentration of this compared to any plants. You can always cook for yourself and in India we have whole host of dishes which can not only statify taste buds but also be healthy.
AG
21st October 2019, 11:56
Plants provide the same nutrients as meat and then some. Look it up.
Abhishek
6th December 2019, 12:16
Ayurveda and non veg are contradictory of each other. Donno from where u found a link where its prescribed in Ayurveda. Please share it Chaitanya.
Sumedh
21st October 2019, 7:41
Masterchef formula1 is going to be a reality soon.
May be they could use a cooking competition as an alternative to qualifying. All 20 drivers lined up on the start finish straight in reverse championship order trying to make a cup of tea. The best tea sends its chef to the pole position.
Liberty, hope you are reading ;)
Mayrton
21st October 2019, 7:56
For the oldies then. The young drivers will decide through a FIFA video game match
Jake
21st October 2019, 18:55
To be completely honest, a FIFA tournament as qualifying would be interesting to see. Maybe only as a one off, though.
DaveW (@dmw)
21st October 2019, 18:01
Marko or Steiner can scream in their faces when they get it wrong.
Jere (@jerejj)
21st October 2019, 7:48
What’s there to hide about this type of diet anyway, LOL? Regardless, I might try a vegan burger if I’d feel like that. Maybe one day.
Kelvin (@kelvin38)
21st October 2019, 8:16
They are not bad actually.
Just eat what ever you want, just because you are not a vegan like Lewis, doesnt mean that you cant enjoy a vegan meal once in a while.
its not just black and white, there is a huge gray area, where there are a ton of dishes just ready to be discovered.
Dont limit our self man =)
Joseph (@bigjoe)
21st October 2019, 8:44
@kelvin38
1.5 Billion Chinese will always eat what they want and they will be ruling the planet pretty soon. Also, nobody but their god can tell 1.8 Billion Muslims what to eat.
Making this discussion farcical.
We will probably die out the same way the Dinosaurs did.
ColdFly (@)
21st October 2019, 11:03
65% of dinosaurs were Vegan ;)
bosyber (@bosyber)
21st October 2019, 12:02
And the others presumably died when their meat did @coldfly!
ColdFly (@)
21st October 2019, 12:38
And the plants live hapily ever after, @bosyber.
At least the vegans eat them ;)
AG
21st October 2019, 11:58
Not sure why you went all xenophobic. It’s just about health.
Kelvin (@kelvin38)
22nd October 2019, 8:32
While I agree that China is a hard case in this matter. As in any enviromental matter.
The muslims has nothing against vegans. There is noone to tell them to eat meat.
Joseph (@bigjoe)
28th October 2019, 1:16
@kelvin38
Given their take on Halal slaughter, good luck getting a significant number of Muslims to give up meat ‘because it’s kinder to the planet’
Kelvin (@kelvin38)
28th October 2019, 12:44
Since Halal was concieved to be the kinder alternative and is the reason why muslims is why it is in the Quoran, its not that far a stretch. The Prophet Muhammed was suppose to mainly vegetarian in his diet.
But lets say that Halal is cruel, then a Muslim trying to better the world would be more motivated.
Or are you saying that all muslims enjoy animal suffering?
Nulla Pax (@nullapax)
21st October 2019, 12:44
@kelvin38
Exactly.
If something looks nice or sounds good then I will try it.
You can eat what you want. Vegan food wont kill you if your not a Vegan. It isn’t alien mush ….. it can taste like alien mush sometimes but just slap some mustard or tomato ketchup on it and you will get through it ;)
RP (@slotopen)
21st October 2019, 17:46
@jerejj
His preparation for qualifying and racing is really important. Rosburg has discussed how he needed a phycologist on his team. Hanilton does not want to share his dietary regiment with competitors.
For example, an elite
athlete might avoid sodas and juices on race weekend to avoid fructose and caffeine crashes, taking water, milk, or specially prepared sports drinks instead (not Gatorade, etc)
Grosjean’s comments about avoiding beer are kind of amature level sports nutrition. Perhaps he knows more that he communicated, or perhaps he really would gain something from Hamilton’s diet.
Also, I doubt the meat is a critical part of the diet. There is nothing magical about it that can’t be sourced somewhere else, at least for someone with Hamilton’s resources.
