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Becoming a Vegetarian for a Month
Becoming a Vegetarian for a Month
By Adam Sinicki
I'm
a guy who tries to be open to anything in this whole
self-improvement/bodybuilding lark. I'd be pretty hypocritical if I
preached about trying all these different techniques including
bashing your hands against iron bars and trying to change the way you
think, if I didn't try others when people presented them too me. Well
a few sources had recommended going vegetarian, and so I decided to
give it a go myself – I wouldn't commit myself to something that
drastic but there was no reason not to try becoming a vegetarian for
a month.
So for four weeks (or
thereabouts – I lost count to be
honest). I did the unthinkable and decided to cut out my favourite
part of my diet. Ouch.
Benefits
of Becoming a Vegetarian
It
would take something pretty convincing and alluring to get me to
consider becoming vegetarian for a day let alone a month. Anyone who
knows me knows that I love my meat, and in particular tuna fish – I
may well cause the extinction of the humble tuna in the next few
years.
What
caught my interest and made the prospect of becoming vegetarian as an
experiment more interesting, was the promises of renewed energy and
vigour that you would get from vegetarianism and several sources
claimed that after a while of going veggie you'd end up with more
energy and more alert. That sounded like something I should try, and
especially to go along with my new aim to wake up on time and be more
productive throughout the day rather than just in spurts. Others said
it could de-clog you of various toxins and other things.
Of
course on the other side of the argument is the fact that meat
contains a lot of important amino acids and other nutrients. So would
the good outweigh the bad? Well that's why I tried becoming
vegetarian...
Then there are all the ethical
reasons for becoming a vegetarian. But these are reasons that I happen
not to agree with - and that I'll discuss here in a future article. So
for me the motivation was the promised energy and clarity of mind, and
that's what I'll focus on here.
How
Hard is Becoming a Vegetarian?
The
first thing that struck me as relatively pleasing about becoming a
vegetarian for a while was the fact that it wasn't as hard as I at
first feared. To replace my sandwiches I could just eat cheese and
pickle, or egg (I wasn't vegan or lacto-ovo or anything like that)
and for dinner it wasn't that hard to eat things like pasta bakes, or
just to replace the meat in bolognaise with quorn. And something else
good I did notice was that vegetarian food as a whole
is
a lot less fatty so I was naturally being healthier as a result of
the vegetarianism if not directly. So that was a bonus.
However
at other times becoming a vegetarian could
be a problem. Such as when I wanted something savoury to snack on. I
consider this my body telling me I needed meat and the only
alternatives were crisps, chips or cheese. Normally as a bodybuilder
I would go to the fridge and bite on some chicken – satisfying,
lean and full of protein. Now I had to bite cheese which was just
full of fat. I did make do though drinking raw egg. Because I loves
raw egg. Oh and although it might be easy
to
substitute mince with quorn I didn't enjoy it. To be honest the taste
is very similar but where it really falls down is in the texture.
It's just not as satisfying to bite into quorn – it feels like
cardboard. Writing this article is genuinely making me hungry...
Another
time becoming a vegetarian was hard was when I was out at friends or
other places. In particular it was gutting in restaurants such as
Chinese restaurants and curry houses. It never struck me before how
you had to limit your diet as a vegetarian such that you could no
longer sample and enjoy other cultures in the same way. Sure there
are vegetarian curries, but they're hardly authentic...
And
on the train becoming a vegetarian was hard, and that was when I made
my one slip up – I was starving and I needed a packed sandwich.
I'll be honest – there was a vegetarian option but there was only
one. Cheese. Just plain cheese which was dry and completely not
alluring. There's not as much out there for veggies to choose from –
just like switching to a Macbook it means you have to love the
support you get from your own community but forget the third party
software.
What
Did I Find?
The
pressing question though is – did I notice any changes? The honest
answer is no. I didn't notice any changes for the better or for the
worse. My energy stayed exactly the same, and my muscle mass remained
the same too.
So
what was the reason for this lack of any kind of finding? Well the
reason I didn't notice any lack of amino acids or fatty acids was
that I was supplementing heavily with other supplements. Those
included a fish oil tablet, amino acids, protein shakes, an iron
tablet, a vitamin and mineral tablet and more. If anyone reading this
is thinking of becoming a vegetarian properly, then I very much
recommend using supplements to make sure you get everything you need.
