Any vegetarians out there?

[cartisdm]

I've been gifted the gift of terrible genes from my Mother and have the joyous health of terrible blood pressure and cholesterol. I'm only 24 and in great shape but my BP continues to soar up to 191/105 (down at 155/85 with meds) and my cholesterol levels shot right on by 300 last time I had it checked.

About 8 months ago I really cracked down on my eating habits to limit salt intake and crappy foods as much as possible. Turns out that hasn't really made a dent in my health (on the charts anyway). Time to take a more drastic approach. I'm going to try out a 90% vegetarian diet (sticking as close to vegan as I can within that same 90%). I love milk, dairy, and meat as much (if not more) than the next guy but I also like living so...

My fiancee has been a vegetarian basically her entire life so veggie friendly grocery shopping is already a habit of mine. So far it's been two weeks and I only ate the pepperoni off of one pizza slice so Meghan could have it after she completed her triathlon (no one ordered a single cheese pizza?!)

• No more milk in the house :help:
• Sticking to unsweetened almond milk and Silk coffee creamer
• Avoiding cheese but will have just the wine instead...
• I'll keep fish/seafood to a minimum as well until I can see what effect I have on my BP/Cholesterol levels
• When out for special occasions I may indulge in some hot wings but instead of 18 I'll eat 6 and a side order of chips and salsa

Anyone else a veggie man? Anyone doing it strictly for health reasons?

 

[indyrob]

I'm on a limited protein diet...trying to loose weight. I started off at 234 and now down to 213. 21# in a month. I don't eat a lot of fats, very little dairy. I watch everything I eat, closely watching my fat. 1cup of Granola and 1 cup of whole milk is close to 35% of your daily sat fat.

It's pretty easy to over-do your fats if you're not keeping track.

I love cheese but it's pretty bad for my diet. I get qeuso fresco because 1 serving is only 4g fat instead of 9-10g fat like cheddar or colby. The only thing that kills me is Ice Cream. Can't have it...that's driving me crazy.

 

[Jfire]

Can't say I am but on the oncoming shift the whole truck crew is now vegan for the last 6 months. (the officer last 2 years) they have lost a combined 116lbs between the 3 of them. It all started with this book.
http://engine2diet.com/about_e2/About_Engine_2

 

[AlohaStyle]

What? What's this world coming to when our fire department is vegan?!? LOL

 

[kafreeman]

I am not vegetarian, but I drastically altered my diet in January. My wife and I cut out all grains and processed foods and we've both dropped 50 lbs. Jan. 12 I was 298 and today I am 248.

We eat mainly lower fat proteins and vegetables with the occasional fruit, nuts and fermented dairy product. We don't count macro nutrient content anymore but when I was protiens tended to be at around 40% of daily calories.

My wife has had a massive drop in blood pressure and our last lipid panel was excellent.

We don't normally eat breakfast, so a typical lunch is 2-3 eggs with onion and Green pepper cheese and chicken or ground beef.

Typical dinner is 6 to 8 oz of beef or chicken and around 10 oz of vegetables.

 

[RaschNuts]

I love eating Red Meat to much to ever consider this. Plus I am extremely picky so that doesnt help.

 

[javajunkie]

What? What's this world coming to when our fire department is vegan?!? LOL

you want the people PULLING YOU OUT OF A FIRE fat and tired? 0_0

 

[kafreeman]

BTW... both of my parents are on statins for cholesterol. For all the whole grains my dad eats his lipid panels are always "high" from what he says.

What does your typical meal consist of?

You should be eating the hell out of some fish though. Anytime I go out to eat I get fish, as my wife doesnt eat seafood.

 

[cartisdm]

Can't say I am but on the oncoming shift the whole truck crew is now vegan for the last 6 months. (the officer last 2 years) they have lost a combined 116lbs between the 3 of them. It all started with this book.
http://engine2diet.com/about_e2/About_Engine_2

I recently watched the documentary Forks Over Knives and they talked to a fire department that switched over to a vegan diet and everyone got much healthier. Oddly enough you came to my mind (probably because you're the only firefighter I "somewhat" know...)

