well..i've gone mostly meat-less. the verdict.

[vash]

background: i love MEAT!
i'm an avid bowhunter, and the very best meat has been stuff i've seen tipped over and butchered myself. (or by generous friends)

for various reasons, i decided to cut way back on meat. i've limited myself to "if i eat meat", it will be on a weekend. i think i am approaching my third week.

my main diet M-F has been lots of soy beans/tofu, copious amounts of home cooked beans, and nuts. my greens intake is almost unholy. in two weeks, i have become somewhat of a baked squash expert.

if i slipped, and i have slipped..it has been a few sardines, or a sushi roll. some cheese..yogurt, and sour cream (for the beans). i have not cheated with a cheeseburger or anything. i might splash homemade chicken stock on some braised greens.

the verdict:
i dont think i have lost weight. my wife says i LOOK better. my energy is actually ramped up. i get home from work, and i dont plop down on a couch for an hour nap. i do stuff, get things done..put on running shoes and run 2.5 miles on steep trails everyday. i havent had a food coma at work since.
gross part - i think part of me is allergic to meat. i get some sore bumps on my body..those are all gone.
normal body functions are all green lighted..full speed ahead. enough on that topic.
no more stomach/gut pains.


i'm gonna see how this plays out. it isnt that difficult, and my veggie cooking is vastly improved. i'm super full. but not bloated. a moderate bowl of beans is super filling. the first time i made it..i gave myself a huge portion because it looked like the right size. i couldnt finish it. uncomfy stuffed.
and eating like this is not saving me any money. fresh daily greens are not cheap or convenient.

i have a month long overseas vacation coming up..i'm sure i am gonna "go to town" on some delicious food. haha..i'll consider it the "control" part of this experiment.

[vash]

i'm gonna try to sweetalk my doctor into running a blood panel the week before i leave.

[M.D. Holloway]

look at your carnivores...pretty lean beasts, then look at the herbivores...bit on the heavy side save maybe deer or horses. Look at the omnivores - mixed bag. One thing is for certain, reduce intake and the system runs more efficient.

All the old guys I know = 80+ that are looking and thinking great all seem to have only one thing in common, they ain't fat.

[KevinTodd]

Good stuff and keep it up...you won't be sorry. I would suggest being careful with the intake of soy and soy-derived products as they can have some detrimental effects on where body fat is stored due to the amount of isoflavones they contain. They mimic estrogen which in men is obviously not great--again--you have to consume quite a bit.

I have gone to whey-based protein supplements and although I love Tofu, I eat it and other soy products very infrequently.

Best of luck with the new lifestyle!

[sc_rufctr]

Good for you Vash but there's no mention of Lentils. Very filling and nutritious.

You should try some Greek Lentil soup, I'm sure you wont be disappointed.

Greek Lentil Soup recipe (Fakes Soupa) - My Greek Dish

[sammyg2]

veggies are what food eats.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Good on ya'! Stick with it. When you start eating things that are actually good for you, you'll find yourself craving them. Funny how that works - almost like learning to listen to what our bodies are telling us rather than what Monsanto, the beef board, fast food and agribusiness advertisers tell us might have some merit. Fancy that...

Listening to our bodies is a skill that's been buried under a few generations of conditioning and calculated corporate brainwashing - much like the tobacco industry had people convinced that smoking "opened the airways and purged the lungs of bad air" and was healthy back in the early 1900s. Be true to yourself. Learn to hear your body and what it's asking for - you'll start eating balanced and healthy without too much effort before long.

"Nothing will benefit human health and increase the chances for survival of life on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet." —Albert Einstein

(I know I post that one a lot but I love it and it goes right to the point in a clear and elegant way as most of Einstein's quotes do whether they're about physics, philosophy, life, whatever).

[recycled sixtie]

You gotta realize that meat has essential things in it like iron(particularly red meat). I have never really consumed a ton of meat in my life - probably have red meat/pork/chicken 2-3 times a weak but in moderation . I have a burger about once a month but mostly chicken/seafood.

I remember about ten years ago we went vegetarian and we all lost lots of weight for whatever reason We went back to normal diet with meat and the weight back to normal. I imagine vash your cholesterol count and blood pressure are now quite low?

However everything in moderation - BMI within acceptable limits, moderate alcohol consumption and exercise(at least half hour a day). I have heard it said that if you reach 60 with no big health problems then you have about a 50 % chance of reaching 90 yo.

Then you get to be an older pita preaching to the young uns like yourself!

Guy

[porsche930dude]

My family cut the salt down and it makes a noticeable difference. nothing drastic just dont buy stuff thats loaded with it. Its amazing the amount they put in some stuff. and stuff that there shouldnt be any salt in at all.

[TheMentat]

Good for you. I did a 30 day trial with a vegan diet. I noticed a lot of the same things you did. I've since dialed meat back in to a lesser extent, but it was a great way to add a lot of vegetarian options to my cooking repertoire!

