Life Without My Meat, Part 1
I'd always known about Mahler, but then I read about Dos Remedios, and then Ferruggia, Berardi, and Alvino. Over the last year or two, I noticed that all of these top guys were removing meat from their diet, and the reports were good.
I finally had to see for myself what it was all about, so I spent a full month as a dedicated vegetarian and another month as a meat-fearing vegan. To get the classic experience, I asked my girlfriend to stop shaving and I called Tommy Chong to score some premium reefer, but they both shot me down, so all I can report is what I went through when I removed animal products from my diet for two months.
Am I Trying to Convert You?
Before I get too far into it, I can already hear people groaning, "I'd never be a vegetarian. Steak's delicious. I love being a carnivore." I hate to break it to you, but you're not a carnivore, dummy. You're an omnivore, and eating a little less meat and some more vegetables will probably be a good thing for your body.
In the meatless community, omnivores (or "omnis" as they're known) are pretty much left to do their own thing. It's not like vegetarians hold meetings to seek new recruits. "Okay Steve, you take the crew and head to the supermarket. Try to hang around the frozen foods section. I want ten new signatures or you get no tofu tonight."
Those soy-marinated, throw-paint-on-the-fur, confrontational vegans are an embarrassment to both sides and nobody wants to be associated with them. The non-meat-eaters I spoke with were pretty much, "It's just food, man. You eat your stuff and I'll eat mine. Let's just get in the gym."
So What Can I Eat?
I lost track of how many times I was asked, "You're a vegetarian now? But you can still eat fish, right?" Nope. Fish, or "sea kittens" as PETA recently tried to rename them, are animals and they're off-limits to vegetarians.
It was actually a pretty small step for me to go from an omni to vegetarian. Over the last year or so, I've seriously reduced the red meat in my diet because I finally recognized that it just runs through my system faster than Usain Bolt on a quintuple espresso.
I began the experiment as a lacto-ovo vegetarian, which allowed eggs, milk and other dairy products, but no animal meat. After two weeks, I dropped the eggs and went strictly lacto-vegetarian, only allowing dairy products (including Metabolic Drive and Surge).
It turns out that this approach is similar to how long-time vegan strength coach Mike Mahler suggests someone adopt the lifestyle. As a vegan for 15 years, Mahler is 6-feet tall and a lean 205 pounds without ever training for hypertrophy, and he treats 88-pound kettlebells like they were made of Styrofoam.
"You want to make the transition over the course of several months to a year, rather than overnight or over the course of a few weeks." He says.
No animals were harmed in the building of this muscle.
"For example, go from eating meat daily to eating it three times per week, and gradually reduce down to one or two times per week. Most veggie burgers and fake meat products are okay as transition foods, but shouldn't be staples because they're too high in sodium and processed junk.
Next, cut out meat completely, but stick with organic cheese and organic free-range eggs. You have to decide what you're comfortable with and how far you want to go. If you want to continue on to being vegan, gradually phase out eggs and dairy the same way that meat was phased out."
Almost as a sign from above, no sooner did I cook dinner on my first night as a vegetarian (roasted eggplant parmesan with whole wheat pasta), then I caught Pulp Fiction on TV. Did you know that Jules' girlfriend is a vegetarian, which pretty much makes him a vegetarian.
I was also reminded of what I'll be missing these next two months with Vincent's declarations, "Bacon tastes good. Pork chops taste good." Why do you taunt me, Quentin? Why?
On a related note, when a vegan tells you, "This is the best pseudo-beef jerky I've ever tried," remember that it's probably been a long time since they've had real beef jerky. "Stonewall's Jerquee" received good reviews from several vegan sites, but tasted exactly how I'd imagine cow tongue to taste: rubbery and juicy, with a funky aftertaste.
Doing It The Right Way
One of my goals for this test was to maintain my current bodyweight while improving my performance in the gym (this was also my goal before the experiment, so no point in changing that now). I kept a general eye on my daily calories, and at my current weight and activity level, I need around 3,000 calories to keep the scale steady.
My Sample Lacto-Ovo Menu
Breakfast: 3 whole eggs, 1/2 cup shredded cheese, 1Tbsp. butter, 1 cup grapes.