Jere (@jerejj)
21st October 2019, 17:54
@slotopen Fair enough, and a good point also in the second paragraph.
sbewers (@sbewers)
21st October 2019, 8:08
It’s quite a common misconception, but when the list of vegan sports stars features names such as Lewis Hamilton, Venus and Serena Williams, David Haye, Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero and Tom Brady; I’d say Romain’s concerns are probably misplaced.
Also, for those bashing Lewis about promoting a greener lifestyle whilst participating in F1, why should it be all or nothing? He is making a big contribution to improving his carbon footprint by switching his diet and promoting the cause. Sure, he’s never going to be carbon zero in a sport such as F1, but nor does he need to be. The thing is, any improvement is better than none at all. Is it pointless driving an electric car if you eat meat? No. Should you just stop recycling if you drive a diesel? No.
There’s a strange perception that unless you’re doing absolutely everything and cutting out absolutely everything then it’s pointless doing anything at all, when that simply isn’t the case. You don’t need to be the complete package of ‘green’ in order to make a contribution. We could all do a little better, make little improvements, without cutting out everything. You don’t stop eating food completely in order to lose weight. Nor do charities stop accepting donations of less than £10,000. Why? Because (at the risk of sounding like a popular supermarket chain) every little helps.
No matter how much anybody (including Lewis) does, there will always be more that we can do. So rather than bashing one of the most successful drivers our sport has ever seen for trying to use his platform for good and for his contribution towards a greener lifestyle, why don’t you just consider the smaller changes that you could be making to your own lifestyle instead?
David
21st October 2019, 8:27
Couldn’t agree more with @sbewers. It’s not all or nothing – it’s about making a bigger contribution where we can. That’s all that Lewis and others are trying to do.
The more I read and learn about meat and dairy, the scarier it is. Always eaten meat and dairy but I’m now shifting away to a plant based diet – both for health and environmental reasons. I’ll never give up meat totally, but even cutting back a little can have a big impact on your health and the environment we live in. If you haven’t seen them yet, watch What the Health and the Gamechangers.
Joseph (@bigjoe)
21st October 2019, 8:41
@sbewers
Just like China controls corporate America and has its Human rights abuses ignored by the big corporates. Lewis would not utter a word about this if F1 was sponsored by meat producers or the cars powered by animal remains.
He’s obviously trying to choose his image carefully. Don’t Mercedes still use leather on some of their seats? He is paid to sell their cars after all.
sbewers (@sbewers)
21st October 2019, 8:56
Whilst I completely agree with your example about the corporates, I’m not sure Lewis falls into the same bracket. I’m sure the Japanese race promoters (and by extension FOM) did not take too kindly to him drawing attention on the dolphin hunts last weekend.
While he almost certainly has an image consultant of some kind, I do get the sense that his concerns for the environment are genuine and that he will only become more outspoken about such issues as he comes to what is probably the final few years of his F1 career.
petebaldwin (@)
21st October 2019, 23:12
I doubt he’d have said that if his car had a Honda engine….
Learon (@learon)
21st October 2019, 9:05
@bigjoe, I think you have overlooked @sbewers‘ point. You are basically talking about Lewis being a hypocrite because Mercedes uses leather in their cars. The fact is, even being alive in itself has a carbon footprint; so you do not have to look at leather seats if you want to criticise and see as hypocrites those who make life changes to reduce their own carbon footprint. There are two camps here: the hypocrites and those who only care about themselves.
dean
22nd October 2019, 8:42
Also, Mercedes cars use Artico leather which is a synthetic substitute. Only the VERY expensive Mercedes have actual leather seats. So the more money you have, the more cows you can kill.
My point is that the majority of Mercedes leather interior cars use Artico leather, which is fundamentally, synthetic
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
22nd October 2019, 18:28
@bigjoe Would this be a good time to mention that petrol is made of animal remains? (Really, really old animal remains, but still…)
Joseph (@bigjoe)
28th October 2019, 1:19
@alianora-la-canta
Good observation. Are they old enough to have been killed by humans?
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
1st November 2019, 18:01
@bigjoe They died 300 million years ago… …I think I’m going with “no” on that one.
