Vegetarian "Purification Cycle"

primesuspect

Much like a Patryn in the Labyrinth, I do this every couple of years. I stop eating meat for a couple of months. In the past, I've done this anywhere from 3 weeks to almost six months.

I don't have any philosophical, religious, or ethical motives, I just do it because I tend to feel a bit healthier afterwards.

So I started two days ago. It's easier and easier to be a vegetarian - so far I've had no struggles finding good things to eat.

For lunch yesterday I had Thai-style fried rice and substituted mixed vegetables for meat. It was awesome

For dinner yesterday I got a blimpie "vegi-max" sub (I feel dirty when I order it - it sounds like vagi-max)

Today I had a falaffel, hummous, and tabbouleh sandwich

Etc.

Thoughts?

GHoosdum

When people learn that I am mostly vegetarian, they ask me, "how can you get a variety of food without meat?"

By now all I do is chuckle. The people that ask are almost always burger 'n fries types. Sausage for breakfast. Burger for lunch. Steak for dinner. Repeat. Tell me where's the variety in that?

primesuspect

Indians are the masters, though. I could eat a completely different meal every day for 60 days and still eat no meat if I had a master Indian chef living in my kitchen

GHoosdum

You'd also poop a different color every day for 60 days.

mmmmm.... Indian....

Thelemech

For almost a full year the only meat I ate would be fish or free range chicken(and rarely ); even went as far as going organic, eating as much pesticide(etc) free veggies and fruits as possible/affordable.What a different all around feeling of self I had, the only time in my life that I felt better was when I was bodybuilding (eating tons of meat; of course )when I was in the last years of high school. There are a few great "eats" that I remember = stir fry veggies with tofu, oriental noodles with peanut sauce and well cooked beans, etc etc... ...As you know, this will do your body and mind a world of good Prime!

mas0n

For a few years while I was vegetarian I came to really enjoy Thai food, eating it at least twice a week. I love the way the spices compliment the vegetables and the ability to substitute tofu into pretty much any meal as the meat itself is rarely a primary source of flavor in a Thai dish.

GHoosdum

Generally speaking, charred flesh in and of itself is not what I consider to be a great flavor source. American "cooking" seems to believe it's the only thing you need aside from some deep fried potato in one form or another...

mas0n

Don't forget the "wedge o' lettuce with a carrot" salad.

Annes

mas0n wrote:

Don't forget the "wedge o' lettuce with a carrot" salad.

And it's not even good lettuce. Iceberg is like drinking a glass of water. Ugh Spinach salads all the way!

Sledgehammer70

i could never do this... first off not a fan of veggies 2nd off i have to have meat of some kind. It is just in my blood to eat good meat.

Your-Amish-Daddy

Now, I wanna up your ante. Try fruit instead of just vegetables. Fruit for breakfast and lunch but graze on it during the day, and a very light meat dinner with a large portion of green vegetables, preferably fresh. Eat that for two weeks, then tell me how you feel.

Sledgehammer70

ewww... how is someone suppose to feel after eating like this? fruity with a veggie tale twist?

GHoosdum

Very clean and full of energy, actually.

lemonlime

I've been a vegetarian for years. I know exactly what you mean about the Indian cooking, Brian. I've taught myself how to cook quite a few indian dishes over the years. I found that I had a much greater appreciation for food and tried a larger variety of foods from all over the world when I stopped eating meat--not to mention feeling a heck of a lot better.

Your-Amish-Daddy

No. Do some dietary research man, and look at modern humans vs bronze age humans.

EDIT://And GHoosdum is right. Try it sometime. You might feel like a real man for a change.

Sledgehammer70

Your Amish Daddy wrote:

No. Do some dietary research man, and look at modern humans vs bronze age humans.

EDIT://And GHoosdum is right. Try it sometime. You might feel like a real man for a change.

I don't think I ever had issues about feeling like a real man...

GHoosdum

LOL - Gigantor ALWAYS feels like a MAN.

LawnMM

You asked for thoughts...

