247 pound vegan

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The 247 lb. Vegan

NFL star Tony is out to answer a question: Can a football player live

entirely on

plants?

By REED ALBERGOTTI

January 25, 2008; Page W1

The protein-rich bounty of the football training table is supposed to grow the

biggest and

strongest athletes in professional sports. Kansas City Chiefs tight-end Tony

was

afraid it was going to kill him. " It's the Catch-22, " says Mr. , 31. " Am

I going to

be unhealthy and play football? Or be healthy and get out of the league? "

Kansas City Chiefs tight-end Tony

So last year, on the eve of the biggest season of his career, Mr.

embarked on a

diet resolution that smacked head-on with gridiron gospel as old as the leather

helmet.

He decided to try going vegan.

Living solely on plant food, a combination of nuts, fruits, vegetables, grains

and the like,

has long been the fringe diet of young rebels and aging nonconformists. Even the

government recommends regular helpings of meat, fish and dairy. Vegans of late

have

gotten more hip with such best sellers as the brash " Skinny Bitch, " and its more

scholarly

cousin, " The China Study. " Both books argue vegans can live longer.

But could an all-star National Football League player, all 6-foot, 5-inches and

247 pounds

of him, live on a vegan diet and still excel in one of the most punishing jobs

in sports?

For Mr. , the stakes were high. He'd just signed a five-year contract,

making him

the game's highest-paid tight-end. Entering the 2007 season, his 11th in the

NFL, he had

a shot at breaking all-time NFL records for career receptions and touchdowns at

his

position. To do that, he needed top performances in every game. Mr.

knew he

was out on a limb. " I was like, 'I'm going to look like a fool if this doesn't

work out,' " he

says.

Mr. joined a handful of elite athletes who have put the vegan diet to

the test,

either for their health or because they oppose using animals as food. But he was

the first

pro-football superstar to try. And the first to fail.

Kansas City Chief Tight End Tony shows us how to make high protein

vegan

shakes that actually taste good. (Jan. 24)

There's no evidence a vegan diet can improve an athlete's performance, says

Nieman, a professor of health and exercise at Appalachian State University. His

1988

study of vegetarian runners found they ran as well as their meat-eating rivals

but no

better. Although the vegetarian athletes in his study also ate eggs and dairy

foods, he

says, " there is scientific evidence that veganism, when done right, won't hurt

performance. " But, he adds, there is only anecdotal evidence that it can help.

Professional athletes, especially NFL players, need thousands of calories a day.

Many enjoy

a high-protein, high-fat smorgasbord of steaks, chops, burgers, pizza, ice cream

and

beer. Mr. 's tight-end job requires him to push around monstrously sized

opponents. Occasionally, he gets to catch a pass. Mr. is famous for

combining

the brute power of an offensive lineman with the acrobatic skills of a nimble

receiver. " My

biggest thing is strength, " he says. " If you lose that strength you get your

butt kicked. "

Experts say athletes in training need as much as twice the protein of an average

person to

rebuild muscle. Their bodies also require a big dose of minerals and vitamins,

as well as

the amino acids, iron and creatine packed into fish, meat and dairy foods. It's

fine to be a

vegan, says sports nutritionist and dietician , if you're willing to

work at it. " It's

harder to get calcium, harder to get protein, harder to get Vitamin D, harder to

get iron, "

she says. " You have to be committed. "

TRAINING AS A VEGAN

Read a Q & A with nutritionist Dorfman about training on a vegan diet.

DIETARY CHANGES

Compare the standard Chiefs training table menu to Tony 's daily diet.

" Skinny Bitch " co-author Kim Barnouin is working on another book called " Skinny

Bastard. " " We want men to know that you're not going to be some scrawny little

wimp if

you follow this diet, " she says. The book trashes meat, milk, eggs, cheese and

sodas,

saying men and women feel better and look better without them. " The more

athletes who

come forward and say, 'I'm doing this for my health,' the better, " she says.

Mr. had never heard of the vegan diet when he boarded a flight from New

York

to Los Angeles last spring, about a month before preseason training. His

seatmate turned

down most of the food offered in first class, and Mr. finally asked

why. The man

told Mr. about " The China Study, " a 2006 book by Cornell professor and

nutrition researcher T. Colin that claims people who eat mostly plants

have

fewer deadly diseases than those who eat mostly animals. The evidence was drawn

from

diet surveys and blood samples of 6,500 men and women from across China.

MAC DANZIG

Mac Danzig took a diet risk four years ago. The 28-year-old mixed martial-arts

fighter

had long wanted to spare animals by going vegan. But he was afraid his trainers

were

right: that he'd lose to stronger opponents. Last month, on a diet of brown-rice

protein,

beans, soy, nuts and vegetables, Mr. Danzig defeated the last of his challengers

in Spike

TV's " The Ultimate Fighter. " Kim Barnouin, co-author of the vegan best-seller

" Skinny

Bitch, " says she loves the " Ultimate Fighter " show and cheered Mr. Danzig's win.

When

fight fans learned Mr. Danzig was a vegan, some said they didn't think he'd have

the

strength, or the stomach, to conquer the ultra-violent sport, which combines

kick-boxing

and wrestling. " It's about animal rights, " Mr. Danzig says, " not human rights. "

Mr. was intrigued. Earlier in the year, a bout with Bell's Palsy, a

temporary facial

paralysis, had focused his attention on health. He bought the book, and after

reading the

first 40 pages, he says, was convinced animal foods led to chronic illness. He

was an

unlikely convert. Mr. , who grew up in Southern California, says

cheeseburgers

were his favorite food. But he quit them, substituting fruits, nuts and

vegetables. At

restaurants, he ordered pasta with tomato sauce.

Three weeks later, he walked into the weight room at the Chiefs' training

facility and got a

shock. The 100-pound dumbbells he used to easily throw around felt like lead

weights. " I

was scared out of my mind, " he says. Standing on the scale, he learned he'd lost

10

pounds.

Mr. considered scrapping the diet altogether and returning to the

Chiefs'

standard gut-busting menu. First, though, he called Mr. , who put him in

touch

with Jon Hinds, himself a vegan and the former strength coach for the Los

Angeles

Clippers basketball team. Mr. Hinds suggested plant foods with more protein.

SALIM STOUDAMIRE

Trainers for the Atlanta Hawks worried when shooting guard Salim Stoudamire

decided to

eat vegan at the end of the National Basketball Association season in 2006.

Although the

diet left him craving chicken, Mr. Stoudamire says, his biggest challenge was

convincing

coaches and teammates he could still perform on the court. Team managers forced

Mr.

Stoudamire onto a scale each morning of preseason training and wrote down his

weight.

After holding steady at 181 pounds, the bosses got off his back. Mr. Stoudamire

says he

felt better, and that his performance this season improved. So far, none of his

teammates

have joined him. " They all look at me like I'm crazy, " he says.

The Chiefs' team nutritionist, Mitzi Dulan, a former vegetarian athlete, did not

believe that

was enough. With the team's prospects and Mr. 's legacy at stake, she

persuaded

the tight-end to incorporate small amounts of meat into his plant diet. Just no

beef, pork

or shellfish, he said; only a few servings of fish and chicken a week.

Teammates nicknamed him China Study and razzed Mr. if he missed a

block. But

he wasn't ready to give up his new diet completely. After a preseason practice,

he

accompanied Mr. Hinds to learn a skill he believed as important as blocking

techniques:

how to shop for groceries. Mr. Hinds showed him nutritious fish oils and how to

pick out

breads dense with whole grains, nuts and seeds. " The best bread for you, " says

Mr. Hinds,

" is if I hit you with it, it hurts. " Mr. also learned how to make the

fruit and

vegetable shake he drinks each morning. He stocked his pantry with tubs of soy

protein

powder and boxes of organic oatmeal; soy milk and Brazilian acai juice crowded

the

fridge. His favorite dessert became banana bread topped with soy whipped cream

from

the vegan cafe near his home in Orange County's Huntington Beach.

Mr. soon recovered his lost pounds and strength, but prospects for a

record-

breaking season were still in doubt. The team lost its starting quarterback,

Trent Green, in

a trade, and the Chiefs' star running back was tied up in a contract dispute.

As the season progressed, the team lost more games than it won. But Mr.

managed to stick to his diet and hold onto the football. He broke the touchdown

record

before midseason and was within reach of the career reception record. " I was

like, 'OK, this

is working,' " he says. " I have so much more energy when I'm out there. " His

wife, October

, was astonished her husband could play the season without ordering a

single

cheeseburger. " I thought he'd cave, " she says.

Mr. entered the final game against the New York Jets needing four

catches to

surpass the record held by former tight-end Sharpe. The contest turned

into a

sluggish defensive struggle with the Chiefs trailing the Jets 7 to 3. Still, Mr.

made three receptions. With 2 minutes and 29 seconds left in the third quarter,

Chiefs

quarterback Brodie Croyle was fleeing defenders when he threw a 9-yard pass to

Mr.

, who scampered for a first down and a spot in the NFL record book.