Vegetarian diet..

[Richard]

How long have you been following the diet, have you had good results? I think it's important to stick with a set plan for a while and see how it affects you over a number of weeks. Then you can make changes and see the difference(s). The macronutrients look good to me in your diet.

 

If somebody posted an article about why eggs and milk should not be consumed due to health problems, would you read it? I feel like if you did, you could be more educated on the subject. Just having people on the forum say things like "don't eat them, they're unhealthy" probably won't convince you, but if you are willing to be educated, perhaps we can give you links which explain the points in detail.

[DarkFlames]

How long have you been following the diet, have you had good results? I think it's important to stick with a set plan for a while and see how it affects you over a number of weeks. Then you can make changes and see the difference(s). The macronutrients look good to me in your diet.

 

If somebody posted an article about why eggs and milk should not be consumed due to health problems, would you read it? I feel like if you did, you could be more educated on the subject. Just having people on the forum say things like "don't eat them, they're unhealthy" probably won't convince you, but if you are willing to be educated, perhaps we can give you links which explain the points in detail.

 

Yeah..

Well, I would atleast think about it. When people say drop milk/eggs because of __reasons I pretty much ignore them.

 

I respond better to studies.

 

Edit: havent tried it yet, just here to make sure I didnt miss anything, and to make it better.

[Gaia]

Everybody is all over the white rice. Just change it to brown rice and you will be more healthier for it (alot of vitamins and minerals are in the bran that is still on the rice if it is brown).

 

collegeB: yes, there are brown and white basmati rice. I eat only the brown basmati rice, but my kids have to have the white stuff (well, when they make it themselves, otherwise they have to eat what mother makes!).

 

Now lets tackle this one:

Fuels muscle throughout the night. When body doesnt get food it goes after muscle first.

- Eating before bed is very important because you wont wake up in the middle of the night. Body needs 8 hours of rest and if you wake up your REM cycle will be disturbed.

 

First off, you are not active while you are sleeping: at least not your skeletal muscles. So you won't be in a catabolic state during the 8 hours of sleep.

Second, you are sleeping usually horizontally, so the food will stay in your stomach and not keep sliding down your small intestines and into your large intestines. It takes alot for the involuntary muscles to push that food down your GI tract while you are sleeping. Though this doesn't mean a thing if you take a bm first thing in the morning? Do you? Or is after you are vertical, walking around upright, for an hour or so? (The body will toss and turn at night to "help" get the food to go down the GI tract).

The food you eat 2 hours before going horizontal for the night should be the meal to fill your muscles and liver with glycogen/creatine for the next day's workout. And that is if your digestion is fast enough. Eat some corn with hardly any chewing of it into bits, and see how long it takes to come out then you can judge your digestion time.

[DarkFlames]

Everybody is all over the white rice. Just change it to brown rice and you will be more healthier for it (alot of vitamins and minerals are in the bran that is still on the rice if it is brown).

 

collegeB: yes, there are brown and white basmati rice. I eat only the brown basmati rice, but my kids have to have the white stuff (well, when they make it themselves, otherwise they have to eat what mother makes!).

 

Now lets tackle this one:

Fuels muscle throughout the night. When body doesnt get food it goes after muscle first.

- Eating before bed is very important because you wont wake up in the middle of the night. Body needs 8 hours of rest and if you wake up your REM cycle will be disturbed.

 

First off, you are not active while you are sleeping: at least not your skeletal muscles. So you won't be in a catabolic state during the 8 hours of sleep.

Second, you are sleeping usually horizontally, so the food will stay in your stomach and not keep sliding down your small intestines and into your large intestines. It takes alot for the involuntary muscles to push that food down your GI tract while you are sleeping. Though this doesn't mean a thing if you take a bm first thing in the morning? Do you? Or is after you are vertical, walking around upright, for an hour or so? (The body will toss and turn at night to "help" get the food to go down the GI tract).

