Any vegans? Anybody try it?

Also diet alone won't solve your problems. You need to exercise more too. I intend to do that once I get rested up.

Tying my shoes is easier with the weight loss. I hadn't realized I was leaning to one side to clear the belly when I tied my shoes. Also I sleep better and wake up less which I've been told is because there's less pressing on my diaphragm.

And anyway for some strange reason if you go Vegan it appears you also have to vote Democrat and I can't do that any more.

I've been vegetarian for a few months now, my girlfriend has been for a year, and my sister for probably 7 or more years. We are all from South Dakota where being vegetarian is actually controversial! You wouldn't believe how upset people will get over it. I have considered going vegan to cut more fat and to try and get the shredded look but my dad worked for a dairy my entire life and I don't know if I could stop drinking milk. I should cut down on my eggs, or at least switch to egg whites, 6 a day isn't good for cholesterol.

I've been dating a Dietetics student for nearly 4 years now. I have a feeling that I'll end up being mostly vegetarian in a few years simply for the health aspects of it. That is not to say we won't indulge, but really meat more than 1-2 meals a week probably just will not happen.

Joshua wrote: I've been vegetarian for a few months now, my girlfriend has been for a year, and my sister for probably 7 or more years. We are all from South Dakota where being vegetarian is actually controversial! You wouldn't believe how upset people will get over it. I have considered going vegan to cut more fat and to try and get the shredded look but my dad worked for a dairy my entire life and I don't know if I could stop drinking milk. I should cut down on my eggs, or at least switch to egg whites, 6 a day isn't good for cholesterol.

Cut the carbs, not the fat, or the only thing you'll be shredding is cheese. Or not, what with the vegan thing. On second thought, that joke really doesn't work.

Im vegetarian 23 hours of the day, thats pretty good right? The other hour im eating :)

In reply to Javelin:

Give up beef? Are you insane, man?

Ive had a few of those vegan burgers, the ones made with black beans or whatever. Or maybe those are Vegetarian? Mostly by accident, but I thought they were pretty good.

Ive actually considered buying them occasionally. Would probably taste good stacked with a real beef patty.

A lot of people do it for political reasons, "kindness to animals" reasons, or a host of other things. And that's fine. But the scientific reality of it is the human body was designed to run most efficiently on a good balance of carbs, protein and fats. The best source of protein? Lean meat. You can find workarounds, but the body functions best using lean meat.

Cole_Trickle wrote: Mrs Cole Trickle is. I eat everything. I try her stuff sometimes and every once in a while it is good. I just hate spending triple the amount at Whole Foods, which usually leads to us grocery shopping separate. (but with my money...)

We do all our basic shopping at Whole foods anyway and we get our meat, eggs etc from local organic pasture fed farmers so there's no penalty there, a savings in fact.

Also I get tired of the 'whole paycheck' thing. When ever I've cross shopped organic stapels at Whole foods and Meijer or other large stores Whole foods always comes out the same or cheaper. Yes the over processed crap that contains 25 addatives is cheaper, but I wont touch that anyway.

Klayfish wrote: A lot of people do it for political reasons, "kindness to animals" reasons, or a host of other things. And that's fine. But the scientific reality of it is the human body was designed to run most efficiently on a good balance of carbs, protein and fats. The best source of protein? Lean meat. You can find workarounds, but the body functions best using lean meat.

On the other hand, I believe we are the only meat eating species in the world that doesn't have some sort of fangs....

wrote: On the other hand, I believe we are the only meat eating species in the world that doesn't have some sort of fangs....

I dunno, I've seen some people with some pretty big cannine teeth! And haven't you been watching all the vampire movies out over the last few years, Halflight or something

Appleseed wrote: As long as you both are not, or don't become, militant dicks to meat eaters, I say go for it.

This.

I was in a long term relationship with a vegetarian girl. She didn't mind that I ate meat sometimes, though she did mock me a little for it.

She went vegan, for about a month, then said (paraphrased) "berkeley this E36 M3, I can't live eating this garbage". I think the killer was the muffins. She couldn't figure out how to make a vegan muffin that wasn't a dry, dusty, flavorless mess to save her life.

Adrian_Thompson wrote:

wrote: On the other hand, I believe we are the only meat eating species in the world that doesn't have some sort of fangs....

... And haven't you been watching all the vampire movies out over the last few years, Halflight or something

Uh, no.

Klayfish wrote: A lot of people do it for political reasons, "kindness to animals" reasons, or a host of other things. And that's fine. But the scientific reality of it is the human body was designed to run most efficiently on a good balance of carbs, protein and fats. The best source of protein? Lean meat. You can find workarounds, but the body functions best using lean meat.

Not really... The human body evolved to be one of the best omnivores in the world. Compared to most animals our diet is ridiculously varied, and we can subsist on wildly different subsets of a huge spectrum. Inuit traditionally ate nearly all meat, and vegetarianism has been predominant in (some) Hindu & Buddhist cultures for thousands of years. They both seemed to get on fine.

There is no one single "ideal" human diet, and because we're smarter & more developed than all the other animals, we have the luxury of choosing what we eat. What our various cultures eat now is on average far and away the best, most useful, most efficient food in human history.

That's why I can choose to be vegetarian. I don't have to stick to the diet of our ancestors¹ anymore because the food that's available today is better than anything they ever had. I also don't have to spend 3/4 of my waking hours acquiring said food. Yay progress.

(¹ not that it matters now, but human ancestors were all vegetarian until about 2 mya. Most of the other great apes still are.)

Osterkraut wrote: That said, vegans and the like seem to eat less processed foods than the average chubbo, so I'm alright with them.

Well, it's not like like there's much of a choice.

