How To Stay Active And Successful: Horse Riders’ Vegan Healthy Tips

In recent years, many people have changed the way that they eat due to concerns about their health and also the health of the planet. It has been increasingly common for people to cut down on the amount of meat that they eat, and indeed some are even cutting out meat and animal products from their diet altogether and are leading a vegan lifestyle. It was once thought that eating this sort of diet was incompatible with being fit and healthy, but many modern sports professionals have shown that it is perfectly possible to adapt your diet in such a way that you remain competitive in your chosen sport. Due to the need to be as light as possible, this dietary regime is perfect for horse riders, but they still need to ensure that they consume the right vegan foodstuffs to maintain the strength to ride a horse. 

If you would like to learn how to combine a healthy vegan lifestyle whilst still being able to ride your horse competitively, then read on to find out more. 

Protein

When eating a vegan diet, protein is your best friend when it comes to being healthy so it is important to know where you are going to get your protein from when you start this type of diet. Equine experts from ayrequestrian.com advise that strength is such an essential part of riding that you need to ensure that you get sufficient protein from sources such as grains, seeds, nuts, soy, and lentils. If you think about it, your normal diet will encompass all these foodstuffs anyway, so it is a case of adapting to ensure that you have enough of these products to replace the meat and fish that you would typically eat as protein. With a little bit of thought, it is easily achievable and in no time at all, you will give no thought to your new diet as it will become as natural as your previous meat-fueled regime. 

Eat calcium-rich products

Calcium-rich products such as milk are something that we are encouraged to consume from a young age as we know that calcium aids bone growth and keeps them strong. Well, this is also fundamental if you are riding horses as the chances are that you are going to have the odd fall or two over your career. When you are leading a vegan lifestyle you need to know where to source your calcium naturally and the best foods are soy products, green vegetables such as broccoli, kale, spinach, and pure orange juice. If you find you are still not getting enough, then you can add supplements to your diet or eat calcium-fortified products such as breakfast cereals. 

Avoid ‘fake meats’

It will be very tempting to enhance your diet by going back to what you previously liked and eating products such as vegan sausages or bacon, or even burgers that are made to appear as if they have meat in but are actually ‘free from’. These are all examples of fake meat products and, in the main, are incredibly bad for your health. They are normally packed full of sugars and salt to give them any flavor, and in any case, this is against the whole ethos of leading a vegan lifestyle as you should be eating ‘whole’ foods. Concentrate on natural products, and quit trying to emulate the meat that you once consumed in your previous diet, as you will then be more likely to stray and eat some actual meat.

Learn to cook! 

It is surprising how few people know how to cook properly given the plethora of cooking programs that are on TV, and when you are eating a vegan diet you must learn how to cook properly if you want to maximize the flavors that are available from fruits and vegetables. If you are struggling for ideas, there are plenty of cooking channels on Youtube, where you can copy recipes, and why not think about doing a cookery course in the new year, to enhance your skills?

As we have learned there are several important things to bear in mind if you want to stay active and successful whilst leading a vegan lifestyle. You must know where you are going to source your protein from to build muscle, and calcium is vital if you are to keep your bones nice and strong. Avoid ‘fake’ meats that are full of sugars, salt, and other additives, and learn to cook if you want to get the most out of the fantastic fresh produce that is available to you.