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The Official Health and Fitness Thread

Fanatic said:
A couple of months ago I watched the movie Forks Over Knives and then read the book by Esselstyn as well. Then on July 1st I started completely as an oil free vegan.

Nearly one month in and I feel great. The hardest part for me was losing meat but in the household the hardest part was losing all oils - which meant a lot of new things to learn for cooking and baking.

We said we would try one month and see how we felt. Now I don't think we will ever go back!

Are you getting all your nutrients naturally? Are you supplementing?
 
Bender said:
Fanatic said:
A couple of months ago I watched the movie Forks Over Knives and then read the book by Esselstyn as well. Then on July 1st I started completely as an oil free vegan.

Nearly one month in and I feel great. The hardest part for me was losing meat but in the household the hardest part was losing all oils - which meant a lot of new things to learn for cooking and baking.

We said we would try one month and see how we felt. Now I don't think we will ever go back!

Are you getting all your nutrients naturally? Are you supplementing?

The only thing I supplement now is one Vitamin D and one B12. Everything else is natural.
 
What are you using to get your healthy fats and amino acids and how about keeping muscle mass instead of fat, avocados?

I've read that a problem a lot of men especially have is that they lose muscle mass instead of fat when eating Vegan, especially if they workout a lot, basically because they aren't getting enough protein.

I know there are a lot of good vegan based protein powders out there, as well as a hemp protein powder, tried any of those?
 
WhatIfGodWasALeaf said:
What are you using to get your healthy fats and amino acids and how about keeping muscle mass instead of fat, avocados?

I've read that a problem a lot of men especially have is that they lose muscle mass instead of fat when eating Vegan, especially if they workout a lot, basically because they aren't getting enough protein.

I know there are a lot of good vegan based protein powders out there, as well as a hemp protein powder, tried any of those?

Few people realize how much protein there is in vegatables. Each morning I have a spinach and kale smoothie before the gym and then a bowl of steel cut oatmeal with almond milk and that is plenty of protein to get the day started. In the evening beans and lentils will give anyone all the protein they need.
 
Fanatic said:
WhatIfGodWasALeaf said:
What are you using to get your healthy fats and amino acids and how about keeping muscle mass instead of fat, avocados?

I've read that a problem a lot of men especially have is that they lose muscle mass instead of fat when eating Vegan, especially if they workout a lot, basically because they aren't getting enough protein.

I know there are a lot of good vegan based protein powders out there, as well as a hemp protein powder, tried any of those?

Few people realize how much protein there is in vegatables. Each morning I have a spinach and kale smoothie before the gym and then a bowl of steel cut oatmeal with almond milk and that is plenty of protein to get the day started. In the evening beans and lentils will give anyone all the protein they need.

Another option is Quinoa.  It has all of the essential amino acids.
 
Fanatic said:
Few people realize how much protein there is in vegatables. Each morning I have a spinach and kale smoothie before the gym and then a bowl of steel cut oatmeal with almond milk and that is plenty of protein to get the day started. In the evening beans and lentils will give anyone all the protein they need.

I realize how much protein is in a good vegan and it is more than enough to maintain a healthy diet. My question about supplementing protein was because I know you either lost/or attempted to lose a lot of weight during a lifestyle change the past few years and the fact is, if you're doing any kind of strength training, you do have to supplement protein. A regular vegan diet will not give you enough protein if you are lifting to repair the muscles and you'll subsequently be burning muscle mass instead of fat.

I have a friend who went vegan and lost fifty pounds over a period of five months, while his body fat percentage remained the same at about 32% the whole time, this basically means he was dropping muscle and not fat. I read a lot about this type of situation afterwards and it turns out it's a really common issue for men especially.

Kudos to you, I think it's a cool thing you are doing.

Personally I'm flirting ith the notion of going full paleo.

Oh and good for you too Bulldog, as other have said, YOU CAN DO IT!  ;D
 
WhatIfGodWasALeaf said:
I have a friend who went vegan and lost fifty pounds over a period of five months, while his body fat percentage remained the same at about 32% the whole time, this basically means he was dropping muscle and not fat. I read a lot about this type of situation afterwards and it turns out it's a really common issue for men especially.