Living with a vegetarian opened my eyes to lots of things. Like how, in most restaurants, it's damn near impossible to get vegetarian fare, let alone vegan. Salads don't count, salads are what you eat while you wait for the food to arrive. We frequented Indian and Mexican restaurants a lot. Po' societies know how to make good food without meat in it.

bravenrace wrote: On the other hand, I believe we are the only meat eating species in the world that doesn't have some sort of fangs....

Do primates' fanglets count? Chimpanzees eat monkeys and other animals.

I get the whole argument that our digestive systems are able to eat meat, and everything, but OTOH we're also a highly tool-using species, to the point where we use tools more than our own bodies. We're also highly adaptable. What our bodies are able to do is almost completely immaterial, we can work around that.

One of my wife's aquaintances through her veterinary colleagues out in the Seattle area ran a butcher's shop that was frequently hit by militant animal rights activists. Had to replace his storefront glass with lexan.

Don't piss off a butcher-- if they give in to the temptation, your body will never be found.

"Is that a vegetarian burger?"

"Why yes, they were"

Be careful giving up your place in the food chain...

I've heard some compelling reasons as to why both processed grains, cheeses, and sugars are the worst things in our diet. Bacon, despite being awesome, also has unnatural levels of sodium in it.

I'm a bit fan of the "Paleo Diet" as it combines quite a few different aspects of many modern diets, while still allowing you all the good stuff. Fruits, vegetables, and meat...lots of meat.

This isn't to say its advisable to eat nothing but prime rib every day, but I think many of us would be much healthier without grains, cheese and sugar.

Not trying to troll, I dont judge, this is just one of my favorite bumper stickers...

...we now return you to youre regularly scheduled, totally non judgemental thread

I literally eat meat 365 days a year. A day is not complete with some sort of meat.

I believe in moderation of all things and it's all good.

I could probably stand to cut some bread/pasta out of my diet, though. Trying to eat more brown rice instead.

Note: When i say i eat meat 365 days a week, over half of it is chicken. I gots to get my protein.

Jay wrote: Not really... The human body evolved to be one of the best omnivores in the world. Compared to most animals our diet is ridiculously varied, and we can subsist on wildly different subsets of a huge spectrum. There is no one single "ideal" human diet, and because we're smarter & more developed than all the other animals, we have the luxury of *choosing* what we eat. What our various cultures eat now is on average *far and away* the best, most useful, most efficient food in human history. That's why I can choose to be vegetarian. I don't have to stick to the diet of our ancestors¹ anymore because the food that's available today is better than anything they ever had. I also don't have to spend 3/4 of my waking hours acquiring said food. Yay progress.

Kinda of yes and no on this. I agree there isn't a single "ideal" diet. I also agree that we can subsit on wildly varied diets, history has shown all of this. But subsiting is not the same as what's most advantageous for human growth and development. There are studies upon studies supporting this. Doesn't mean the body can't grow without them, obviously it can. But in many vegetarian diets, you deprive the body of some necessary nutrients. Hence why a lot of vegetarians take supplements.

Guess I'm more old school on this topic. My wife and I are both into bodybuilding and nutrition. We subscribe to the school of balanced diet...fats, carbs and proteins. Don't go with any of the fad diets or any other trend.

Oh, and as for humans being smarter...well, I've met plenty of people who would be good counterpoints to that statement.

Klayfish wrote: A lot of people do it for political reasons, "kindness to animals" reasons, or a host of other things. And that's fine. But the scientific reality of it is the human body was designed to run most efficiently on a good balance of carbs, protein and fats. The best source of protein? Lean meat. You can find workarounds, but the body functions best using lean meat.

Have you talked to an RD (registered Dietitian) lately? Because this is largely incorrect. Besides that, the meat that you get nowadays--even lean meat--isn't nearly as nutritious as it should be.

Just saw this:

Klayfish wrote: Guess I'm more old school on this topic. My wife and I are both into bodybuilding and nutrition. We subscribe to the school of balanced diet...fats, carbs and proteins. Don't go with any of the fad diets or any other trend.

That would explain it. Yeah, if you're bodybuilding you don't wanna go without the meats.

I am almost a vegetarian. I only eat meat a couple of times a month.. and usually that is pork, fish, or chicken.

Klayfish wrote: Kinda of yes and no on this. I agree there isn't a single "ideal" diet. I also agree that we can subsit on wildly varied diets, history has shown all of this. But subsiting is not the same as what's most advantageous for human growth and development. There are studies upon studies supporting this. Doesn't mean the body can't grow without them, obviously it can. But in many vegetarian diets, you deprive the body of some necessary nutrients. Hence why a lot of vegetarians take supplements.

I agree that it's totally possible (and unfortunately common) to do vegetarian wrong, and then you're not gonna be healthy. You have to plan what you eat properly and respect that it's different from a meat-based system. But it's just as possible to get all your required nutrients from a full vegetarian diet - not an inferior workaround or anything like that, just another way of living.

Cutting out as much processed stuff, especially with flour and sugar is step one. Step two is getting a little exercise every day. Those two things should make you a one percenter in the health world, meat or no meat.

I have levels of vegetarianism in my mind. I try not to eat pork, because pigs are pretty much like really fat dogs that taste good. Would you eat your dog if it tasted good?

Beef is E36 M3ty meat healthwise, in general. Unless I buy the $9 a pound whole foods stuff, I don't eat it. Not sure about whether cows are too friendly to kill, like pigs.

I eat chicken in dishes but rarely by itself. Chickens are stupid. But the chicken industry is nasty. I've seen it firsthand.

I eat a good bit of seafood. I sometimes eat eggs. I drink almond milk with vanilla because it tastes a million times better than dairy milk. And I like cheese.