Anonymous
Post 10/06/2025 22:50     Subject: Vegetarian diet for 13 year old swimmer
Anonymous wrote:1 pound of super firm tofu has 70 grams of protein, and easy to eat in 2 meals.


Every single day? And that’s still not quite enough… The folks saying it’s impossible or all vegans have eating disorders are crazy, but I think OP is deluding herself if she thinks there’s an easy trick here that doesn’t require her mental energy.

I actually echo an earlier poster that whether this is doable depends on whether it’s what the kid wants — both the high level swimming & the diet.
Anonymous
Post 10/06/2025 22:47     Subject: Vegetarian diet for 13 year old swimmer
1 pound of super firm tofu has 70 grams of protein, and easy to eat in 2 meals.
Anonymous
Post 10/06/2025 22:38     Subject: Vegetarian diet for 13 year old swimmer
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Remember, swimmers need at least 80 grams of protein per day, and probably more for male swimmers in puberty.


Remember, you have absolutely no idea what the hell you’re talking about and are not qualified to give nutritional advice.


Why so angry? Just look up what nutritionists suggest. PP isn’t wrong.
https://www.usaswimming.org/docs/default-source/camps/national-select-camp/sports-nutrition-for-swimmers.pdf
Anonymous
Post 10/06/2025 22:37     Subject: Vegetarian diet for 13 year old swimmer
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Remember, swimmers need at least 80 grams of protein per day, and probably more for male swimmers in puberty.


Remember, you have absolutely no idea what the hell you’re talking about and are not qualified to give nutritional advice.


The PP’s statement is accurate, whether qualified or not. It’s widely known and easy to calculate. Here is an article (by a professor) published with USA Swimming — https://www.usaswimming.org/news/2018/08/22/protein-how-much-is-too-much
Anonymous
Post 10/06/2025 22:06     Subject: Vegetarian diet for 13 year old swimmer
Anonymous wrote:Remember, swimmers need at least 80 grams of protein per day, and probably more for male swimmers in puberty.


Remember, you have absolutely no idea what the hell you’re talking about and are not qualified to give nutritional advice.
Anonymous
Post 10/06/2025 12:44     Subject: Vegetarian diet for 13 year old swimmer
Remember, swimmers need at least 80 grams of protein per day, and probably more for male swimmers in puberty.
Anonymous
Post 10/06/2025 12:36     Subject: Vegetarian diet for 13 year old swimmer
I think the real issue is whether the kids is committed to being a vegetarian and an elite athlete. If so, it can absolutely be done. But he will have to eat lots of plant-based protein, obviously, and these are not everyone's taste, will require lots of essentially forced consumption (especially during growth spurts), etc. If the kid is a picky eater (and I don't mean truly picky, lots of kids don't want huge quantities of beans, nut butters, tofu and cottage cheese -- my kids would literally never) or would prefer to just sub meat, then obviously that would be the easier approach.
Anonymous
Post 10/06/2025 12:33     Subject: Vegetarian diet for 13 year old swimmer
OP my boys are also swimmers and naturally on the lean side. And shocker to the anti- vegetarian poster they eat meat.

We too have to really push them to eat more than they naturally want. We try to have them drink a big glass of Fairlife chocolate milk after practice- we like this brand because it is higher in protein. We also make sure they have a snack like a granola bar or fig newtons before morning practice. Big bowl of ice cream after dinner most nights.

Their coach also really drills in the need to eat enough to fuel workouts. Which has lead to my them being more mindful about what they eats and deliberately eating more.
Anonymous
Post 10/06/2025 12:16     Subject: Vegetarian diet for 13 year old swimmer
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
You do know that there are entire population around that world that are vegetarians,. right? So half of India has an eating disorder.


India is not a predominantly vegetarian country:https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-43581122.


I stated half of India.. on 49% in some cities. so all of these people have eating disorders?
Anonymous
Post 10/06/2025 12:15     Subject: Vegetarian diet for 13 year old swimmer
Anonymous wrote:
You do know that there are entire population around that world that are vegetarians,. right? So half of India has an eating disorder.


India is not a predominantly vegetarian country:https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-43581122.
Anonymous
Post 10/06/2025 12:14     Subject: Vegetarian diet for 13 year old swimmer
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Combine teen boy appetite with heavy swim workout and trying to gain weight despite a genetic predisposition to be skinny is making my life pretty hard. We are a vegetarian family. Curious if there are others like us and what your daily diet may look like.


You have to face reality is my random advice. There is zero chance a growing teenage boy can be competitive athletically as a skinny vegetarian. None. The science isn't there. Either give this boy some animal protein or throw away any chance of being a competitive athlete.


