10 Superstar Athletes Who Don’t Eat Meat
Most people believe that to be big and strong, we need meat… red or white meat!
They believe that when it comes to body building, the best way to do so is to consume mass amounts of lean meat that’s high in protein, then turning that into body muscle.
Is that really necessary?
Below is a list of 10 superstar athletes who are vegetarian/vegan. They all excel in their own field of sport, while cutting meat out of their diet.
Look at the examples below… and there are many, many more like them. I have added 2 videos as well. The first is of famous vegetarian and vegan bodybuilders / athletes / sportsmen, and the second is…… a surprise..Do take a look…If these atheletes can win competitions/awards and keep their bodies in top shape, the rest of us have no excuses to say I need meat to survive or my body needs it. It’s more your desire for meat is great…no meat. Go vegetarian now!
Tsem Rinpoche
(Extracted from: http://www.treehugger.com/galleries/2009/05/10-superstar-athletes-who-do-not-eat-meat.php)
1. Bill Pearl
Perhaps the world’s best known vegetarian bodybuilder, Bill Pearl is a four-time Mr. Universe winner. He was notorious for his bombastic strongman antics: he had a penchant for ripping license plates and bending penny spike nails. Pearl became a vegetarian at age 39–and won his last Mr. Universe title at age 41 two years later. His books on bodybuilding are still considered essential reading for aspiring bodybuilders, and his vegetarianism is an inspiration to healthy athletes everywhere.
2. Joe Namath
The legendary quarterback Joe Namath is probably the most famous vegetarian football player. Inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 1985, he was also one of the best players, period. In his words, “I have been a vegetarian for a few years. Fred Dryer of the Rams has been one for ten years. It shows you don’t need meat to play football.” Namath serves as a role model for aspiring gridironers everywhere.
3. Martina Navratilova
The Czech born legend Martina Navratilova is one of the greatest tennis players of the 20th century. She won 18 Grand Slam singles titles and 31 doubles titles–a record she still holds today. A vegetarian for most of her career, she’s a vocal PETA supporter.
4. Tony La Russa
Longtime vegetarian Tony La Russa is more famous for his career as a high profile manager than a baseball player–he’s one of only two Major League Baseball managers to win the World Series for teams in both the American and National Leagues. But he did stints in the major league as a player before his ascent to being one of the most accomplished managers in the history of baseball. Just goes to show that vegetarianism can be good for the mind as well as the body.
5. Robert Parish
One of the greatest NBA basketball players in history, vegetarian Robert Parish played center for the Boston Celtics alongside Larry Bird. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2003. Measuring over 7 feet tall, he was an imposing force on the court, yet was renowned for his versatility as well–and his high release jump shot was legendary.
6. Prince Fielder
One of the youngest vegetarian champs on our list, Prince Fielder is the first baseman for the Milwaukee Brewers. He has been a strict vegetarian since early 2008–and hasn’t looked back since. His father was also a baseball player in the MLB, and they’re the only father-son duo to each have scored more than 50 home runs in their careers–and at a scant 24 years old, Prince Fielder is just getting warmed up.
7. Dave Scott
Dave Scott holds the record for most Iron Man World Championship victories ever (along with his rival Mark Allen, who managed to rack up an equal number of wins). The Iron Man competition, which consists of a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride and a 26 mile marathon run, is one of the most strenuous physical feats in the world. And Scott won six of them, all while being vegetarian. He even came out of retirement at 40 to compete again, and took second place. Today, at age 55, he still participates. In other words, this is one gnarly vegetarian dude.
Two women vegetarian tennis stars on one list? Indeed–and both deserve it fully. Billie Jean King, a longtime vegetarian, has also been an inspiring force against sexism. Along with winning 12 Grand Slam titles and 16 Doubles titles, she’s famous for her Battle of the Sexes match, in which she defeated former men’s Wimbledon champion Bobby Riggs.
9. Tony Gonzalez
A superstar tight end for the Atlanta Falcons, Tony Gonzales isn’t necessarily a strict vegetarian. He holds NFL records for most single season receptions and most touchdowns by a tight end, and most career receptions and reception yards by a tight end. And he did it during various experiments with veganism and cutting red meat out of his diet entirely. Though he eventually decided to eat chicken and fish, he still gets kudos here for giving veg a go.
10. Carl Lewis
World famous track star Carl Lewis wasn’t always a vegetarian. But he eventually went even further: he adopted a vegan diet to prepare for the World Championships in 1991, where he says he ran the best meet of his life. And he wasn’t the only one who held that opinion–after seeing the results of his race, Track & Field magazine remarked, “It had become hard to argue that he is not the greatest athlete ever to set foot on track or field.” He won ABC’s Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year in 1991 as a result. Carl Lewis earned a total of 10 Olympic medals over his career, nine of them gold medals.