Joseph (@bigjoe)
21st October 2019, 8:50
@sbewers
features names such as Lewis Hamilton, Venus and Serena Williams, David Haye, Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero and Tom Brady; I’d say Romain’s concerns are probably misplaced.
I don’t know about Tom Brady but the others were dominated by better players for periods. Messi plays in the easiest league in Europe, is rubbish in world cups and a joke in the champions league 2nd leg against Liverpool this year.
Lewis still hasn’t dominated a season like Mansell did and appears to be getting slower against his second worst team mate and a Ferrari that doesn’t handle as well as his own car.
I could see why Romain still wants to eat meat, but then he’s kidding himself if he thinks he will be world champion. The dice was rolled when these drivers were kids.
Tango (@tango)
21st October 2019, 9:26
How on earth was Serena Williams dominated ? She has been crushing the opposition for a decade now.
Joseph (@bigjoe)
28th October 2019, 1:20
@tango
Henin and Clijsters were both world number ones before they retired too early.
Jose Lopes da Silva
21st October 2019, 9:44
“Lewis still hasn’t dominated a season like Mansell did”
Now I understand why Mansell is a OBE and Hamilton is not. The criteria is not to have 6 titles against 1, nor to have beaten all sorts of teammates, including Alonso, against having being beaten by De Angelis, pre-Imola 87 Piquet and Prost. The criteria is to win 9 races out of 16.
Well, Hamilton isn’t going to achieve that. F1 seasons do not have 16 racers anymore.
Joseph (@bigjoe)
28th October 2019, 1:58
Jose Lopes da Silva
Very strange comeback.
Alonso has never been outscored by a team mate unlike Lewis.
Mansell BTW had 1 good car and made it count. Hamilton won 1 title at McLaren in 6 years as a top team with often the faster car. The rest of his titles are in more dominant cars than Mansells 92 cars.
I’m not quite sure about the other rubbish you’re on about. Hamilton hasn’t, in the best team ever in F1, as been as dominant as Schumacher was either.
JammyB
21st October 2019, 11:32
“Messi plays in the easiest league in Europe” …Do you need help? So you’re saying the champions league is the easiest league? You’re literally talking about the person who is considered to be in the top 2 footballers of all time and is in the top 2 of all time champions league goal scorers and has 4 champions league trophies under his belt.
Get help.
Talk about an incoherrant rant just to attack someone you don’t like. “appears to be getting slower and slower” Let me take a quick che..Nope sorry, still seems to be 64 points ahead of his teammate who is 2nd in the championship.
If you want to attack people for their personality/lifestyle, then maybe reality tv would be more your thing instead of motorsport or sports in general.
Joseph (@bigjoe)
28th October 2019, 2:16
@JammyB
Wrong. Messi’s league is called La Liga it’s generally considered a two-horse race.
Your last sentence was just you being a total ……. Totally unrelated to anything I said. You ought to calm the …. down next time.
@pastaman @david-br
rather than just ly/ng and taking me out of context.
Perhaps show where I’m wrong in saying Messi was rubbish in his last world cup and his last champions league match. Where he drew with Iceland 1-1 and was thumped 4-0 by Liverpool. I’m talking about the two biggest tournaments on planet earth.
I’m not trying to claim meat eaters are ‘the best sportsman’ so perhaps wind your necks in. just calling out your theory that ‘Vegans are the best’ .
pastaman (@)
21st October 2019, 12:47
Another crazy comment from @bigjoe
Joseph (@bigjoe)
28th October 2019, 2:17
@pastaman
Sorry I can’t agree that ‘vegans are the best sportspeople’
Just keep calling me names and maybe get the thread deleted. Way to go…..
David BR (@david-br)
21st October 2019, 23:43
@bigjoe I’ve finally understood your Hamilton-is-rubbish thing! You actually do live in a parallel universe where Messi and Serena Williams are rubbish too! Explains everything.
Joseph (@bigjoe)
28th October 2019, 1:24
@david-br @pastaman
I understand that most people here would have got picked last at Football at school, but Messi didn’t singlehandedly win the world cup for Argentina like Maradona did. Or maybe the above 4 posters know different? In fact I don’t recall Messi being that impressive in any world cup. I’m also correct in saying he didn’t feature in the 4-0 drubbing against Liverpool only this year.
