as anyone heard about the raw vegan movement?

[Chicken?]

it sounds crazy! some girl at my school told me about it. what are yalls opinions?

[BlackBarbieDoll]

My opinion.
I did it for a summer (last summer for 4 months) I weighed exactly the same as when I started..but I lost a crap load of muscle mass. There are some people who are really able to figure out the proper food combinations to make this work for physique sculpting...but it definitely complicates things.

[Vadim Beliaev]

it sounds crazy! some girl at my school told me about it. what are yalls opinions?

please dont

youre still 16 and your body is still developing and needs sufficient nutrients which youre gonna be depriving yourself of doing such a diet.

[Turboboy]

eeeeewwwww!! Leave that rabbit food to the wabbits. LOL! Like Vadim said, you're young and need nutrients. I think BlackBarbieDoll gave you an excellent example of why you shouldn't do it. Good luck there kiddo.

[lobsteriffic]

This guy is completely raw and just competed last month.

[Chicken?]

what guy competed

[Makavelii]

This guy is completely raw and just competed last month.

I personally don't understand vegans. The whole idea seems very lame. And every vegan I've met are usually underweight, pale skinned and pasty faced.

[Chicken?]

i tried it once before. and i was miserable.

[pink378]

I was raw vegan for about 6 months. I felt great, it really cleanses the body and gives you tons of energy and a clear head. I lost a lot of bloat and water weight too. But I found it hard to fit in the protein needed without also consuming a ton of carbs and calories. There is also a lot of prep work involved to make interesting meals. Grabbing fruits and veggies from the fridge gets kinda boring after awhile. And forget about eating out at restaurants, you are pretty much limited to salads with oil and vinegar.

There is a lot of info and articles over at http://www.veganbodybuilding.com

[Miranda]

i thought veganism was one way to respect our fellow creatures and not a fad diet?

[ctgblue]

I just think it's silly, everyone knows you need to cook a vegan before you eat them, makes their protein easier to digest....

[Donica]

My two cents is that a lot of ignorance is exchanged in these forums, particularly because the vast majority of people who visit here are meat-eaters. I am one myself, but my husband is a vegetarian, as is my sister-in-law. I have friends who are vegan and I know others who enjoy following a raw food diet, some for many years. These different types of "food lifestyles" have a lot of pluses to them IF you do your research beforehand and IF you have the dedication to live and eat in such a way that is diometrically (sp?) opposed to what the general populace is doing.

The choice to eat meat or not to eat meat (or animal products or cooked food) is highly personal--and the walking heart attack from too many steaks and too much cholesterol and too much fat is hardly the icon of blooming health by comparison. My feeling is, as long as they don't become dogmatic (I've met a few) and don't bash the fact that I eat meat sometimes, I have no personal problem with the concept of someone being a raw foodist or vegan, et cetera, as long as they pay attention to their diets and make sure they get all the nutrients they need to remain healthy. Which IS possible through such diets--it's just more work.

[ives]

I'm a clean-eating vegan--though not a raw vegan--and I have plenty of muscle (sure, I'm pale, but that's just genetics and avoiding the sun). I'm not an animal-rights activist... I do it more out of concern for the wierd/gross/unhealthy stuff that is added to and done to dairy and meat in today's agriculture world.

If I could find a farmer willing to custom-butcher an organically-raised cow or some chickens for me, and get the meat to me promptly, I'd consider it (and ditto for farm-direct milk). I'm just creeped out by the fact we usually have no idea how long meat has been dead before we buy it at the market, and that cows are given hormones and antibiotics and I have NO way to know which ones or how much of the drugs I'm ingesting.

I'm new to BB.com but I get the feeling I'll get **** here for being vegan, and I get a lot of **** on VEGAN boards for not being "vegan enough" because I wear leather/wool/use cosmetics that aren't animal free. But either way, I'm sticking with the way of eating that I've developed for myself. I've researched it (and I track all my nutrient/vitamin/mineral intakes) and it is compatible--for the time being--with my fitness goals.

[pink378]

If I could find a farmer willing to custom-butcher an organically-raised cow or some chickens for me, and get the meat to me promptly, I'd consider it (and ditto for farm-direct milk). I'm just creeped out by the fact we usually have no idea how long meat has been dead before we buy it at the market, and that cows are given hormones and antibiotics and I have NO way to know which ones or how much of the drugs I'm ingesting.

Most health food stores carry organic, hormone-free and antibiotic-free meat. Same for dairy products.

You could also try a local farmer's market for fresh meat and raw unpastuerized milk and eggs.