We'll look at why later when I upload 'Is Being a Vegetarian
Healthy'.
However
what did happen eventually was that I ran out of protein shake –
and the one I ordered seemed to get lost in the post. This was
sometime around
week
four and I realised I couldn't just binge on eggs because that would
cause me a biotin deficiency and the highest cholesterol ever.
Normally I'd turn to chicken but now I had no replacement for my
protein intake. You can't munch quorn either – it's just not a
'snack' in the same way that a chicken leg can be or a slice of
turkey. And whatever anyone tells you, you stop eating protein and
you'll stop growing. I was also eating a lot more crisps and bread
that was bad.
Sorry but when I'm hungry I just don't want to munch on a carrot.
The
reason I didn't notice any energy boosts from becoming vegetarian?
It's hard to say, other than I imagine that the difference is very
small (if not entirely placebo). I eat healthily when I'm omnivorous
– I choose lean meat that has been well reared and I more regularly
eat white meat and fish. Thus digestion problems are unlikely to
trouble me and nor would I get other negative side effects from
eating too much fat. And so I probably had fine energy anyway. You
get much more of an energy boost from creatine. I also suspect that
some of the reason that vegetarians feel more energetic is just that
they are eating a lot more carbs as that's all they have access too
really - as I was trying my damndest to avoid those carbs maybe I
didn't get that effect either. Point is though, I suspect you could
improve your energy without going vegetarian - by digesting your food
better, choosing only lean cuts of meat, and eating more complex carbs.
The
Conclusion
So
all in all the results of my becoming a vegetarian are mixed. It's
definitely not for me – but if I'm honest I knew that from the
start (perhaps that makes this less than objective...). I didn't
notice the energy benefits which is the only thing that might have
got me intrigued. It was easier than I thought
to
adopt a vegetarian diet, but still by no means easy and I felt left
out a lot of the time. I also ate a lot of crisps.
If
you are going to become a vegetarian there could be any number of
reasons, and you might have more luck than me. However it's very
important
that you supplement your diet if you do and we'll look at why in an
upcoming article. Bear in mind though that this is a financial
commitment as well then, and amino acids ain't cheap.
And
if you're going vegan then that's just a whole other can of worms...
hard to recommend worms.
Copyright 2012 The Biomatrix.Net
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Becoming a Vegetarian for a MonthBy Adam Sinicki
I'm a guy who tries to be open to anything in this whole self-improvement/bodybuilding lark. I'd be pretty hypocritical if I preached about trying all these different techniques including bashing your hands against iron bars and trying to change the way you think, if I didn't try others when people presented them too me. Well a few sources had recommended going vegetarian, and so I decided to give it a go myself – I wouldn't commit myself to something that drastic but there was no reason not to try becoming a vegetarian for a month.
So for four weeks (or thereabouts – I lost count to be honest). I did the unthinkable and decided to cut out my favourite part of my diet. Ouch.
Benefits of Becoming a Vegetarian
It would take something pretty convincing and alluring to get me to consider becoming vegetarian for a day let alone a month. Anyone who knows me knows that I love my meat, and in particular tuna fish – I may well cause the extinction of the humble tuna in the next few years. What caught my interest and made the prospect of becoming vegetarian as an experiment more interesting, was the promises of renewed energy and vigour that you would get from vegetarianism and several sources claimed that after a while of going veggie you'd end up with more energy and more alert. That sounded like something I should try, and especially to go along with my new aim to wake up on time and be more productive throughout the day rather than just in spurts. Others said it could de-clog you of various toxins and other things.
Of course on the other side of the argument is the fact that meat contains a lot of important amino acids and other nutrients. So would the good outweigh the bad? Well that's why I tried becoming vegetarian... Then there are all the ethical reasons for becoming a vegetarian. But these are reasons that I happen not to agree with - and that I'll discuss here in a future article. So for me the motivation was the promised energy and clarity of mind, and that's what I'll focus on here.
How Hard is Becoming a Vegetarian?
