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Hi and weight lifting question

2K views 11 replies 7 participants last post by  Strix 
#1 ·
Hi All,

Greetings! I'm truly "99%" vegetarian, meat is really a rarity, but I allow it every once in a very very while.

I like being vegetarian, I get sick much less often... almost never, but again, it still happens... I had strong health issues.

My only nitpick is that I lost too much weight. To the point I started to feel uncomfortable, not so much in how I "look", but how I feel.

I want to get started weight lifting. I did not do so before, because I was frequently sick, etc.

But I do not want to make use of supplements/shakes that use too much chemical. I guess I'm OK if it's like, only 1 maybe 2 chemical ingredients in the whole thing; of course I prefer none.

If someone is weight lifting, is vegetarian, and can recommend me an appropriate supplement/shake to take, which would be optimal for my situation, I appreciate it very much!!! Note that I just want to be healthy, I do not care how I come to "look" (for now). I'm having energies problem, I've been better due to vegetarianism, but I know I have to do this too.

May I ask that I do not want to get much into the why's, I guess a little bit is OK. I used to like reading a lot, but now I am in a stage where I want to read not much. Just give me recommendations that work for you, and you think might work for me.

Current stats: male, age 31, 135lb, vegetarian, sedentary (so far)

Thx!!!

Cheers,

TechStorm
 
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#2 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by TechStorm View Post

Hi All,

Greetings! I'm truly "99%" vegetarian, meat is really a rarity, but I allow it every once in a very very while.

I like being vegetarian, I get sick much less often... almost never, but again, it still happens... I had strong health issues.

My only nitpick is that I lost too much weight. To the point I started to feel uncomfortable, not so much in how I "look", but how I feel.

I want to get started weight lifting. I did not do so before, because I was frequently sick, etc.

But I do not want to make use of supplements/shakes that use too much chemical. I guess I'm OK if it's like, only 1 maybe 2 chemical ingredients in the whole thing; of course I prefer none.

If someone is weight lifting, is vegetarian, and can recommend me an appropriate supplement/shake to take, which would be optimal for my situation, I appreciate it very much!!! Note that I just want to be healthy, I do not care how I come to "look" (for now). I'm having energies problem, I've been better due to vegetarianism, but I know I have to do this too.

May I ask that I do not want to get much into the why's, I guess a little bit is OK. I used to like reading a lot, but now I am in a stage where I want to read not much. Just give me recommendations that work for you, and you think might work for me.

Current stats: male, age 31, 135lb, vegetarian, sedentary (so far)

Thx!!!

Cheers,

TechStorm
Geni-soy makes soy protein powder that's actually pretty good. It doesn't have that essence of sidewalk flavor that some instant drink powders have. Judging by what you have posted, I don't think you're getting enough calories or empty calories (Lay off the "white death" sugar, pop and "white carbohydrates") so thus you have lost too much weight. Think calorie and protein dense food like tofu, meat analogues(Like veggie burgers) egg whites, cottage cheese and whole grains( for dairy choose organic, it's worth the money)

The aformentioned are the bulk of my diet. I have built some serious muscle in the last couple of months.

Vegetarian Times published an article about vegetarian athletes in the January issue. I'll see if I can dig it up for you.

Out of curiosity, what qualifies as "99% vegetarian?" Is it a convenience issue? Fear of lack of protein? Not ready? Forgive me, I'm ultra nosy.
 
#3 ·
Don't know a lot about the shakes. I used to drink whey (milk product-- the runny stuff in cottage cheese), but I tend to be suspicious of the rest of them.

It really sounds like you need to eat some nuts, legumes, and meat substitutes (like stuff from Morningstar Farms in your "breakfast items" frozen section). A little stirfry and flax oil on salads and subs might help you too. Greek food rocks. Mexican is good, but watch out for cheese and lard (Yes, lard is traditional. I order veggie tortillas at my favorite place, and can really tell the difference between the ones with veggie oil and the ones with lard. Myabe I will work out a better recipe for tortillas myself one day, so I can make a suggestion. They make their own).

I hope these help. Glad to hear you're going to be exercising. Activity is good.

Froggy
 
#4 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by monkeyandbunny View Post

Out of curiosity, what qualifies as "99% vegetarian?"
This is how I, TechStorm, see it: I classify cravings in 3 categories.

1. Habitual craving. (Could be addiction.) When a person wants meat out of habit. I think this is the craving that people first get when they are switching into vegetarianism.

2. Psychological craving. Once you have adjusted the physical body to vegetarianism, you might still crave it with your mind, as in "man, I remember when I ate meat and blah blah blah was bad but blah blah blah was good". This craving comes when you have done good work in your transition but are not really fully vegan oriented -- an aspect of you is still back there. Part of it occurs because of the experience -- the person has read a lot but experiences have not yet occured so much that the doubts are dispelled.

3. Instinctual craving. (I use the word "instinctual" for lack of a better term. You may call it the "valid craving" if you wish.) This occurs because, deep within, your body may know more than the intellect. Information on vegetarianism today is pretty good -- but not perfect. Plus, each body is different. Also, a transition is precisely that, so diets change. This means that a vegetarian may not have a diet that is good enough (without change) for his/her body at that point in time. At this point, the body starts asking you for what it needs. But we interpret the signals in terms of the food we have had (i.e., you don't feel like eating golden polka mushrooms if you never had those).

That's why my argument in favor of vegetarinism is -- eat variety (of veggie foods) so when your body wants to tell you something you may be able to translate the need into an appropriate health request. If you only ever ate golden polka mushrooms, then the body will only ever ask for golden polka mushrooms, and the same for meat. (This is an argument in the sense that it draws people into vegetarianism even if they don't truly abandon meat -- as opposed to just bashing meat, for example. Not that I criticize anyone's approach as I seek to respect all people.)