The food you eat 2 hours before going horizontal for the night should be the meal to fill your muscles and liver with glycogen/creatine for the next day's workout. And that is if your digestion is fast enough. Eat some corn with hardly any chewing of it into bits, and see how long it takes to come out then you can judge your digestion time.

 

 

I did change it to brown still dont know why people keep mentioning it. Unless they are refering to something else.

 

have any studies/sources about horizontal digestion? Never read that before.

[Richard]

Here's an article about milk on pcrm.org

 

http://www.pcrm.org/health/veginfo/dairy.html

 

 

 

Loads of information here about milk, lots of different sources and studies are quoted. Of particular interest to you will probably be heart disease, osteoporosis, prostate cancer, allergies

 

http://milksucks.com/more.asp

 

I personally avoid milk because of ethical reasons, not health, so I am not versed in all health problems with milk, but I've seen others on this forum and elsewhere post very concise articles about the problems associated with dairy consumption.

 

I will continue to try and find other sources

[beforewisdom]

People go vegetarian thinking that at least they are killing an animal. That isn't true. Dairy and egg producing animals are killed once they can no longer produce. Basic business. It costs money to keep them alive. Once the milk or eggs stop coming they are turned into meat. Same end as "meat animals", they just live longer in horrible conditions before facing the same death.

 

Buying milk also contributes to what happens to veal cows. Like human beings cows don't lactate unless they are pregnant. In addition to milk, dairy cows produce children. The females are kept to become dairy cows, but the males, having no use in that regard are sold to veal producers. They are immobilized from birth in crates to make them anemic to produce the white veal meat people like. Veal is a byproduct of the dairy industry. When people buy milk products they contribute to veal existing.

[Im Your Man]

-Fuels muscle throughout the night. When body doesnt get food it goes after muscle first.

- Eating before bed is very important because you wont wake up in the middle of the night. Body needs 8 hours of rest and if you wake up your REM cycle will be disturbed.

 

 

I agree with Gaia. Just my word about eating to keep providing fuel to your body/muscles during sleep: You've probably read this in bodybuilding magazines, as I did, they're telling the samething every week and every month in each issue. "Drink a 40 gram protein drink before sleep otherwise your muscles will melt !". Then all readers are scared to death every night, and even at each moment of the day, for the rest of their life, to lose their muscles if for just 1 minute their stomach is empty.

You also said that the body turn first to muscles, then fat. Because you read that, doesn't mean it is true. Yes, when the body needs fuel, if there's no food, then it will turn to fat or lean mass, both of them. The body will choose what it needs less. If your muscles are very useful to function in your lifestyle (like at work everyday or lifting weight at the gym every couple of days), it will be more likely to burn fat instead. The body will eat your muscles too, but less often.

Fondamentally, we eat during day, because we can't eat during sleep. When it is time to eat, eat; when it is time to sleep, sleep. Each thing in its time. You're right when you say we must eat before sleep because its 8 hours without nutrients.Yes, we must eat before, 4 hours is ideal because when you go to sleep, digestion will be over so your body will be 100% to sleep, not troubled by digestion.

Sleep= rest. But if you eat before bed in a way that it takes all night to digest, your digestive system never get any rest, because you eat during the day too. So when a muscle works 24/7 all year long, it will brake soon or later. No wonder there's so many colon cancers.

It is true that the digestion is optimized if you stand up or even walk. Digestion is slow when you're lying, and therefore, nutrients assimilation is not optimum.

 

All that being said, it's not that bad for health to eat before sleep, there's thousands of things worse you can do to your body. But I tought I could tell you my opinion so you can choose what you think is right.

[DarkFlames]

-Fuels muscle throughout the night. When body doesnt get food it goes after muscle first.

- Eating before bed is very important because you wont wake up in the middle of the night. Body needs 8 hours of rest and if you wake up your REM cycle will be disturbed.

