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Paleo, Vegan, Vegetarian and the Conventional Diet...


James Coppola
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James Coppola

I'm loving all the variety of diets being discussed and peoples experiences. This is exactly what I was looking for.

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Antonio Alías Montoya

I am vegeterian since 3 years ago and feel great. The point is that for me nutrition is not a science, or at least is just half science and half art/living. Nutrition is one of the topic where usually people get more angry and argue the most beause they believe that if their diet is very good or the best, others diet which are the opossite has to be bad. This assumption is wrong.

I have a metaphore to explain myself this: Nutrition is like the shoes you wear to walk in life, you can wear better shoes or worse shoes, they can be comfortable or not, expensive or cheap, fashionable or not, but what it matters is that you know how to walk. Everyone can reach the top of the hill, even barefooted. The walking part is your own mind, at least the 90% of the equation and certainly nutrition, if it s suit you, if it s comfortable and it doesn t hurt you then will make the path smoother.

There is just one main rule which I believe is good for everyone, chew your food a lot, specially when they are carbs. Pay full atention when you eat and then your body will learn what to eat.

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Ronnicky Roy
20 hours ago, James Coppola said:

That is a big assumption.

Not an assumption. Just what I think from what I've seen. I'm not saying I know this to be true. Could be false, but it's just my opinion.

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Suzanna McGee
4 hours ago, Ronnicky Roy said:

Not an assumption. Just what I think from what I've seen. I'm not saying I know this to be true. Could be false, but it's just my opinion.

Strongmen, football players, Crossfitters, cyclists, bodybuilders, olympic weightlifters… name it… all kinds of athletes… Paleo or vegan, high carb or ketogenic… some are natural, some are not…  it has nothing with the diet really to do (at least what the OP was interested in) 

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Ronnicky Roy
47 minutes ago, Suzanna McGee said:

Strongmen, football players, Crossfitters, cyclists, bodybuilders, olympic weightlifters… name it… all kinds of athletes… Paleo or vegan, high carb or ketogenic… some are natural, some are not…  it has nothing with the diet really to do (at least what the OP was interested in) 

True. And my initial comment was strictly regarding personal diet and my experience with it. I simply commented on the picture that was posted. Bunny trails.

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On 9/29/2016 at 5:29 PM, Jared Birbeck said:

I've not met a healthy vegan or vegetarian...perhaps it is not that they don't exist but I've not met one. I have existed on a vegetarian diet (not by choice) and it didn't work well for me, but that could have been any number of factors at the time, life is rarely so simple as to be able to identify one factor. I feel better eating meat and eggs and cheese and fish and all that animal stuff. but if vegan works for you do it and enjoy it.

I have done dairy free and not felt any better. I feel better when I have a higher proportion of dairy. perhaps its not the dairy, perhaps it is simply that I enjoy it so everything feels better when I am enjoying myself. If dairy free works for you, do it. If it makes you happy, do it.

I have gone without bread and gluten at different times. I can say with all honesty I have never felt any difference. But I do enjoy bread and bread products. I like to make my own. I love crusty bread with butter or oil pepper and herbs, or balsamic vinegar and oil. Peanut butter loves bread and I love peanut butter. I don't eat much bread but I could say I feel better and perform better after having it (I usually have it on the weekend) but I could equally, as a cynic, say I only perform better after it because the day I have it is a rest day.

Bottom line for me and based on purely objective facts. Since doing Thrive, I have not been sick. Since doing Thrive I have never seen such a rapid and consistent improvement in my performance across every exercise, mental acuity and I have never looked better. Since starting Thrive I have not been able to maintain this level of activity without a crash. Meat, fish, dairy and occasional gluten, heaps of veg and a good dose of carbs. That has worked for me. If it doesn't work for you, then find something that does, paleo, dairy free, gluten free and enjoy it. I have never needed to lose weight so all the diets focussed on weight loss are a waste of space for me. I want performance and I have it at the moment. but everyone finds their own trigger for performance and it could be for any number of reasons. As i said above, life is rarely so simple as to say it is one factor.

everyone has a different perspective and everyone has a different experience. enjoy yours, accept others, opinions are simply that.

