diet advice

It could be calorie deficit. I temporarily got low key into the whole idea of racing weight and was hovering closer to 156 than 160. I honestly kind of think its a training thing tho, my coach doesn't have me do a whole lot of speed work (fast 2s and 4s) so I feel like my body has just been conditioned out of any fast twitch muscles. Have started doing strides after some easy days to compensate.

Typically didn't eat a whole lot of legumes (mostly just vegetables, fruits, oatmeal, peanut butter, stuff like that), but recently started eating a lot more beans and lentils and more carbs in the form of quinoa and rice. Trying to get more protein/diversity of calories/nutrients.

Sage Canaday is vegan and one of the really few atlhtes on the voluntary blood/pee tests thing.

I have been vegan for 20 years. All diets attract it's share of nutcases, lot of vegan nutcases out there too just like non vegan nutcases.

That said a healthy non processed plant based vegan diet is the healthiest possible diet if you care about your overall health.

Frankly I feel no negative energy difference to when I used to eat tons of meat. I have a six pack at age 53. My meat eating friends look and act 20 years older than me.

original poster wrote:

Typically didn't eat a whole lot of legumes (mostly just vegetables, fruits, oatmeal, peanut butter, stuff like that), but recently started eating a lot .

Increase peanut butter intake to 500g per week.

Yeah that's the other thing I do core 8-10 mins 5 days/week and don't have visible six pack. Makes me think what I'm lacking could be protein, but am still unsure. Just seems like I'm struggling to build meaningful muscle.

Some really good advice here already, just wanted to chime in with some healthy (vegan) snacks that give you energy.

1. Granola

High in fibre, granola makes you feel fuller faster while promoting a healthy weight maintenance and good digestion.

It contains some extra (vegan friendly!) protein to boost energy levels throughout the day.

Here are some granola snack ideas:

Peanut Butter Granola Balls

Oatmeal with Warm Milk* and Granola

Trail Mix with Dried Fruit and Nuts

2. Dried Fruit

Dehydrated fruit retains a lot of nutrients and tastes just as sweet as any candy you’d find in a convenience store.

Another high-energy food, it also contains a ton of antioxidants that reduce your risk of illness while keeping you bright-eyed and bushy-tailed throughout the day.

These are my favourite dried fruits:

Apricots

Dates

Apple Slices

Raisins

Figs

Almonds

3. Veggie Chips

A low trans-fat food that’s fun (and rather easy) to make, vegetable chips come in all colors and textures and can be paired with a huge variety of herbs and spices.

Veggie chips are also a rich source of vitamins C and A (which is great for your skin), and varieties like carrots, beets, green beans, and baked potato chips give you a ton of energy.

Here's 21 different types of veggie chips:

https://www.desknibbles.com/blog/veggie-chips

Hope this helps, good luck with your training!