Any Vegetarians?

[LostMind]

You can be healthy eating a vegetarian diet. It's just harder (significantly) then it is for us omnivorous types.

A personal note... _ALL_ of the vegetarians I know are either unhealthy or fat. I think the problem is that junk food is so readily accessible and without proper meal planning with restricted food options... you tend to grab that junk food quite often simply because it's easy. It's funny that the vegetarians I know (and I know a few) rarely seem to eat veggies - except my aunt, who is buddhist. But then she barely eats overall and is the only skinny vegetarian I know (the rest are fat while she is unhealthy and can't even go on a long walk due to no energy).

I also think that a lot of people have a big problem eating a diet high in fat and carb's. I don't know the exact science behind it, so I don't want to spread misinformation. But I do think that people who eat high fat high carb diets tend to become fat.

How about whey protein powder for supplementation? Check out places like proteinfactory.com that allow you to customise your protein powder if you aren't comfortable with protein coming from milk (whey, casein, etc.) - they have egg and possibly other protein blends available. I am sure other sources are available.

If I were to go vegetarian, I would track my calorie intake and ensure I was getting enough protein and healthy fats/vitamins etc. I am no vegetarian, but I like to workout and keep some idea of what I eat, so I currently use fitday.com to track my dietary habits. I know there are better online tools available, but I have been using fitday for years and wouldn't want to lose the data.

I would like to spend my food budget on more ethically treated food - organically farmed foods, grass fed beef, honestly free range chickens etc. but can't afford it.

I have a list of sites in BC where you can buy food direct from farmers, but most want you to buy in sides of beef, which are for me too much to store... and I wouldn't know how to properly cut it up etc... Being in BC and you being in Alberta, I don't think any of my links would help you... although a quick google search would probably net you some good farms to purchase from in Alberta.

Best of luck with the new lifestyle!

[andsoitgoes]

Interesting points to mention - I myself am overweight, and have been - as is my wife. I ws before I started becoming vegetarian, but due to the fact that with being vegetarian, carbohydrates are much more readily available (pasta, breads, etc)

The factor to look at is pretty simple. I'm overweight and a bit unhealthy as a vegetarian, but the person next to me is overweight and unhealthy as a omnivore. OR, is not overweight but consumes very high amounts of bad cholesterol, fats, hormones from meat, etc.

However I do eat my fair share of vegetables, fruits, etc - but I unfortunately know few other vegetarians.

Anyway - I think the point I'm trying to get across is that even if someone is overweight, it doesn't mean they're unhealthy, just as if someone is skinny it doesn't mean they're healthy.

It'd the total package that counts and matters in the end. I don't exercise enough, I know that- however if I did exercise a bit more, even being a bit overweight, I'd still be healthy

[Der_Iron_Chef]

Yeah, Nick. Full-figured. Husky. That's us...lol.

I say, work what your mama gave you

[LostMind]

Hey All!

Didn't mean to offend anyone. I myself haven't managed to lift a weight for nearly 5 months now. I've put on 3lbs... all fat and I am sure I've lost a ton of my muscle and replaced it with fat...

IMO and the opinion of my doctor, carrying any excess fat (15%bf and above for men, 20% and above for women) is unhealthy. Regardless of whether you take vitamins or eat well (but just eat too much) or exercise or what have you. That excess weight leads to higher risk factors for all sorts of things, diabetes, heart disease etc.

I think one of the big problems that vegetarians face is getting enough protein... and then people hear that peanut butter is a good source of protein. Ummm. Nuts are great and healthy (in small amounts). But as a source of quality FAT not protein.

1 tablespoon peanut butter (organic):
Total Calories: 95
Fat: 8 73 75%
Sat: 2 15 15%
Poly: 2 20 20%
Mono: 4 35 36%
Carbs: 3 9 9%
Fiber: 1 0 0%
Protein: 4 16 16%

Sorry, thats 75% of calories from fat, 36% of the overall calories being from mono fats (good ones)... 4 grams of protein? IMO, it's not a protein source.

Personally, I'll risk hormones in my meat and stay thin but that's because I know if I gave up meat, I'd eat a TON more carbs to stay full and that would mean I'd be consuming a ton more calories and I'd get fat.

Anyways, getting sidetracked - no one likes someone preaching to them, regardless of subject matter. But... fat is fat is fat Being fat is bad mmmkay? Whether you are a vegetarian or not.

As I said before, good luck with the lifestyle change and hopefully you'll do your research and find a good, healthy diet you can live with.

[Der_Iron_Chef]

Hey, I hear what you're saying.

I ate a hell of a lot of carbs before, too, so I really don't see how that will change much for me! I'm going to try to avoid anything in excess and eat as many veggies (to compose the majority of my diet) as I can.

[EmilyB]