Be open to eating meat if you think your body is asking that of you. If you start making a habit again -- watch out -- it means poor diet on both accounts (vegetarian and meat-oriented). But, give yourself permission if it pops only every once in a while. I have nearly all the reasons anyone in this board would have (to not eat meat), but it isn't like pure devil's work if you are careful about it.

Case in point. After my transition (past cravings class 1 & 2), and after about 5 months of no-meat and even no-dairy (i.e., vegan), I one day felt like I wanted to eat chicken. So I did -- half a small piece. And I was satisfied. And I felt a little rush in my body, as if I got something I was missing.

Next day, I felt the craving again, but I noticed it was a psychological craving because I just remember the tasty sauce they used at the place. So I tried it again -- this time I didn't like it when digestion-time came.

This has happened to me a few times.

Now I expect to eventually drop off meat 100% but that's when my diet is really adjusted. I'm not nearly enough "perfect", and so I have to make such adjustment once in a while.

So my advice is: If you feel like you want to eat a little meat once, then maybe you need it for some reason. If you feel so twice or more in succession, then you might be having a poor diet on both accounts already. (Here, the term "you" is generic.) Regardless of anything, don't punish yourself if you "failed" and ate meat when you wanted to stick to vegetarianism... I bet you are doing better than the average person! I say the last part because I used to be a depressive person and I have learned not to try and be so "perfect".

Disclaimer: I respect your opinions and am willing to hear them. Please respect mine.

Quote:
Originally Posted by monkeyandbunny View Post

Judging by what you have posted, I don't think you're getting enough calories or empty calories (Lay off the "white death" sugar, pop and "white carbohydrates") so thus you have lost too much weight. Think calorie and protein dense food like tofu, meat analogues(Like veggie burgers) egg whites, cottage cheese and whole grains( for dairy choose organic, it's worth the money)
When I lost the most weight I was REALLY off "white death" sugar, and the relatives you mentioned. I have been having an occassional amount of tofu but still maybe not enough. I did like what I call fake meat but I notice they make me sick, unless I ate them rarely, because of my health issues (and so I almost never do them anyway). I avoid eggs because I shoot for vegan more than just vegetarianism. I can not do milk/cheese -- my original cause for BAD BAD health. It's a long story... I may not want to write about it today. Suffice it to say I was about 3 days/week in emergency room in my worst times, and nobody knew... until I decided to move towards vegan. Organic dairy -- I'd like to try those but where I live... it's the paradise of carnivores and it's hard to find nice vegan stuff (but I can not find organic dairy). The few relevant shops that have appeared are taking advantage -- it is not being much affordable. Given this information -- want to make any more recommendations?

Quote:
Originally Posted by monkeyandbunny View Post

Geni-soy makes soy protein powder that's actually pretty good. It doesn't have that essence of sidewalk flavor that some instant drink powders have.
Sidewalk flavor LOL
Thanks very very much for the genisoy suggestion -- I will definitely look into it.

P.S. Please forgive my English.
 
#5 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by froggythefrog View Post

It really sounds like you need to eat some nuts, legumes, and meat substitutes (like stuff from Morningstar Farms in your "breakfast items" frozen section).
When my healthy was really #$%& I could not eat much nuts. I know I can't have peanuts at all. Almonds, only if I chew very well,and then only some. Because of this, I have dropped nuts out of my view -- time to try and see how my body can handle nowadays.

Thanks for the reminder.
 
#6 ·
I am vegan and I work out 5 days a week. I can say that what you need is to work out no more than 3 days a week and only do weight training if all you care about is gaining muscle. What you eat is up to you but as a vegan what I eat is soy burgers which taste amazing, whole wheat products, brown rice, and high protien vegan analogs. What I like to do is match a 2000 calorie diet to how much protein is in each food item. 5 grams per 100 calories is quite good. If you consumed 2000 calories at that rate it would give you 100 grams of protein which is enough for most of us. However, you can get more by choosing foods like soy burgers which have 13 grams of protein for 110 calories. If you ate 5 of them that would give you 65 grams of protein and only 550 calories. I would stay away from powders as they offer little nutritional value outside protein. From an ethical stand point I would diffently avoid the whey based powders as they require alot of milk to create that product and cows suffer enourmusly (see other disscusions on this)

Check out the vegan body builders website for his work out schedule and diet it may help alot.

http://www.veganbodybuilder.com/
 
#9 ·
Hi and welcome, I´ve just seen another post of yours.

Best wishes for going 100%.

You´ll get enough protein to build up muscles if you don´t train for the Olympics!Don´t worry! Just keep to froggythefrog´s post.
 
#10 ·
Hi, T-Storm


You say you're low on energy -- for me, whole grains really keep up my energy. I eat them whole; not processed into breads, pastas, etc. Amaranth and quinoa are my favorites, but all are great and pretty inexpensive. They consist of complex carbs and protein. I never get the "highs" and crashes from grains; it's a sustained energy throughout the day.

Also, I just joined this site, and like it a lot; i think you'll find some excellent advice here from people who know http://www.veganfitness.net/. Super nice admins and moderators
 
#11 ·
Hey! I just completed my first week in full and it was very good! Not bad for someone who has barely made exercise in 31 years!
Now, will I stick to it for the lifetime? I hope so!!!

I am still in an experimental phase as far as food goes, I can say I will definitely stay veggie! Thanks for all the suggestions.

Hereby inviting all those who are not currently exercising in a significant way to find a routine that helps you and that you can enjoy. I am blessed that I found trainers that are very friendly and helpful.

Cheers!
 
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