I think you're starving your body of protein when you do this and thats not good for you physically and it certainly will help derail any efforts as far as 'toning up' or losing weight.

If you want to try something different try cutting out carbohydrates from your diet instead of meat. By consuming a large amount of protein every day you'll help preserve what muscle you still have but the drop in your carbohydrate intake will slash you calorie intake and you'll start to lose weight. More importantly, you'll start losing fat.

I wouldn't do it for more than three or four days at a time with a cheat day at the tail end of each 3-4 day stretch.

I know you can still ingest some protein from beans and whatever other vegan friendly sources there are but unless you're eating like 8 cans of beans per day you're really starving your body of one of the most important macronutrients.

You don't have to eat bad meat. Stick to lean sources of protein like turkey and chicken if you have issues with red meat. Eggs, cheese, etc, all are good sources.

GHoosdum

You'd be surprised at how much protein is actually in whole foods and many international vegetarian dishes, Lawn.

BetsyD

This sounds like a good idea if you take care to include enough protein in your diet, and not like a friends of mine's 'Fill up on starch and carbs and dont eat anything eles'-vegetarianism :P

I might even try it except that my family would disown me :P

primesuspect

Yeah, I'm really kinda burned out on the whole "lack of protein" thing. I've known way too many lifetime vegetarians who are healthy, strong, and glowing people to think that eating meat is a human necessity.

As I stated in the beginning, I have absolutely no issues with eating animals, people, insects, babies, etc. Nor do I begrudge others who do the same. I will go back to eating meat when I get a mad craving for rib of swine or bloody hunk of beef steer.

This is something I've tried before, and been very happy with as far as "how I feel" - it's nothing more than that.

Many of the Buddhist and Hindu monks I know are amazingly healthy, really old men, who have been lifetime vegetarians (not vegans - please don't confuse the two, they are aliens to each other, and I agree that a vegan lifestyle is very unhealthy). Put it this way, if I took 20 of the 65+ year old white americans I know and put them next to 20 of the 65+ year old lifetime vegetarian thai, vietnamese, and indian people I know - you would say, 'holy crap those brown people look absolutely great compared to the saggy fat, hunched over old white people' Shining, tight skin, good eyesight, walking straight and tall, etc.

Lack of meat never did them any harm.

//addendum to BetsyD:

I really have no trouble with lack of protein in my veg choices, since I primarily stick with Indian, Thai, and Middle Eastern cuisines. Falaffel, labne, lentils, etc. Lots of protein in those dishes. I avoid the chemically manufactured "american soy mush patty pressed into different shapes and textures" as much as I can. I am not convinced that those are valid sources of healthy nutrition over the long term.

Nomad

For almost a year now I've eaten as many chickens as possible daily.

BetsyD

primesuspect wrote:

//addendum to BetsyD:

I really have no trouble with lack of protein in my veg choices, since I primarily stick with Indian, Thai, and Middle Eastern cuisines. Falaffel, labne, lentils, etc. Lots of protein in those dishes. I avoid the chemically manufactured "american soy mush patty pressed into different shapes and textures" as much as I can. I am not convinced that those are valid sources of healthy nutrition over the long term.

My post was more in response to Lawn's post, not yours I think vegetarianism is uesful when done correctly. Ive just seen one very sick old lady who starved herself of all protein in the name of vegetarianism who has been hospitalized almost constantly for the past 10 years because of the lack, And then my other example of vegetarianism is GHoosdum, who "does it right" :P Sounds like you do too... Sorry for the miscommunication.

Side note: I didnt even realize until recently that my favorite indian dishes were vegetarian until recently when I looked up some recipes for them :P Yummy indian

primesuspect

I'm just sad nobody got my Patryn reference

RWB

http://www.chlorellafactor.com/ A good read on two foods that are incredible for protein and body cleansing...

I am trying something new myself, decided to go all out today. I week ago I received two things... Green Phytofoods & Chlorella which I have been using for the past week.