Quite laughable that I’m being called ‘crazy’ for suggesting La Liga is an easier league for Messi to play in.
Joseph (@bigjoe)
28th October 2019, 1:50
@david-br
What explains everything David is you taking me out of context (that’s a nasty little Narcissistic trait by the way that often kicks off threads that get deleted)
You’ve supported the OP in claiming that Vegan sports people are the best and I’ve proved they’re not.
Now show me where I said Serena ‘was rubbish’
Depressed F1 Fan
21st October 2019, 11:40
The problem is that none of those athletes is actually honest about their diet.
They use supplements, to get their essentials and then claim they eat a healthy diet.
It’s the same as athletes saying they don’t use doping, until you realise that for loads of things they get exemptions till a certain threshold, and therefore everyone is on asthma drugs, painkillers, and supplements.
And otherwise they eat heavily processed foods with vitamin and mineral additives, while still claiming to have a healthy diet…
And this all on the premise that athletes live a healthy life… even doh its been proven time and time again that topsport isn’t a healthy lifestyle.
NewVerstappenFan (@jureo)
21st October 2019, 11:56
All of the listed sports have one thing in common. They do not require ultimate few second exertion. They are all about the mind game, endurance.
You don’t see top level track athletes going vegan or cyclists, etc.
But a tenis player, footballer, driver, whatever peak muscular performance is not needed. Stability of energy, mental strength, maintaining focus for several hours, that is more important than 2 tenths of running speed.
bosyber (@bosyber)
21st October 2019, 12:10
I think that’s an interesting point @jureo, wondered the same myself.
Though apparently it might not be so clearcut: contains plenty of such athletes, for what it’s worth.
bosyber (@bosyber)
21st October 2019, 12:11
Eh, so, that link should have been terminated properly: greatveganathletes.com
NewVerstappenFan (@jureo)
21st October 2019, 12:34
Yeah there are many vegan athletes. I was a vegetarian amateur runner for 10 years or so. When i started eating meat I gained muscle like no tomorrow. my best times improved around 4%. Lots of listed athletes are not top tier. And if they are it is in a sport where their performance does not suffer from that type of diet and is rather enhanced. Ideal sports for this would be tenis, chess, driving, long distance running, sports where benefits of vegan diet outweigh the cons.
Ram
21st October 2019, 16:18
@jureo Very interesting , Thanks. Finally Facts.
Mario (@runpower)
22nd October 2019, 11:09
There’s nothing better than a good anecdote to destroy all arguments
Joe
21st October 2019, 17:52
Ultimate few second exertion – Patrik Baboumian: World Record Holding Strongman
Cyclist – Dotsie Bausch: Eight time US National Cycling Champion (and oldest athlete to do it)
Top level track – Morgan Mitchell: Two time Australian 400M Champion
So much misinformation out here by people just regurgitating what they’ve heard. Watch “The Game Changers” on Netflix for some interesting counterpoint.
RP (@slotopen)
21st October 2019, 17:57
@jerejj
An import distinction is , as @jureo states, this is largely about the mental game, and elite distance runners are not the best comparison. Tennis might be a good starting point, but even they get breaks.
Drivers need amazing concentration plus good stamina. Chess + soccer. It certainly appears Hamilton controls his concentration better than Grosjean.
sbewers (@sbewers)
21st October 2019, 20:04
@jureo
Whilst I get where you’re coming from, and it’s definitely interesting to hear from somebody who has personal experience of diet affecting performance in that way, I don’t think it’s as simple as what you say here:
Carl Lewis is a good example. He turned vegan in 1990 but still performed at an exceptional level in 1991 – again breaking the men’s 100m world record and taking gold in the world championships that year.
I think the key is that no one size fits all. Whilst it will be a perfectly suitable and successful diet for some people, others will struggle with it. But I guess that goes for any diet in the world – plant-based or otherwise.
NewVerstappenFan (@jureo)
21st October 2019, 21:21
I did not know about Carl Lewis. Then again he took all kinds of doping.
Not all bodies are the same. Certainly Lewis is able to perform at top level. Arguably he has reached his highest ever performance.