[Vadim Beliaev]

My two cents is that a lot of ignorance is exchanged in these forums, particularly because the vast majority of people who visit here are meat-eaters. I am one myself, but my husband is a vegetarian, as is my sister-in-law. I have friends who are vegan and I know others who enjoy following a raw food diet, some for many years. These different types of "food lifestyles" have a lot of pluses to them IF you do your research beforehand and IF you have the dedication to live and eat in such a way that is diometrically (sp?) opposed to what the general populace is doing.

The choice to eat meat or not to eat meat (or animal products or cooked food) is highly personal--and the walking heart attack from too many steaks and too much cholesterol and too much fat is hardly the icon of blooming health by comparison. My feeling is, as long as they don't become dogmatic (I've met a few) and don't bash the fact that I eat meat sometimes, I have no personal problem with the concept of someone being a raw foodist or vegan, et cetera, as long as they pay attention to their diets and make sure they get all the nutrients they need to remain healthy. Which IS possible through such diets--it's just more work.

THE OP IS STILL GROWING

you absolutely do not limit your nutrient intake at this stage if youre healthy, this is just common sense

[Deborah_Lyn]

THE OP IS STILL GROWING

you absolutely do not limit your nutrient intake at this stage if youre healthy, this is just common sense

I have to agree here. My neice is maybe 105 pounds soaking wet and a runner. Because of bad eatting habits ( lots of carbs, little meat, sugar), she is much smaller, shorter and frail than if she ate healthy and a wide variety of foods while growing.

I think it's important to not focus too much on adult crap and let adolscence be kids.

I grew half an inch in height at age 19. Who knows what impact to growth and bones occurs because of food restrictions.

Get your protein and make it good source of protein. jmo.

[Miranda]

THE OP IS STILL GROWING

you absolutely do not limit your nutrient intake at this stage if youre healthy, this is just common sense

i think you missed Donica's 'if you do your research first' bit?

there is certainly no need to eat meat to get all the nutrients in.
there is no need for dairy and eggs either, >> IF you are careful <<

granted, as a vegan you tend to take in more calories to get 'enough' protein (the amount bodybuilders eat, not the general population who don't lift weights) and from the OPs other posts i'm afraid she'd try veganism as a 'diet' rather than as a way of life. and there's so much more to life than 'losing weight' or building a 'lean, muscular body' when you're sixteen

i think it is better for her at this stage to make informed decisions, rather than be pushed in a certain direction. this is a bb-ing board, so she gets the bb dish of advice. ask the same question on a different-minded board and she'll get other opinions.

[ahez1991]

it sounds crazy! some girl at my school told me about it. what are yalls opinions?

My mom is a raw foodist, i eat love to go to raw stores with her, i eat a lot of the same stuff she does, but i would never be able to go completely raw

for mothers day i made her raw avacado ice cream, and a raw "brownie" it was AMAZING

i definatly advocate that it gives you a whole lot more energy, ive had a noticible increase and i only eat some raw stuff. my moms overall appearance went from kind of ragged to extremely sleek and healthy. shes 52 and doesnt look a day over 40 now.

Although to be completely raw would be very difficult if you want to bodybuild, i wouldnt advocate it. but if you were to eat mainly raw with some lightly cooked or "seered" meat, or you could eat lots of sashimi. defeats the vegan purpose, but you would still get all the enzymes out of the raw foods (nuts,veggies,fruits) and avoid the processed stuff. which is the main point

[Vadim Beliaev]

i think you missed Donica's 'if you do your research first' bit?

there is certainly no need to eat meat to get all the nutrients in.
there is no need for dairy and eggs either, >> IF you are careful <<

granted, as a vegan you tend to take in more calories to get 'enough' protein (the amount bodybuilders eat, not the general population who don't lift weights) and from the OPs other posts i'm afraid she'd try veganism as a 'diet' rather than as a way of life. and there's so much more to life than 'losing weight' or building a 'lean, muscular body' when you're sixteen

i think it is better for her at this stage to make informed decisions, rather than be pushed in a certain direction. this is a bb-ing board, so she gets the bb dish of advice. ask the same question on a different-minded board and she'll get other opinions.

expecting a 16 y/o to make an informed decision based on knowledge of human physiology is a bit of a stretch IMO.
Not to say there arent geniuses at that age who probably could school most of us on how the body functions but those are usually an exception rather than the rule.
my stance on it, while youre growing - dont limit yourself, and especially DO NOT go vegan. There will be plenty of time to do that later should you want to do it.