So the wife and I turned vegetarian......

[NAKID]

I understand the support aspect of portion control, but when you start looking into what is in their food........it isn't great.

The meals they sell are chalked full of sugar and sodium, but everyone needs something different to motivate towards a healthier lifestyle, so to each their own.



hey now...........I have lost my hostility and anger management issues about a year ago.

We don't buy their meals. We buy food and make it from recipes found online or in a book she has. Any "Diet Plan" meals are typically rip offs. So far this has worked really well and she has lost just over 12lbs in 4 weeks...

Also, she spends at least 30 mins a day on Wii Fit since she stays at home all day with the little one...

[ducatiz]

a completely vegetarian lifestyle isn't appropriate for humans.  long-term vegetarians always show muscle degradation, common b12 deficiency and deviant sexuality.

i was 100% vegetarian for over 20 years and it took its toll on me.  100% veg means no fish too.  protein sources were cheese, beans, legumes, etc.  however, i developed a b12 deficiency which i had to get supplemental shots for, and then my muscle/fat ratio started going wrong.

if you think of the vegetarians (granivores, herbivores, etc) in nature, you see a pattern:  high activity, good muscle tone (i.e. horses and kangaroos) and low activity, crappy muscle tone (cows, sheep, etc).  I know it isn't as simple as that, but unless you are as active as a wild horse, your vegetarian diet will turn you into a cow over time -- slowly.  your current muscle mass will remain, but it will slowly change over time due to the inconsistent protein in your diet and lowered b12. 

you can supplement your diet and be a healthy vegetarian, but i got tired of having to get shots, drink powder stuff and try exotic (expensive) food sources to stay healthy.  i asked my doctor, and she basically said "humans need to have about 5-15% of their diet from animal sources, i.e. meat"  i talked to various nutritionists and got the same reply from ones i would consider sane.  the nutty ones who pushed a vegetarian diet didn't want to hear about my muscle/fat ratio and one even said "people are too big and should be smaller." wtf??

suffice it to say, i started eating fish and then 2 years later, lamb.  my overall health improved, i started feeling better and my muscle/fat ratio is coming back to where i want it -- without hours of gym time.

[mitt]

a completely vegetarian lifestyle isn't appropriate for humans.  long-term vegetarians always show muscle degradation, common b12 deficiency and deviant sexuality.

i was 100% vegetarian for over 20 years and it took its toll on me.  100% veg means no fish too.  protein sources were cheese, beans, legumes, etc.  however, i developed a b12 deficiency which i had to get supplemental shots for, and then my muscle/fat ratio started going wrong.

if you think of the vegetarians (granivores, herbivores, etc) in nature, you see a pattern:  high activity, good muscle tone (i.e. horses and kangaroos) and low activity, crappy muscle tone (cows, sheep, etc).  I know it isn't as simple as that, but unless you are as active as a wild horse, your vegetarian diet will turn you into a cow over time -- slowly.  your current muscle mass will remain, but it will slowly change over time due to the inconsistent protein in your diet and lowered b12. 

you can supplement your diet and be a healthy vegetarian, but i got tired of having to get shots, drink powder stuff and try exotic (expensive) food sources to stay healthy.  i asked my doctor, and she basically said "humans need to have about 5-15% of their diet from animal sources, i.e. meat"  i talked to various nutritionists and got the same reply from ones i would consider sane.  the nutty ones who pushed a vegetarian diet didn't want to hear about my muscle/fat ratio and one even said "people are too big and should be smaller." wtf??

suffice it to say, i started eating fish and then 2 years later, lamb.  my overall health improved, i started feeling better and my muscle/fat ratio is coming back to where i want it -- without hours of gym time.

Did you eat eggs?

[Sinister]

My steaks/roasts are not cheap.

Buy it from the butcher.  I buy a half a beef for $2.09/lb...for everything.  It's grain-fed, natural, and lean as lean can be.  It's the next best thing to elk, really. 

[ducatiz]

Did you eat eggs?

yes.  i meant to include that in my list of proteins.  i probably had eggs 2-3 times a week (about 4-6 eggs/week)

[mitt]

yes.  i meant to include that in my list of proteins.  i probably had eggs 2-3 times a week (about 4-6 eggs/week)

And that still wasn't enough?   I worry about my wife over time, since she eats no meat or fish, just eggs, cheese, beans, etc.

mitt

[ducatiz]

And that still wasn't enough?   I worry about my wife over time, since she eats no meat or fish, just eggs, cheese, beans, etc.

mitt

no, it wasn't for me.  i can't explain it, but a good doctor with a nutritionist can.  humans are genuinely omnivores, so basically, if it's edible, we are probably supposed to eat it at some point (category-wise).  animal proteins have unique characteristics which don't occur in other protein sources. 

b12 presence in eggs and milk is much lower than in flesh, and there has been plenty of documentation of lacto-ovo vegetarians becoming b12 anemic.

if she is willing to supplement with shots and mix up the protein sources, she should be ok.  the BIG issue is b12, which affects so many things in humans. 

best idea is to get blood work and find out what b12 levels are now ,and check them every 3 months.  they should be within range.  if they are slowly decreasing, then b12 intake and ABSORPTION is insufficient.

