Actual super-ultrarunner king: Kilian Jornet 'basically vegetarian'

You mean, Kilian doesn't eat much meat.

He gets loads of protein from vegtables.

Myth 1: You can't get enough protein eating a plant-based diet.

Reality: Not only will you get all the protein you need, for the first time in your life you won't suffer from an excess of it. Ample amounts of protein are thriving in whole, natural plant-based foods. For example, spinach is 51% protein; mushrooms, 35%; beans, 26%; oatmeal, 16%; whole wheat pasta, 15%; corn, 12%; and potatoes, 11%.

Look around you and tell me the last time you saw someone who was hospitalized for a protein deficiency. Or look around in nature, where you will notice that the largest and strongest animals, such as elephants, gorillas, hippos, and bison, are all plant eaters.

Myth 2: Plant proteins aren't complete proteins.

Reality: Plant proteins are as complete as complete can be. The myth that they're not, or are of a lesser quality than animal proteins, dates back to experiments performed on rats in the early 1900s. Forget the fact that rats aren't humans, have different nutritional requirements, and need more protein than humans to support their furry little bodies.

The meat, dairy, and egg industries have marketed the hell out of this ancient research, and even in the year 2010 most every Dick, Tom, and Jane thinks the only way to get complete protein is through meat, eggs or dairy.

In reality, proteins are composed of chains of roughly 20 different amino acids. Of those, eight are found outside our body and must be absorbed from our food. These eight are the "essential" amino acids. The remaining acids are "nonessential" because they can be synthesized by our bodies themselves.

https://diettogo.com/blog/debunking-12-myths-about-vegetarian-diet

No, I mean he literally says in his post he doesn't enjoy eating much protein meat or plants. Says he doesn't enjoy high protein foods.

I realize he gets enough protein from his diet, obviously he does or he wouldn't be able to perform at such a high level.

But he is saying he doesn't prioritize it at all because those foods just are not that enjoyable to him anyway.

Wtf you just misread the post and then stated all that bogus info nobody asked for.

Potatoes are 11% protein?

Please seek help

Your myth busting is a bit untrue. Most foods, as eaten, have less than 5% protein. Your numbers for plant protein percentages must be based on dry weight, or simply lies.

The amino acid content of plants is complete only for a very small percentage. So, if you had some wheat with 4% overall protein, in a cooked and wet serving, the composite amino acid content is very uneven. Some amino acids might be in such low quantity you could easily not even count it. So, its a bit far fetched to claim that plant protein sources are complete, in opposition to the more evenly distributed amino acid content of eggs.

Sorry I got sucked into the game. Obviously "Eat more tofu" just made all that stuff up in order to discredit vegans. We're not all that wacked.

I didn't made up anything. I just copied and pasted.

Anyway, there is plenty of protein in vegetables. If you eat healthy you don't have to worry about proteins. And I guess that's what Kilian is doing.

Eat more Tofu wrote:

For example, spinach is 51% protein; mushrooms, 35%; beans, 26%; oatmeal, 16%; whole wheat pasta, 15%; corn, 12%; and potatoes, 11%.

Twice as much protein in spinach than beef haha. No wonder Popeye was jacked.

Own it wrote:

Eat more Tofu wrote:

For example, spinach is 51% protein; mushrooms, 35%; beans, 26%; oatmeal, 16%; whole wheat pasta, 15%; corn, 12%; and potatoes, 11%.

Twice as much protein in spinach than beef haha. No wonder Popeye was jacked.

About half the calories in spinach is from protein. You just have to eat about 3 gallons of spinach to have as much protein as a chicken breast. Not making up those numbers.

I think all those numbers are protein calories as % of total calories, and may be correct.

Today I learned Kilian is a mountain goat. .

carbs are king wrote:

Kilian Jornet recently posted about his diet on instagram and discusses how he doesn't really enjoy eating much protein.

Well that explains not reaching the summit of Mt Everest.

Zev wrote:

carbs are king wrote:

Kilian Jornet recently posted about his diet on instagram and discusses how he doesn't really enjoy eating much protein.

Well that explains not reaching the summit of Mt Everest.

The first vegan who tried made the summit didn't make it either. Low-nutrient diet no bueno for mountaineering.

YMMV wrote:

The first vegan who tried made the summit didn't make it either. Low-nutrient diet no bueno for mountaineering.

That had probably more to do with her lack of mountaineering expertise than with being vegan.

Hard to imagine that no vegan mountaineer made it up to Everest already.

Kilian and I shared a fat churrasco back in 2012!!! He loves his meat (and Nutella), but perhaps has adopted a more vegetarian trend. As a Spaniard and Catalan as well, we love our meats!

So you’re saying his protein intake is sufficient enough to make him one of the top athletes in multiple mountain sports but not enough to reach the summit of mt Everest?

What do you think the required grams of protein to body weight in order to make it to the summit?

Even if he eats low protein by percent, he's surely getting enough given the sheer number of calories he must consume. If he eats 4000 calories at 10% protein, he's getting 100g (he weighs 120-130# ballpark). And it would be really hard to eat only 10% protein with a whole-food diet.

carbs are king wrote:

So you’re saying his protein intake is sufficient enough to make him one of the top athletes in multiple mountain sports but not enough to reach the summit of mt Everest?

What do you think the required grams of protein to body weight in order to make it to the summit?

If he eats whole foods, it would be impossible for him to not get enough protein. As an athlete, he needs 1.6g/kg. I know he is kind of a sprite, what, 140 # (64kg)? So about 101g protein. Multiply that by 4 and you get 404Cal. If he takes on 4000Cal of real food,, he would get his 101g of protein, assuming there is 10% by weight of protein in the average mix of Killian's real food. Roughly. Question is, how much real food does he take in? If he does the Durianrider empty carb thing, he'll shrink.

Plant based diets provide prebiotics for a strong gut biome. Some of those bacteria contribute amino acids on a daily basis. If other bacteria don't consume it all, some of those postbiotics are additional amino acid nutrition. So, for peak performances, he probably has plenty of "protein", assuming he has some surges in protein intake occasionally. I read that bone is 40% protein, by weight. Seems a stretch. But, if true, bone serves as a temporary reservoir for peak excesses of protein. When you need some amino acid, catabolism of bone proteins occurs. Hey, don't kill me, I'm just a messenger.. Google it. There is also recycling of intestinal cell proteins as well. Bottom line, Killian is good to go. Obviously.

Eat more Tofu wrote:

YMMV wrote:

The first vegan who tried made the summit didn't make it either. Low-nutrient diet no bueno for mountaineering.

That had probably more to do with her lack of mountaineering expertise than with being vegan.

Hard to imagine that no vegan mountaineer made it up to Everest already.

A fat Indian vegan guy did it the same year.

Killian once went 5 days without eating anything while training 3 to 4 hours per day.

Experimenting with running 20 hours without drinking anything.

Seeing if a 30 hour training week will hurt his speed.

So the answer is to eat what you want, and don't what you don't. Training is where the magic happens.