Many have tried a Vegan lifestyle. There are many benefits for short and midtern especially in athletes over 25 with fully developed bodies.
I know for me a good balanced Vegan meal was always way better than pizza or pasta with meatballs.
A good steak after training gave me much better recovery.
I was not able to build muscle on vegetarian diet. But endurance no problem.
Hamilton has enough muscle mass, he needs endurance, stability light digestive system to survive and thrive while under extreme stress.
Grosjean can only hope to get that kind of performance going. Especially since Hamilton is now one of the greatest scorers in history.
But he was pretty good before aswell. I am quite certain an average F1 driver would not become much faster by going Vegan.
DrG
22nd October 2019, 11:34
If Grosjean is correct, he had better hope Hamilton never returns to eating meat. If this is a restricted performance I dread to see what a steak every week would produce.
You are correct on the no one size fits all. When I was racing at championship level just the continued exercise over repeated weekends tended to put on muscle mass which was making getting down to the minimum weight really difficult. Eventually I went vegetarian (what used to be called macrobiotic which is similar to vegan) prior to the season and the muscle mass remained pretty static in fact I lost a bit too much and was becoming too weak. I then ate a lot of vegetarian Indian (great one in Euston Road) and that was a perfect balance. That said, I really missed meat and while I like vegetarian food particularly curries having worked in India for some years, it is now occasional as I am now laughingly underweight!
petebaldwin (@)
21st October 2019, 23:02
“I’m looking at what I eat as fuel now, as an athlete, rather than just eating because I’m hungry.”
Sadly, that sentence alone kills the argument. He is now looking at food in a scientific way and is eating what his body needs to be at peak condition whereas he wasn’t before. That’s why he feels better – not because he is now vegan.
The jury is still out as to whether the best possible vegan diet is better than the best possible non-vegan diet but both are miles of a poor diet.
petebaldwin (@)
21st October 2019, 23:03
*miles better than a poor diet.
Sonny Crockett
22nd October 2019, 11:28
Well said.
I’ve been Vegan for 24 years and the reaction you get from people – even those that are meant to care about you – has always been the same: For some reason they decide that, by being Vegan, you have to embody every single virtue and they usually try to pick holes in your lifestyle decision.
Typical questions:
“Your shoes are leather though, aren’t they?” (Actually, no, they’re not!)
“But when you drive you kill insects” (When I sleep I probably swallow spiders but it’s not intentional!)
“It’s cruel making your own children Vegan” (When I was a kid my parents made me eat liver, steak & kidney pies, cheap processed burgers and dodgy sausages, amongst other things. Tell me again why it’s cruel!)
“It’s unhealthy and weakens your bones” (Olympic athlete Carl Lewis was one of the first Vegan athletes and wasn’t too bad from what I can recall! There are numerous professional sportsmen and women that are at the top of their game and that eat a Vegan diet.)
etc.
As for Grosjean, I met him once and he was an absolute c*ck! His comments about Hamilton don’t change that opinion!
Joseph (@bigjoe)
21st October 2019, 8:36
@silfen
Wrong.
If you’re going that far you need to look at where the money in F1 is created.
Hint: sponsors are not encouraging us to buy seasonal food and locally produced products.
F1 would be greener if it used cheap old V8s and sold us nothing. Also only raced in cities with good public transport.
Learon (@learon)
21st October 2019, 9:08
@bigjoe, you are making a good point about travel to GP venues. I bet the combined travel carbon footprint of the fans is much greateer than the teams’ own. Last time I went to Silverstone I travelled about 180 miles three days in a row…
ian dearing
21st October 2019, 15:41
Yea, but at most of the other races we all sat at home. All that carbon saved by not taking the family out, visiting relatives, or acting as an unpaid taxi driver. And all we had to say when they asked was ‘Not whilst the race/qually is on.’
jr
21st October 2019, 9:16
It’s obvious if you compare Grosjean’s results to Hamilton’s that Roman’s diet is the winner…
Tango (@tango)
21st October 2019, 9:27
Grosjean is a foodie (I am concerned about his waistline when he will be out of racing) so I understand he wants to keep his options open !