 

 

Everyone should read this again. Here is a guy with no bias towards any style, just performance and his attempts at just about all styles of eating. He has obviously found success and in my opinion this is the only way to find success. Trial and error with an open mind. The moment you commit to a "diet style" is the moment you lose all objectivity. Once you have chosen vegan, vegetarian, paleo; then all you can do is look to prove yourself right. In Jared's case he was looking to prove himself wrong, he said "Im going to try X and see if it works" Once he figured out that was not working he went to Y and so on until he found what worked.

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James Coppola
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I've not met a healthy vegan or vegetarian

I'm currently not a vegan or vegetarian due to my current situation, so I'm not biased, but this comment comes across as biased in my opinion. If I were a Vegan I could easily say that I have not met a healthy meat eater. Also what makes you deem someone healthy or unhealthy? What are you basing it on?

I do agree with Jeff in saying that you need to experiment and find out what foods works best for your body.

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James Coppola
On 02/10/2016 at 8:59 AM, Ronnicky Roy said:

Not an assumption. Just what I think from what I've seen. I'm not saying I know this to be true. Could be false, but it's just my opinion.

Assumption is defined as: a thing that is accepted as true or as certain to happen, without proof. Based on that what you said is an assumption.

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Coach Sommer

Careful, everyone.  Someone expressing their opinion and sharing their nutritional experiences is exactly what this thread initially purported to be about.

As long as this conversation continues to be both respectful and amicable of other people's perspecitives I will allow the discussion to continue.  However the moment it begins to descend into intolerance or bickering, it will be shut down.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

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Ronnicky Roy
4 hours ago, James Coppola said:

Assumption is defined as: a thing that is accepted as true or as certain to happen, without proof. Based on that what you said is an assumption.

No it's not:
think - " to have a particular opinion or to believe that something is true ".

assume - " to accept something to be true without question or proof ".

But yes, we're splitting hairs over semantics at this point. This far deviated from the topic. I made a joking comment about a photo. We can move past this. I have faith.

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Bogdan Banculescu

Hi!

This summer I went to a Vipassana course. At the tend, we got a homework: 2 weeks without meat. After coming back home I continued to practise uddhyana abndha - a breathing technique from yoga, which implies long time apnea after complete exhaling and also after inhaling. those 2 weeks of being vegan reduced the apnea time spent usually after exhaling. My times are between 20 and 40 secs per attempt. But in those 2 weeks I barely hit 20 secs. In the first morning after I had my first meat meal, I had 30minutes full of 30 secs uddhyana bandha. And since then I spent another yoga retreat with only vegan food, and the energy level was lower than usual. The conclusion: it is still not the time for me to go to a diet without meat, even when practising yoga. I have more energy eating meat.

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Kirsten Stewart

I tried this way of eating for nine weeks where I ate only meat and vegetables and occasionally brown rice. Even fruit was limited to very low glycemic kinds so just for experiment sake I didn't eat any fruit. Certain nuts were allowed and eggs of course. No caffeine or alcoholic beverages so I only drank water. No dairy at all. I never cheated once I was so proud of myself lol. In hindsight the only thing I did (sorta by accident) was not realizing that being "allowed" to eat cashews didn't mean consuming 2-3 bags per day was a good idea (oopsie). Plus they were the slightly more processed sea salted kind but whatever. My point is I wouldn't say I felt great or anything (in fact I felt kinda bored a lot tbh), but something that I was doing caused massive changes in my body. I was already pretty thin but I got leaner and more defined (despite the high calories on cashews alone), but my fingernails most notably changed. They looked remarkably healthier and pinker and grew quickly and longer. I figured something I was doing (or not doing)must be having some type of positive effect on my body.

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Suzanna McGee
11 hours ago, Bogdan Banculescu said:

Hi! And since then I spent another yoga retreat with only vegan food, and the energy level was lower than usual. The conclusion: it is still not the time for me to go to a diet without meat, even when practising yoga. I have more energy eating meat.