Or view the video on the server at:
https://video.tsemtulku.com/videos/Famous-Vegetarian-and-Vegan-Bodybuilders-Athletes-Sportmen.mp4
Or view the video on the server at:
https://video.tsemtulku.com/videos/72-Year-Old-Man-Raw-Vegan-Body-Building-EveryDay.mp4
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A well-planned vegetarian meals can provide adequate nutrition and a variety of health benefits. Vegetarians tend to have a lower intake of saturated fat and cholesterol.
Understanding which vegetarian food choices will support peak performance and overall health is important for an athlete to succeed.
Thank you for a knowledgeable article sharing, ! Overall, research had proven that we still can live a healthy life without meat .
The concept of a meatless diet may be a hard sell for many athletes and their fans. The demands of strenuous activity necessary for games/matches or regular practices may require as many as 6,000 calories and 200 grams of protein daily depending upon the player and his or her sport. How can famous vegetarian athletes possibly meet that need without eating meat?
While plant-based diets have been proven to help reduce the risk of diabetes, cancer and heart disease, as well as speed along the repair of torn muscles and tendons and improve blood and oxygen flow, some still emphasize the difficulty vegetarian/vegan athletes face when attempting to reach their athletic goals. NFL Nutritionist Mitzi Dulan explains that reaching the massive caloric and protein intake levels necessary is easier for some players to reach by eating protein-dense, higher calorie animal foods. However, the body itself more easily processes grains, veggies, legumes and fruit into energy. The only problem, according to Dulan, is that it takes a LOT of the latter foods to fuel NFL player body demands—as well as strict vigilance about the nutrients they’re consuming. Quinoa, beans, hemp, nuts, seeds and vegetarian/vegan protein shakes can help these famous vegetarian athletes meet their needs.
These people prove that you do not need the protein from meat to have such a hot body. I am totally amazed with the determination and sheer will power of the 72 year old to maintain his body. It is amazing how athletes and how we do not have to eat meat and all that gross stuff to be a strong athlete or to actually build muscles. Thank you Rinpoche and blog team for this very enlightening article ??
Thanks for sharing such strong examples which refute the myth of those consuming meat having better physics especially when it comes to athletics or some implied inferiority of athletes who are vegan or vegetarian. Although this article dates back to 2011, it remains as relevant now for debunking purposes as it is then considering that the misconception that those on vegan or vegetarian diet are (unfortunately) still are prevalent. It is actually quite sad that at this day and age, many would still be shocked to find out that some of the world’s best athletes (as listed) are known to have diets that don’t include eating animals or animal products.
Personally, I think this has to do more with the people’s deliberate refusal to really address the issue so it is easier to insulate themselves and can carry on with the justification that only meat can provide sufficient “life force” so they can continue to indulge in their taste for meat (rather than the lack of effort being put in towards raising awareness). How else would you explain the growing trend of athletes (world class and otherwise) opting to be vegan/vegetarian yet misconception being still prevalent?
So, for those who still seriously want to maintain that vegetarianism and athletics would really be a bad combination, just take the time to think how illogical that would be considering that so many vegans or vegetarians have and some even still rank among the top performers in their countries and the entire world. And if a more current example is required, tennis superstar with many world class victories under her belt, Venus Williams obviously stayed on top of her game despite changing to full vegan diet.
The excuse that being a vegetarian, one will not get a balanced diet specially on protein is a myth. These athletes are living proof. Being a vegetarian doesn’t make one physically inferior.
In some areas where the environment are too harsh for agriculture and meat is the only viable source of food, it’s understandable. For most of us, vegetarian options are vastly available and cheaper too. It is a much healthier choice because we can even grow our own food at home. There are many kind of new farming techniques these days eg hydroponics that allows people to grow their own vegetables at home.
There is an old saying we are what we eat. What we feed ourselves indirectly will determine the quality of the life we live. Eat well, eat healthy. Be vegetarian.
These people are living proof that vegetarianism cannot hold you back and cannot prevent you from anything. You just have to work harder like everyone would as it s to reach goals. People that say they will not become vegetarians because they fear it will stop their bodies developing are liars.
Because there are always substitutes if you bother to find them which is not that hard. Those people are just lazy to give effort to save lives. Besides there are very unhealthy things put into people’s meat these days for it’s production, besides the fact that it is death, there are many health issues that can build up with too much meat.
I will use this post as a reminder to all people out there that use this invalid excuse that you’re excuse in totally invalid and useless now, now proven wrong with examples.
