looking for honest advice about going vegetarian

**mmmbrownie** · 11-10-2013, 04:50 PM

guys/gals, i'm ready to get flamed here, but let me qualify myself. i'm an office worker now, but i was a butcher at a slaughter house for 2 years after university. I couldn't find a job. i got hired as a 'knocker'. 3 cattle shot per minute, 8 hours a day, 255 days for the first year. i have personally shot over 370,000 cows straight in the head. my second year i got 'promoted' to first cut. so i took >370,000 cattle that were clinging to life and cut their throat all the way to the tummy. i don't mean this to be graphic....it's life. that was back in 2000. i've been a steak and potatoes guy ever since, no judgement, this is how we operate.
I've periodically run gear, always worked out, always ate hard. steak/chicken/yams/green veg/ all that jazz.
i'm not that big compared to a lot of folks on this form
6'2", 230, fairly lean.
I'm considering becoming a vegetarian. for my own reasons, I will never judge anyone, as i'm eating a steak salad as i write this lol.
my question is this... can someone be a vegetarian (assuming they learn the diet), run minimal gear, and still be big and lean, or does being a big/lean dude require the usual meat/poultry/fish.
thanks in advance for any answers/opinions!

**redz** · 11-10-2013, 06:23 PM

It is far more challenging and meat is delicious!

**Bonaparte** · 11-10-2013, 07:21 PM

Well, what is drawing you to vegetarianism?

**tarmyg** · 11-11-2013, 01:45 AM

Originally Posted by mmmbrownie

—> SNIPP
my question is this... can someone be a vegetarian (assuming they learn the diet), run minimal gear, and still be big and lean, or does being a big/lean dude require the usual meat/poultry/fish.
thanks in advance for any answers/opinions!

There are many people who are Vegetarian and are super fit. A quick Google search reveals MANY resources regarding this: https://www.google.com/search?q=vege...hrome&ie=UTF-8

Thanks
~T

"I stay mostly by myself, but it's OK, they know me here"
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**gbrice75** · 11-11-2013, 08:31 AM

It can definitely be done, and there are vegan/vegetarian bodybuilders out there, you'd just need to eat quite a bit to ensure you're hitting your (complete) protein goals daily as that'll be by far your biggest challenge.

I commend you for trying though. I attempted going vegan (for the same reasons I suspect you're considering vegetarianism) and couldn't hang past a few months. At the end of the day, I'm a carnivore, plain and simple. I wish you luck though, keep us posted if you decide to go this route!

**ironbeck** · 11-11-2013, 08:38 AM

So your ancestors where blind?

**Bonaparte** · 11-11-2013, 09:03 AM

Originally Posted by ironbeck

So your ancestors where blind?

What?

**Ctits23** · 11-20-2013, 11:42 AM

Originally Posted by mmmbrownie

guys/gals, i'm ready to get flamed here, but let me qualify myself. i'm an office worker now, but i was a butcher at a slaughter house for 2 years after university. I couldn't find a job. i got hired as a 'knocker'. 3 cattle shot per minute, 8 hours a day, 255 days for the first year. i have personally shot over 370,000 cows straight in the head. my second year i got 'promoted' to first cut. so i took >370,000 cattle that were clinging to life and cut their throat all the way to the tummy. i don't mean this to be graphic....it's life. that was back in 2000. i've been a steak and potatoes guy ever since, no judgement, this is how we operate.
I've periodically run gear, always worked out, always ate hard. steak/chicken/yams/green veg/ all that jazz.
i'm not that big compared to a lot of folks on this form
6'2", 230, fairly lean.
I'm considering becoming a vegetarian. for my own reasons, I will never judge anyone, as i'm eating a steak salad as i write this lol.
my question is this... can someone be a vegetarian (assuming they learn the diet), run minimal gear, and still be big and lean, or does being a big/lean dude require the usual meat/poultry/fish.
thanks in advance for any answers/opinions!

having nothing to do with personal beliefs or anything and going strictly off science and human biology you will make less gains and it will be much much more difficult to keep track of macros. mixing and matching and so forth.

can people look healthy and do it all their life, yes. but honestly look healthy is the key, even if they look healthy they will never be as strong or having their body working at its highest potential.

in the end, we are not herbivores and we are not carnivores, we are omnivores thru and thru to our core. our bodies are biologically designed to eat meat. not just protein, but meat. if we're build to be omnivores then we should eat like omnivores for best results.

its like giving a race car 87 when it was build for high octane fuel. give it what it was made for, dont deny what it needs

**bass** · 11-20-2013, 11:56 AM

you say fairly lean, not sure how lean you are but based on your stats assuming you are around 10% I don't think vegies will be enough to sustain your weight!

**JJ78** · 11-20-2013, 02:24 PM

Yes you can bro. There are a lot of plants that can provide sufficient protein for you. And aas will help

I was vegan for a while, but I meat. Grass fed beef and organic free range chicken and fish of all kinds.

Lots of vegan forums out there, that is where we got most of our recipies from. Lots of books as well.

**JJ78** · 11-20-2013, 02:26 PM

Remember Test is vegetarian

**bass** · 11-20-2013, 02:28 PM

^^^ test doesn't grow muscles, protein does. test supports and maintains healthy muscle, but something else has to feed it, protein.

**JJ78** · 11-20-2013, 02:29 PM

And I personally belive that eating organic whole foods is a lot better for health than being a vegetarian.

Way it was explained to me was:
We are meat eaters, you can only grow certain veggies in certain months. I realize that there are winter, spring, fall, and summer crops. So, I assume that the reason that you are considering is because of the atrocities that you were involved in in a factory farm, or slaughterhouse.

Buy local, buy organic, find a local farm.

**JJ78** · 11-20-2013, 02:35 PM

Oh I am 6'2 230 as well but I eat meat now

**JJ78** · 11-20-2013, 02:39 PM

Of course Bass. Hemp, Pea, Quinoa, Spinach, Nuts, to name a few

**JJ78** · 11-20-2013, 02:41 PM

Legumes. MMM I can make a badass Black Bean recipie thats hard to stop eating.

**Ctits23** · 11-20-2013, 02:44 PM

some other things that make being veg more difficult is the fact lean meats will typically only have 1-2 g of fat per 4 oz serving with 0 carbs and protein around 25 grams. you cant get these macros from many veg options besides protein shakes and least amount of shakes is always best.

also to hit calories you need to intake more carbs and fats because to get your protein needs as a veg you have to consume foods like dairy/beans etc. which are high in carbs and usually high in fat. also all meat are complete proteins providing a high amount amino acids. after all were looking for amino acids not protein. you can mix/match foods to get complete proteins but again you will therefore need to take in a high amount of carbs and fat to get your protein worth.

you will also see without meats in your diet you will be blood tired and fatigued alot even if supplementing correctly. its really difficult to work around what nature was suppose to do. when you go opposite of what nature wants it never works out best

**JJ78** · 11-20-2013, 02:55 PM

All you can do is try it for a while, experiment. I personally like changing things up and challenges and experimenting with my body and myself.

Side note, dont know how you could hold that job any long period of time. Had to **** with your head. Really makes life seem cheap.