 

 

I agree with Gaia. Just my word about eating to keep providing fuel to your body/muscles during sleep: You've probably read this in bodybuilding magazines, as I did, they're telling the samething every week and every month in each issue. "Drink a 40 gram protein drink before sleep otherwise your muscles will melt !". Then all readers are scared to death every night, and even at each moment of the day, for the rest of their life, to lose their muscles if for just 1 minute their stomach is empty.

You also said that the body turn first to muscles, then fat. Because you read that, doesn't mean it is true. Yes, when the body needs fuel, if there's no food, then it will turn to fat or lean mass, both of them. The body will choose what it needs less. If your muscles are very useful to function in your lifestyle (like at work everyday or lifting weight at the gym every couple of days), it will be more likely to burn fat instead. The body will eat your muscles too, but less often.

Fondamentally, we eat during day, because we can't eat during sleep. When it is time to eat, eat; when it is time to sleep, sleep. Each thing in its time. You're right when you say we must eat before sleep because its 8 hours without nutrients.Yes, we must eat before, 4 hours is ideal because when you go to sleep, digestion will be over so your body will be 100% to sleep, not troubled by digestion.

Sleep= rest. But if you eat before bed in a way that it takes all night to digest, your digestive system never get any rest, because you eat during the day too. So when a muscle works 24/7 all year long, it will brake soon or later. No wonder there's so many colon cancers.

It is true that the digestion is optimized if you stand up or even walk. Digestion is slow when you're lying, and therefore, nutrients assimilation is not optimum.

 

All that being said, it's not that bad for health to eat before sleep, there's thousands of things worse you can do to your body. But I tought I could tell you my opinion so you can choose what you think is right.

 

Do you have a study for that? No I didnt read it from magazines, if I did I would probably using something else before bed.

 

So from what your saying a person can starve themselves and lose fat and lose minimal muscle? Thats just crazy. In that case so many people would get a 6-pack easily. And what about your heart? Thats one muscle that works 24/7 if it didn't than we wouldn't be alive. Or what about the diaphragm, should we hold our breaths a couple hours each day so it can get some rest? Your body is constantly working,

 

Ill work on getting you scientific studies to prove my point about bed time nutrition. If you have any recent studies saying pre bed time meals arent needed please share.

 

One more thing, your body is constantly digesting the food. If your stomach isnt working your small intestines are. if your small intestines arent working your large intestines are. (removing water) until your ready to take a shit.

[Katabatic]

Hey, DarkFlames.

Obviously you're gonna get criticism on a vegan board, but you're definitely welcome here. What are your reasons for being vegetarian? If it's either health or ethics, eggs and milk usually do not go with that, unless you are in control with how they are raised. There have been studies by Harvard that show milk as actually increasing osteoporosis. I would rate eggs better than milk, but I doubt you really need them. Again, be it ethical or health, I certainly hope you're at least getting your milk and eggs from healthy and well treated animals. The mainstream stuff is just bad.

 

Many people here have had great results, so why not give it a good try at reducing them? It's not like you can't go back!

 

Regular bodybuilding forums are the last place a vegetarian or vegan should go. They much more harshly attack vegans than the inverse here.

[DarkFlames]

Hey, DarkFlames.

Obviously you're gonna get criticism on a vegan board, but you're definitely welcome here. What are your reasons for being vegetarian? If it's either health or ethics, eggs and milk usually do not go with that, unless you are in control with how they are raised. There have been studies by Harvard that show milk as actually increasing osteoporosis. I would rate eggs better than milk, but I doubt you really need them. Again, be it ethical or health, I certainly hope you're at least getting your milk and eggs from healthy and well treated animals. The mainstream stuff is just bad.

 

Many people here have had great results, so why not give it a good try at reducing them? It's not like you can't go back!

 

Regular bodybuilding forums are the last place a vegetarian or vegan should go. They much more harshly attack vegans than the inverse here.

 

Theres something about eating meat that makes me feel guilty, dont know why.