这个讯息说明了茹素者也可以做大量的运动，就像运动员！ 在我茹素之前我也会担心吃不饱，要常常进食很麻烦。因为在之前我因某些因素吃素， 可是我这一年里就增肥了10公斤！！！就是常常觉得自己吃不饱还有饿意。所以不知不觉中胖了。但是就以上的例子大家可以改变观念，真正的成为素食者，成为素食者不但可以让身体减轻负担，也让自己口气清新，排汗不臭！！
Dear Rinpoche,
WOW!!! It is amazing how athletes and how we do not have to eat meat and all that gross stuff to be a strong athlete or to actually build muscles.
How nice that there are some superstar athletes in the world that have believed that being a vegetarian can help them win in their sport as well as at the same time reducing the amount of meat consumed all around the world.
I just can’t believe that some of the athletes agg are old but yet they still look so young, it is something like a woman’s skin brightener only it applies to the whole body as well.
It has totally been proven to me in just these two videos that one does not need meat in oder to get protein but just by eating fruits, nuts as well as healthy stuff!
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this article!
Love
Jutika
Being vegetarian is healthier than anybody else who is eating meat!!! Rinpoche always have a very good information about alot of stuffs. Tq guru.
This blog post also set as a reminder to all MEAT LOVER!!!
Thank you for sharing! All of them prove to the world that we don’t need to eat meat to have a strong body. They are all excel in sports and this also prove that to be excelled, meat is not the key. The key is to have balance diet and exercise. And there are so many studies that show vegetarian can be healthy and strong too! Why that eating animals will make us strong? To be strong, mentally we have to be strong first.
I loved this post! Here once again Rinpoche has showed us that meat is not important, and that you can still be strong without it. I love it! I hope that more people realise this, and that they will stop eating meat.
And i was really amazed when i was scrolling down the list of athletes which don’t eat meat, and i saw a bodybuilder. This was only amazing to me because he won the Mr. Universe title 4 times! That is really cool. He has shown so many people that being a vegetarian makes you stronger. And i think most people should follow.
wow i knew that vegetarians can be strong but this is really cool to have these sport players to be vegetarians. this proves that you don’t need meat to be strong and vegetarians are not weak. 😀
Many people think that after eating meat will let you gain more energy, but they are wrong. Most of you won’t believe me but let me tell something that will blow your mind off. Scientist discovered that we were not meant to eat meat, we were supposed to be vegetarians. And do you know that most of the people who meditates are vegetarians. Being vegetarian is so bad, but when you cannot resist being eating veges for long you can try eating fake meat that is made of veges and it tastes just like real meat. So be a vegetarian please, Thank you.
This are a classic example of how people eat meat can be sportsman too. Let’s not eat meat because eating meat means killing another living being to satisfy our attachment for taste. There are just so many classic example that one who does not eat meat can be very healthy too. Actually even healthier than any meat eater.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this article with us. Come, come, now who says you are not going to be strong and healthy being vegetarian??
What you eat is what you are. This is proven.
With his looks and body, who would believe that Jim is 72 years old. In fact, he looks much more healthier and fitter than any one half his age. This shows that we can have a strong healthy body without having to consume meat.
Thank you, Rinpoche for this informative article.
Rinpoche,
This is a reply I posted on David Lai’s wall post on facebook, he asked me to post on your blog comment:
” Aiya, those on Rinpoche’s list are old timers. I’ll add on the new generations one …
One of my idol in the strength and conditioning world, Mike Mahler, a strength coach & athlete is also a vegetarian. http://www.mikemahler.com/articles/vegan_diet.html
Similarly Mac Danzig, a pr…ofessional MMA fighter – http://www.mikemahler.com/articles/macdanzig.html
I tried non meat diet for 3 weeks, it felt good, except I got hungry even faster. Instead of the usual 5 meals per day, it became 8 meals per day. lol . then i gave in to craving for meat texture 😛 ”
And to add on, there’s this hot South African BJJ Black Belt who is world champion in BJJ too is a vegetarian. http://www.pennyfighting.com/index.php
I am totally amazed with the determination and sheer will power of the 72 year old to maintain his body. However, determination or not, he would have to get sick and die so why waste so much energy on something so trivial. Might as well put it into onto something more reliable and permanent like the Dharma.
Anyways, I am educated and inspired. I never knew that being vegetarian still allow us an ability to build our muscles into this shape and size. So, all the myths of vegetarian not giving us enough nutrients is but a myth. Thank you rinpoche for debunking this myth and many vegetarian detractors out there better be vegetarian or keep quiet.
These people prove that you do not need the protein from meat to have such a hot body. If they can do it without meat(or steroids), everyone can. It is a much healthier lifestyle. You will not only be benefiting yourself. You will be saving so many animals too. GO VEGETARIAN!
O.M.G , Jim doesn’t look like 72 years old at all .having nuts,beans,fruits and vege for diet and continue workout everyday !! It shows that we still can have STRONG and Healthy life without meat .thank you Rinpoche for the info !