my foray into vegetarianism

[Dtergent]

^ah yes I forgot to mention I'd picked up a little avacado. What do you mix them with? Or you just eat'em plain?

My favorite thing to do with avocados is mash them with a bit of roasted onions, put a dash of soy sauce, and finely chopped basil.

You can slather sandwiches with that, you won't regred it.

Of course, avocados and a bit of salt are just as wonderful, if you're lazy.

 

[KStoner6tb]

Thanks Belarki and 'terg


I was reading on how one may be lacking vitamin B12 on a vegan diet(and possibly B6?) Do yall just take a B complex vitamin daily to make up for this?


Are there any other vitamins/nutrients I'll need to supplement to the diet to keep normal levels? Thanks

 

[belarki]

No worries, yeh B12 is the one to watch out for (and iron, but to a lesser degree for males). If you're concerned ask your GP and get B12 shots every now and then. Eating a lot of green leafy veges and as varied a diet as possible will keep you healthy. Try to get some brazil nuts every now and then for selenium too.

You're into your weights, do you take creatine? I think it's naturally found most in meat and I've been looking at taking it myself as a supplement but never gotten around to it...

Avocados are awesome. I like halving them, pouring a little Worcestershire sauce (I have found a vegan one without anchovie in it) and eating it with a spoon, or grilled on toast with some paprika, basil, chopped tomato and salt :D

Another tidbit of advice is to not rely on fake-meat products. They're expensive, usually not amazingly nutritious, and not really that tasty. Instead start looking at cuisines that have a long history of vegetarian cooking such as middle eastern, north african, indian etc. Spice up your life a little

 

[Changed]

I guess it has been about 3 months now... My new reflections:

-I pretty much feel better than ever. After I eat I never feel tired or bloated or sick, etc... Even eating a calorie restricted diet, I have enough energy to run a few miles a day and workout as well.

-My diet has progressed somewhat: I typically eat raw oatmeal + fat free Greek yogurt + honey for breakfast. The yogurt has 22g protein per serving. For brunch, I typically have a piece of fruit: a banana or a grapefruit. Lunch may be a natural peanut butter sandwich + honey, and some whole wheat organic cereal. Pre-dinner meal usually involves a bean salad or some homemade french fries (potato + olive oil + spices) Dinner is usually my biggest meal (probably not the best thing in the world): quinoa, couscous, protein-plus wheat pasta, brown rice, homemade pizza, butternut squash soup. Usually throw in some broccoli and carrots.

I realize I should inject some variety, but cannot afford to right now.

-I take 2 multi-vitamins a day + flaxseed oil.

-I've also been drinking two or three cups of green tea a day. I find that it stimulates + suppresses hunger + makes me feel good after drinking it.


Overall, I'm enjoying the release from meat. I hope I can only improve my diet as money becomes more plentiful!

 

[KStoner6tb]

3 things I've noticed since the change:

1) HELLO mr. Fiber nice to see you again...aka I've got to figure out something to do about this gas!! I went from eating pretty much 90% meat/eggs, so is my body just adjusting to all the fiber, or is it going to stay like this? It is seriously out of control. I'm looking to buy some beano to sprinkle on my beans tomrrow because I can't deal with this.

2) It's been right at a week, and I honestly feel not near as sluggish as I did before, especially in the morning.

3) Decreased libido. I'm assuming this is from a calorie drop off.



As I said, tomorrow will be one week. All in all I'm feelin good about it!

 

[Coolio]

I second creatine supplementation for vegetarians. Meat is the primary dietary source of creatine, and while it's not a vitamin your body sure does perform better with more creatine added.

 

[Coolio]

You should get used to the fiber eventually. Your digestive system is being colonized by different species and strains right now. Once it's adjusted you can eat beans 4 times a day without excess gas.

 

[KStoner6tb]

You're into your weights, do you take creatine? I think it's naturally found most in meat and I've been looking at taking it myself as a supplement but never gotten around to it...

I was never a big fan of creatine. It's always given me a soft, 'watery' look and i'm trying to cut down at the moment. Right now it's..

beta-Alanine(thanks red)
BCAA
Fish/flax oil
B12
tribulus

 

[clamjuice]

Im surprised i didnt see any mention of complete proteins. Beans on their own is not a complete protein. You need to combine your legumes with a whole grain in order to make up for the amino acids they do not contain. Same with nuts and seeds and grains. Also adding dairy in the mix can also complete the protein. So brown rice and beans, peas and whole wheat bread etc

http://diet-food-trends.suite101.com/article.cfm/complementing_protein_sources

 

[Coolio]

No you don't. "Complete proteins" don't matter. You don't need to eat every amino acid in every meal, as long as you get the essential ones on a regular basis.