 

Came here by mistake thought there were other vegetarians who ate eggs/milk.

Only reason Im here now is to give responses to peoples comments. Probably going to stop though, since the same thing is being posted over and over.

 

 

I love milk, thats one thing im not gonna give up. (still read the studies posted) Eggs ill think about

[Vegan Joe]

Edited August 31, 2008 by Vegan Joe

[beforewisdom]

I love milk, thats one thing im not gonna give up. (still read the studies posted) Eggs ill think about

 

You can't get tone of voice in text. I mean no offense by this and I don't mean it to come off as sneering or any way negative. Buying milk is the same as buying meat in our country. Is liking milk enough to cause animals that have the same feelings as a dog or cat to suffer, then be killed, and butchered for its meat? Does your preference for a taste outweigh another living things will to live and to live without pain?

 

Try soy milk. It will be different at first, but you will get used to it and it is safe.

[Im Your Man]

 

Do you have a study for that? No I didnt read it from magazines, if I did I would probably using something else before bed.

 

So from what your saying a person can starve themselves and lose fat and lose minimal muscle? Thats just crazy. In that case so many people would get a 6-pack easily. And what about your heart? Thats one muscle that works 24/7 if it didn't than we wouldn't be alive. Or what about the diaphragm, should we hold our breaths a couple hours each day so it can get some rest? Your body is constantly working,

 

Ill work on getting you scientific studies to prove my point about bed time nutrition. If you have any recent studies saying pre bed time meals arent needed please share.

 

One more thing, your body is constantly digesting the food. If your stomach isnt working your small intestines are. if your small intestines arent working your large intestines are. (removing water) until your ready to take a shit.

I've read tons of things on this subject and other subjects, searched on the web but mostly in books, now it's your turn, I can't do research again unfortunately I don't have time. But ask any Japanese they will tell you the samething I told you. They're the nation that master the science of sleep. They're millions that will tell you (and based on their studies) that for optimal rest and full recovery of the body and mind, it is preferable to eat 4 hours before sleep. They have other things that can increase the quality of sleep, like keeping warm the extremeties of the body, like wearing socks.

I understand what you mean when you say u must eat before sleep otherwise you will wake up in the middle of the night because you're hungry and it will ruin your deep sleep. Thing is, if u wake up, it wouldn't be because you're hungry, but because of a noise or something. During rest, the body is less than semi-conscious, digestive system is on detox mode and doesn't want another load of food and hard work all night long. When you're angry, excited, stressed, sleepy, you're never hungry, it's false hunger. But once you're awake, yes you may feel hungry. Then just a leaf of lettuce will calm hunger. If you wake up, it may even be because you ate before bed! We often confuse the symptoms of hunger and the symptoms of detox after last meal. Digesting food during sleep also cause what we call Night Eating Syndrome (NES) causing nightmares or to wake up. You know that all food produces wastes, right? During the day you eat and accumulate those toxins, during the night it is better to fast, otherwise you will just continue accumulate more wastes.

Yes, the heart, brain, etc work constantly, but they have some semi-rest during sleep. They're in rest mode, It's not like if you're running the marathon while you sleep, or doing some mathematics. So why the stomach should work 100% at night digesting food?

Don't worry, some food for dinner, than for breakfast, (break- fast) and you'll be fine, maybe you'll even lose some grams of fat, which is a good thing to do during night, because during the day you're active and need energy from food.

So from what your saying a person can starve themselves and lose fat and lose minimal muscle? Thats just crazy.

How do you think bodybuilders lose weight to prepare for competitions ? They don't lose all their muscles before they start losing fat. They lose some muscles, but mostly fat. The professional bodybuilders may take a protein shake before sleep, because they have a huge lean mass to maintain. But during cutting phase, they might just take some free form of amino acids in powder.

[Richard]

Theres something about eating meat that makes me feel guilty, dont know why.

