Vegan

[sweetdream]

Never in my life would I ever even consider this, but after ready a chapter in the Skinny Bitch book that goes in gruesome detail and quotes employee workers at slaughter houses it left me in tears.

Anyone on here vegan/vegetarian? any insight? i would greatly appreciate it

[CF-OC_gal]

LOL, I thought by the title you were calling out the poster here on DF named Vegan!

(I sure would like to see him/her profiled in the newsletter someday. He/she has been around about as much as Merrida was....and about as unique)

I hate the thought of mass production slaughter but I hate the thought of not eating meat more.

[minime]

my thoughts exactly CF-oc gal

I love meat.

you can make better choices such as free range chickens, grass fed beef etc. of course they are still slaughtered but at least their lives are spent in more humane conditions. It gets quite expensive though if you eat a lot of meat.

Although I know many people survive well on a vegan diet, it would be extremely difficult to get enough protein, especially if you are opposed to eating soy which has some controversy about it.

[sweetdream]

minime- in regards to protein- is it a proven fact that we need protein THAT much? people who work out always seem to put the emphasis on getting enough protein, but I have never heard of anyone suffering from a protein decifiency

they say in the book the average person only needs "18-60 grams per day", so why is it that a person who works out- minime I think you told me I needed around 100 grams- always say they need more protein in their diet?

I understand that the protein builds back up the muscle that has been torn down, but wouldn't the body do that naturally over time?

also states that "vegetarian diet provides twice the amount of protein needed daily" (cousens, gabriel m.d.)

[EliteLift]

Originally Posted by sweetdream

I understand that the protein builds back up the muscle that has been torn down, but wouldn't the body do that naturally over time?

also states that "vegetarian diet provides twice the amount of protein needed daily" (cousens, gabriel m.d.)

how much time do you want to take in order to fully heal muscle? The body is great at making use of what little is available, but if you can recover in half the time by eating more protien, thus alowing you to work your muscles more frequently why wouldn't you?

when you say the book states a vegatarian diet will give you twice the protien you need daily, but then what is a vegetarian diet?? I could only eat one bowl of salad all day and that would be considerd vegatarian, and I would be malnurished..

in reality the vegetarian diet has the potential to give your body twice or three times ect the amount of minimal daily protien needs, but that really takes perfection to a whole new level. saddly most are malnurished with this form of diet because of how much patience it takes.

I have nothing against a vegatarian diet. I just think if one is choosing to be vegatarian they should really reseach it before just going for it.

[Lady C]

Protein is protein. It does not matter which source (plant or animal) it comes from as long as you get all essential amino acids. Mixing veggies with grains will provide complete proteins. Variey will make sure there are no deficiencies.

SD try a vegetarian (leave in dairy and eggs) for a few weeks and report back how you feel. The book you are quoting is probably not from a training perspective so read some of those quotes with a grain of salt. You do need more than 18-60 grams of protein if your muscles are being constantly broken down and recovering (for someone your size 100 grams is a good target). Track all your foods and you will see how much protein comes from veggies especially legumes.

[sweetdream]

Thanks for all the feed back.

Elitelife--I do worry that I will not get enough needed vitamins/minerals, ect but then again if you know how to cook it will be easy and since cooking runs in my family I am sure able to follow a recipe. Being a vegetarian does NOT mean I will be eating salads all day, everyday. If I did I would wither away.

I have decided to go ahead and try vegetarianism. The only time I really do eat meat is dinner and so I do not think this will have a significant affect on my gains from working out. I will leave in dairy for the time being because I do get a lot of protein from egg beaters in the morning and use whey products along with yogurt and cottage cheese for post workouts.


I think I am going to be ok and for the emotional distress that I went through last night it will be worth every minute to research!

Again, I appreciate the responses and am glad everyone has put forth an opinion

[LiftGirl]

Originally Posted by sweetdream

they say in the book the average person only needs "18-60 grams per day",

Does this 18-60g apply to an active person exercising regularly?

There are two things I'd like to share that others shared with me. Not scientific but interesting nonetheless.

One person was a former karate buddy, a big strong guy who banged hard in his younger days. He tried a vegetarian eating lifestyle and after some time noticed that his bruises took a lot longer to heal after a bang-them-up dojo workout.

One time I was at the grocery store on a day that the pharmacy department sponsored a blood test screening day. I started talking to the person who was in charge of the testing. One thing I clearly recall from that conversation is that every older woman he tested who had practiced vegetarianism/veganism for a long time (is that correct - also I can't remember which or if it was both) had early signs of osteoporosis. I was shocked my his statement.

