Confession: I Went Vegetarian

Well, for two months, that is.

Month One - The Vegetarian Beginning:
http://chriscolucci.blogspot.com/2009/04/life-without-my-meat-part-1.html

Month Two - The Vegan Experience:
http://chriscolucci.blogspot.com/2009/04/life-without-my-meat-part-2.html

I got kinda tired of all the repetitive, closed-minded “vegetarians can’t build muscle” banter that goes on, so I figured I’d actually give it a fair test, which is more than most of the critics would ever do.

Questions/comments?

And before it’s even brought up, I did say that I went vegetarian, emphasis on the past tense. I have returned to omnivorous eating, if only for practicality (it’s a decent challenge, being the sole vegetarian/vegan in a house of omnis) and financially (my first shopping trip to stock up cost $96 and I only ended up with three bags of groceries).

But as I said in the article, my regular, omni diet is just a short skip away from being veggie, so it’s not a huge difference.

Thanks for the research!

I’ve been often criticized for my vegetarian lifestyle, and its encouraging to see such results from a vegan diet (especially from someone who is normally non-veg).

[quote]xkungpowx wrote:
I’ve been often criticized for my vegetarian lifestyle[/quote]

I think I’m starting to look at this similar to how powerlifters pick on bodybuilders, bodybuilders pick on Crossfitters, etc., etc. It ends up being a waste of time, but they get a kick out of pointing to “the different guy.”

Bottom line is (or, should be): As long as the dude’s in the gym lifting and getting results, why have a connip fit over what he does or doesn’t eat.

[quote]Chris Colucci wrote:
xkungpowx wrote:
I’ve been often criticized for my vegetarian lifestyle

I think I’m starting to look at this similar to how powerlifters pick on bodybuilders, bodybuilders pick on Crossfitters, etc., etc. It ends up being a waste of time, but they get a kick out of pointing to “the different guy.”
[/quote]

We (as in men) are meant to be hunter killers and you turned into a gatherer. Thus you are picked on for becoming a female.

I enjoyed reading both blog spots on vegetarian/vegan experiment.

Did you notice any mental or mood changes? Your girlfriend said your face looked “hollow” but what did your skin, hair and nails look like? Was there any visible changes besides weight loss?

If nothing else it would be easier to carry your meals with you as a vegetarian/vegan.

Do you think you may do something like this on a regular basis as a cleansing thing?

you mentioned $96.00 in groceries. Was this because you didn’t have some basics or do you think it would be more or less expensive as a vegan/vegetarian?

haha! apparently I had a lot of questions.

Thank you Chris!

I don’t know why people would venture into such foolishness like this. I believe Dr. John Berardi did a trial on himself with this same idea. His results were that his body comp got worse by a little. I will never ever be convinced that meat is bad for you, unless you have some kidney issue to begin with and you have to keep your protein intake low.

[quote]MaximusB wrote:
I don’t know why people would venture into such foolishness like this. I believe Dr. John Berardi did a trial on himself with this same idea. His results were that his body comp got worse by a little. I will never ever be convinced that meat is bad for you, unless you have some kidney issue to begin with and you have to keep your protein intake low. [/quote]

Thank you.

I don’t understand why behaving in a manor that is the opposite of the bodies designed function is considered “cleansing”.

It’s like filling the tires on your car up above the recommended air pressure. Yeah the first few miles will be fine, but over time, I won’t recommend driving too fast.

I don’t get why some folks get offended that he tried it out.

I like that he tried it out to see for himself rather than just going along with the crowd.

and I used the phrase “cleansing” because I am completely ignorant of the total benefits of a vegetarian or vegan diet so that word was my usage, not Chris Colucci’s

and if you read his first post, he is back to being an omnivore, don’t worry, the sun is still going to rise tomorrow

[quote]CrewPierce wrote:
Chris Colucci wrote:
xkungpowx wrote:
I’ve been often criticized for my vegetarian lifestyle

I think I’m starting to look at this similar to how powerlifters pick on bodybuilders, bodybuilders pick on Crossfitters, etc., etc. It ends up being a waste of time, but they get a kick out of pointing to “the different guy.”

We (as in men) are meant to be hunter killers and you turned into a gatherer. Thus you are picked on for becoming a female.[/quote]

hahahahahha

Hm, I do not quite understand why you have not taken before and after measurements that are relevant to us meatheads (like arm size and body fat caliper readings).

As for changing only one variable:

Did your caloric intake stay the same during your vegan experiment compared to your normal diet?

How about macro ratios?

[quote]xkungpowx wrote:
Thanks for the research!

I’ve been often criticized for my vegetarian lifestyle, and its encouraging to see such results from a vegan diet (especially from someone who is normally non-veg).[/quote]

A 12 pounds weight loss while trying to maintain body weight is encouraging? Without knowing how much of the 12 pounds is fat loss and how much muscle loss?

[quote]CrewPierce wrote:
Chris Colucci wrote:
xkungpowx wrote:
I’ve been often criticized for my vegetarian lifestyle

I think I’m starting to look at this similar to how powerlifters pick on bodybuilders, bodybuilders pick on Crossfitters, etc., etc. It ends up being a waste of time, but they get a kick out of pointing to “the different guy.”

We (as in men) are meant to be hunter killers and you turned into a gatherer. Thus you are picked on for becoming a female.[/quote]

Shear logic at it’s best.

and LOL!

[quote]OctoberGirl wrote:
I don’t get why some folks get offended that he tried it out.