RB13
21st October 2019, 10:08
The nerve of the s hittest driver on the grid who an rarely scrape together an incident free weekend commenting on the diet of a man more successful than he will ever dream to be is beyond me.
Reminds me of Moanjean’s snitching in the drivers briefing about loosening seatbealts, he obviously has a problem with Hamilton when really he should not even be in the same racing series as him.
NewVerstappenFan (@jureo)
21st October 2019, 21:22
Lol. Maybe he needs to go Vegan.
RB13
22nd October 2019, 10:23
@jureo maybe I do too and i’ll get less wound up by Moanjean haha
Mario (@runpower)
22nd October 2019, 11:13
To be fair, his accomplishments as a driver doesn’t really undercut his opinions on diet and athletic performance. But I tend to use logic to form my opinions instead of feels
Joseph (@bigjoe)
28th October 2019, 2:26
@runpower
To be fair Grosjean could probably eat a ton of steak and only steak and still beat Lewis down any Ski slope.
Special diets such as all meat or all veg can suit different people.
GtisBetter (@)
21st October 2019, 10:47
Every body is different and very complex, so not every body will be able to extract everything needed from a plant based diet to compete at the highest level of sports.
To put is very simple, lots of proteïne in meat are more efficiently used and can only be substituted partly by plant proteins. This is no problem for the regular person, but at the extreme end of sport it might well be.
Jake
21st October 2019, 12:16
Untrue. Meat protein is actually poorer quality / second hand compared with plant.
GtisBetter (@)
21st October 2019, 14:00
Meat contains all essential amino acids and the body has the perfect enzyms to extract it. Plants take a lot more effort and it’s quite hard to get all the essential amino acids from them. Not sure what “quality” you are thinking of, but protein wise lean red meat is the best for you.
Joseph (@bigjoe)
28th October 2019, 2:28
@passingisoverrated
All meat diets have actually cured people of ailments. Yet they tend to be the people who keep it quiet rather than try to shove it in other’s faces.
Depressed F1 Fan
21st October 2019, 11:33
Its impossible to survive on a vegan diet without supplements, and those supplements are based on animal products (B12, D3, even doh vegans claim nori contains B12, that actually comes from crustaceans in the seawees).
If you are going to take supplements, you might aswell eat animal protein…
In Lewis’s case it doesn’t change much for the environment of climate if he eats meat anyways.
His climate impact would be significantly lower if he stopped jetting his dogs and himself around the world, and would eat meat instead…
But then again he cares about the world…
Tommy Scragend
21st October 2019, 11:42
That picture of Hamilton & Grosjean has to be a caption competition.
“Au nom de Dieu, qu’est-ce que tu as fait à ta tête?”
a (@aaaa)
21st October 2019, 13:34
HaHa good one…it is a shocker (or perhaps another from Grosjean)
“Hmm, I’ve got the facial hair, the black shirt…
Looks like I just need the plugs, ear-ring & a tan.”
RP (@slotopen)
21st October 2019, 18:01
@aaaa
“vous serez bientôt chauve, monsieur”
Evans
21st October 2019, 12:28
I think that telling people to go vegan is actually harmful to the cause because most people can’t go vegan so they just rebel even more. What’s better is to tell people to eat less meat. Everyone can do that so there isn’t as much a rejection to the idea.
Darryn Smith (@darryn)
22nd October 2019, 6:37
Probably true. In the States when Michelle Obama suggested American’s skip eating meat for 1 day a week the mouth-breathing Trump supporters jumped all over her. Can’t take away people’s freedom to eat garbage.
Hugh (@hugh11)
21st October 2019, 12:52
I mean. He’s still gonna win the title. I’d say he’s doing alright. I can’t remember what I said when he announced he was going vegan, maybe I wasn’t convinced either, but right now I’m in the zone of ‘if it doesn’t harm you, then so what?’ I wouldn’t say his performances have suffered because of it, so yeah, he can do whatever he likes and I’m just tired of there being so much media discourse about it.
Xcm
21st October 2019, 20:37
HONESTLY though, is anyone saying Lewis can’t be vegan? That he SHOULDNT eat healthy?
Nice straw man argument though @Hugh11 .