 

Came here by mistake thought there were other vegetarians who ate eggs/milk.

Only reason Im here now is to give responses to peoples comments. Probably going to stop though, since the same thing is being posted over and over.

 

I love milk, thats one thing im not gonna give up. (still read the studies posted) Eggs ill think about

 

Yo, there are other non-vegans (some vegetarians and some omnivores) on this forum so you aren't alone. I feel like the approach some people have taken towards trying to convince you to drop the milk / eggs has been counter-productive, although it's always a hard task and nobody's sure of how to do it, because it's taken for granted by so many people that milk/eggs are absolutely necessary to their diet. But you did start the topic asking for criticism and advice on your diet - and many people on the forum consider milk and eggs to be detrimental to health, so that's what is going to be said if you ask for that advice specifically. Elsewhere on the forum I don't think you would have got this reaction. Sorry if it has put you off dude!

 

If you don't want to drop the milk / eggs, you are still welcome to post here You won't run into problems unless you bring it up and want people to agree with ya, because it's unlikely that they will

[icarus0720au]

DarkFlames -

 

Check out www.organicathlete.org -- they have a general sports nutrition guide there that might help you out a bit. It's free, and published by a reputable organization.

 

~~~~~~

 

Opinion time (for everyone else following this thread) -

 

 

It's nice that we're trying to offer advice but I don't think we've helped "the cause" with our approach. The whole process of changing to a vegan diet really is stressful and at times overwhelming when you first start out. I think the best thing we could possibly do as a group, it to perhaps direct people to some basic books on amazon, or perhaps something like the sports nutrition and wellness guide on the www.organicathlete.org website.

 

While this is a vegan forum per se, it'd be nice to be more welcoming to people without speaking from the pully-pulpit and possibly scaring them away. In the end, it's probably better to "recruit" someone to a vegetarian diet than it would be to sending them back to the omnivore world. Myself personally, it took me some 2 years to move to a mostly vegan diet, and even now I still have a couple of eggs every now and then (albeit, they're from happy chickens). From both a health and ethical perspective, that's got to be better than being a full omni.

 

Yours Truly,

 

~ Icarus

 

PS: Don't worry, be happy!

[DarkFlames]

 

] I've read tons of things on this subject and other subjects, searched on the web but mostly in books, now it's your turn, I can't do research again unfortunately I don't have time. But ask any Japanese they will tell you the samething I told you. They're the nation that master the science of sleep. They're millions that will tell you (and based on their studies) that for optimal rest and full recovery of the body and mind, it is preferable to eat 4 hours before sleep. They have other things that can increase the quality of sleep, like keeping warm the extremeties of the body, like wearing socks.

I understand what you mean when you say u must eat before sleep otherwise you will wake up in the middle of the night because you're hungry and it will ruin your deep sleep. Thing is, if u wake up, it wouldn't be because you're hungry, but because of a noise or something. During rest, the body is less than semi-conscious, digestive system is on detox mode and doesn't want another load of food and hard work all night long. When you're angry, excited, stressed, sleepy, you're never hungry, it's false hunger. But once you're awake, yes you may feel hungry. Then just a leaf of lettuce will calm hunger. If you wake up, it may even be because you ate before bed! We often confuse the symptoms of hunger and the symptoms of detox after last meal. Digesting food during sleep also cause what we call Night Eating Syndrome (NES) causing nightmares or to wake up. You know that all food produces wastes, right? During the day you eat and accumulate those toxins, during the night it is better to fast, otherwise you will just continue accumulate more wastes.

Yes, the heart, brain, etc work constantly, but they have some semi-rest during sleep. They're in rest mode, It's not like if you're running the marathon while you sleep, or doing some mathematics. So why the stomach should work 100% at night digesting food?

Don't worry, some food for dinner, than for breakfast, (break- fast) and you'll be fine, maybe you'll even lose some grams of fat, which is a good thing to do during night, because during the day you're active and need energy from food.

]So from what your saying a person can starve themselves and lose fat and lose minimal muscle? Thats just crazy.

How do you think bodybuilders lose weight to prepare for competitions ? They don't lose all their muscles before they start losing fat. They lose some muscles, but mostly fat. The professional bodybuilders may take a protein shake before sleep, because they have a huge lean mass to maintain. But during cutting phase, they might just take some free form of amino acids in powder.

 

Unfortunately I cant ask a Japanese person, because

1st- they are around 16

2nd- cant speak from a bodybuilding / powerlifting point of view.

Even if you eat before your sleep your body isnt going to spend the whole night digesting, so it will get some sort of rest. + eating 5 meals a day 3 hours apart, i doubt its going to spend the whole time digesting. Respiratory system system isn't going to be working all day. But I understand what you mean by brain activity. Also not all bodybuilders dont starve themselves, they eat 200-500 under maintenance to lose weight. What I mean by starve is hardly eating anything, in hopes of losing weight. Even if it means eating 1,000 calories under maintenance or not eating at all.

 

 

 

Yo, there are other non-vegans (some vegetarians and some omnivores) on this forum so you aren't alone. I feel like the approach some people have taken towards trying to convince you to drop the milk / eggs has been counter-productive, although it's always a hard task and nobody's sure of how to do it, because it's taken for granted by so many people that milk/eggs are absolutely necessary to their diet. But you did start the topic asking for criticism and advice on your diet - and many people on the forum consider milk and eggs to be detrimental to health, so that's what is going to be said if you ask for that advice specifically. Elsewhere on the forum I don't think you would have got this reaction. Sorry if it has put you off dude!

 

If you don't want to drop the milk / eggs, you are still welcome to post here You won't run into problems unless you bring it up and want people to agree with ya, because it's unlikely that they will

 

Lol thanks. Yes, I came here to get criticism, because I thought I wouldn't get the same response over and over again. For example on another forum, all people posted was, "eat meat!" etc etc. Very few people gave advice other than that. If you really think about it the same thing is happening here. Instead of people trying to look at other aspects of my diet, they look at one thing... eggs and milk.

 

The only other advice I received was add vegetables (which i forgot and will add) and dont eat to closely before bed.

 

 

 

DarkFlames -

 

Check out http://www.organicathlete.org -- they have a general sports nutrition guide there that might help you out a bit. It's free, and published by a reputable organization.

 