 

[AlohaStyle]

you want the people PULLING YOU OUT OF A FIRE fat and tired? 0_0

I was only joking and I know you are too... but really? You think firefighters that aren't vegan are fat and tired? Someone can't eat a nice steak with veggies and be healthy and fit?

 

[cartisdm]

I was only joking and I know you are too... but really? You think firefighters that aren't vegan are fat and tired? Someone can't eat a nice steak with veggies and be healthy and fit?

Plenty of people are lucky enough to stay thin even with terrible diets, others can eat tons of red meat and be pro athletes, some are even "obese" but look fit as a fiddle on a chart.

I, unfortunately, look healthy on the outside but every time I talk to a doctor they double and triple check my stats because the think something is wrong with the test. Last time I saw a new doctor she told me "It's physically impossible to have my levels and not be currently in shock" She double checked everything then said, "Well, I guess there's a first time for everything" (not generally something you want to hear a doc say...)

 

[AlohaStyle]

Plenty of people are lucky enough to stay thin even with terrible diets, others can eat tons of red meat and be pro athletes, some are even "obese" but look fit as a fiddle on a chart.

I, unfortunately, look healthy on the outside but every time I talk to a doctor they double and triple check my stats because the think something is wrong with the test. Last time I saw a new doctor she told me "It's physically impossible to have my levels and not be currently in shock" She double checked everything then said, "Well, I guess there's a first time for everything" (not generally something you want to hear a doc say...)

I hear ya brother, I wish you well and that you can figure out your diet!

Serves me right for trying to make a joke... LOL

 

[cartisdm]

I had a Black and Bleu burger during the Caps game Saturday night. It was amazing... Outside of that I've managed to stay right on top of my veggie diet. I've also got back into mountain biking and been doing 10-15 miles a day for about two weeks. My body fat percentage has gone down quite a bit as well but that's pretty common during the beginning of any new system

 

[Fitze55]

Daniel -

I would cut back on the lima-a-ritas.

 

[cartisdm]

Daniel -

I would cut back on the lima-a-ritas.

hahahaha

 

[Clinton]

My now 17-year-old son hasn't eaten meat since he was 4. His sister, two years younger, followed suit soon after. My wife and I have not forsaken meat, because we're weak, but we've cut way back over the last decade.

 

[fourkicksfan]

Bump for this older thread...I have made the switch for about three weeks, anybody else taken this plunge?

 

[mwlabel]

Well, my girlfriend is a vegetarian... which basically makes me a vegetarian. /pulpfiction
(Seriously, though...)


The amount of meat I consume these days is pretty low. I don't buy it at the grocery store usually, due to price. And the stuff in the dining halls either looks like something you don't want to eat anyway, or I've had it so often I'm just sick of it. Bacon though... mmmmm.

 

[fourkicksfan]

Well, my girlfriend is a vegetarian... which basically makes me a vegetarian. /pulpfiction
(Seriously, though...)


The amount of meat I consume these days is pretty low. I don't buy it at the grocery store usually, due to price. And the stuff in the dining halls either looks like something you don't want to eat anyway, or I've had it so often I'm just sick of it. Bacon though... mmmmm.

Does she have any go to resources that she/you have found particularly helpful?

 

[mwlabel]

Well, my girlfriend is a vegetarian... which basically makes me a vegetarian. /pulpfiction
(Seriously, though...)


The amount of meat I consume these days is pretty low. I don't buy it at the grocery store usually, due to price. And the stuff in the dining halls either looks like something you don't want to eat anyway, or I've had it so often I'm just sick of it. Bacon though... mmmmm.

Does she have any go to resources that she/you have found particularly helpful?

That fake meat found in the grocery stores... Boca Burgers, MorningStar, things like that. It's actually GOOD. If you know what you're doing, it tastes 99% like the real thing.
I think the most important thing is not only the joy of cooking, but willingness to try new things. Crack open the cookbook or laptop, and pick out some Indian, Greek, or whatever dish that you may not normally go for. Experimenting with all of the different seasonings and ingredients helps A LOT. We can easily throw together delicious meals based on past experiments. It just takes time figuring which rices, veggies, etc etc etc you like and the combinations of such.