There aren't any advantages to focusing on combining amino acid profiles for a meal.

There's no way you can eat a 2000 calorie diet and not get some of each essential amino acid.

 

[Dave]

Probably because the idea of having to eat a 'whole protein' at every meal is bunk. As long as your diet includes all essential amino acids over the course of a day, you'll be fine. Eating a variety of foods will accomplish this without having to worry about only eating beans with rice etc...

edit-- damn, too slow

 

[yougene]

3 things I've noticed since the change:

1) HELLO mr. Fiber nice to see you again...aka I've got to figure out something to do about this gas!! I went from eating pretty much 90% meat/eggs, so is my body just adjusting to all the fiber, or is it going to stay like this? It is seriously out of control. I'm looking to buy some beano to sprinkle on my beans tomrrow because I can't deal with this.

Doing a long soak and thoroughly cooking the beans would take care of the problem.

 

[yougene]

Another tidbit of advice is to not rely on fake-meat products. They're expensive, usually not amazingly nutritious, and not really that tasty. Instead start looking at cuisines that have a long history of vegetarian cooking such as middle eastern, north african, indian etc. Spice up your life a little

I like making my own "meat" patties out of mashed beans, bread crumbs, and vegetables. So much better.

 

[clamjuice]

I didnt say you had to combine them with every meal... It was more directed at those who think soy is the be all and end all of vegetarianism, which is quite a few. more those just starting out.

Besides i cant see any disadvantages to food combining. eating some tofu and rice is obviously going to be better than eating just tofu or rice on their own. Some people dont understand that.

 

[Coolio]

Uh, you're wrong again. Tofu is high in fiber, protein, calcium, and such. Rice, even brown rice, is devoid or low in nutrition and has a high glycemic index. Eating tofu is better than eating tofu + rice.

Rice is ok if you're too poor to just eat tofu.

 

[clamjuice]

Uh, you're wrong again. Tofu is high in fiber, protein, calcium, and such. Rice, even brown rice, is devoid or low in nutrition and has a high glycemic index. Eating tofu is better than eating tofu + rice.

Rice is ok if you're too poor to just eat tofu.

Not sure where you got that idea from. Brown rice is a good source of carbohydrates and lots of other good stuff. As read here.

Also a link showing that whole grains may actually be beneficial in lowering your chances of insulin resistance straight from the american diabetes association. here.

 

[Coolio]

Carbohydrates aren't nutrition. They cause insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome; even things like alzheimer's and heart disease are probably caused by the inflammation caused by blood glucose regulation issues from eating carbohydrate laden meals and beverages. The less carbohydrates you eat, the better. That's where the idea came from.

Rice, like potatoes, or wheat, are just harmful to human health even when eaten in whole, unprocessed form. Unless your bodyfat % is down to 5% it's never healthy to eat these types of low fiber grains or starchy vegetables. There are way more nutritious, high fiber alternatives in the vegetable kingdom.

Carbohydrate heavy foods are just cheap filler, not nutritive.

 

[SaintJude]

I don't see anything on the front page about vegetarianism, so I figured I'd post my observations of the lifestyle thus far...

I've been a vegetarian for almost a month now. I came to the conclusion that I should cut out meat during a sudden revelation while reading about Gandhi's life. A month ago I was in a rather bleak situation: gaining weight, not growing mentally or spiritually. I decided the food I ingested would have a large impact on my lifestyle as a whole--and it has.

For about a week I thought about eating meat. Chicken was a real staple of my diet before. After a week, I started to look at the meat my family cooked and was really disgusted. My father packs a large lunch for his physically demanding job and often takes with him a large hamburger, some kielbasa, and a sandwich with lunch meats. Every day I'd see his hamburger cooking in the pan and all I remember is the fat pooling up--really disgusting after not having eaten meat for a week.

I've been eating mostly whole foods so far. Potatoes, oatmeal, green beans, carrots, lettuce and broccoli are my staples. I've found that eating whole, healthy foods is extremely economical as well: I've spent $40 for the month's share of food. My friends regularly go out and buy Chipotle--at six dollars a burrito, they are getting one unhealthy meal for $2 more than a large can of oats--which lasts for several dozen meals.

Overall, I've really enjoyed the feeling of being a vegetarian. I've been heckled by friends for my decision to convert, but most are intrigued and curious about it. Overall, I feel a lot better than I did before. This makes sense considering I'm not ingesting the skin of another mammal! I encourage (but don't implore) you to take a shot at vegetarianism if you are looking for a change.

First off, kudos to you for taking a leap towards something you believe in. I'm glad it was being a veg head, but taking a stand on anything you feel is worth changing for builds character.