[winders]

Originally Posted by Porsche-O-Phile

"Nothing will benefit human health and increase the chances for survival of life on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet." —Albert Einstein

(I know I post that one a lot but I love it and it goes right to the point in a clear and elegant way as most of Einstein's quotes do whether they're about physics, philosophy, life, whatever).

Einstein never said that....not even close. Someone either made it up or really poorly translated German. Also, Einstein had zero training in nutrition so even if he did say it, he would have no basis for making such an assertion.

Here is a real Einstein quote:

"Although I have been prevented by outward circumstances from observing a strictly vegetarian diet, I have long been an adherent to the cause in principle. Besides agreeing with the aims of vegetarianism for aesthetic and moral reasons, it is my view that a vegetarian manner of living by its purely physical effect on the human temperament would most beneficially influence the lot of mankind."

Translation of an Einstein letter to Hermann Huth, December 27, 1930.

Time to pick a new quote......

[winders]

Oh, studies on the effect a vegetarian diet has on human temperament have been inconclusive at best.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Interesting but even if true the jist is the same. Can you post a link to that?

[winders]

Originally Posted by Porsche-O-Phile

Interesting but even if true the jist is the same. Can you post a link to that?

History of Vegetarianism - Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

No, the "jist"* is not even close to being the same.

*gist

[Evans, Marv]

I don't worry about it. We eat a very minimum of processed foods (however I can't remember the last bit of processed food I had). That's just the way we've always done it. I love meat but have cut way back on it's consumption for some unconscious reason. We make meals with fresh vegetables, greens, legumes, pasta once in a while & small amounts of meat - and some days I go without any meat. As a matter of fact, now that you reminded me, my total meat intake today was 6 or 8 shrimp. Once in a while I get a hamburger or taco, but in the main I don't think about whether I should or shouldn't. I think that is pretty much how it should be rather than concentrating on a strict regimen of avoiding specific item(s), unless allergies are involved.

[sailchef]

Vash, if you want something to read on the plane heading overseas, get a copy of The Vegetarian Primer by Peter Burwash. I think you will find it interesting. I read it more than 20 years ago and went vegetarian for several years after that. My lifestyle eventually got in the way of maintaining a true vegetarian diet, but I will quite often forget to eat meat for days at a time.

[bri450sl]

Been eating mostly meatless for 25 years. Also cut back on sodium. Hardly any alcohol. This change was prompted by my wife after marriage and I took a lot of teasing from my guy friends. Now I'm the one without the gut and feel great. I'm so lucky I married her.

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by vash

background: i love MEAT!
i'm an avid bowhunter.....

Cliff, you should probably avoid Lexington, NC tomorrow...where 150K folks will converge on that tiny place and consume over 10,000 lbs of BBQ. But if you're in the area...cabbage season just opened for bow/black powder, and I've got some land with tree stands already set up for ya

[fintstone]

Veggies are good, but you can't beat meat.

[DonDavis]

I went meat-less last April. When I checked my cholesterol a couple years ago, the total number was about 230. I cut out cheese, egg yolks and all ice cream. ( love me some ice cream, yes I do ). After a little over a year, I went to my work's education center for some training ( I work for GE Healthcare ). There's a Wellness check nurse there so I had her run my numbers. It had dropped only 10 points. I'd expected a bit more of a drop. We discussed my diet and quite frankly, I was eating a lot of meat. Hmm, ok.

The ed center cafeteria is managed by Marriot. Folks from all over the world are there all the time and the food selections are very diverse and they'll prepare just about anything requested. Lots of vegetarian options and I was going to be there 2 weeks so I figured what the hell. I ate plenty and was never hungry. Two weeks later I'd lost 4 lbs and felt great. No food comas like Vash pointed out, felt lighter, more energy, blah, blah, blah.

Gave it some serious thought on the flight home and and decided to stick with it for a while.
I noticed almost immediately that I enjoyed eating cheese far more than I missed eating meat.

I do eat fish. Usually ditch egg yolks, depends on the dish. And rarely have ice cream.
I have some of the meatless items from the frozen section, i.e., meatless breakfast patties, veggie burgers, black bean veggie burgers, etc and it's going well.

I'm down 15 el bees, but weight loss was never my intention. I can run longer, faster. My workout recovery is better and sleep has improved.

Over Labor Day, I went to Hawaii with some veggie friends for the Kauai Marathon. There were 3 other friends there that were meat eaters and they had rib eyes after the race. They were teasing me and bragging about how good they were. Kept offering me some so I had a few bites. Full disclosure, rib eye is my favorite steak. I know it's fatty, but in a good way.
While it was delicious, I couldn't get past the fat coating my entire mouth. I said nothing to my buddies except "Yum, delicious, thank you!". But I knew then my meat eating days had changed. But for the better! While I'm certain this won't last forever, ( I'll get my numbers checked soon and report back ) I'll prob never go back to my old way of eating meat.

The most positive thing thus far, is my 15 year old son is open to the idea. He sees the benefits of eating less meat and more of some healthy options. He still has plenty of meat, but has cut back.

I'm digging it so far.