Vegans

I'm not a vegan although I'll occasionally go a day or two without eating any animal product. I can respect vegans if the choice to eat this way comes from a real place.

I am curious in regards to nutrition and training, however.

• Do you feel optimized for training on a vegan diet?
• What does your daily food intake look like?
• Back when I used to be really into weightlifting I couldn't see myself not taking in animal protein, the lifting was just so taxing. But with GST, i don't feel that requirement. Anyone else experience this?

Basically, i want to hear peoples training experience on and off a vegan diet.

There is Vegan Protein. The main ons that come to mind are VegaOne, Ka'Chava and Sunwarrior Warrior blend. Then I presume there would be a multitude of different types of beans (lentils, black, etc.) for protein. They would also have to take supplements or a lot of one food that has the amino acids that they don't get because they don't eat meat. Then pts of Veggies and Fruits.

Works for me.

I'm an Orthodox Christian and we fast for nearly half the year, so essentially I'm vegan for half the year. I'm really big on smoothies in the morning for easy veggies, carbs, and protiens.

always a salad for lunch with some kinds of nuts. I'm also big on black beans with assorted accompanients (Potatoes, rice, avocados etc)

dinner is actually pretty easy. potato tacos, spaghetti...You can get more creative and make vegan sloppy Joe's or fajitas. Buckwheat is also huge for meals.you can make it into oatmeal or into noodles. stuff packs a nutrient punch.

I don't find much of a difference training vegan as I do while having meat and dairy except for convenience.

1. Yes, this is the healthiest I have even been in my relatively short life span. Nothing clogs my circulatory system, my resting heart rate is lower than I thought it would get to considering all of the cardiovascular sports training I have done.

2. Some days I have more or less than 2300-2500 calories

3. I don't like the smell of raw or cooked animal tissue.

So, you all would completely disagree wit the statement that vegans have chronic low energy levels???

In your experience this is completely false?

What do you eat on a regular basis? 

My brother was a vegan for about three years.  He did it for ethical reasons after visiting a slaughterhouse.  The initial effects were positive, but he started feeling less and less happy and energetic as time went on.  He finally gave it up and said he felt great.  He doesn't eat near as much meat as he used to, and he tries to get organic or grass-fed, non-slaughterhouse meat.  He works out a moderate intensity for about half the year.

Every six months or so I often go a week without eating meat, almost like a nutritional deload week.  I never train during this time.  One time I tried full vegan and it was terrible.  I felt hungry almost continuously after the second day, I felt lethargic unless I had an afternoon nap and I only stuck with it to say I did it.  Granted, one week is not a good sample size, but I will not repeat that experiment.

Sensei JP said:

My brother was a vegan for about three years.  He did it for ethical reasons after visiting a slaughterhouse.  The initial effects were positive, but he started feeling less and less happy and energetic as time went on.  He finally gave it up and said he felt great.  He doesn't eat near as much meat as he used to, and he tries to get organic or grass-fed, non-slaughterhouse meat.  He works out a moderate intensity for about half the year.

 

Every six months or so I often go a week without eating meat, almost like a nutritional deload week.  I never train during this time.  One time I tried full vegan and it was terrible.  I felt hungry almost continuously after the second day, I felt lethargic unless I had an afternoon nap and I only stuck with it to say I did it.  Granted, one week is not a good sample size, but I will not repeat that experiment.

This. 

I`ve been vegan for exactly the same amount of time. 3 years. I´ve even experimented with the raw vegan diet for about 8 months. At the end of this time i had the same feelings and symptoms which sensej`s brother had. Since switching to a standard diet, which includes meat and fish in moderation it`s getting better. That beeing said:  Everyone is just unique. In my eyes there isn`t an ideal diet that fits to everyone. Don`t rely too much on the opinions and experiences of other people...you gotta try it yourself, listen to your body and decide whether it`s good for you or not.

Sean Hunter said:

So, you all would completely disagree wit the statement that vegans have chronic low energy levels???

In your experience this is completely false?

What do you eat on a regular basis?

Completely and utterly bullshit.

People who tried a vegan diet and got low energy levels weren't doing it right. As long as you eat a lot of beans, nuts and leafy green stuff you'll be getting everything the body needs (except maybe b12) and won't have any problems with energy.

I also drink a fair amount of protein, normally from rice/pea blends but occasionally soy. This isn't strictly speaking necessary tho.

What made you choose to be a vegan over vegetarian?

Sean Hunter said:

What made you choose to be a vegan over vegetarian?

Vegetarian is a compromise. I don't even acknowledge it as being a legitimate thing. It makes no sense to me.

I have been an omnivore, Vegetarian and then moved over to an ethical Vegan.  I typically put in about 3 - 4 hours of physical training averaged out for the week.

1. When it comes to training, I have not noticed any adverse effects, if anything it seems a little easier, especially after cutting out the dairy. I have noticed that when I switched from Veggie to Vegan my blood pressure shot down from 140 to about 115. I have not had food poisoning or severe indigestion since switching to veggie/vegan, which I had many occasions when I used to eat an omnivore diet.

2. I typically try to eat around 2,000 - 2,500 cal (depends on whats going on that day)  I don't watch my protein like a hawk, I don't have problems, I am always improving.  My experience is that if your not just eating life-savers your probably getting enough protein.