I ate sirloin steak for dinner last night and it was darn good. Discover for yourself what works for you. You are still young and and self-discovery is good.

[cyclistrob]

Interesing you bring this up sweetdream. Just recently I've become a vegetarian, again. I too was eating meat once a day and while cleaning my room I found an old peta video. After watching that I made the decision to cut out those 8 oz of meat. I was a vegetarian before and as for the insight, it's really easy. Just make sure you're getting in enough calories and as lady c said, you can get plenty of your protein from legumes.

[minime]

there is a big difference between being a vegetarian who eats dairy and eggs and being a vegan who eats no animal product whatsoever.

It would be easy enough to get all the protein you need from just eggs and dairy, but the difficulty in keeping a balanced diet as a strict vegan would be of a high level.

It is up to you of course, try it out and see how you feel!

[Gooseneck]

To be a vegan sounds good in theory, but I'd like to be able to stand and hold 5 pounds without passing out. I'll stick to my meat diet.

[sweetdream]

I am young and am willing to self-discover myself

I think most people who hear others getting involved in a vegetarian diet (one who just doesn't eat meat) or those who are vegans (no animal products what-so-ever) automatically think of them indulging in salads for the rest of their small, helpless, weak lives.

I know that my life without meat can't affect me that much. I do NOT eat enough meat for me to consider that my health is in danger. On average I ate meat once per day sometimes every other day, depending on the parentals dinner that day.

Honestly, I would like everyone to take a look at this video (meat.org) or go to vegout.com and look at some of the stories that are told about how unsanitary and disgusting the meat industry and their slaughter houses even are..
did you know that all of these animals are on antiobiotics-that we end up eating, if they are sick- we still eat them, if they are half dead and fall off the slaughtering line into the pile of bile and vomit and spit from other animals and humans that they put them back on anyways and we eat that too?

seriously not trying to piss anyone off or make anyone feel uncomfortable because now I am a minority who is a vegetarian... but to me, it all seems like what we eat really isn't making us healthy. Yeah, sure, animal meat is high in protein but it is also so high in other contaminants that we just refuse to take this into account as we shove it into our mouths.

gooseneck- i will take your challenge and say that I will STILL be able to squat 95lbs, even more, by the end of my 2 weeks as a vegetarian. I guarantee that I will not wither away and that I can and will maintain my current weight through other source of food other than meat alone

pierini- i dont see how someone who is a vegetarian can obtain osteoperosis, maybe an uneducated vegan but not vegetarian.

Another opinion of mine is that I am a 24 yr old girl who has gone through college and gotten her bachelors degree and if I allow myself to wither away because I am not smart about what I eat with no meat in my diet than maybe I am not as smart as I ever thought I was to begin with.

[sweetdream]

Originally Posted by LiftGirl

Does this 18-60g apply to an active person exercising regularly?

I'm pretty sure that's for a non active human range... because I found this...

"A good recommendation for active individuals is to try and consume one gram of protein per pound of body weight. Sedentary individuals will need slightly less than this, and dieting individuals slightly more. The primary reason for this is because when you are on a lower calorie level, there will be fewer calories available for energy and the body could turn to using muscle tissue for energy instead. This would cause a loss of muscle mass, which is something that every dieter should try and avoid." this was taken from
http://www.weightlossforgood.co.uk/n...tein/index.htm

again- I am definitaly up to this challenge and even am very interested in doing some research about all of this- I wish I was still in school- wouldn't it be a good thesis--the calorie needs of an active vegetarian versus an active carnivore?? hmmm..

[CF-OC_gal]

SD, you can eat a vegetarian or even vegan diet successfully and get all your nutrients. Others here who have responded are obviously not the ones to support and guide you since they don't follow it.

In your research, look up sports competitors and successful people who are vegetarian. There are many.

There is a little thing called bio-availablilty when it comes to protein. That is how most people judge the quality of it. Cursor has made some good constructive posts about this here on DF - it's worth digging around for them through searching.

My sister is a vegetarian at first because of cancer and second because of her PETA beliefs. I think she's loony but she is alive and according to her doctor, because of her lifestyle.

If you are looking for social acceptance and found working out alienating, wait until you match vegan eating with a passion for fitness and food industry politics. You will will find yourself alone more often than not, but then thats what personal values are all about - sacrifice.

You are a part of this community no matter how you choose to live it, but I would not expect a lot of people rallying around you on this one. Here is a quiet "go for it" from this corner. I'd give it more than 2 weeks though. I think 6 months would be more like it for your body to get comfortable.