Vegetarian/Vegan Diets

[PhoenixLuv]

I have gotten a couple people's advice on vegetarian/vegan dieting but I'd like to get some more advice and opinions. I am a strict vegetarian, I don't eat any poultry, seafood, beef, pork, eggs, and fresh fruit (I've had alot of allergic reactions lately). I'm slightly lactose intolerant so I drink lactaid milk but do often still eat yogurt, cheese, and cottage cheese. I am trying to find the correct balance of I guess macros to follow by to help me drop the pounds. I am not doing this to diet, being a vegetarian for me is a life style choice that I made 8 years ago but I want to eat healthier. Any advice please let me know, I'd very much appreciate it!!!

Good Luck 2 Everyone trying to reach their goals and/or maintain them

[freebirdmac]

You might want to look up Burn the Fat and Feed the Muscle. I believe he recommends something like a 30p/50c/20f for general weight loss. Most folks here like 40/40/20 but you'd probably have to rely on protein shakes for most of your protein. That would be a better macro for trying to save and even add more muscle.

[NatPaq]

I'm a pesco vegetarian (I eat fish) so I know how tough it can be with the limited protein options, however I eat Tofu, cottage cheese, quinoa is high in protein (and yummy), almonds, and there are a lot of vegetarian alternatives. Try Yves chick n' strips, veggie burgers, and of course lots of green leafy veggies.

I agree with freebird on the macros. Good luck with everything

[veganmuscle]

I'm a pesco vegetarian (I eat fish)

Sorry, but you are not a vegetarian.

Vegetarians don't eat fish and they never have. Many things have changed since The Vegetarian Society was founded in 1847 but two important definitions haven?t:

VEGETARIAN: someone who doesn?t eat animals
FISH: cold-blooded, water-dwelling animal


I am trying to find the correct balance of I guess macros to follow by to help me drop the pounds. I am not doing this to diet, being a vegetarian for me is a life style choice that I made 8 years ago but I want to eat healthier. Any advice please let me know, I'd very much appreciate it!!!

"
- The diet

In my opinion, bulking and cutting in BB are NOT that far apart as many seem to think. The principles for bulking training can be found in the "General Bodybuilding" sub board.
Of course, both, bulking and cutting, require to adjust your diet also, not only the workout.

For both goals, some general things apply.
- Don?t eat too much in one meal. Eating too much will prevent fast digestion, slow the metabolism and make you feel bloated and fat The nutritients can be absorbed better if you only eat a small portion.
- Drink water. Everything else is not a drink, but food (except tea). Drink enough that your urine is clear, not dark.
- Fresh fruits and veggies!
- Whole grains are better than refined starches.
- Eat as much organic as you can afford. It?s not only better for your body, as it contains less chemicals, it also supports more environmental friendly ways of agriculturing.
- Enjoy every meal.
- Listen to your body! Never eat ?when you must?, or don?t eat when you?re hungry.
- Try to eat as few as possible of the following: processed, industrial, pre-made food, especially those containing: artificial flavour, artificial sweetener, artificial color, preservatives, hydrogenated fat, modified starch, flavour enhancer (sodium glutamat), and so on.

Cutting diet:

Again, it strongly depends on the individual.
What is different here from the bulking diet, which we (as bodybuilders) eat most of the time?
Mainly, the amount of calories Surprise!

When you start a cutting cycle, decrease the calories slowly. First, cut out all the crap you usually eat sometimes, which is okay when you?re bulking, but now you?re not, remember that!
Cut out all sugar, except fruits, first. No sweets, no cakes, no cookies. After a while, cut the white flour stuff, too: pasta and bread.
If you want to, or have to, lose quite a large amount of fat, slowly decrease your calories by decreasing the amount of carbs and fat you eat. That really depends on your normal diet ? i only decrease the carbs, for i always eat low fat. Do not decrease the protein! It?s not so easy to keep the protein high and get the fat low, though.
Eat lots of veggies, replace the carb-loaded foods by them. Salads and veggies replace pasta, potatoes and rice. Don?t go too low with the carbs, though, they?re still your fuel.

Later in the day, reduce the carbs. Eat your carbs early, and don??t eat them in the evening or at night. That?s the time for salads, veggies and protein.

I recommend doing a ?refeed day? once per week. That means, one day per week you are allowed to eat anything that, and as much as you want.
This day will prevent your metabolism switching to hibernation mode.

When cutting, the same golden rule as for bulking applies: BE PATIENT!
When you cut down your calories etc, too fast, you?ll lose too much muscle in the process. Not a good exchange in the long run.

Don?t weigh yourself every day and get excited about the outcome. Once or twice a week is better, always on the same day and time, under the same circumstances (in the morning, before breakfast, after toilet, naked). If you?re mentally strong enough to deal with the fluctuations, you can weigh yourself everyday and make a cross in a system of coordinates. Then, every three days take the average and make a cross in a different color. Draw a line between crosses of the same color. It?s a way to make your way visible.


- Cutting program

In order to lose fat and at the same time maintain your muscles, you have to lift heavy. That means, do NOT go for high reps in order to burn more calories, but stick with the heavy weights.
In general, i wouldn?t recommend that you try to increase the weights during your cutting cycle. Take a heavy weight and try to increase the number of reps instead (say, starting with 5 reps). If you?re making good process (which i doubt, when you?re on a calory-rectricted diet ), it?s okay to increase the weight, though (when you reach 12 reps).

In general, the same principles as for bulking cycles apply, with the following differences:

- Work out more often. Heavy weights with a reasonable volume every day burn lots of calories and at the same time increase your metabolism. Moreover, it will prevent losing your muscles.

- Obviously you can?t simply work out more often without changing anything else. Go for a slightly lower intensity (no muscle failure!) and a slightly higher volume.

- Add some cardio. Cardio training is a great way to burn some calories more. I recommend to do that in the morning, just after getting up. Kick your ass out of the bed an hour early and burn some before breakfast.
Important is that that you don?t do the weights and the cardio in one session! Never! If you don't have time in the day for two separate workouts, then choose either cardio or weights, and only do one workout, rather than combine them into one workout.

Thats all.
Yes, it IS that simple. It?s still the same exercises.
Forget the high rep bla bla ? muscle growth is induced by heavy weights, and that is especially important on a cutting diet!!"

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