Joseph (@bigjoe)
28th October 2019, 2:42
The problem is that Meat eaters generally don’t go shoving their diets in people’s faces. Whereas vegans always seem to want some kind of recognition, attention, approval for doing so and often turn to lecturing others. Lewis’s dedication to this and standing up for what he believes in is to be admired, but
he’s increasingly sounding like he’s adopting an agenda.
Interesting that certain posters here like @david-br are prepared to tell lies to back up Lewis and the posters who claim Vegan athletes are the best. With plenty of other posters sl@ gging down Grosjean for being rubbish in F1, not considering this meat eater is an awesome skier and probably beat them all down a slalom race.
Thanks to the knowledgable posters explaining why meat is essential, yet everyone is different with some being able to adapt.
dan
21st October 2019, 19:12
Over a race distance i do not think anyone touches Hamilton in same car if you had 2 Mercs 30 seconds apart on a track with no cars i feel Ham would 80% be the best, his qually though has graudually got worst imo he is still a beast and when he splits Ferrari and gets a second place on the grid i am just as happy as if it was a pole position he still can pull a lap out the bag but he is not in his prime imo in Qually.
His race pace is another level though i think the way he stays close to other cars in dirty air proves it look at his teammates and they struggle way more following another car. Lewis in Silverstone was mega i cannot remember seeing a teammate be like 5-6 tenths behind lap after lap, he did not overtake on track but it shows his pace. So maybe it does make him more good over a race distance but sometimes he should eat a steak before qually perhaps?
Joseph (@bigjoe)
28th October 2019, 2:45
The Mercedes has the faster race pace than Ferrari as proved yet again today in Mexico.
Next you’ll believe he grew up in a slum or that F1 Stewards hate black people.
Richard
21st October 2019, 19:32
I admire Hamilton as a driver , and that’s what he needs to concentrate on, forget all this veg diet crap and false climate change rubbish , just drive Lewis
Mario (@runpower)
22nd October 2019, 11:16
Shut up and dribble!
budchekov (@budchekov)
22nd October 2019, 0:16
Right on topic, check out last weeks South Park, Let Them Eat Goo.
Priceless satire. :)
RocketTankski
22nd October 2019, 7:09
F1: Rivals not convinced by Grosjean’s spam-fisted driving
Raven
22nd October 2019, 13:43
Ok Lew, go totally vegan, and do not take any vitamin B12 supplements of course, that would be cheating (they are not plant derived, sorry).
After one year, when you have all the symptoms of pernicious (meaning ‘deadly’) anemia, write me a postcard. Oh, btw, well before that your reflexes will be totally shot and you won’t be able to drive a Panda. But hey, you have to be consequent, don’t ya?
Bridge Wilson (@gwbridge)
22nd October 2019, 21:32
In terms of protein, your body doesn’t care whether it is plant or animal sourced. You just need to get enough of it. And then there are supplements to be taken that can easily be monitored by simple blood tests. Too many people think vegans and vegetarians eat nothing but lettuce, and that’s really ignorant. You can go to plant protein with no problems as long as you are monitoring your situation in a responsible manner.
Joseph (@bigjoe)
28th October 2019, 2:52
@gwbridge
Those ‘ignorant people’ probably have really bad diets and know it, they just want Vegans to shut up though. SJW’s are becoming food police. Shall we list the food and drink products that sponsor or have sponsored Formula 1 and police them? No thought not. Hand over the $$$
NS Biker (@rekibsn)
23rd October 2019, 1:37
While a confirmed and dedicated omnivore, it is funny to hear all the talk of the deficiencies of a vegan diet. Past deeds would say this is not the case.
http://www.tommygodwin.com/
Consider 1939, early war years and food rationing in Britain, in effect. Tommy Goodwin undertook an awesome challenge.
If you have ever ridden 100 miles on a bike, you have an idea of the physical and nutrition demands of the task. Hugh.
Goodwin rode 200 miles a day … every day, for 500 days. Do the math. And yes he was a vegetarian.
It can be done and has been done. Now pass the burgers please ….
Joseph (@bigjoe)
28th October 2019, 2:48
@rekibsn
We could also discuss smokers with sporting achievements. Pregnant women, the list goes on……..but wouldn’t fit the agenda….