The mistake often people make when they "try vegan" is that they don't get enough calories. Especially on retreats like this… they serve you full plate of food, but because it's a lot of vegetables, the calories are so much lower. After days and weeks of deficit of calories, of course we would feel weak. I would die of hunger on such a retreat (I checked the menus), because I eat about 3,000-3,500 calories. Imagine the volume of food :) which I love, because I like to eat :) I never feel lack of energy, because I get my calories in. 

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Ronnicky Roy
2 hours ago, Kirsten Stewart said:

I tried this way of eating for nine weeks where I ate only meat and vegetables and occasionally brown rice. Even fruit was limited to very low glycemic kinds so just for experiment sake I didn't eat any fruit. Certain nuts were allowed and eggs of course. No caffeine or alcoholic beverages so I only drank water. No dairy at all. I never cheated once I was so proud of myself lol. In hindsight the only thing I did (sorta by accident) was not realizing that being "allowed" to eat cashews didn't mean consuming 2-3 bags per day was a good idea (oopsie). Plus they were the slightly more processed sea salted kind but whatever. My point is I wouldn't say I felt great or anything (in fact I felt kinda bored a lot tbh), but something that I was doing caused massive changes in my body. I was already pretty thin but I got leaner and more defined (despite the high calories on cashews alone), but my fingernails most notably changed. They looked remarkably healthier and pinker and grew quickly and longer. I figured something I was doing (or not doing)must be having some type of positive effect on my body.

If nothing else, cashews do help with digestion lol. So maybe the nuts and veggies helped smooth the passage ways xD.

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James Coppola
14 hours ago, Bogdan Banculescu said:

Hi!

This summer I went to a Vipassana course. At the tend, we got a homework: 2 weeks without meat. After coming back home I continued to practise uddhyana abndha - a breathing technique from yoga, which implies long time apnea after complete exhaling and also after inhaling. those 2 weeks of being vegan reduced the apnea time spent usually after exhaling. My times are between 20 and 40 secs per attempt. But in those 2 weeks I barely hit 20 secs. In the first morning after I had my first meat meal, I had 30minutes full of 30 secs uddhyana bandha. And since then I spent another yoga retreat with only vegan food, and the energy level was lower than usual. The conclusion: it is still not the time for me to go to a diet without meat, even when practising yoga. I have more energy eating meat.

Do you know how many calories you consumed per a day? Also what type of food (specifics) were you eating?

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Douglas Wadle

unfortunately a lot of "vegan" bodybuilders use anabolics like testosterones and growth hormone.   Their physiques are dangerously obtained and should not be the example for veganism.  vegans may have a benefit for longevity, but not for performance.  so it depends what your goals are.  There is no way for this to be a good discussion on the forum with loads of people committed to "their" diet.   I agree with Jon's comments...over and out.

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Suzanna McGee
4 hours ago, Douglas Wadle said:

unfortunately a lot of "vegan" bodybuilders use anabolics like testosterones and growth hormone.   Their physiques are dangerously obtained and should not be the example for veganism.  vegans may have a benefit for longevity, but not for performance.  so it depends what your goals are.  There is no way for this to be a good discussion on the forum with loads of people committed to "their" diet.   I agree with Jon's comments...over and out.

Again, not sure why  you are bringing the steroids into the discussion. The OP was curious what other people eat. Bodybuilders, vegan or not, some do them, some don't. It has nothing with the subject here to do… Regarding performance and plant-based athletes, before you make your statements, look up for example Scott Jurek… talk about performance, running 100+ miles runs… won several 150+ miles runs consecutively each year… Or look up Rich Roll. Similar. They definitely show some serious performance levels. Maybe you think of the ethical vegans years and years ago, but it is a different story now when we look at the plant-based high performance athletes. There are some impressive results out there.