~~~~~~

 

Opinion time (for everyone else following this thread) -

 

 

It's nice that we're trying to offer advice but I don't think we've helped "the cause" with our approach. The whole process of changing to a vegan diet really is stressful and at times overwhelming when you first start out. I think the best thing we could possibly do as a group, it to perhaps direct people to some basic books on amazon, or perhaps something like the sports nutrition and wellness guide on the http://www.organicathlete.org website.

 

While this is a vegan forum per se, it'd be nice to be more welcoming to people without speaking from the pully-pulpit and possibly scaring them away. In the end, it's probably better to "recruit" someone to a vegetarian diet than it would be to sending them back to the omnivore world. Myself personally, it took me some 2 years to move to a mostly vegan diet, and even now I still have a couple of eggs every now and then (albeit, they're from happy chickens). From both a health and ethical perspective, that's got to be better than being a full omni.

 

Yours Truly,

 

~ Icarus

 

PS: Don't worry, be happy!

 

Thanks for the site, ill look into it.

 

I might drop the eggs and milk, but what should I replace them with? Guess it wouldnt hurt to try it for a few months.

[DarkFlames]

I love milk, thats one thing im not gonna give up. (still read the studies posted) Eggs ill think about

 

You can't get tone of voice in text. I mean no offense by this and I don't mean it to come off as sneering or any way negative. Buying milk is the same as buying meat in our country. Is liking milk enough to cause animals that have the same feelings as a dog or cat to suffer, then be killed, and butchered for its meat? Does your preference for a taste outweigh another living things will to live and to live without pain?

