Any vegetarians? Should I become one?

[simplemoss]

But then if you have schizophrenia and your not concerned with what you eat, you will become big and fat.

That's far better than the alternative. Lets say your veagan u can still deep dry asparagus in veg oil can't you? So now you have too worry about fat cholesterol sugar sodium. Then the side effects of preservatives coloring pesticides. Then you have too deal with health "fads" for example are egg yolks good or bad for you? Scientists change their mind, on just this one, subject all the time.

Do you see how this can quickly result in an irrational obsession?

Much better too just start exercising, especially since schizophrenia can result result in being afraid too leave your home, even if it's simply taking a short walk every day

[psychoslice]

But then if you have schizophrenia and your not concerned with what you eat, you will become big and fat.

That's far better than the alternative. Lets say your veagan u can still deep dry asparagus in veg oil can't you? So now you have too worry about fat cholesterol sugar sodium. Then the side effects of preservatives coloring pesticides. Then you have too deal with health "fads" for example are egg yolks good or bad for you? Scientists change their mind, on just this one, subject all the time.

Do you see how this can quickly result in an irrational obsession?

Much better too just start exercising, especially since schizophrenia can result result in being afraid too leave your home, even if it's simply taking a short walk every day

Yes that may happen, but most people who become vegan's or vegetarians seem to be more concerned with what goes into their mouth than non veg's. And after all, it gives them at least something to think about and plan, its better than just thinking about yourself and what goes with that thinking.

[The Grand Nudger]

You think that vegetarians are thinking about their food and not themselves when they think about vegetarianism? Huh....we have a wildly divergent experience of vegetarians you and I. Vegetarianism, in my experience, is a master class in a persons individual kinks but maybe not all that informative with regards to food.

[Alex K]

There's definitely that crowd, like the organic eaters who care squat about animals and the environment, and all about being free of bad bad chemicals and vibrations. I'm really annoyed by those. I'd rather have my yoghurt non organic and full of GMO to the brink if that means that the cow saw something other than its stall every once in a while.

I still don't get the soy thing. So we need fertilizer. Sure, we're 7 billion ppl. Don't we need way more of all of that if we first grow the feed and feed it to the cows (instead to ourselves) and then eat the cows? Plus giving us greenhouse emissions from the cows. Using dung as fertilizer is not exactly free of consequences either.

[Aractus]

Anyway, I was wondering if vegetarianism was a healthy way to lose weight?

It can be a healthy way to loose weight, but remember to always put your health first. You may find eating some meat 2-3 times a week better than going fully vegetarian.

Whatever you do don't get health advice from the "ethical vegan" crowd, because a lot of the information they put out there is not based on science or evidence. Get it from people who have a real focus on health (i.e. Alex Jamieson, or even Loren Cordain, or a qualified nutritionist, etc).

[The Grand Nudger]

I still don't get the soy thing. So we need fertilizer. Sure, we're 7 billion ppl. Don't we need way more of all of that if we first grow the feed and feed it to the cows (instead to ourselves) and then eat the cows? Plus giving us greenhouse emissions from the cows. Using dung as fertilizer is not exactly free of consequences either.

Not -just- fertilizer.....but that's a big issue, yeah. We need a whole hell of alot of things that livestock provides. That industry already supports the commercial vegetable production industry in the first place (and vv).

We don't have to grow the feed, that's the beauty of cattle (and, essentially, all livestock). They're capable of turning something that is not available to us as a food source - on lands too marginal to grow "people food" - into a food source (themselves) while producing -as a byproduct- the inputs required to grow "people food" in a stable form that can be transported to those productive lands - all while reducing our reliance on more harmful and more destructive input sources. We grow the feed on marginal lands using varieties that aren't really suitable for us - using practices that we don't allow in the production of food for human consumption (but which are far less expensive and resource intensive). Our current livestock production model is a byproduct of our agricultural system. It's what we do with the waste (judged from the POV of human consumption). Corn, particularly, has been the crown jewel of human agricultural achievement - but we didn't get from teosinte to ss f1 in one go, we use the "also ran" varieties to make better use of land.

You're right though-nothing is free of consequence, as I said at the start, no free lunch, especially when it comes to lunch. Thing is, I'm not offering a free lunch, not on environmental or ethical issues. I'm content to do the best we can with what we have.

[bennyboy]

Being vegetarian won't help you lose weight. I'm vegetarian, and I'm about 220 lbs.

The ONLY way to lose weight is to take in fewer calories than you burn. That's it. Story finished.

Look at a dish of ice cream. It's probably about 600 calories. You'd have to walk for AN HOUR OR MORE to burn that off. Add a big bag of potato chips, and that's another HOUR OR MORE of exercise to burn that off. If you are snacking all day, your body will break down before you can burn all the calories you've take in, EVEN IF YOU EXERCISE ALL DAY.

The solution is obvious. Either you need to learn about nutrition, especially counting calories and using will power, or you need to get used to your new, permanently fat self. Being vegetarian has nothing to do with that, as rice, potatos, pasta, etc. all have massive calories, and can fatten you up as fast (possibly even faster) than meat.

[Brian37]

Before you decide to change your diet consult a doctor. Taking advice from laypersons on line is not the way to do it. Now can you change your diet? Yes but only a doctor is going to be able to tell you how to do it safely and slowly so your body adjusts. Simply jumping into ANY diet has a high failure rate and usually causes more health problems.

You also cannot simply replace meat protein with plant protein suddenly. Just like there are different types of hydrogen atoms there are also different types of protein.

[Aractus]

Thanks for the replies. For me, personally, calories count, but I don't count my calories. If I just did a vegetable and protein diet, no wheat, and no sugar, I woud lose weight.

Good, don't count calories.

If you plan a healthy diet consisting of mostly vegetables, lean meats, yoghurt, dairy, nuts and 2-3 fruits per day you will probably have success. Eat your three main meals as usual and fruits in between meals. You can also eat 2-3 squares of 70% cocoa dark-chocolate before dinner - but it has to be 70% cocoa. Good luck.

[Brian37]

Thanks for the replies. For me, personally, calories count, but I don't count my calories. If I just did a vegetable and protein diet, no wheat, and no sugar, I woud lose weight.

Good, don't count calories.

If you plan a healthy diet consisting of mostly vegetables, lean meats, yoghurt, dairy, nuts and 2-3 fruits per day you will probably have success. Eat your three main meals as usual and fruits in between meals. You can also eat 2-3 squares of 70% cocoa dark-chocolate before dinner - but it has to be 70% cocoa. Good luck.

Um no, every human reacts differently to different things. Before you do anything you consult a doctor. It isn't a matter of don't change at all, it is a matter of having a medical expert who can assess your diet history, asses your genetic history, and guide you through any changes that you chose. Changing a diet by yourself has less success or can cause harm without professional support.