I'd like to take a vegetarian diet. Anybody here with some advice/websites/recipes?

Try vegetarian chili. I make it with canned chili beans, chopped onion and chives, lots of garlic (most important ingredient right here), hot sauce, crushed red pepper, chunky salsa for extra flavor and texture, cheddar cheese, and if I'm not satisfied with how tangy and sweet it is after all that, I throw in some ketchup and mustard. I usually top the whole thing with some parmesan too if I have it on hand. Also, making homemade salsa is a good way to experiment with veggies and spices. Pastas and rice are good for that too, because you can incorporate just about any vegetable into those and have it taste really good.

Oh, and if you're going to try tofu, get the extra firm kind, chop it up and fry it like eggs, then throw some garlic and basil on it. I'm not a huge fan of tofu myself, but it's pretty decent fried, especially in rice with some Asian-style vegetables.

I am a big fan of tofu because I grew up on that stuff in japan. Over here it is a special "health" food, but over in Japan it is a big part of their diet. I wouldn't necesarilly say it is a staple like rice is, but it is pretty damn close to being a staple. Over in the U.S. we seem to love all the food that is really bad for us. I just deplore how food has lost its taste and nuance since I have moved back.

Soon as I retire from the Navy, it's back to ole Japland for me.

I don't understand this.

Eat animals. They're tasty, and good for you.

They really aren't though. A little is fine, but the traditional American diet is just soooo unhealthy. Consider this.

During the middle ages, Serfs served Lords on plots of land. Though the Lords lived considerably more comfortable lives, the Serfs were healthier. The lords left the Serfs with mostly vegetables and the lords ate mostly expensive meat. Because of this, the Lords were often in poorer health then the lowly serfs who worked for the manors.

Consider this.
There are people who've lived a very long time who had healthy lives that had a high diet in meat.

Edna Parker, who lived to be 115 ate eggs, sausage, bacon and fried chicken.

http://www.fitnessspotlight.com/2009/01/14/edna-lived-to-115-and-loved-fat/

Gertrude Baines lived to be 115 and ate fried chicken, bacon and ice cream.

http://johnharmstrong.typepad.com/john_h_armstrong_/2009/09/lessons-on-diet-from-the-worlds-oldest-person.html

That's just the start. Those two aren't flukes, as there are others. Going to church as a kid, a lot of those old water-buffalos ate the greasiest lard-caked food at church potlucks, at least the ones I went to. ....and lived a very long time.

There are many instances where people live long healthy lives on high animal fat diets. I suggest you read those articles. (Not just on those individuals, but the comments made in regards to meat and fats.)

Yes, I've heard a lot in regards to meat being unhealthy. I think there are wrong types of food to eat.... but it's not just limited to a food group (but the processing).

....then there's the individual perspective.

I just stick with meat and green veggies, with a little bit of everything else for my diet.

I feel better now than I did when I was eating breads, potatoes, corn, starchy veggies and even fruits which naturally have tons of sugar.

A high protein diet does nothing but increase the protein intake of your stool. The body takes only what it needs. Now you are far more muscle bound than I am so naturally you are going to require more protein. However to say a high fat, lotsa meat and greasiness diet is healthy is straight up b u l l s h i t.

Look around and look at all the obese people. Lots of high calorie, high fat, high sugar etc.

I see them everyday at my work, Arby's.

And those articles aren't scientific articles. They make an observational association, but that is not a sound way to solidly and scientifically measure the circumstances that would allow her to live that long.

Your diet would do me no good (And in fact would do me harm), as a SEAL recruit should eat a mostly Carbohydrate diet. A SEALs job and work ethic is high tempo/high endurance/high speed with more practical strength. Our fitness isn't geared towards muscle aesthetic but practical fitness for the field, and we need a constant store of CHO to fuel our endeavors...

As for your claim that you feel better after changing your diet...I can't know that you do or don't only that you make that claim. I can't possibly know that you since I am not you, so it's a moot point.

While this is also a moot point, over the past 2 months I have eaten mostly meat and it shows...I am slower, moodier, and generally don't feel as good as I used to when my diet was more balanced with fruits and veggies. Likewise, my dad consumes mostly vegetables and other assorted fibers and carbs. He is almost 50 years old and still fit enough to be a SEAL. The man is as fit as many men in their late 20s. That last part isn't a moot point as his health didn't soar to that peak until he altered his diet.

I just want to say that my reason for adopting a vegetarian diet aren't for PETA reasons, like Joey's. Hell I have no problem with chicken or tuna (though I wont eat them very often). And I do realize that protein plays an important role in a diet (around .5-.8 grams per pound of bodyweight, or 1 gram for more vigorous athletes), but a balanced diet is all you need, and all the nutrition an athlete needs can be gotten from a balanced diet.

http://www.sealswcc.com/navy-seal-video/downloads/navy-seal-buds-training-nutrition-download.aspx

http://www.sealswcc.com/navy-seal-video/downloads/navy-seal-buds-training-hydration-download.aspx

I'm not even touching this, but I will say that most Americans are probably not fat because they eat meat, but because they eating a ******* boatload of refined carbs.