Lunch: 15 blue corn tortilla chips, 1 cup 4% cottage cheese, 1/2 cup salsa.
Afternoon: 1 pear, 1 scoop of Metabolic Drive in about 10 ounces of 1% milk.
Dinner: 2 cups whole wheat pasta, 3 thick slices eggplant, 1 cup shredded whole milk mozzarella, 2 cups chopped tomato.
Night: 2 scoops of Metabolic Drive in water with two tablespoons of sunflower seeds.
Along the way, I discovered that rice milk tastes good, but lacks protein, while hemp milk really does taste like the gym class rope at the end of a hot June day. I never got around to trying almond milk, but it's a popular alternative, even though it contains surprisingly little protein. On a side note, I have a friend who firmly believes that "soy milk" should be more appropriately named "soy juice" since you can't "milk" a soybean. Makes sense to me. You don't see V8 Tomato Milk on the shelves, do you?
I checked with Dr. John Berardi, himself a recent vegetarian experimenter, to get his ideas on a designing a vegetarian muscle-building plan. "If you're training hard, have a calorie surplus, and meet your protein needs — all of which are possible with a plant-based diet — you can build muscle.
Plant-based eaters want to ensure they're getting about one gram of protein per pound of bodyweight from nuts, seeds, protein-rich grains, legumes, and, if necessary, supplements. Nowadays there are a host of nice-tasting, soy-free, vegan protein powders.
I've seen lots of plant-based eaters give up on muscle gain because they figured it was impossible. However, one look at their diet made it clear that they were simply undereating. Once they added calories, and some of them needed a lot of calories, bodyweight went up."
Berardi's advice is right in line with an example I've used before. If a 200-pound guy lifts heavy and consistently while eating 4,500 calories — 300 grams of protein, 500 grams of carbs, and 150 grams of fat — he's going to get bigger and stronger, vegetarian or not.
The Mayo Clinic's lacto-ovo food pyramid is as useful as any other food pyramid. Close, but no cigar.
Because protein is obviously essential for muscle building, Mahler also reminds us, "Make sure that you get complete protein, which can be achieved by combining legumes with nuts and seeds. Some examples include lentils with pumpkin seeds or black beans with hemp seeds.
This also ensures you have a good amount of fat, which ensures that hormone production is optimal. That's essential for creating an optimal muscle-building environment. High quality rice protein or pea protein isolate shakes are also a good idea to assure that your bases are covered."
The Soy Situation
More misunderstood than Eddie Vedder on novocaine, soy has gotten tons of attention over the years. While it's not an essential part of a meatless diet, soy can be eaten in moderation, just like any other foodstuff.
This article from Dr. Berardi and Ryan Andrews is an absolute must-read before you decide to rank soy slightly lower than deep-fried Twinkies on the nutritional food chain.
While I think there are some legitimate issues regarding potential hormone influence, mostly coming from people overdoing it with soy protein powders, the whole topic has been blown out of proportion. If you're going to include soy foods in your diet, keep them as natural as possible, just like you'd do with meat.
The same way you'd lean more towards a ribeye than a hot dog, you should lean more towards raw soybeans or tempeh, rather than soy burgers or super-processed soy protein powders.
Let's Name Names
I'm clearly not the first guy who wanted to lift weights while "saving the animals." Some of the more well-known vegetarian bodybuilders include 1980 Mr. International Andreas Cahling, perennial pro Albert Beckles (or not... more on him later), four-time Mr. Universe Bill Pearl (only one of which was won sans-meat), and 1951 Mr. America Roy Hilligenn.
Lifelong vegetarian Roy Hilligenn weighed less than 180 pounds and had a nearly 400-pound clean and jerk.
Back to Albert Beckles, who, with nearly 30 years of contests, had one of the longest competitive bodybuilding careers. Almost every list of vegetarian athletes claims Beckles as an example, so I got in touch and asked for some advice on how to design a productive vegetarian bodybuilder's diet.
