I've been vegetarian for seven years. Since then I've done surfing, swimming, and a lot of long distance walking without any problems, but this is the first time since going veggie that I'm going to be practicing martial arts (Kendo). Is anyone else here a vegetarian? I've always been confident that I'm eating right, but if anyone here has any experiences that they'd like to share, please feel free.

I've been vegan for 8 years. It's never given me any problems. One thing I'll say though is don't just go and eat more dairy. If you're keeping dairy in your diet just keep what you have, don't replace meat with dairy. And don't replace meat with soy. This is a recent lesson I've learned. Soy isn't actually that good for you, in fact it looks as if it's more a junk food than anything. Tempeh and miso are ok though - fermented soy.
Anymore questions just ask. There are also people like Mac Danzig (King of the Cage lightweight champion) who are vegan, as well as Mike Mahler (strength trainer).

Thanks for your reply, vegantkd!

I've been lacto vegetarian for 7 years, but I've never attempted to replace meat with dairy. However, I feel that after all these years, I am still relying on soy too much (but I get a lot of lentils and beans). Tempeh and Miso sounds like a great alternative and I keep hearing about it. I'm definetely going to look into it now.

I'm a meat eater but that isn't why I popped in on your thread. I thought I'd just pass on that Bill Pearl, a big name in the body building world, later became a vegetarian and still continued his career. You should have no problem continuing how you eat and doing any martial arts. Enjoy yourself.

This is also from his website:

Quote:

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Two-thirds of the population of the world live on a Lacto-Ova-Vegetarian diet. The bulk of their nutrients comes from a plant or fruit source while using small amounts of animal protein. A strict vegetarian should get additional Calcium, Phosphorus, Iron, Vitamin B12 from a supplemental source. Eggs are given the highest quality rating for protein compared to other foods. Here is an example:

Food = Percentage of Protein

Eggs = 100 Percent
Fish = 70 Percent
Lean Beef = 69 Percent
Cow's Milk = 60 Percent
Brown Rice = 67 Percent
Soybeans = 47 Percent

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Thanks, Dereck Seeing a few names in the martial art world is very reassuring, indeed.

Thanks for adding that nutrition table Dereck, and thanks for the posts vegantkd. I'm looking into a lot of things right now, and will change my diet accordingly. Needless to say, I doubt that I'll ever see soy in the same light again.

Any suggestions for someone that is just considering moving towards a more vegetarian lifestyle but does not know where to begin?

Bill Pearl eats a lot of egg whites, so as to cut down on the choleteral of eggs.

From a Q & A seminar with Mr Pearl

Q "When you're in training for a contest such as your last one in 1971, or, say, for an exhibition, what does your diet consist of?"


BP: "My morning and afternoon meals will almost be all eggs and some fresh fruit and raw vegetables. Most of the fat that is found in an egg is in the yolk, so my wife will scramble 6 or 7 eggs in a Teflon pan and, while doing it, would take out 4 of the 7 yolks. So, to keep the fat content down, we will keep backing off the yolks."

For my evening meal I will have some type of meat substitute and fresh vegetables and maybe some cooked vegetables and some type of fruit like cantaloupe, watermelon, or honeydew."

MacMill, once more looking at Bill Pearl, he said in an article that after his doctor told him his cholesteral and blood pressure were off the chart, he decided to make a big change. At first, he cut out red meat, but continued to eat white meat for a time. After a while he cut out white meat, but continued to eat fish (I know some fish are considered white meat). Not too long after he became a Lacto-ovo-vegetarian, and has been so ever since.

So it was a gradual thing. I myself have cut my red meat way down to two portions a week. My blood pressure has noticeably improved and my body fat has also had a noticeable decrease. I hope to eliminate it from the diet in the not too distant future.

Sorry to hijack the thread but, why ddi you vegetarians become vegetarians?