[SheMonster]

For females, iron is an issue as well.  The human body does not absorb elemental iron very well, so just taking iron supplements sometimes isn't enough.  With a woman's monthly cycle we lose a lot of iron, and it doesn't take long for iron deficiency anemia to occur.  Iron from meat sources is already in heme form which is immediately bioavailable.

[mitt]

For females, iron is an issue as well.  The human body does not absorb elemental iron very well, so just taking iron supplements sometimes isn't enough.  With a woman's monthly cycle we lose a lot of iron, and it doesn't take long for iron deficiency anemia to occur.  Iron from meat sources is already in heme form which is immediately bioavailable.

Yep, been over that bridge before.

mitt

[DrDesmo]

... We buy food and make it from recipes found online or in a book she has.

Any books you recommend? 

Adam

[cyrus buelton]

Buy it from the butcher.  I buy a half a beef for $2.09/lb...for everything.  It's grain-fed, natural, and lean as lean can be.  It's the next best thing to elk, really. 

What is half a beef?





As I said........


this is not permanent.

It is a move to broaden my eating horizons and eventually will back in to meat, but in smaller portions.



I really don't think I need to throw down a 16oz NY Strip every sunday night.

[Triple J]

You should be eating fish everyday anyway TJJJ.  You live in Seattle!  

If it was up to me we'd eat fish 3-4 times per week. Molly isn't a big fan of fish though.   I've made progress, as when we met she wouldn't even touch the stuff...but it's slow going. I think it's her meat and potatoes upbringing, coupled with her always having crappy fish as a kid. It's amazing how bad fish can be if it isn't fresh...but how good it can be when it is.

+1 on Sinister's butcher comments. Finding a good butcher that serves lean, natural (as opposed to organic...good but pricey) meats makes you wonder how you ever ate differently.

[Sinister]

What is half a beef?

1/2 of 1 cow.

[cyrus buelton]

If it was up to me we'd eat fish 3-4 times per week.

Eating that much fish really isn't very healthy.

Heavy metals in the water (i.e. mercury)

Any books you recommend? 

Adam

hey dude, shoot me a PM

I've got several good ones.

[Holden]

a completely vegetarian lifestyle isn't appropriate for humans.  long-term vegetarians always show muscle degradation, common b12 deficiency and deviant sexuality.

i was 100% vegetarian for over 20 years and it took its toll on me.  100% veg means no fish too.  protein sources were cheese, beans, legumes, etc.  however, i developed a b12 deficiency which i had to get supplemental shots for, and then my muscle/fat ratio started going wrong.

if you think of the vegetarians (granivores, herbivores, etc) in nature, you see a pattern:  high activity, good muscle tone (i.e. horses and kangaroos) and low activity, crappy muscle tone (cows, sheep, etc).  I know it isn't as simple as that, but unless you are as active as a wild horse, your vegetarian diet will turn you into a cow over time -- slowly.  your current muscle mass will remain, but it will slowly change over time due to the inconsistent protein in your diet and lowered b12. 

you can supplement your diet and be a healthy vegetarian, but i got tired of having to get shots, drink powder stuff and try exotic (expensive) food sources to stay healthy.  i asked my doctor, and she basically said "humans need to have about 5-15% of their diet from animal sources, i.e. meat"  i talked to various nutritionists and got the same reply from ones i would consider sane.  the nutty ones who pushed a vegetarian diet didn't want to hear about my muscle/fat ratio and one even said "people are too big and should be smaller." wtf??

suffice it to say, i started eating fish and then 2 years later, lamb.  my overall health improved, i started feeling better and my muscle/fat ratio is coming back to where i want it -- without hours of gym time.

Keep in mind that your [possibly diseased] physiology does not represent mankind as a wholeâ€"I know mine doesn't!

Think of George Burns w/r/t smoking. Just because he lived to be 100 smoking multiple cigars each day doesn't mean it won't kill you prematurely. Everyone is different.

Regarding B12 (which is synthesized in human intestines), here is an interesting one:
http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2007nl/nov/b12.htm

Almost all cases of vitamin B12 deficiency seen in patients today and in the past are due to diseases of the intestine, and are not due to a lack of B12 in their diet.  Damage to the stomach (parietal cells) usually from an autoimmune disease or surgery halts the production of intrinsic factor.  Damage to the ileum, preventing reabsorption and interrupting recirculation, causes the loss of B12. Over a period of 3 to 6 years the body's stores of vitamin B12 are depleted.  The disease that results is called pernicious anemia.  (The word pernicious refers to a tendency to cause death or serious injury.) Prior to the development of a treatment with liver extracts in 1926 this condition was fatal.