The first thing that struck me as relatively pleasing about becoming a vegetarian for a while was the fact that it wasn't as hard as I at first feared. To replace my sandwiches I could just eat cheese and pickle, or egg (I wasn't vegan or lacto-ovo or anything like that) and for dinner it wasn't that hard to eat things like pasta bakes, or just to replace the meat in bolognaise with quorn. And something else good I did notice was that vegetarian food as a whole is a lot less fatty so I was naturally being healthier as a result of the vegetarianism if not directly. So that was a bonus. However at other times becoming a vegetarian could be a problem. Such as when I wanted something savoury to snack on. I consider this my body telling me I needed meat and the only alternatives were crisps, chips or cheese. Normally as a bodybuilder I would go to the fridge and bite on some chicken – satisfying, lean and full of protein. Now I had to bite cheese which was just full of fat. I did make do though drinking raw egg. Because I loves raw egg. Oh and although it might be easy to substitute mince with quorn I didn't enjoy it. To be honest the taste is very similar but where it really falls down is in the texture. It's just not as satisfying to bite into quorn – it feels like cardboard. Writing this article is genuinely making me hungry... Another time becoming a vegetarian was hard was when I was out at friends or other places. In particular it was gutting in restaurants such as Chinese restaurants and curry houses. It never struck me before how you had to limit your diet as a vegetarian such that you could no longer sample and enjoy other cultures in the same way. Sure there are vegetarian curries, but they're hardly authentic... And on the train becoming a vegetarian was hard, and that was when I made my one slip up – I was starving and I needed a packed sandwich. I'll be honest – there was a vegetarian option but there was only one. Cheese. Just plain cheese which was dry and completely not alluring. There's not as much out there for veggies to choose from – just like switching to a Macbook it means you have to love the support you get from your own community but forget the third party software.
What Did I Find?
The pressing question though is – did I notice any changes? The honest answer is no. I didn't notice any changes for the better or for the worse. My energy stayed exactly the same, and my muscle mass remained the same too. So what was the reason for this lack of any kind of finding? Well the reason I didn't notice any lack of amino acids or fatty acids was that I was supplementing heavily with other supplements. Those included a fish oil tablet, amino acids, protein shakes, an iron tablet, a vitamin and mineral tablet and more. If anyone reading this is thinking of becoming a vegetarian properly, then I very much recommend using supplements to make sure you get everything you need. We'll look at why later when I upload 'Is Being a Vegetarian Healthy'. However what did happen eventually was that I ran out of protein shake – and the one I ordered seemed to get lost in the post. This was sometime around week four and I realised I couldn't just binge on eggs because that would cause me a biotin deficiency and the highest cholesterol ever. Normally I'd turn to chicken but now I had no replacement for my protein intake. You can't munch quorn either – it's just not a 'snack' in the same way that a chicken leg can be or a slice of turkey. And whatever anyone tells you, you stop eating protein and you'll stop growing. I was also eating a lot more crisps and bread that was bad. Sorry but when I'm hungry I just don't want to munch on a carrot. The reason I didn't notice any energy boosts from becoming vegetarian? It's hard to say, other than I imagine that the difference is very small (if not entirely placebo). I eat healthily when I'm omnivorous – I choose lean meat that has been well reared and I more regularly eat white meat and fish. Thus digestion problems are unlikely to trouble me and nor would I get other negative side effects from eating too much fat. And so I probably had fine energy anyway. You get much more of an energy boost from creatine. I also suspect that some of the reason that vegetarians feel more energetic is just that they are eating a lot more carbs as that's all they have access too really - as I was trying my damndest to avoid those carbs maybe I didn't get that effect either. Point is though, I suspect you could improve your energy without going vegetarian - by digesting your food better, choosing only lean cuts of meat, and eating more complex carbs.
The Conclusion
So all in all the results of my becoming a vegetarian are mixed. It's definitely not for me – but if I'm honest I knew that from the start (perhaps that makes this less than objective...). I didn't notice the energy benefits which is the only thing that might have got me intrigued. It was easier than I thought to adopt a vegetarian diet, but still by no means easy and I felt left out a lot of the time. I also ate a lot of crisps. If you are going to become a vegetarian there could be any number of reasons, and you might have more luck than me. However it's very important that you supplement your diet if you do and we'll look at why in an upcoming article. Bear in mind though that this is a financial commitment as well then, and amino acids ain't cheap.
And if you're going vegan then that's just a whole other can of worms... hard to recommend worms. Copyright 2012 The Biomatrix.Net
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