Do you follow MMA at all? Mac Danzig is an oil free vegan and was featured in the movie Forks Over Knives. Here is a clip that is worth looking at.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtGsCJ7Chns[/youtube]
 
Fanatic said:
Do you follow MMA at all? Mac Danzig is an oil free vegan and was featured in the movie Forks Over Knives. Here is a clip that is worth looking at.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtGsCJ7Chns[/youtube]

Good video - makes you think about it...
 
Yeah I do follow MMA, very closely, that's a great video.

I know Jon Fitch and a lot of other top MMA and boxing guys have gone Vegan with even more switching to being Vegan while in camp only, Tim Bradley who beat Pacman does this.

I think you'll find all of these guys are supplementing huge amounts of plant based protein powder.
 
db54 said:
Fanatic said:
WhatIfGodWasALeaf said:
What are you using to get your healthy fats and amino acids and how about keeping muscle mass instead of fat, avocados?

I've read that a problem a lot of men especially have is that they lose muscle mass instead of fat when eating Vegan, especially if they workout a lot, basically because they aren't getting enough protein.

I know there are a lot of good vegan based protein powders out there, as well as a hemp protein powder, tried any of those?

Few people realize how much protein there is in vegatables. Each morning I have a spinach and kale smoothie before the gym and then a bowl of steel cut oatmeal with almond milk and that is plenty of protein to get the day started. In the evening beans and lentils will give anyone all the protein they need.

Another option is Quinoa.  It has all of the essential amino acids.

Quinoa also has a tonne of protein in it. Calorie heavy though.

I don't mean to troll but you mentioned Kale, Oatmeal and Spinach. AFAIK those aren't really big sources of protein. Almond milk might have more, but still.

I'm not against going vegan, I'm more worried about getting everything you need without supplementing. I mean, I heard Brendan Brazier speaking (Canadian Triathlete, formulator of VEGA) and stated that it was very difficult going vegan without supplementation. Of course, he may just be pushing his product, but still.
 
Bender said:
I'm not against going vegan, I'm more worried about getting everything you need without supplementing. I mean, I heard Brendan Brazier speaking (Canadian Triathlete, formulator of VEGA) and stated that it was very difficult going vegan without supplementation. Of course, he may just be pushing his product, but still.

Though, I doubt very much that the average person needs the amount of protein that a triathlete or MMAist needs.
 
New research lends credence to the role of unsaturated fats...as well as how saturated fats may be responsible in causing inflammatory responses (& heart disease)...

http://www.lef.org/news/LefDailyNews.htm?NewsID=15064&Section=Nutrition

Some fats may boost harmful bacteria in the digestive system creating an immune response resulting in low-level inflammation, U.S. researchers say.

Some fats -- mostly unsaturated fats found in plants and fish -- have strong anti-microbial properties and react chemically with bacterial cell membranes, weakening them, Alcock said..

"If you expose unsaturated fats on bacteria, the bacteria have a tendency to dissolve. The combination of long chain unsaturated fats, especially omega-3 fatty acids, and innate host defenses like gastric acid and antimicrobial peptides, is particularly lethal to pathogenic bacteria," Alcock said in a statement. "Saturated fats on the other hand generally lack those anti-microbial properties, and in fact can provide a carbon source that bacteria need to grow and flourish."

It may be these differing microbial effects that are at the root of why some fats are inflammatory and some aren't, Alcock said.
 
The benefits of an early fitness program...

http://www.lef.org/news/LefDailyNews.htm?NewsID=15065&Section=Aging

Being physically fit before age 50, not only helps extend lifespan, but it also increases the chances of aging healthily, U.S. researchers say.

The study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, indicated when patients increased fitness levels by 20 percent in their midlife years, they decreased their chances of developing chronic diseases -- congestive heart failure, Alzheimer's disease and colon cancer -- decades later by 20 percent.

"We've determined that being fit is not just delaying the inevitable, but it is actually lowering the onset of chronic disease in the final years of life," Berry said in a statement.

This positive effect continued until the end of life, with more-fit individuals -- walking, jogging or running at least 2.5 hours per week -- living their final five years of life with fewer chronic diseases in both men and women, Berry said
.
 

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