Thinking of becoming vegetarian ....

[97tbird]

I still need to learn a lot about it ..how to get protein etc etc...
I just don't feel like eating meat somehow...I think at 40, I should change my dieting habits and have been thinking of SLOWLY converting to vegetarian...

ate a veggie pizza last night...

since I've been eating more veggies and less meat, my stomach feels great (light-ish somehow) and I feel like i sleep a lot better at night...

Any help/thoughts/feedback/experiences are appreciated....

 

[4D-56]

Over the last 3 years i have changed my diet and lifestyle drastically. I now eat a strictly plant based diet, most of the time im vegan but dont really care for the labels.

I highly recommend reading "The pH Miracle" By DR. Robert Young....as you move away from meat and the more typical diets....this is a book that can really show to you the power of what we consume.

there is a strong protein myth in that we actually dont need as much as we are often told we do....there is far more protein in veggies than we are taught....if you do want to get protein, stay away from whey which is dairy based....go with Hemp protein...its light, easily digested.

The health benefits of a plant based diet are fabulous, its not for everyone but has worked very well for me. your digestive system will thank you over and over!

Eating lots of veggies increases your intake of chlorophyll which, since it is very similar on a molecular level, to your blood, is great for building good quality blood.

consume LOTS of a good quality sea salt, it is as important as water or oxygen.

drink ionized water at a pH 0f 9.5 and ORP of -300mV or lower

supplement your diet with liquid chlorophyll

consume plenty of essential fatty acids thru avocados, flax oil, hemp oil

eat lots of garlic, onions...these help to fight the yeast, mold and fungus which are the very source of why we get sick from over acidity...

I could go on for hours....the learning i have done has set me free of so much excess weight, depression, sickness...go for it!

 

[Stelth]

I followed a vegetarian diet for a while in my 30's. Probably healthier than the way I eat now. Adults don't need huge amounts of protein, but there's plenty available from vegetable sources anyway. I still sometimes make vegetarian bean dishes that are pretty tasty even to meat-eaters.

There's plenty of food out there for non-meat eaters. Vegetables, grains, fruits, legumes, in great variety. I'm a meat eater now, but it would do me good to cut back on the red meat a bit.

And yes, I agree that you need to learn more about it. If cutting back on meat is helping you feel better and sleep better, why not?

 

[stephen9666]

I've been a vegetarian for just about 7 years now. (I'm 28). Many people over-think the protein thing. Most Americans eat way more protein than they need.

People sometimes ask me "what do you eat?" That seems like a dumb question. I eat the same meals as everyone else minus the meat. Almost any dish can be made without meat.

One thing that I like as a snack/meal are Morningstar Farms brand "chicken nuggets." They're meat free and really good. Most supermarkets carry them in the frozen food section.

http://www.morningstarfarms.com/products_vegetarian-chicken.aspx

Also, their meat free corn dogs are really good.

 

[Cause4Alarm]

Not knocking it or anything....but I couldn't survive without pork or beef, but I'm still a big fan of green food

 

[kballowe]

Having a chlorestoral (sp) problem, I tried everything without meat and almost no egg/dairy for quite some time and felt very weak all of the time. I added a little meat (fish, chicken) back to my diet and it was a huge difference.

So I'm wondering if some folks' bodies react differently?

I'm in my 50's so maybe it was just too much of a shock? lol

 

[uc50ic4more]

Originally Posted By: 97tbird
how to get protein etc etc...


Only a little over-simplified: grains, legumes, nuts - combine any two for a complete protein.

 

[NHHEMI]

Originally Posted By: Cause4Alarm
Not knocking it or anything....but I couldn't survive without pork or beef, but I'm still a big fan of green food


Same here. If someone wants to go veghead so be it. All the more power to you. I like veggies and eat them every day but you can count on some form of dead animal, fowl, or fish being on my plate.

 

[Spazdog]

I tried the whole vegan thing. It's just not for me.

I never got that whole "feel better" thing going. I felt progressively less and less energized. After about a month I started cheating. No meat but I would go to Whole Foods and get a cup of yogurt with some fresh fruit. Then maybe a little smoked gouda or havarti with some apples. I never had any digestive discomfort from the sudden reintroduction of dairy. My ex-girlfriend who had insisted on the vegan-diet inadvertantly had a little Tzatziki (yogurt) from a vegetarian restaurant and had bad problems.

