‘I Ate Like A Vegan Weightlifter For A Day’

Merle O’Neal, known on YouTube for her fun plant-based food and lifestyle content, recently shared a video depicting her eating like a weightlifter for a day. In the video, she draws inspiration from vegan personal trainer Bianca Taylor and bodybuilder Tori Washington, whose diets she references through Taylor’s meal breakdown and a separate interview on Jillian Barry’s channel. The aim is to hit 120 grams of protein on a fully plant-based diet – all while emphasizing the importance of fiber, balance, and how food makes you feel.

O’Neal doesn’t promote strict tracking but wants to better understand how to fuel workouts and recover well. This day of eating includes high-protein, high-fiber meals built from whole ingredients. Along the way, she shares her honest reactions, meal tips, and a few lessons learned.

Please note: this video is intended as fun recipe inspiration, not diet advice. The vast majority of people don’t need anywhere near this much protein.

A vegan weightlifter diet

Overnight oats with hemp, chia, and peanut butter

Breakfast kicks off with overnight oats – a protein-packed and fiber-rich meal. The base includes half a cup of dry oats, chia seeds, hemp seeds, powdered peanut butter, soy milk, and vegan yogurt. Hemp seeds contribute complete protein and added fiber.

She uses her own garden strawberries and raspberry yogurt to round out the bowl. While it may not look pretty, she says, “That’s really tasty” and adds that she would make a batch of them for the week. The total protein? 31 grams.

Peanut butter-stuffed dates: A sweet snack

For her first snack, O’Neal tries peanut butter-stuffed dates. She admits she’s never had them before but has seen them all over Pinterest and raw vegan food blogs. The verdict: delicious but intensely sweet. “Really good, but damn that’s sweet,” she says. She recommends freezing them or turning them into a dessert with dark chocolate.

Sticky tofu with brown rice and green beans

Lunch is inspired by Bianca Taylor’s sticky tofu meal. O’Neal adapts it with her own tofu brand – one block contains 75 grams of protein. She cooks half, which still brings 35 grams of protein to the plate. Alongside it: brown rice and lightly boiled green beans.

She describes the meal as “a beautiful, beautiful plate of food” and praises its simplicity and meal-prep potential. She tops the tofu with a homemade sticky sauce using soy sauce, garlic, and chili. This dish, she notes, could easily yield two or three servings.

Pre-workout: Peanut butter and jelly rice cakes

Before her workout, O’Neal tries rice cakes with peanut butter and jelly. While they pack in about 10 grams of protein from the peanut butter, she finds the rice cakes themselves unappealing.

“To hell with this – you don’t need to do the rice cakes unless you love rice cakes,” she says. Instead, she suggests spreading the toppings on bread or simply skipping the rice cake altogether.

Grain bowl with lentils, rice, roasted veg, and fava bean tofu

Dinner is built around fava bean tofu – a soy-free option with 16 grams of protein per serving and zero fat or carbs. The bowl includes brown rice, lentils, roasted broccoli, onion, sweet potato, and avocado.

She says the texture of the tofu is “a little more mushy than tofu” but still good. The overall meal is vibrant, hearty, and balanced. “This is like the entire food pyramid minus the meat and dairy in one,” she says. With fiber, protein, fat, and carbs all accounted for, it’s a complete plant-based dinner.

Throughout the day, O’Neal highlights the versatility of vegan meals and the ease of hitting protein goals with whole foods. This experiment shows how a vegan weightlifter’s diet can be practical, delicious, and fiber-rich – no powders required.

You can find more of Merle O’Neal’s recipes and videos on her YouTube channel.

Read more: ‘What I Eat After Running 50km As A Vegan’