3. I experienced the same thing when switching from weight training to GST. GST is so gradual, slowly progressive and preparatory, as to where weightlifting (in general) is not, it really seems to tear up the body.  I am able to train GST 4-5 times a week and only be slightly sore after rough days, as to where when I was lifting weights I could only train half of that at best and I was sore all the time. 

Sean Hunter said:

What made you choose to be a vegan over vegetarian?

Let's see:

Family history of obesity, stroke, and heart attack. 

My knowledge of skin care.

My body just didn't want non-human breast milk or the ovulation of any female bird.

It wasn't heavily taught in schools and or heavily advertised on television/movies as normal. 

I wanted to be more peaceful. 

From basic biology class: the plant cell wall is made up of proteins.

If you peel the skin off of most fruit and some vegetables you left with the "Meat" of the fruit or vegetable.

Fruits and Vegetables don't have a nervous system.

What's your opinion on the paleo-diet and the consumption of grain and gluten? 

Do you care about this from a health standpoint or are you vegan more-so for ethical reasons?

Thanks for answering

Sean Hunter said:

What's your opinion on the paleo-diet and the consumption of grain and gluten?

Do you care about this from a health standpoint or are you vegan more-so for ethical reasons?

Grains are a personal thing. Some people are gluten intolerant, and that's their business. Some people are also fat and lazy, and so they need less carbohydrates that someone who trains. There's no one diet for everybody.

I'm vegan 100% for environmental reasons. Eating meat is just an inefficient use of limited resources in an overpopulated world.

Sean Hunter said:

What's your opinion on the paleo-diet and the consumption of grain and gluten? 

 

Do you care about this from a health standpoint or are you vegan more-so for ethical reasons?

 

Thanks for answering

i am a vegan for strictly ethical reasons and tbh i do not believe that being vegan is the healthiest way of life. the whole controversy of grain/gluten-consumption os completely overblown. yes, there IS a small amount of people that really dont tolerate gluten but for the majority, it is completely fine to eat gluten. typical marketing-hype-thing.

considering the energy-levels i do not really feel a difference, considering the fact you have to up your carb-intake when you go vegan i would even say i have more than before energy. most of my protein comes from beans, lentils and nuts, i am trying to get around 100g/day (80kg bw), which is a lot less than in my earlier meat-eating days. i dont really eat much soy, because i am still a bit unsure about the whole estrogen-thing. every vegan protein powder i tried was absolutey disgusting so i am trying to avoid these.

Sean Hunter said:

What's your opinion on the paleo-diet and the consumption of grain and gluten? 

 

Do you care about this from a health standpoint or are you vegan more-so for ethical reasons?

 

Thanks for answering

The best thing in my view about both veganism and paleo is how much vegetables people who trend this way eat. Eating lots of veggies is probably one of the best things you can do diet wise.

I like to eat in a way that respects, as much as possible, these criteria (from the book "It Starts With Food"):

- Promotes optimal hormonal balance

- Promotes mental health

- Promotes a healthy gut (your gut is where the food really becomes a part of you, it is also the area where proteins like gluten cause irritation and increased permeability)

- Promotes a healthy immune response (usually closely related to how your gut is feeling as 80% of our immune system focuses on the area around the gut).

I think whatever way of eating you choose, there will always be some sort of challenge, whether physical or ethical. A simple diet, with lots of veggies, that helps you feel energized and healthy sounds right to me!

As far seeing results in my diet. The absolute best was when I ate strictly Chicken, Rice and Broccoli. Sucked emotionally, but it cleared all of the crap out of my body within days. I never had low energy at any point. And I questioned the need for toilet paper. That last part was TMI, my bad.

But yea, I was super healthy and recovered from workouts faster than usual.

When I tested vegan dieting I did not get the same results. Aside from the toilet paper thing. Even when I took in 2200 cal a day, I would feel the need to nap every day. I think unless you can graze on food all day that you will eventually run into low energy throughout the day on a vegan diet. I could be wrong about this. But i usually eat 2-3 meals a day. That and drinking a gallon of water a day are the two factors I didn't change while testing out individual diets.

Most enjoyable diet that I still saw results with was eating meats/veggies/rice or pasta.

It wasn't as quick as the first test because of sauces with extra fats. But I'll take that over hating breakfast, lunch and dinner.

It is not natural to eat just vegetables and nuts through whole day. Humans are create as omnivores. Just my opinion.

Historical evidence along with years and years of scientific proof would agree with your opinion Paf.

Paf said:

It is not natural to eat just vegetables and nuts through whole day. Humans are create as omnivores. Just my opinion.

It's not natural for us to use the Internet, but still we're here.

there is no such thing as a definite proof. people will debate about this forever.

DieKatze said:

there is no such thing as a definite proof. people will debate about this forever.

Definite proof that we're supposed to be omnivores? I would say having both canine teeth and molars is proof enough.

Doesn't mean we can't rise above our evolutionary heritage.

It's entirely natural to use the Internet. We build things by nature. Beavers build bridges and hovels to live in. Is it unnatural for them to live in it?

The whole 'natural' essentialism argument quickly derails into absurdity. To which time period do we ascribe the concept 'natural'? 10.000 years ago? 50.000? 500.000? To which culture, ethnicity or geographical setting do we ascribe 'natural'?

The term becomes so all-encompassing as to lose all meaning; it becomes white noise.