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Ronnicky Roy

He mentioned steroids, because questionable vegan athletes were being used as an example to defend a viewpoint. It's reasonable to question steroid use in that case. Like if I were to say, " my diet was identical to Ronnie Coleman's diet back when he was winning olympia and I feel great. It works for him. We should all be doing that"....well. He also did a boat load of steroids. And to assert that maybe, just maybe he was on steroids and that his diet may not give you remotely similar results is valid in regards to the discussion. If however people stayed exclusively to personal experience, without referencing anyone other than themselves, then it would be out of place.

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James Coppola
1 hour ago, Ronnicky Roy said:

He mentioned steroids, because questionable vegan athletes were being used as an example to defend a viewpoint. It's reasonable to question steroid use in that case. Like if I were to say, " my diet was identical to Ronnie Coleman's diet back when he was winning olympia and I feel great. It works for him. We should all be doing that"....well. He also did a boat load of steroids. And to assert that maybe, just maybe he was on steroids and that his diet may not give you remotely similar results is valid in regards to the discussion. If however people stayed exclusively to personal experience, without referencing anyone other than themselves, then it would be out of place.

I would like to remind you that the purpose of this topic is for people to discuss their experiences with food.

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Dylan Pradas

I've  been paleo since 2010. I'm not saying 100% paleo since then, but in general I follow paleo. Basically if I'm at home cooking (5-6 nights a week) I cook paleo. If I am out, I get the healthiest thing on the menu (salad + meat), but if the salad comes with a little cheese, I'm not going to stress about it. 

Paleo isn't actually a one size fits all kind of diet. The whole point is to experiment and figure out what works for you. So me telling you my benefits and cons is fairly immaterial since you will have different results. Our genetic code is different, we have adapted slightly differently. Unless you happen to be a Spanish+Russian+Austrian+half Jew as well? Basically, I'd recommend going 100% paleo for a month (google Whole30), then start adding back foods (ex. some dairy), see what happens. Some nuts, see what happens, etc. 

Mark Sisson is one of the leading bloggers in regards to Primal/Paleo. I highly recommend him for anyone interested. 

 

*recently moved to Tokyo. Much harder to eat out here then Denver, Colorado (previous home). They put soy in everything in Japan. 

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James Coppola
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So me telling you my benefits and cons is fairly immaterial since you will have different results.

This topic is a great way for people to discuss their experiences with their diet. Is it immaterial? If you're writing an essay and you're not quite sure what would be the best approach you could keep writing and try to figure something out. If, however you ask other people for their opinions, on how they would approach the essay, you may find a better approach. Does this mean that you have to follow that approach to a tee? No, of course not you can adapt it as you please. What am I trying to say? If someone says X diet is good because it worked for them I'm not going to follow that diet for eternity (unless it works for me) but I will try it out for myself and see what happens. If it works great if not, I'll keep on experimenting. If I went through life never asking people for their opinions I would be a pretty one-dimensional close-minded person. I hope this makes sense.

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Dylan Pradas

Sorry if my comment about pros and cons being immaterial seemed offensive or brash. Sometimes I think the tone of my writing doesn't come across how I mean it too. Perhaps "immaterial" was too strong of a word, obviously you want the general idea of the benefits of a diet plan. I just made that comment more to emphasis the "sample size of 1" point I was trying to get across. 

Paleo pro's =Went from a lean 185 to a lean 180. Better skin. Better ...bathroom experiences. My wife loves my new cooking abilities since it is hard to eat out on strict paleo.

Cons: No new york style pizza. Almond crust and fake cashew cheese just doesn't do it. People unfamiliar with the diet just think I'm a crossfitter that eats a lot of meat. Actually my plate is half vegetables a qtr meat and a qtr fruit (and some nuts). 

People say paleo is expensive, but  you can be cheap and eat paleo. My brother, who is also paleo lives off $10 a day in the wealthy suburbs of Washington DC. Eggs + Chicken + Potato (primal) + veggies. Plan and boring, but doable. On the other end of the spectrum, I live in Tokyo, and my wife likes variety, so yes it is more expensive to eat paleo at home than eat at a ramen shop down the street. 

PS. James, I like your profile picture

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