 

Try soy milk. It will be different at first, but you will get used to it and it is safe.

 

I think the last of my worries is milk. You cant do everything to help animals. Im about to get semi-off topic now. Do you use paper, do you use anything that came from trees? Well if you do your killing millions of animals to. (rain forests destroyed for paper etc etc)

 

FYI not ALL cows suffer. My uncles own a total of 30+ cows, and each time I visit they are treated very well. Ffs they hired a person to do nothing be take care of the cows. They werent cramped, and the area was clean.

[Im Your Man]

Yes we kill trees, but that's not as if there is good alternatives to this right now, and that's no reason nor excuse to kill or to exploit animals. We do what we can. Perhaps in a few centuries or less we will find alternatives to trees for our needs. For now we try to recycle, and to buy only recycled materials that can be recycled again. The same way we're trying to improve the technologies to use energy from sun, wind and water for our future, to find alternatives to oil and other non-renewable resources.

Yes, there's some farms less worse than others. But animals aren't supposed to be in farms in the first place. How come animals live fine without us, but that we act as if we need them, as if we can't live without them. In a way, they're more independant, resourceful and self-sufficient than we are.

[Aaron]

I love milk, thats one thing im not gonna give up. (still read the studies posted) Eggs ill think about

 

You can't get tone of voice in text. I mean no offense by this and I don't mean it to come off as sneering or any way negative. Buying milk is the same as buying meat in our country. Is liking milk enough to cause animals that have the same feelings as a dog or cat to suffer, then be killed, and butchered for its meat? Does your preference for a taste outweigh another living things will to live and to live without pain?

 

Try soy milk. It will be different at first, but you will get used to it and it is safe.

 

I think the last of my worries is milk. You cant do everything to help animals. Im about to get semi-off topic now. Do you use paper, do you use anything that came from trees? Well if you do your killing millions of animals to. (rain forests destroyed for paper etc etc)

 

FYI not ALL cows suffer. My uncles own a total of 30+ cows, and each time I visit they are treated very well. Ffs they hired a person to do nothing be take care of the cows. They werent cramped, and the area was clean.

 

So the cows are pregnant to produce milk right? What happens to the baby cows... esp. the male ones...?

 

-a

[beforewisdom]

DarkFlame;

 

Paper in the US doesn't come from the rainforest. There are some small dairy farmers but most of the milk in any supermarket comes from cows in factory farms who used, then killed.

 

I've been a vegan for about 13 years. I know the facts. Again, no offense meant to you. There is a first time for everything. This is your first time hearing these things. As someone who cares you need to know.

 

Using milk and eggs in the US is the same to the fate of animals as eating meat.

 

Again, I know that isn't fun to hear, no offense. You can verify this on the web. I suggest veganoutreach.org.

[sydneyvegan]

Hey DarkFlame - glad to see you have found this forum and that you keep coming back.

I'll be happy to comment on your diet - I'll leave out commenting on eggs and milk, as enough people have done that already - I'm an ethical vegan and involved in animal rights, so my view is pretty clear.

I was lacto - ovo vegetarian for 3.5 years before I switched to veganism, I think that the fact that you are vegetarian at 16 is great and that fact that you feel eating meat is wrong is also a very good thing.

Since becoming vegan I have added 50lbs of muscle and reduced my bodyfat, as well as being more healthy in general. Check out my training log, if you have any doubts.

Ok lets pick out the good stuff in your diet -

Brown Rice, Oats, Quinoa are all good sources of carbs - protein as well and will really help you to add mass.

Tofu, beans and nuts are good protein sources - maybe you can add some Tempeh or setian for variety, and try some more types of pulses (Lentils, beans, peas etc).

Flax is great too as it is a good source of Omega 3's

As people mentioned, you really need to add some fruits and veggies, not only are they full of essential vitamins and minerals but also stuff like omega 3's etc.