"I get asked this from time to time," he told me. "I don't know where the rumor got started, but I'm not a vegetarian." Curse you, Internet, that's twice you've mislead me. The first time involved an AOL chat room in 1995, but let's not talk about that right now.
- - - - -
Be sure to read Life Without My Meat, Part 2 for my vegan experience and a wrap-up of this whole journey.
I finally had to see for myself what it was all about, so I spent a full month as a dedicated vegetarian and another month as a meat-fearing vegan. To get the classic experience, I asked my girlfriend to stop shaving and I called Tommy Chong to score some premium reefer, but they both shot me down, so all I can report is what I went through when I removed animal products from my diet for two months.
Am I Trying to Convert You?
Before I get too far into it, I can already hear people groaning, "I'd never be a vegetarian. Steak's delicious. I love being a carnivore." I hate to break it to you, but you're not a carnivore, dummy. You're an omnivore, and eating a little less meat and some more vegetables will probably be a good thing for your body.
In the meatless community, omnivores (or "omnis" as they're known) are pretty much left to do their own thing. It's not like vegetarians hold meetings to seek new recruits. "Okay Steve, you take the crew and head to the supermarket. Try to hang around the frozen foods section. I want ten new signatures or you get no tofu tonight."
Those soy-marinated, throw-paint-on-the-fur, confrontational vegans are an embarrassment to both sides and nobody wants to be associated with them. The non-meat-eaters I spoke with were pretty much, "It's just food, man. You eat your stuff and I'll eat mine. Let's just get in the gym."
So What Can I Eat?
I lost track of how many times I was asked, "You're a vegetarian now? But you can still eat fish, right?" Nope. Fish, or "sea kittens" as PETA recently tried to rename them, are animals and they're off-limits to vegetarians.
It was actually a pretty small step for me to go from an omni to vegetarian. Over the last year or so, I've seriously reduced the red meat in my diet because I finally recognized that it just runs through my system faster than Usain Bolt on a quintuple espresso.
I began the experiment as a lacto-ovo vegetarian, which allowed eggs, milk and other dairy products, but no animal meat. After two weeks, I dropped the eggs and went strictly lacto-vegetarian, only allowing dairy products (including Metabolic Drive and Surge).
It turns out that this approach is similar to how long-time vegan strength coach Mike Mahler suggests someone adopt the lifestyle. As a vegan for 15 years, Mahler is 6-feet tall and a lean 205 pounds without ever training for hypertrophy, and he treats 88-pound kettlebells like they were made of Styrofoam.
"You want to make the transition over the course of several months to a year, rather than overnight or over the course of a few weeks." He says.
"For example, go from eating meat daily to eating it three times per week, and gradually reduce down to one or two times per week. Most veggie burgers and fake meat products are okay as transition foods, but shouldn't be staples because they're too high in sodium and processed junk.
Next, cut out meat completely, but stick with organic cheese and organic free-range eggs. You have to decide what you're comfortable with and how far you want to go. If you want to continue on to being vegan, gradually phase out eggs and dairy the same way that meat was phased out."
Almost as a sign from above, no sooner did I cook dinner on my first night as a vegetarian (roasted eggplant parmesan with whole wheat pasta), then I caught Pulp Fiction on TV. Did you know that Jules' girlfriend is a vegetarian, which pretty much makes him a vegetarian.
I was also reminded of what I'll be missing these next two months with Vincent's declarations, "Bacon tastes good. Pork chops taste good." Why do you taunt me, Quentin? Why?
On a related note, when a vegan tells you, "This is the best pseudo-beef jerky I've ever tried," remember that it's probably been a long time since they've had real beef jerky. "Stonewall's Jerquee" received good reviews from several vegan sites, but tasted exactly how I'd imagine cow tongue to taste: rubbery and juicy, with a funky aftertaste.
Doing It The Right Way
One of my goals for this test was to maintain my current bodyweight while improving my performance in the gym (this was also my goal before the experiment, so no point in changing that now). I kept a general eye on my daily calories, and at my current weight and activity level, I need around 3,000 calories to keep the scale steady.
My Sample Lacto-Ovo Menu
Breakfast: 3 whole eggs, 1/2 cup shredded cheese, 1Tbsp. butter, 1 cup grapes.