I imagine the disgust with meat is very common to newly initiated veg heads. I remember my family going to a steak house and it was like finding out about the matrix. You just feel so ignorant; yes you know where the meat you were eating came from, but you never really thought about it. I mean, sat down and really understood the big picture. My moment of revelation came from my GF in college. We were at the beach and a jellyfish had been swept ashore. I took a stick and started poking holes in it. I mean it was a fucking jellyfish, it is about as low as it goes on the totem pole of life. Who knows if it even feels pain. The point she made though is, it doesn't matter. Do you respect life or don't you? If you don't have to kill another living thing to survive, why do it? Smart girl, I ended up marrying her. And yes, if I didn't have to kill the cute little fucking broccoli sprout to survive I wouldn't do that either.

I'm curious about the heckling you have received. So far I haven't met any that I haven't been able to deal with. More often than not it is from someone who never thought about it and is prone to needing to be part of the mainstream. Generally I can call them out by asking them what takes more courage? Falling into line or taking a stand for what you believe in and beating back the inevitable criticism that comes with stepping out of line. Most women don't give you shit for being a veg head. As for guys, even if they don't understand it most guys can respect the viewpoint of taking a stand even if they don't understand why you are doing it.

One piece of advice, do what you like, but my personal preference is to never talk about it to anyone who doesn't expressly ask for detailed reasons for doing what you do. We get a bad name from people who try to preach the vegetarianism like it was a religion.

Anyway, if it wasn't painfully obvious I'm a veg head for moral, not health reasons. Although, with the amount of drugs I have run though my system I'm sure it only helps. Anyway, be glad you are doing it now rather than 14 years ago when I made the switch. Back then it was fairly rare in the US. I remember going to burger king and ordering a burger with no meat. The girl at the register looked at me like I was insane. "You want the bun, the cheese, the ketchup, the tomato, the onion, BUT NOT THE BURGER?!?!" If I wasn't so god damn hungry I would have waited until I was home, but I patiently explained it to her again. Hell, now you can go to restaurants and actually have choices for what to eat! Anyway, congrats I think it is a healthly lifestyle to choose both morally and physically.

Cheers,
Jason

 

[Dave]

Carbohydrates aren't nutrition. They cause insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome; even things like alzheimer's and heart disease are probably caused by the inflammation caused by blood glucose regulation issues from eating carbohydrate laden meals and beverages. The less carbohydrates you eat, the better. That's where the idea came from.

Rice, like potatoes, or wheat, are just harmful to human health even when eaten in whole, unprocessed form. Unless your bodyfat % is down to 5% it's never healthy to eat these types of low fiber grains or starchy vegetables. There are way more nutritious, high fiber alternatives in the vegetable kingdom.

Carbohydrate heavy foods are just cheap filler, not nutritive.

I was with you until you said this. I'm going to have to respectfully disagree with you here. You don't need to combine protein sources, and I laugh at the idea of rice as a significant source of protein, but unless you really like ketosis you do need carbs. You should check out The China Study sometime Coolio-- it's a layperson-level 'translation' of a 20 years of comparative studies of traditional Chinese diets to the North American average diet. In short: North Americans eat too much protein, and calories in general for their activity level. Way too much.

The fact of the matter is that unless you're a) completely sedentary (as in bedridden), b) cutting, or c) a metabolic freak there is no reason to cut carbohydrates out of your diet, and you are doing harm by doing so. The key is to maintain your intake at levels appropriate to the amount of activity you do throughout the day. Office worker whose only exercise is walking to and from their desk/elevator/car/couch/fridge? Needs very few carbs. Training heavily for a sporting event? Gotta have plenty of good carbs, or you'll crash and burn.

Personally, I fall in-between, and moderate my carb intake when I'm on a maintenance diet. If it drops too low, I feel lousy, and don't stop feeling lousy even after I'm 'supposed' to be over the carb 'addiction'. Ketosis is bad for you, especially if you need to be able to think clearly for work, and your body lets you know this.

SaintJude-- I think all vegetarians have had some amount of heckling, but you're right. The people doing it are either trying to get a reaction or ignorant (wilfully or otherwise). And I like the analogy with religion. I came across a statement a while ago, which works for both:

Religion is like your genitals: it's okay to enjoy them, it's okay to be proud of them, but unless someone specifically asks to, you shouldn't bring them out for anyone to see.

 

[yougene]

I think the jury is still out on that one. A study showed that you don't HAVE to have your amino acids at the same time to benefit from them. This study doesn't tell us anything about the ideal way of consuming proteins.

It's not practical to build rigid diets like this anyways. I live by a rule of thumb. Variety in small frequent meals. Sometimes I combine my proteins and sometimes I don't. Even if carbs do turn out to be bad, I'm rarely causing insulin spikes by keeping meals small.