I usually eat around 5 times a day, making sure I get plenty of protein (I'm 235lbs and lift heavy, so it seems to be working), I eat a lot of salads as well as my carbs, it is easy to mix some veggies, Kale, Tomato, carrot, corn, onion, peas and some or tempeh through your brown rice to make a great Fried Rice Style meal. Salads with a lots of greens and a dressing made with Oils and spices and a stack of tofu are good too. I add my protein powders to my oatmeal for a quick snack.

If you decide to give Veganism a shot you can replace the Milk with soy, rice, oat or almond milk - They made great smoothies etc and mix well with vegan protein powders.

Whey can be replaced with Gemma, Soy or Rice Protein, which have very high absorbtion rates.

If you eat a more balance and variety diet then you won't lack any of the amino's that are contained in an egg.

A lot of people have posted their meal plans, with the breakdown of carbs, protein and fat, check them out and try a few things in your daily diet, I do it all the time...

Good luck

[DaN]

Im your man wrote:

 

How come animals live fine without us, but that we act as if we need them, as if we can't live without them. In a way, they're more independant, resourceful and self-sufficient than we are.

 

Completely true.There is no doubt they are far more independant than we are.We have relied on other species for our survival for thousands of years.That is why I regard us as being borderline mammal/parasites.Of course I am not talking about us vegans, we have broken out of that system.

 

[DarkFlames]

Hey DarkFlame - glad to see you have found this forum and that you keep coming back.

I'll be happy to comment on your diet - I'll leave out commenting on eggs and milk, as enough people have done that already - I'm an ethical vegan and involved in animal rights, so my view is pretty clear.

I was lacto - ovo vegetarian for 3.5 years before I switched to veganism, I think that the fact that you are vegetarian at 16 is great and that fact that you feel eating meat is wrong is also a very good thing.

Since becoming vegan I have added 50lbs of muscle and reduced my bodyfat, as well as being more healthy in general. Check out my training log, if you have any doubts.

Ok lets pick out the good stuff in your diet -

Brown Rice, Oats, Quinoa are all good sources of carbs - protein as well and will really help you to add mass.

Tofu, beans and nuts are good protein sources - maybe you can add some Tempeh or setian for variety, and try some more types of pulses (Lentils, beans, peas etc).

Flax is great too as it is a good source of Omega 3's

As people mentioned, you really need to add some fruits and veggies, not only are they full of essential vitamins and minerals but also stuff like omega 3's etc.

I usually eat around 5 times a day, making sure I get plenty of protein (I'm 235lbs and lift heavy, so it seems to be working), I eat a lot of salads as well as my carbs, it is easy to mix some veggies, Kale, Tomato, carrot, corn, onion, peas and some or tempeh through your brown rice to make a great Fried Rice Style meal. Salads with a lots of greens and a dressing made with Oils and spices and a stack of tofu are good too. I add my protein powders to my oatmeal for a quick snack.

If you decide to give Veganism a shot you can replace the Milk with soy, rice, oat or almond milk - They made great smoothies etc and mix well with vegan protein powders.

Whey can be replaced with Gemma, Soy or Rice Protein, which have very high absorbtion rates.

If you eat a more balance and variety diet then you won't lack any of the amino's that are contained in an egg.

A lot of people have posted their meal plans, with the breakdown of carbs, protein and fat, check them out and try a few things in your daily diet, I do it all the time...

Good luck

 

Thanks! That's exactly what I was looking for

 

PS: I hope I didnt offend / hurt anyone's feelings. If I did sorry.

[sydneyvegan]

Thanks! That's exactly what I was looking for

 

PS: I hope I didnt offend / hurt anyone's feelings. If I did sorry.

 

No worries... To use an old and not very vegan saying...

You catch more flies with honey than vinegar.

[Gaia]

Hear! Hear! Well said SydneyVegan!

You rock!