Lunch: 15 blue corn tortilla chips, 1 cup 4% cottage cheese, 1/2 cup salsa.
Afternoon: 1 pear, 1 scoop of Metabolic Drive in about 10 ounces of 1% milk.
Dinner: 2 cups whole wheat pasta, 3 thick slices eggplant, 1 cup shredded whole milk mozzarella, 2 cups chopped tomato.
Night: 2 scoops of Metabolic Drive in water with two tablespoons of sunflower seeds.
Along the way, I discovered that rice milk tastes good, but lacks protein, while hemp milk really does taste like the gym class rope at the end of a hot June day. I never got around to trying almond milk, but it's a popular alternative, even though it contains surprisingly little protein. On a side note, I have a friend who firmly believes that "soy milk" should be more appropriately named "soy juice" since you can't "milk" a soybean. Makes sense to me. You don't see V8 Tomato Milk on the shelves, do you?
I checked with Dr. John Berardi, himself a recent vegetarian experimenter, to get his ideas on a designing a vegetarian muscle-building plan. "If you're training hard, have a calorie surplus, and meet your protein needs — all of which are possible with a plant-based diet — you can build muscle.
Plant-based eaters want to ensure they're getting about one gram of protein per pound of bodyweight from nuts, seeds, protein-rich grains, legumes, and, if necessary, supplements. Nowadays there are a host of nice-tasting, soy-free, vegan protein powders.
I've seen lots of plant-based eaters give up on muscle gain because they figured it was impossible. However, one look at their diet made it clear that they were simply undereating. Once they added calories, and some of them needed a lot of calories, bodyweight went up."
Berardi's advice is right in line with an example I've used before. If a 200-pound guy lifts heavy and consistently while eating 4,500 calories — 300 grams of protein, 500 grams of carbs, and 150 grams of fat — he's going to get bigger and stronger, vegetarian or not.
Because protein is obviously essential for muscle building, Mahler also reminds us, "Make sure that you get complete protein, which can be achieved by combining legumes with nuts and seeds. Some examples include lentils with pumpkin seeds or black beans with hemp seeds.
This also ensures you have a good amount of fat, which ensures that hormone production is optimal. That's essential for creating an optimal muscle-building environment. High quality rice protein or pea protein isolate shakes are also a good idea to assure that your bases are covered."
The Soy Situation
More misunderstood than Eddie Vedder on novocaine, soy has gotten tons of attention over the years. While it's not an essential part of a meatless diet, soy can be eaten in moderation, just like any other foodstuff.
This article from Dr. Berardi and Ryan Andrews is an absolute must-read before you decide to rank soy slightly lower than deep-fried Twinkies on the nutritional food chain.
While I think there are some legitimate issues regarding potential hormone influence, mostly coming from people overdoing it with soy protein powders, the whole topic has been blown out of proportion. If you're going to include soy foods in your diet, keep them as natural as possible, just like you'd do with meat.
The same way you'd lean more towards a ribeye than a hot dog, you should lean more towards raw soybeans or tempeh, rather than soy burgers or super-processed soy protein powders.
Let's Name Names
I'm clearly not the first guy who wanted to lift weights while "saving the animals." Some of the more well-known vegetarian bodybuilders include 1980 Mr. International Andreas Cahling, perennial pro Albert Beckles (or not... more on him later), four-time Mr. Universe Bill Pearl (only one of which was won sans-meat), and 1951 Mr. America Roy Hilligenn.
Back to Albert Beckles, who, with nearly 30 years of contests, had one of the longest competitive bodybuilding careers. Almost every list of vegetarian athletes claims Beckles as an example, so I got in touch and asked for some advice on how to design a productive vegetarian bodybuilder's diet.
"I get asked this from time to time," he told me. "I don't know where the rumor got started, but I'm not a vegetarian." Curse you, Internet, that's twice you've mislead me. The first time involved an AOL chat room in 1995, but let's not talk about that right now.
- - - - -
Be sure to read Life Without My Meat, Part 2 for my vegan experience and a wrap-up of this whole journey.
posted by Chris Colucci at 10:27 AM
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