I like that he tried it out to see for himself rather than just going along with the crowd.

and I used the phrase “cleansing” because I am completely ignorant of the total benefits of a vegetarian or vegan diet so that word was my usage, not Chris Colucci’s

and if you read his first post, he is back to being an omnivore, don’t worry, the sun is still going to rise tomorrow
[/quote]

I’m not offended, I just face palm at completely ignoring the biological function of the human body. How can you expect to make progress when you ignore a major aspect of HOW THE BODY WORKS?

Going along with the crowd? What crowd? The people that understand how the human body functions and, you know, act accordingly?

I’m not worried about the sun coming up, I am worried about impressionable young lifters and general folk that read this and think that going against the bodies natural processes is a good plan, or is cleaning them in some way shape or form.

The following are scenarios that occur every day in typical homes in the United States:

CASE 1:


Lil’ John: “Mama I’m a gay, a serial killer, and ate the last piece of cake that was in teh fridge this morning. I want to kill you too.”

Mother: “Never mind son, I love you anyway hugs

CASE 2:


Lil’ John: “Mama, today I got mah PhD in highly complex shit’ n stuff. I won the lottery and won a Nobel prize this morning. I been elected president too. But I have a confession to say- I’m a Vegetarian…vegan maybe…”

Mother: “YOU WHAT?!?!?!? GET OUT OF THIS HOUSE! YOU, YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU bitchslap

[quote]countingbeans wrote:
OctoberGirl wrote:
I don’t get why some folks get offended that he tried it out.

I like that he tried it out to see for himself rather than just going along with the crowd.

and I used the phrase “cleansing” because I am completely ignorant of the total benefits of a vegetarian or vegan diet so that word was my usage, not Chris Colucci’s

and if you read his first post, he is back to being an omnivore, don’t worry, the sun is still going to rise tomorrow

I’m not offended, I just face palm at completely ignoring the biological function of the human body. How can you expect to make progress when you ignore a major aspect of HOW THE BODY WORKS?

Going along with the crowd? What crowd? The people that understand how the human body functions and, you know, act accordingly?

I’m not worried about the sun coming up, I am worried about impressionable young lifters and general folk that read this and think that going against the bodies natural processes is a good plan, or is cleaning them in some way shape or form.
[/quote]

Did you actually read the whole post or the blogs?

Do you think the body needs meat specifically, or protein? Because you can get protein without eating meat.

I am not a vegetarian, but I don’t think it is against nature to be a vegetarian. It’s a choice and it won’t hurt the body. Keep your ratios up and there you go.

I hope folks keep trying new things and posting the experience on here.

Best way to learn is to do.

[quote]CrewPierce wrote:
Chris Colucci wrote:
xkungpowx wrote:
I’ve been often criticized for my vegetarian lifestyle

I think I’m starting to look at this similar to how powerlifters pick on bodybuilders, bodybuilders pick on Crossfitters, etc., etc. It ends up being a waste of time, but they get a kick out of pointing to “the different guy.”

We (as in men) are meant to be hunter killers and you turned into a gatherer. Thus you are picked on for becoming a female.[/quote]

I gather my meat at my local grocery store, so that makes me…GASP!!!

[quote]OctoberGirl wrote:
but I don’t think it is against nature to be a vegetarian. It’s a choice and it won’t hurt the body.

[/quote]

Please, find me one study, one honest scientific study that shows that the human digestive track is more similar to a sheep than say a dog, and vegetarians will be queens & kings of all the internets.

In a world without supermarkets and supplement companies, yes humans need meat to survive. Therefore, it is natural to eat it. Therefore it hurts the body by KILLING it to not eat meat.

But I forgot, mankind is smarter than evolution.

Silly me. Let me live off of plants that my body can’t digest & load up on Soy & take little pills made in a factory to compensate for the vitamins in MEAT that I can’t get without eating MEAT.

No I didn’t read his blog. I don’t need anymore evidence of why people should eat meat than I already have. I understand basic principles of biology, I don’t need to read a story about someone’s stupidity.

[quote]CrewPierce wrote:

We (as in men) are meant to be hunter killers and you turned into a gatherer. Thus you are picked on for becoming a female.[/quote]

Actually, in hunter-gatherer societies, men AND women often shared the hunting/gathering responsibilities, which is why the carrying capacity was not reached for a long time in these traditional societies, because women got so lean running around hunting that it was hard to ovulate/get pregnant.
Learned that in cultural anthropology.

[quote]countingbeans wrote:
OctoberGirl wrote:
but I don’t think it is against nature to be a vegetarian. It’s a choice and it won’t hurt the body.

Please, find me one study, one honest scientific study that shows that the human digestive track is more similar to a sheep than say a dog, and vegetarians will be queens & kings of all the internets.

In a world without supermarkets and supplement companies, yes humans need meat to survive. Therefore, it is natural to eat it. Therefore it hurts the body by KILLING it to not eat meat.

But I forgot, mankind is smarter than evolution.

Silly me. Let me live off of plants that my body can’t digest & load up on Soy & take little pills made in a factory to compensate for the vitamins in MEAT that I can’t get without eating MEAT.

No I didn’t read his blog. I don’t need anymore evidence of why people should eat meat than I already have. I understand basic principles of biology, I don’t need to read a story about someone’s stupidity.
[/quote]

it sure did get your panties in a twist.

and our intestines are a lot longer than a dog’s so that analogy won’t fly either.

we need protein, not necessarily meat.

The only thing stupid is failing to learn.

just get over the tantrum already. It’s not your thing

how could you not like meat? its so yummy :slight_smile: