Vegetarian diet?

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
To try and shed some pounds (and hopefully save some with the shopping) my wife has persuaded me to join her in a new years resolution to not eat meat for the whole of January. I commute every day and am wondering if it will have an effect on my energy levels/recovery (I know that many cyclists must be vegetarians and cycle happily but just need help with the transition!!!!). Any advice???
Russ
 

col

Legendary Member
You need animal protien to maintain strength, although protein is available in other forms, its not the best choice for long term I think.
 

yello

Guest
If weight loss is your aim then not eating meat isn't really going to help. It may possibly even hinder. As mentioned earlier, meat is a good protein source and protein tends to be more sating than carb, so be careful not to go filling the void with bread! Look to replace the meat with another protein source; beans,pulses and the like. Lentils get a bad name (damn those hippies!) but are excellent for protein.

Energy & recovery wise, there's no reason to not be meat free. As you say, there are loads of veggie athletes. The body can source energy from any food source; protein, fat, carb (even alcohol!), though we tend to think of carbs for energy as they are the most readily available source.
 

mcshroom

Bionic Subsonic
I gave up meat for lent this year, and it didn't seem to make any difference to my energy levels. What it did allow me to do was experiment with lots of different foods I didn't normally eat. I now eat far less meat than I did before simply because I have ideas for meals that doesn't include meat. Do be warned though that lots of vegetarian dishes are full of cheese which is high in saturated fat.

What is your strategy regarding fish? If you are going meat free rather than veggi, then there's a lot of fish out there which can make wonderful meals as well.
 

Dan_h

Well-Known Member
Location
Reading, UK

col

Legendary Member
That is not quite true. Animal protein is more complete but you can make up the same mixture of protein by eating a variety of different vegetable protein sources.

More information can be found here... http://www.savvyvegetarian.com/articles/get-enough-protein-veg-diet.php
But your still not getting animal protien are you?
 

Dan_h

Well-Known Member
Location
Reading, UK
But your still not getting animal protien are you?

You don't need to as such. There are nine amino acids that make up proteins. These are all found in a complete protein that you usually get from animals. vegetable protein is usually incomplete and does not contain all 9 amino acids. However by combining different sources of vegetable protein you can get all 9 amino acids into your diet, giving the same effect as eating animal protein.
 

col

Legendary Member
You don't need to as such. There are nine amino acids that make up proteins. These are all found in a complete protein that you usually get from animals. vegetable protein is usually incomplete and does not contain all 9 amino acids. However by combining different sources of vegetable protein you can get all 9 amino acids into your diet, giving the same effect as eating animal protein.
I see your point, but if your getting animal anything its going against the veggy things isnt it?
 

Dan_h

Well-Known Member
Location
Reading, UK
I see your point, but if your getting animal anything its going against the veggy things isnt it?

Not sure I understand. I am not saying that you need to eat animal anything. By eating the right combination of vegetables / pulses you can get the complete protein makeup that you need without eating anything animal based.
 

col

Legendary Member
Ah it seems Iv missunderstood what you said? I thought you meant there were animal additives for protein. I agree about getting plenty of protein from veg sources, but it just doesnt have the oomph that animal protein has. There are not many veggy champion athletes, unless Iv missed them? But Im sure they would make a big deal of the fact that they are a veggy if there were.
 

Danny

Legendary Member
Location
York
Ah it seems Iv missunderstood what you said? I thought you meant there were animal additives for protein. I agree about getting plenty of protein from veg sources, but it just doesnt have the oomph that animal protein has. There are not many veggy champion athletes, unless Iv missed them? But Im sure they would make a big deal of the fact that they are a veggy if there were.
There is no such thing as "oomph" in animal protein. I have been vegetarian for over 30 years and get all the "oomph" I need from dairy and vegetable protein.

However whether the OP goes vegetarian or not he will still need to eat a sensible diet if he wants to loose weight. There are, sadly, plenty of obese vegetarians about.

There are plenty of good vegetarian cookbooks you can consult, but you could start with pasta or egg dishes. Also try eating bananas or dried fruit with nuts, instead of chocolate, if you need an energy boost. Similarly try dilute fruit juice instead of sugar filled energy drinks.
 
Top Bottom