Today’s Wall Street Journal has an enlightening article about southern California-native and NFL star Tony Gonzalez called The 247 Pound Vegan. Yet, the Wall Street Journal’s idea of vegan is a little strange. Halfway through the piece, it’s revealed that Gonzalez eats fish and chicken a few times a week. I ask: since when is salmon vegan?

The piece is well-reported and it discusses the challenges faced by pro athletes who want to say no to a training table piled high with steaks, eggs, sausage, chicken, and just about any other type of animal protein you can imagine. It even has video of Gonzalez making his favorite breakfast smoothie with spinach, carrots, berries and Brazilian Acai and a Q&A with a nutritionist about how to train on a vegan diet.

I’m not interested in dissing Gonzalez because, according to the article, he really wanted to do something healthy for himself and the planet. But apparently those 100-pound dumbbells he used to wield with ease became a scary challenge after being on a plant-based diet for a couple weeks. Nutritionists he consulted said just a little bit of animal protein would give him the amino acids, creatine and iron he needed to keep his career on track.

The bigger point to be made here is that those of us who are uber-athletes (and I don’t put myself in that category) have to be really mindful of what we eat in order to get the power we need to perform at our peak. Check out this Yoga Journal article that demonstrates how vegan athletes and Ashtanga yogis are making a plant-powered diet work for them.