Sample of Jake Shields vegetarian diet
Day 1
Breakfast:
Oatmeal with fruit or sweet maple syrup. His favorite fruits are blueberries, strawberries, oranges, dried fruits and cantaloupes.
Mid-morning snack:
Nuts and various fruits.
Lunch:
A stir-fry dish with brown rice and vegetables. Shields will load up on whatever catches his attention in the supermarket, could be spinach, broccoli or any other green veggie.
Post-workout:
A Vegetarian Protein shake with soy-based protein most of the time. He usually uses whatever his sponsors send.
Dinner:
A few eggs, vegetables, either a tortilla or piece of toast, and either potatoes or sweet potatoes.
Late night:
A snack of cereal with almond milk. “I shoot for six meals a day,” Shields said. “Some days end up being a little more. Some days may be a little less. I don’t like to go very long without eating.”
Day 2
Breakfast:
Three to four scrambled eggs with vegetables, followed by a workout.
Post-workout:
A sandwich with avocados and a vegetarian patty. Later, followed by a protein shake.
Related Products: plant-based protein powders
Dinner:
Burrito with beans, avocados and rice.
Night-time snack:
Yogurt and cottage cheese.
Before bed:
Another snack with dried fruit, nuts or cereal.
Shields doesn’t like soda and will drink coconut water or 100 percent juice drinks throughout the day.
DAY 3
Breakfast:
Oatmeal or eggs. If in a hurry, may grab a bagel with peanut butter and jelly instead.
Lunch:Eating out, maybe Thai food with tofu, but will cut this out of the diet when his training for the St. Pierre fight gets serious.
Post-lunch:
Veggie burger or a veggie sandwich from Subway. From time to time, Shields will go to Whole Foods and get soy chicken or soy steak.
He doesn’t like to do that often because it’s processed. But for a change of pace, he’ll put it on a sandwich with avocados and vegetables.
Dinner:
Quinoa, a whole grain, mixed with vegetables or eggs.
Late snack:
Crackers and hummus, followed later by another snack of scrambled eggs and hash brown potatoes.
Shields tries to focus on eating small meals before training. Carb-based meals, but not greasy foods like Thai takeout, usually make the cut. “I cook my own food. Sometimes my brother cooks my food,” Shields said.
“I’ve thought about hiring a chef for before a fight. I’m thinking about getting a vegan chef and trying it out." On weekends, when he’s going out to clubs with friends, there aren’t a ton of late-night eating options.
He’ll get pizza or Mexican food, but such snacks will be cut out around the eight-week mark before the fight.
Read more: Plant-Based Diet for Beginners
A lifelong vegetarian, Jake Shields has proved that anything that meat-eaters can do, he can do better. As a Strikeforce MMA Champion, Jake steps into the ring again and again with some of the highest-ranked fighters in the world and comes out on top.
Shields has set the bar for vegetarians in MMA, considering he has spent his whole life not eating meat. He is a testament to what vegetarians could accomplishin in the world of combat sports.
Shields has also been active as a spokesman for PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), doing a commercial and print campaign for the group.