This is absolute BS. There are Vegan bodybuilders who do just fine so a vegetarian who eats dairy and maybe fish can figure it out. It just wakes planning and though to get in enough protein and more importantly calories.

OP the reality for kids and even adults who are naturally very thin and active is that they need to be very mindful of what they are eating as they are typically thin because they get full quickly. With that they need to be sure to be eating high calorie foods and even possibly eating past the point of feeling full in order to overconsume calories in order to gain weight.

I listened to a podcast years ago with a guy who was naturally very thing and also had celiac disease. he managed to gain something like 30+lb of muscle and he was honest in that the had to force himself to eat more even when he was not hungry.


These vegan body builders are adults, not growing 13 year old boys.

This only affirms my conviction that vegetarianism outside of medical necessity is an eating disorder.


Omg. This is crazy.
Anonymous
Post 10/06/2025 12:05     Subject: Vegetarian diet for 13 year old swimmer
Is this by his choice? Or are you forcing this on him because you are a vegetarian family. What does his pediatrician advise?
Anonymous
Post 10/06/2025 12:00     Subject: Vegetarian diet for 13 year old swimmer
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Combine teen boy appetite with heavy swim workout and trying to gain weight despite a genetic predisposition to be skinny is making my life pretty hard. We are a vegetarian family. Curious if there are others like us and what your daily diet may look like.


You have to face reality is my random advice. There is zero chance a growing teenage boy can be competitive athletically as a skinny vegetarian. None. The science isn't there. Either give this boy some animal protein or throw away any chance of being a competitive athlete.


This is absolute BS. There are Vegan bodybuilders who do just fine so a vegetarian who eats dairy and maybe fish can figure it out. It just wakes planning and though to get in enough protein and more importantly calories.

OP the reality for kids and even adults who are naturally very thin and active is that they need to be very mindful of what they are eating as they are typically thin because they get full quickly. With that they need to be sure to be eating high calorie foods and even possibly eating past the point of feeling full in order to overconsume calories in order to gain weight.

I listened to a podcast years ago with a guy who was naturally very thing and also had celiac disease. he managed to gain something like 30+lb of muscle and he was honest in that the had to force himself to eat more even when he was not hungry.


These vegan body builders are adults, not growing 13 year old boys.

This only affirms my conviction that vegetarianism outside of medical necessity is an eating disorder.


You do know that there are entire population around that world that are vegetarians,. right? So half of India has an eating disorder.
Anonymous
Post 10/06/2025 11:58     Subject: Vegetarian diet for 13 year old swimmer
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Combine teen boy appetite with heavy swim workout and trying to gain weight despite a genetic predisposition to be skinny is making my life pretty hard. We are a vegetarian family. Curious if there are others like us and what your daily diet may look like.


You have to face reality is my random advice. There is zero chance a growing teenage boy can be competitive athletically as a skinny vegetarian. None. The science isn't there. Either give this boy some animal protein or throw away any chance of being a competitive athlete.


This is absolute BS. There are Vegan bodybuilders who do just fine so a vegetarian who eats dairy and maybe fish can figure it out. It just wakes planning and though to get in enough protein and more importantly calories.

OP the reality for kids and even adults who are naturally very thin and active is that they need to be very mindful of what they are eating as they are typically thin because they get full quickly. With that they need to be sure to be eating high calorie foods and even possibly eating past the point of feeling full in order to overconsume calories in order to gain weight.

I listened to a podcast years ago with a guy who was naturally very thing and also had celiac disease. he managed to gain something like 30+lb of muscle and he was honest in that the had to force himself to eat more even when he was not hungry.


These vegan body builders are adults, not growing 13 year old boys.

This only affirms my conviction that vegetarianism outside of medical necessity is an eating disorder.


You are a head case, vegetarian=eating disorder.. ok and no I am not a vegetarian. I also know lots of fat vegetarians. Vegetarian does not equal low calorie diet. They do need to be more mindful of what they are eating to ensure they are getting enough protein, but overall American are not hurting for protein and I have yet to meet someone in the US with a protein deficiency.
Anonymous
Post 10/06/2025 10:22     Subject: Re:Vegetarian diet for 13 year old swimmer
He could also be in the midst of a growth spurt, adding to the challenge! Upping the calorie density of his meals/snacks could help if he needs to gain some weight. Some healthier options:

pancakes
roasted potatoes
bread
granola cereal
pasta
nuts
fruit smoothies with yogurt, etc
chocolate
peanut butter
avocado