Due to prostate cancer in my family, I have to eat leaner meats, as animal fat is supposed to be bad if you're at risk for prostate cancer, but I can still eat as many fats from fish, nuts, and olive oil as I want. I dont eat to great at college just because of a lack of options, but at home its mostly chicken, fish, and pork chop.

I am not blaming it all on meat, but you can't ignore it like it has NOTHING to do with it.

I think excess caloric intake and sedentary lifestyles are more to blame.

olias wrote:

A high protein diet does nothing but increase the protein intake of your stool. The body takes only what it needs. Now you are far more muscle bound than I am so naturally you are going to require more protein. However to say a high fat, lotsa meat and greasiness diet is healthy is straight up b u l l s h i t.

I can guarantee if you, if I went to rabbit food, I would actually lose muscle.

Besides, a high protein approach makes for a sensible diet, as carbs are more "store happy". Especially those addicted to food, like myself.

olias wrote:

Look around and look at all the obese people. Lots of high calorie, high fat, high sugar etc.

I see them everyday at my work, Arby's.

Arby's is sooooooooooooooo not what I had in mind for a proper high calorie / high protein diet.

olias wrote:

And those articles aren't scientific articles. They make an observational association, but that is not a sound way to solidly and scientifically measure the circumstances that would allow her to live that long.

I wasn't claiming them to be nutrition doctrine. I was just more or less stating, if it looks like a duck, sounds like a duck, walks like a duck - I'm going to call it a duck. Point being, unhealthy people don't live to be 115 years old. Either diet isn't as big of a factor as we think, or fat/lard isn't as bad as we think.

olias wrote:

Your diet would do me no good (And in fact would do me harm), as a SEAL recruit should eat a mostly Carbohydrate diet. A SEALs job and work ethic is high tempo/high endurance/high speed with more practical strength. Our fitness isn't geared towards muscle aesthetic but practical fitness for the field, and we need a constant store of CHO to fuel our endeavors...

That's a good diet for your job on site and training, but you won't always be a SEAL. You'll require a different diet as a civilian, I guarantee it.

Those people you see at work eat like lumberjacks and work like librarians. That's why they're fat.

olias wrote:

As for your claim that you feel better after changing your diet...I can't know that you do or don't only that you make that claim. I can't possibly know that you since I am not you, so it's a moot point.

Well, I guess if you consider me a liar or just don't want to believe that information or my story, it would be a moot point. If you were openminded to the fact that maybe, just maybe, there are exceptions to what you understand as far as nutrition - then it's not a moot point.

olias wrote:

While this is also a moot point, over the past 2 months I have eaten mostly meat and it shows...I am slower, moodier, and generally don't feel as good as I used to when my diet was more balanced with fruits and veggies. Likewise, my dad consumes mostly vegetables and other assorted fibers and carbs. He is almost 50 years old and still fit enough to be a SEAL. The man is as fit as many men in their late 20s. That last part isn't a moot point as his health didn't soar to that peak until he altered his diet.

I was under the impression that this quote in the "Anyone here work out or exercise?" thread:

olias wrote:

Ive been really slacking lately. Getting ******* fat. Gonna change that like...tomorrow.

...that you were "Getting ******* fat" because you were "really slacking lately" on physical fitness.

Since we're mentioning moot points *coughs*observations*cough* that are definitely worth mentioning.... My dad's weight fluctuates back and forth over the years. He's thinnest eating chicken, eggs and fish. He's fattest eating potatoes, bread and fruit.

olias wrote:

I just want to say that my reason for adopting a vegetarian diet aren't for PETA reasons, like Joey's. Hell I have no problem with chicken or tuna (though I wont eat them very often). And I do realize that protein plays an important role in a diet (around .5-.8 grams per pound of bodyweight, or 1 gram for more vigorous athletes), but a balanced diet is all you need, and all the nutrition an athlete needs can be gotten from a balanced diet.

http://www.sealswcc.com/navy-seal-video/downloads/navy-seal-buds-training-nutrition-download.aspx

http://www.sealswcc.com/navy-seal-video/downloads/navy-seal-buds-training-hydration-download.aspx

So if you aren't going to eat meat anymore, are you going to do powders and shakes to get your protein? Or like eggs and other meats that don't have faces?

I'm far from the stereotypical "balanced" diet. Actually, if I actually followed the food pyramid, I'd either be a starving weakling, or be as wide as a house.

How healthy you are isn't determined by whether or not you eat meat; it depends on how nutritious/well-balanced/planned out your diet is. For every meat eater who lives to be 115, I'm sure there's another who screws up their health by eating too much greasy cholesterol-laden beef and not enough vegetables and fruit. I'm sure the same is true for vegetarians: there are healthy ones like me and others who don't eat enough protein-rich foods or are missing out on some B vitamins. You don't have to be a vegetarian to be healthy, but I've known a lot more healthy vegetarians than unhealthy ones in my day.

