# Vegetarian questions



## shadowsea (Oct 7, 2011)

Sup guys, i'll make this as simple and short as possible. 

I'm 21
5'11" 
weigh about 140lbs 
have no health problems 

I'm thinking about going vegetarian for good ol ethical / healthy shat. However, i'm intrested in putting on weight and getting ripped (I've always been a stickman my whole life and now i want to change that)

My question i pose is: Is there any way to be a vegetarian and GAIN weight and get buff and not look like the stereotypical malnutritioned hipster?

If so, any advice you ss.org veg-heads (assuming those even exist) would like to offer me, including foods to eat, when to eat, and just over all how to freaking do it and NOT look frail (assuming thats even possible) would be much appreciated! Thanks.


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## Ill-Gotten James (Oct 7, 2011)

What kind of vegetarian are you aiming to be? Will you still use dairy, eggs, or fish within your normal diet? It's quite tough to get "ripped" (I'm assuming you mean muslces) by removing animal proteins from your diet; however, it is not impossible. Also keep in mind that your body's natural metabolism may not allow it. I am naturally lean and not matter how much, or how often I would work out in the past, and eat a diet to support my work outs, I never got really muscular, just defined small muslces. My guess is you would be better off checking out a health blog, or fitness blog, over a site such as this one. Good luck on your new life style.


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## shadowsea (Oct 7, 2011)

Ill-Gotten James said:


> What kind of vegetarian are you aiming to be? Will you still use dairy, eggs, or fish within your normal diet? It's quite tough to get "ripped" (I'm assuming you mean muslces) by removing animal proteins from your diet; however, it is not impossible. Also keep in mind that your body's natural metabolism may not allow it. I am naturally lean and not matter how much, or how often I would work out in the past, and eat a diet to support my work outs, I never got really muscular, just defined small muslces. My guess is you would be better off checking out a health blog, or fitness blog, over a site such as this one. Good luck on your new life style.


 
haha yeah. I'm just on ss.org all the time at work, so i figured why not!
and i'm the same way. naturally lean, and its vey hard for me to gain weight, even with eating animal products


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## highlordmugfug (Oct 7, 2011)

shadowsea said:


> My question i pose is: Is there any way to be a vegetarian and GAIN weight and get buff and not look like the stereotypical malnutritioned hipster?
> 
> If so, any advice you ss.org veg-heads (assuming those even exist) would like to offer me, including foods to eat, when to eat, and just over all how to freaking do it and NOT look frail (assuming thats even possible) would be much appreciated! Thanks.


Yes, there are many VEGAN body builders out there, that all vegetarians are skinny and/or malnourished is an idiotic stereotype.

As for gaining muscle weight: nut based butters (peanut butter, almond butter, cashew butter), nuts, beans, soy milk, hemp milk, soy milk based chanko nabe (vegetarian version of the thing that sumo wrestlers eat to gain lots of weight), quinoa, the list goes on. 

Foods that are high in calories, that aren't mostly fat or sugar, and that have a good amount of protein.






robert cheeke - Google Search
^Images of vegan body builder Robert Cheeke.





http://www.google.com/search?q=kenn....,cf.osb&fp=1c762d7ae98495e1&biw=1280&bih=607
^Images of vegan body builder Kenneth Williams.

Former Fat Guy - Weight Loss Blog




*"About the photo:* I interviewed Bill Pearl on the premier edition of my internet radio show back in 2003. *Bill is a 5 time Mr Universe *and trains every day at 4:00 am even into his seventies. * Bill has been vegetarian for over 35 years and looks just fine if you ask me. * The top 5 interviews from my radio show are available at Fat Loss Insider Secrets, including the interview with Bill."

Eat a balanced diet, get lots of protein (easy as hell), and exercise.


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## Necris (Oct 7, 2011)

Ill-Gotten James said:


> Will you still use dairy, eggs, or *fish *within your normal diet?



If you're eating fish or other seafood in your diet but no other animal flesh you aren't a vegeterian you're a pescatarian.


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## shadowsea (Oct 7, 2011)

obviously, not everyone who pursues a vegetarian diet is sickly and malnutritioned. thats why i introduced that idea as a stereotype. I threw that out there in order for others to have a reference point as to what i want to AVIOD while trying a vegetarian diet. 

as for the pics, amazing. I didn't even know that was possible. Wouldnt have hurt to do a little more googling before i posted, but thank you very much. shits pretty inspiring


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## highlordmugfug (Oct 7, 2011)

Oh and also, I'm
I'm 21
5'11" 
weigh about 155lbs 
have no health problems 
And I've been vegan for a little over 3 years.
 So we've got a lot of those in common/close.

I'm not like overly muscular, but I'm not out of shape and I've just recently gotten back into exercising more. If you want, I'll post some shirtless pics in a few weeks.   

Oh, and addressing that second post: if you eat fish you aren't vegetarian. That'd be Pescatarian. Vegetarian = no meat. If they eat any meat, they aren't vegetarian.
There are lacto-vegetarians: still drink milk/eat dairy.
Ovo-vegetarians: still eat eggs.
Lacto-ovo vegetarians: milk/dairy and eggs.

Most people use vegetarian to mean lacto-ovo.
Vegans don't eat any animal products at all, if it came from an animal source, they won't consume it.


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## Explorer (Oct 7, 2011)

I didn't learn that honey was considered a product of bee slavery until last year....


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## AxeHappy (Oct 8, 2011)

To gain weight eat more calories than you burn. Doesn't matter where those calories come from. 

Weight Gain+Exercise=Muscle being built. 

If you're a "true Hard-gainer" you may need to eat 7000+ calories a day. 

If you're looking for protein whilst being a vegetard tofu and whey/casein/soy protein powders are all ridiculous easy and readily available options.


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## shadowsea (Oct 8, 2011)

highlordmugfug said:


> Oh and also, I'm
> I'm 21
> 5'11"
> weigh about 155lbs
> ...


 
Vegan for three years? nice.  Feel free to post pics. 

what are some tasty vegan dishes that arent overlly/expensive complicated to make that a guy without a lot of cooking skillz could make?


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## shadowsea (Oct 8, 2011)

Explorer said:


> I didn't learn that honey was considered a product of bee slavery until last year....


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## Explorer (Oct 8, 2011)

^You can laugh, but I got a phone call about this where someone's voice kept rising in pitch and volume. It started innocently enough, but I'm sure the person was frothing at the mouth by the time the "exploitation" tirade was reaching its conclusion. (And by "conclusion," I mean my saying, "It's become clear that we have nothing further to discuss. Thank you for your input," before hanging up.)

Much less stressful are the calls where someone tells me that windfarms cause pollution, and are less sustainable than strip mining of coal....


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## Explorer (Oct 8, 2011)

AxeHappy said:


> To gain weight eat more calories than you burn. *Doesn't matter where those calories come from. *
> 
> Weight Gain+Exercise=Muscle being built.



I know you listed protein sources as well, but you asserted something I'm unsure of.

Is it true that only calorie count matters, and that coupled with exercise even a simple sugar diet will suffice to build muscle? I thought one had to have protein sources in order to build muscle.

It would be cool if one could eat a ton of Oreos with milk and build muscle with that, but I doubt it's true....


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## daemon barbeque (Oct 8, 2011)

Nutrition facts, calories in food, labels, nutritional information and analysis &ndash; NutritionData.com

Bookmark that site. It will be a great help in the future.

I am a vegetarian over 12 years now, I ma 36 years old and am 88 kg right now. Due to the last 6 months exessive computer work, I gained a lot.

I was playing semi-pro basketball with vegetarian diet and had no problems. I also gained 18 cm around my chest in 2 months of fitness work. All possible.

Remember, If you would like to gain weight on muscles, you need power exercises and rest. Eat protein based food for the dinner, and energy rich food for the breakfast. The Lunch can be whatever you feel like, but keep it strong.

Remember the names Garden cress and Parsley for the salads, and Okra for soups. They will be good sources of protein, covering all amino acids and add some taste/texture to your food.

I also advice you to check the Welcome to CrossFit: Forging Elite Fitness for the fitness advices. that might help you gain some weight.


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## Bevo (Oct 9, 2011)

Looking at your weight and height it kooks like you have some catching up to do.
What is in your typical day for food and work/sport?

What type of veggie do you want to be?
I eat a bit of cheese and egg whites but don't eat any meat of any kind.

My weight is 150 or so at 5'8 and I run allot, up to 100k a week and also compete in trail races, I also play hockey and like to chase girls LOL!
Not once have I felt like I needed meat to keep up or be stronger than the rest.

One bit of advice is to not fight your body type to much, if your naturally skinny as are your parents and brothers plus you eat lots it's going to be hard to get big. If your bones are also small you need to consider what you want.

I tried the body building thing and did put on some great weight but I was eating non stop, once I got tired of it I lost all that muscle in a few weeks. I am an endurance type athlete which I excel at yet am still slightly muscular and no way marathon runner anorexic.


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## AxeHappy (Oct 9, 2011)

Explorer said:


> I know you listed protein sources as well, but you asserted something I'm unsure of.
> 
> Is it true that only calorie count matters, and that coupled with exercise even a simple sugar diet will suffice to build muscle? I thought one had to have protein sources in order to build muscle.
> 
> It would be cool if one could eat a ton of Oreos with milk and build muscle with that, but I doubt it's true....




Milk has a lot of protein in it so you're example actually would work. You'd probably feel like shit and be really unhealthy though. 


My assertion is that it doesn't matter where those calories come from to gain weight. Doesn't matter if you're eating a lot of steak or a lot of wheat germ.

But yes, I think I may have phrased my statement poorly. Protein is essential to the building of muscle.


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## AxeHappy (Oct 9, 2011)

Bevo said:


> One bit of advice is to not fight your body type to much, if your naturally skinny as are your parents and brothers plus you eat lots it's going to be hard to get big. If your bones are also small you need to consider what you want.




Terrible advice. If you want to be big that take the steps necessary to be big. Body type stuff is bullocks. 

I've been fat, muscular enough to do chin-ups with one arm, and everything in between. 

Body types do exist but they are not the cop out that current PC thinking would have you believe. "Naturally" fat. Fuck that.


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## Bevo (Oct 9, 2011)

Axe 

Not using it as a cop out but using mine and a few others experience, as I said I had the muscle so I know it's possible just advising him it's going to be a harder road than he may think.


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## highlordmugfug (Oct 9, 2011)

shadowsea said:


> Vegan for three years? nice.  Feel free to post pics.
> 
> what are some tasty vegan dishes that arent overlly/expensive complicated to make that a guy without a lot of cooking skillz could make?



Stir frys are pretty easy to make, pan frying cubed tofu and adding sauce at the end (I like orange sauce and making pan fried potatoes with it), I have a bhaji dahl recipe that's really good that costs like $0.50 per serving , I have chili recipes that cost ~$20 but can last a few people 4-5 days, smoothies are really good and are very flexible about what ingredients you can add to them, making sandwiches with marinated portabello mushrooms and avocado+spinach+whatever else you want is really tasty. 

I've got a ton of recipes, feel free to PM me and I'll get them to you when I can


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## Dead Undead (Oct 10, 2011)

shadowsea said:


> what are some tasty vegan dishes that arent overlly/expensive complicated to make that a guy without a lot of cooking skillz could make?





EDIT: Just saw his video on making Sushi. I'm gonna have to try that soon.


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## TomAwesome (Oct 11, 2011)

I know I'm not being terribly helpful here, but:







But yeah, basically, as long as you're compensating and getting everything you need, you should be fine.


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## shadowsea (Oct 11, 2011)

sorry i'm a little late with this reply, as i ws gone all weekend. Thank you all for the input! 

i'm not too sure on the exact specifics of what i want my new diet to be. This is because i lack in knowledge relating to nutrition and, sadly, how things work in the body (THANK YOU DAEMON BBQ FOR THOSE LINKS, i will read those and learn!) 

I can say with the utmost certainty though, the main ingredient of whatever diet i decide to pursue, will be mindfullness. 

For to long i've allowed myself to be okay with simply doing and not thinking. Fastfood, junk, not eating, eating too much, eating healthy, not caring, following the whims of my day to day feelings. 

I've come to the realization that this, while not only being a very dangerous practice, makes me look like a total idiot. The key to mindfulness is discipline. the more disciplined i become, the more mindful i am. Not only of my percieved existance, but the existance of others, and our unique nature and place in this world and in the universe. 
thanks again for all the discussion!


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## daemon barbeque (Oct 11, 2011)

shadowsea said:


> sorry i'm a little late with this reply, as i ws gone all weekend. Thank you all for the input!
> 
> i'm not too sure on the exact specifics of what i want my new diet to be. This is because i lack in knowledge relating to nutrition and, sadly, how things work in the body (THANK YOU DAEMON BBQ FOR THOSE LINKS, i will read those and learn!)
> 
> ...



No problem, that site is full of useful graphics instead of some data sheet nobody could understand. It is also a very useful source of ideas how to cook or what to add. 
As long as you cover all necessary Amino acids, you will have no problem in building muscles and live healthy. There is no need for animal protein for that. All kinds of Beans, lentils, peas, okra, some green plants..All great source of protein, energy, and vitamins you need. They offer between 20 -35% useful protein. As long as you take your time and cook foryourself and your company, it will be all good.
I hope your new lifestyle will lead you wher you want to be.
Cheers!


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## Bevo (Oct 11, 2011)

Shadow, you have the right frame of mind to improve yourself no matter if you eat meat or not. Mr BBQ has lots of great ideas so take advantage!
By going Veggie and learning what it takes you will easily improve your body and mental health.

The best advice is to constantly seek out new foods and try to make them yourself. It may be hit and miss but over time you will get some new staples in your diet that you go to daily/weekly.

Also seek out new ethnic foods and try some new stuff, look up the local veggie eating spots in your area and look at the menu, some stuff you can either eat there or try to make at home.

Have fun!
You just opened yourself up to a new world!


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## Konfyouzd (Oct 13, 2011)

Yea you can do it. I don't really know how, because I'm not a vegetarian, but I've seen some JACKED vegetarians. I think the notion that vegetarians are skinny little punks is a stereotype perpetuated by insecure juice heads.


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## Konfyouzd (Oct 13, 2011)

Explorer said:


> I didn't learn that honey was considered a product of bee slavery until last year....


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