How Going Vegan Fueled Dotsie Bausch to an Olympic Medal
How Going Vegan Fueled Dotsie Bausch to an Olympic Medal
The retired professional cyclist shares how powerful plant-based eating can be for athletes.
With the Paris Olympics quickly approaching—the Games start on July 26th!—I’m thrilled to share that I recently interviewed Dotsie Bausch, a retired professional cyclist who won a silver medal at the 2012 London Olympic Games (and has eight US national championships, two Pan American gold medals, and a world record to boot).
Dotsie is the oldest athlete to have captured an Olympic medal in her cycling discipline, at age 40—and she credits the switch to a vegan diet for fueling her incredible athletic performance.
These days, Dotsie (also known as the Vegan Olympian on Instagram) works as the founder and executive director of Switch4Good, a nonprofit organization that aims to educate professional and amateur athletes, as well as the general public, about the benefits of ditching dairy and embracing a plant-based lifestyle. (You can read about the organization’s policy work here.)
I know that some of you already happen to be dairy-free, vegetarian, or vegan in addition to being gluten-free (for various reasons)—while others have expressed an interest in exploring a more heavily plant-based diet for the potential health benefits. That’s why I was so excited to connect with Dotsie and share her powerful story with you for inspiration!
Keep reading to learn about Dotsie’s surprising path to the Olympics, how going vegan helped her reach the podium, her favorite high-protein plant-based foods, and her tips for dipping your toe in the plant-based pond. (Note: There’s some brief discussion about eating disorders below.)
An unexpected path to the Olympics
Dotsie discovered a passion for the bike—which is what she won her Olympic medal on at the 2012 London Olympic Games—while healing from anorexia. Toward the end of her healing journey, Dotsie’s therapist encouraged her to pick an activity or sport where she could fully move her body in a healthy way again, something Dotsie had previously told her therapist was a goal of hers.
“I definitely had the part of anorexia that includes over-exercising,” says Dotsie. “I’d spend eight or nine hours in the gym, just hammering myself into nothing—but I really wanted to get to the point where I could healthily move my body again.”
She ended up picking the bike because she was living in California by that time and was amazed by how sunny and beautiful it was there year-round.
“I thought, ‘How can I experience the sunshine and the beauty and the wind in my face and be next to the coast and the mountains? What vehicle will take me to that?’” remembers Dotsie. She got a mountain bike, started riding it, and fell madly in love with it. About 14 and a half years later, she was on the Olympic podium.
Curiosity kept her in the sport for all those years. She may have been older than the rest of the competitors in her discipline, but Dotsie had a knack for cycling and wanted to see where she could take it. She did a bunch of races, including a few in Europe, and was noticed by the US National Team.
“This was untraditional in the world of elite sport—both coming back from that debilitating disease that almost took my life and also because I was an older age than people usually are when they start a sport, especially if they take it all the way to the Olympic Games,” says Dotsie.
How going vegan fueled Dotsie’s athletic performance
A couple of years before the Olympics, Dotsie decided to go vegan after having what she likes to call a “soul shift.” Growing up on a farm in Kentucky, Dotsie says she used to eat meat and dairy at almost every meal. But one day, she put two and two together: “I grew up on a farm and loved so many animals,” she says. “I thought to myself, ‘Why am I eating my friends?’”
Once she had that epiphany moment, the shift to a plant-based lifestyle was pretty simple. But it was certainly interesting timing for Dotsie’s career—she hadn’t made the Olympic team yet but was in the running. She didn’t quite know what effect this dietary change would have on her athletic performance.
“I already had a pretty healthy, vibrant, micronutrient-rich diet—I was an elite athlete, after all,” says Dotsie. “And I knew that I needed to eat a lot of fruits, vegetables, micronutrients, grains, nuts, and seeds—all of those yummy things that really do fuel us and help fight inflammation and oxidative stress and help us recover faster.” So, it was a matter of eating more of those foods as she removed animals and animal products, like dairy and eggs, from her plate.
Dotsie remembers thinking to herself that she knew where protein came from—and it wasn’t just from animals. Still, there was something in the back of her mind that had her wondering if she’d really be able to do it this way, “probably because I’d been sold the lie for so many years,” she says.
But something pretty amazing ended up happening when she went vegan. “It was to my surprise that I started repairing faster and recovering faster between workouts,” says Dotsie. She even went from lifting about 300 pounds on the inverted leg sled to lifting just under 600 pounds (while doing an impressive five sets of 30 reps!).
“We’ll never know if I would’ve been able to do that while eating animals—but we do know I did it on plants,” says Dotsie. “I think that helps with the misnomer that it can’t be done and that there’s not sufficient or quality protein in plants—there’s plenty of quality protein in plants.”
Breaking the plant-based protein myth
ICYMI, protein is made up of 20 amino acids. 11 of them are produced by your body, while nine (known as the essential amino acids) only come from food. When you eat something that contains all nine of these essential amino acids, this is considered a “complete protein.”
Dotsie notes that there’s a myth out there—particularly in the athlete space—that there aren’t complete proteins that are plant-based. “That’s not true,” she says. “There are at least 10, including quinoa, hemp, spirulina, tempeh, and buckwheat.”
Dotsie is a big fan of tempeh, which has a smoky and nutty flavor and a whopping 20 grams of protein per cup. “It’s so delicious, she says. “I like it for breakfast and usually eat two cups a day.”
Another favorite of Dotsie’s is lentils, which have 18 grams of protein per cup. “I like them because they’re so versatile,” she says. “I can bake with them and stuff them into brownies or muffins, and I can also eat them on top of salads or in soups.”
Other high-protein plant-based options Dotsie likes are edamame, which has 17 grams of protein per cup, and soy milk, which has 8 grams of protein per cup (the same exact amount of protein as cow’s milk, notes Dotsie).
Speaking of soy milk, Dotsie shares that Switch4Good partnered with David Goldman, RD, CSCS, chief science advisor for The Game Changers, on research that revealed no hormonal differences in men who exercised and drank cow's milk vs. soy milk. This research has helped debunk the myth that soy is an inferior (and unhealthy) protein source, she says.
“All of the nut butters are great too—I always have peanut butter, almond butter, walnut butter, all of them in the house,” adds Dotsie. “They are such a great tool before a workout because they’re easy on the gut.” She can easily eat a quick half peanut butter sandwich before she goes to the gym, she says.
Tips for embracing a plant-based lifestyle
Interested in going vegan or simply adding more plant-based foods to your plate? “There are all sorts of ways to try new things,” points out Dotsie. “So know yourself and know what might work for you.”
Some people like to go all in, while others may prefer to tiptoe into plant-based eating. “I know people who eat plant-based three times a week or once a day with one meal,” says Dotsie.
One thing Dotsie recommends is keeping a journal of what you eat and paying attention to what’s changing so you can figure out what works best for you. These changes may be especially apparent if you’re switching over from the standard American diet full of saturated fat.
“You may notice something significant as you’re eating more anti-inflammatory plant-based foods,” explains Dotsie. “You’re going to increase your blood flow, reduce your recovery time, and improve your respiratory function.”
Dotsie, who changed her entire diet overnight, noticed some of the benefits within a few weeks. This may be different for you depending on what route to plant-based eating you choose.
The bottom line: Adopting a dairy-free or plant-based lifestyle is a big change. Luckily, there are also loads of resources you can turn to for help, including Switch4Good’s website, which has a library of content, including recipes and meal plans.
“Going plant-based is a different way of thinking about eating than we’ve traditionally been taught growing up, so finding support is key,” says Dotsie.
Photos courtesy of Switch4Good & Dotsie Bausch
Great interview Christina.
Such a fun article!