After we broke up, I gradually reintroduced meat to my diet. Just fish and chicken for years. Then I started dating the woman who became my wife. She comes from a family that had lived in Cincinnati for a LONG time. Cincinnati = Porkopolis. I still try to eat primarily fish and chicken but pork is a part of my diet now. I feel fine and can tolerate changes in my diet a lot better than any vegan I have ever met.

 

[Al]

Originally Posted By: stro_cruiser

consume LOTS of a good quality sea salt, it is as important as water or oxygen.

Problem with sea salt is the sodium. Sodium outweighs (for the bad) any benefits if any of "sea salt" Btw all salt comes from the sea, IMHO its a scam. More important than salt is potassium.

I really limit my meats. But I still believe some animal protein like eggs, cheese, and milk are almost necessary. I know in theory you can get "all" the complex proteins from non animal sources...but I hedge my bets.

As far as eggs and cholesterol. I always felt that anything that has the ingredients for new life is a good thing. Latest findings indicate that eggs don't noticeably contribute to cholesterol. Your body manufactures 95% of it.

I eat lots of fish but have at most one non fish meal per week.

 

[Jim 5]

"If god didn't want us to eat animals, he wouldn't have made them out of meat." (Just kidding).

I changed my diet significantly 4.5 years ago to very low carb. It has made a big difference and I have slimmed down about 15 pounds.

 

[Astro14]

Cave-man diet - if you can't hunt it or pull it out of the ground, you probably shouldn't be eating it...

Unfortunately, this excludes beer...so I don't follow it strictly!

 

[Stelth]

Originally Posted By: kballowe
Having a chlorestoral (sp) problem, I tried everything without meat and almost no egg/dairy for quite some time and felt very weak all of the time. I added a little meat (fish, chicken) back to my diet and it was a huge difference.

So I'm wondering if some folks' bodies react differently?

I'm in my 50's so maybe it was just too much of a shock? lol


Everyone is an individual. Everyone's body reacts differently to almost anything. There are a lot of things you can do to lower cholesterol without making a sudden, drastic change to your diet.

 

[uc50ic4more]

Originally Posted By: Astro14
Unfortunately, this excludes beer...so I don't follow it strictly!


You can indeed pull barley and hops out of the ground. Water seems plentiful enough and yeast is floating all around wildly -- BEER IS BACK IN!

 

[crinkles]

I've tried and failed. once when i was about 23 and recently when i was 29.

I give preference to organics and free range produced animals.

I think just eating a whole lot less would help 90% of the population, as in halve what we eat.

 

[Blaze]

During the summer months just about all I eat are uncooked raw vegetables fresh out of the garden. I just go from row to row eating until I get full. Way more energy and feel much better. That is the only way I like vegetables. I have alway hated any cooked vegetable but fresh and raw I love them!

 

[Shannow]

Originally Posted By: Al
As far as eggs and cholesterol. I always felt that anything that has the ingredients for new life is a good thing. Latest findings indicate that eggs don't noticeably contribute to cholesterol. Your body manufactures 95% of it.

I eat lots of fish but have at most one non fish meal per week.


Yep, my uncle had "problem levels" of Cholesterol, even as a helthy string bean type...they put him on a strict steamed beef/chicken/fish vegetable regime, and his body responded by increasing his cholesterol.

Interestingly, recent research is showing elevated sugar (and therefore insulin levels) when the liver is blocked from converting sugars to cholesterol.

 

[Malo83]

Meat and Potatoes guy

 

[crinkles]

Originally Posted By: Shannow
Originally Posted By: Al
As far as eggs and cholesterol. I always felt that anything that has the ingredients for new life is a good thing. Latest findings indicate that eggs don't noticeably contribute to cholesterol. Your body manufactures 95% of it.

I eat lots of fish but have at most one non fish meal per week.


Yep, my uncle had "problem levels" of Cholesterol, even as a helthy string bean type...they put him on a strict steamed beef/chicken/fish vegetable regime, and his body responded by increasing his cholesterol.

Interestingly, recent research is showing elevated sugar (and therefore insulin levels) when the liver is blocked from converting sugars to cholesterol.


the body converts fructose to cholesterol.

sugar (specifically fructose) is the next tobacco.

 

[Silk]

I've been vegetarian for over 30 years,and it hasn't killed me yet.The whole ''what do you do for protein'' gets tiresome,it's pretty hard not to eat protein.Protein from meat may be complete,but it has to be pulled apart and reassembled to the bodies requirements...a vegetarian diet just gives the body protein in less complete packages,so long as all the building blocks are there you will get protein.Combining proteins is easy,most ethnic diets combine - eg,a peanut butter sandwich is complete protein.