I don't have the extra money to buy extra Spirulina like I did with the Chlorella, but combined with adding fresh squeezed lemons to every drink I have I am trying to cleanse my body as well. I am doing what the first link is basically saying, I don't really measure how much I am taking I just take it when I feel like I need something. When I feel like going out and getting me a triple meat triple cheese burger with large fries and a sprite I pop a few Chlorella tabs and/or chug a few heaping tablespoons of the Green Phytofoods with a bunch of water(ain't that bad either).

I'll also mix a teaspoon in with my 52oz cup'o tea I carry around with me, which I usually have to refill 3-5 times a day.

If all else fails though and my will to eat is just that strong I always keep some tuna and salmon handy, not to mention eggs and my tasty Morning Star vegan meals.

I'm gonna give it a try and see how it goes, but judging from the past week I think it's gonna go great because I already feel great. On my next paycheck I'll buy a bunch of Spirulina and start popping those down too.

LawnMM

Never said you can't be healthy eating rabbit food exclusively or that you couldn't be a 'glowing' person. All I said was cutting out meat drops a huge array of protein sources from your available list. You could probably do it without, but it would be rough I'm sure.

Out of curiosity how much protein are we talking about in the Thai dishes and what not? How much protein are you taking in, in grams, per day when you eat like that?

primesuspect

here's one example of a dish I like a lot:

Mutter Paneer (this is indian curry with chunks of goat cheese)

1 serving:

147 cal
10.7 carb
8.5 prot
8.1 fat

That's just one example - it's 1:45 am and I don't feel like trolling the web for nut. info on various veg dishes. You can do the same if you're that curious.

Remember that plant protein is just as valid as meat protein, and doesn't contain any sat. fats or cholesterol. Also the fiber intake is way up which is good for the cholesterol and digestive system.

It's sure easier to get protein through meat, but then that's why america is probably the fattest country on earth. I don't exempt myself from that - i'm fat too, but like I said, I'm not in this for any reason other than "i feel better after a while".

Leonardo

American "cooking" seems to believe it's the only thing you need aside from some deep fried potato in one form or another...

Hmm, sounds like you've been deprived of variety when it comes to 'American' cooking.

If you want to try something different try cutting out carbohydrates from your diet instead of meat.

Nothing drastic is needed at all! You know that food pyramid that's in so many posters? It's actually accurate and sound advice. Now, if the majority of carbohydrates is white bread crap and junk food, yeah, then strip it out. If it's complex carbohydrates and whole grains, go for it! It WON'T get you fat. The garbage white bread and highly processed crap WILL get you fat.

Frankly, I think people get waaay too hung up about either side of this equation -- vegetarianism and all-inclusive diets (meat eating). You can be perfectly healthy in either camp! And I've been in both camps. About the only big danger here is people thinking they can switch from an ordinary meat-eating diet simply by substituting one or two vegetable proteins for their animal protein intake. That's where one needs to be very careful. To get all the necessary amino acids for proper human cell formation and growth, the vegetarian needs to consume a very wide variety of WHOLE grains and vegetable proteins. It's not easy, but it can definitely be done.

The biggest craziness is the rush to stupid fads:

greatfruit diet
Scarsdale diet
high protein diet
low or no-carbohydrates diet
God only knows what silliness (that directly contradicts the previous high fashion diet) will come next

The list is endless. What's laughed at today will be fashion tomorrow. What's popular today people will spurned tomorrow.

Four food groups - moderation - lots of water - moderate portions - low or unrefined - not excessive fat - low added sugar - low added salt (sodium). It is that simple.

Leonardo

It's sure easier to get protein through meat, but then that's why america is probably the fattest country on earth.