Also, vegetarian =/= "going to rabbit food".

Olias and hgouls: Calm down, both of you. We can't have a living mountain and a SEAL recruit fighting here, the website will explode.


As for the diet, I agree with both of yall. Olias, your job requires a lot more energy than most, so you NEED more carbs than the average person. I only know about SEAL training what I learned from the Discovery Channel, but I understand it to be a very "Full-body" demanding experience. That means that you're not just focusing on working one set of muscles a day or whatever, but your WHOLE body everyday, and that's tough. My first deployment, I was eating a sh*t ton of carbs, because everyday I was being very active, running around, lifting heavy things and all the usual war stuff. Now I know that I'm a mere journalist, and you'rwe a secret squirrel Navy Uber-ninja, but the military lifestyle is pretty much the same across the board.

Now, look at hgouls. He is a body builder. I know this doesn't sound like it makes sense, but trust me. He focuses on his muscles, rather than his whole body. Basically, he might be stronger than you and me, olias, but I'd be willing to bet that we have better endurance and stamina as far as the whole body, muscular and cardio wise. In other words, he could crush us with his eyebrows, but he probably couldn't catch us. THAT kind of diet requires more Protein. I know this might not sound quite right, but it's been explained to me a lot better than this, I just can't remember how! LOL

Quote :

How healthy you are isn't determined by whether or not you eat meat; it depends on how nutritious/well-balanced/planned out your diet is.

This.

SSG Jake wrote:

Olias and hgouls: Calm down, both of you. We can't have a living mountain and a SEAL recruit fighting here, the website will explode.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!!!!! ^_^

I wasn't worked up though, and I don't think he was either. I'm sure we feel strongly about this topic, but there's no hard feelings....

SSG Jake wrote:

As for the diet, I agree with both of yall. Olias, your job requires a lot more energy than most, so you NEED more carbs than the average person. I only know about SEAL training what I learned from the Discovery Channel, but I understand it to be a very "Full-body" demanding experience. That means that you're not just focusing on working one set of muscles a day or whatever, but your WHOLE body everyday, and that's tough. My first deployment, I was eating a sh*t ton of carbs, because everyday I was being very active, running around, lifting heavy things and all the usual war stuff. Now I know that I'm a mere journalist, and you'rwe a secret squirrel Navy Uber-ninja, but the military lifestyle is pretty much the same across the board.

I agree that different diets are going to yield different results. "You are what you eat" does have quite a bit of truth with it. I think someone could utilize about ANY diet to their own personal benefit and well being.

What I do not agree with, and STRONGLY *flexes* do not agree with.

MEAT IS BAD FOR YOU

That's just a bunch of tasty bologna.

SSG Jake wrote:

Now, look at hgouls. He is a body builder. I know this doesn't sound like it makes sense, but trust me. He focuses on his muscles, rather than his whole body. Basically, he might be stronger than you and me, olias, but I'd be willing to bet that we have better endurance and stamina as far as the whole body, muscular and cardio wise. In other words, he could crush us with his eyebrows, but he probably couldn't catch us. THAT kind of diet requires more Protein. I know this might not sound quite right, but it's been explained to me a lot better than this, I just can't remember how! LOL

I will mention that I work out for two hours at a time, so I do have stamina and endurance. ....a little over an hour of that two hours is weights. The rest is cardio and abs.

I do eat carbs, as I have a "low carb" diet, not a "no carb" one. I'm sure that my meat/protein ratio is a lot higher than you guys. .....a lot higher.

What gets me is people think because I'm big that I'm slow. ^ _ ^
I wouldn't say that's true.

Wanna race up the stairs?
*gets a head start*
*falls down*
CCCCCCCRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hguols wrote:

SSG Jake wrote:

Olias and hgouls: Calm down, both of you. We can't have a living mountain and a SEAL recruit fighting here, the website will explode.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!!!!! ^_^

I wasn't worked up though, and I don't think he was either. I'm sure we feel strongly about this topic, but there's no hard feelings....

none at all brah.

Hguols wrote:

I will mention that I work out for two hours at a time, so I do have stamina and endurance. ....a little over an hour of that two hours is weights. The rest is cardio and abs.

Too be fair, big guys aren't stopped by their size when it comes to cardio and endurance, but it is an inhibitor, though not nearly as much as people like to assume it is. Really it is a stereotype based on the fact that a lot of big dudes who spent time getting big usually ignored cardio to get to that stage, however the cardio is more affected by their not exercising that area of their health. For example, though little to medium sized guys do better as SEALs/Green Berets/Recon etc. during Operation Red Wings, the single largest loss of life on a single day in the history of the SEALs occured (19 deaths), but the lone survivor was a 6+ foot tall texan man, Marcus Luttrell. During BUD/s he was impeded a little by his size (he was a little less nimble), he still remained, while dozens of smaller guys rung out. Size will assist in making you more tired when doing endurance/cardio, however I believe that endurance is 10% physical 90% mental.