Imbalance of protein over whole grains and fruits and vegetables? Yeah, that's part of the problem. But that's only one part of it. Just thirty something years ago when I was a kid, the fat people were the exception, so much that people stared at them. People were big meat eaters then too, and they usually didn't even bother trimming off the fat. What's different now. Obesity is a disease? (That's idiotic horseship.) What is different now: 1) people eat out three or four times as much, 2) eat FAR more processed food, 3) get far less exercise on a day to day basis, 3) people snack more (on pure junk), 4) people eat larger portions (restaurant portions have become ridiculous), 5) a Coke was a treat; people drank sodas as something special - a treat, not at all like today, very few school kids had mega sugar loaded drinks (the boxed junk and sodas) in their lunches - soda consumption wasn't near what it is now. Big lifestyle changes have made the difference. Probably the biggest differences now are lots of junk food (refined, sugar, fat, boxed.sodas..) and lack of physical activity in the day to day routine.

You do have a point though, in that it's more difficult to put on fat from plant protein than from animal. The plant protein just doesn't have all the fat...unless its peanut butter or something like that.

GHoosdum

LawnMM wrote:

Never said you can't be healthy eating rabbit food exclusively or that you couldn't be a 'glowing' person. All I said was cutting out meat drops a huge array of protein sources from your available list. You could probably do it without, but it would be rough I'm sure.

Rabbit food?
I think you're missing the distinction between vegetarian and vegan. Vegans eat "rabbit food". They often have trouble getting enough protein. Vegetarians, on the other hand, often get plenty of protein for a healthy lifestyle, and often a lot less saturated fat. Rough? Nope. I've done it all my life and it's not rough at all. According to some studies that I've read, the average human needs about 50g of protein in a day. The average vegetarian gets 65g. The average "meat eater" gets about 80g per day. I eat 100-150g+ protein every day.

Unfortunately, Lawn, I don't think your opinion is informed by fact. I'm glad, though, that you're willing to exchange in dialogue about it and even ask questions to learn more, like the one about the protein content of international dishes.

primesuspect wrote:

here's one example of a dish I like a lot:

Mutter Paneer (this is indian curry with chunks of goat cheese)

1 serving:

147 cal
10.7 carb
8.5 prot
8.1 fat

Uh... How large is 1 serving? I'm pretty sure I eat about 15 servings of Mutter Paneer whenever I go to the buffet, and I knew it had a lot of fat, but I didn't realize it was that much! That Paneer is killer stuff!

Leonardo wrote:

Frankly, I think people get waaay too hung up about either side of this equation -- vegetarianism and all-inclusive diets (meat eating). You can be perfectly healthy in either camp! And I've been in both camps. About the only big danger here is people thinking they can switch from an ordinary meat-eating diet simply by substituting one or two vegetable proteins for their animal protein intake. That's where one needs to be very careful. To get all the necessary amino acids for proper human cell formation and growth, the vegetarian needs to consume a very wide variety of WHOLE grains and vegetable proteins. It's not easy, but it can definitely be done.

That is a GREAT point, Leo. Those switching to vegetarianism, even temporarily, should study the topic of Food Combining to create complete protein groups, or at least get plant proteins from a variety of sources. However, supplementing plant proteins with whey and casein will provide a pretty complete protein picture, and it's not out of bounds for a vegetarian to consume dairy proteins.

Leonardo wrote:

What is different now: 1) people eat out three or four times as much, 2) eat FAR more processed food, 3) get far less exercise on a day to day basis, 3) people snack more (on pure junk), 4) people eat larger portions (restaurant portions have become ridiculous), 5) a Coke was a treat; people drank sodas as something special - a treat, not at all like today, very few school kids had mega sugar loaded drinks (the boxed junk and sodas) in their lunches - soda consumption wasn't near what it is now. Big lifestyle changes have made the difference. Probably the biggest differences now are lots of junk food (refined, sugar, fat, boxed.sodas..) and lack of physical activity in the day to day routine.

Exactly! Move around more, eat less refined foods (particularly HFCS!) and practice portion and calorie control and you'll feel better and get slimmer. It's that simple. And by simple, I mean it's the way our bodies like to operate. It's extremely difficult to implement in our consumer culture where attention spans are measured in nanoseconds and convenience is king.

Thrax

The average human needs about 200g, not 50.