vegetarianism and muscle mass
My husband, whom I truly adore, thinks that he cannot achieve his fitness goals and be a vegetarian. Now, I'm biased of course, but if you look at my profile pic, you can see that he's a hunk with a fantastic, muscular physique. And he works at it. He weight lifts several times a week with a trainer and generally watches what he eats. But, when I ask him if he would ever become a vegetarian (not even a vegan, which I don't know if I could ever convince him to become...), he usually says that he thinks he can't maintain the muscle mass that he wants.
He's about 6 feet tall and generally weighs between 173-180 pounds. He's extremely muscular and has always had broad shoulders and a small waist. He looks great and he wants to keep it that way. I'm glad that he's proud of his body and I'm proud of it too, but how can I have a meaningful discussion with him about this?
He's a very rational, evidence-based thinker. My assumption is that he looks at the majority (and lets be honest, it's like 99%) of professional bodybuilders and athletes and sees that they're not vegetarian or vegan, so why should he be? And he's worried about calorie consumption. He asks, "How can I get enough calories from a veg diet? I always feel hungry immediately after eating a meatless meal."
Does anyone have any resource recommendations I could look into? Does anyone have any suggestions about approaching this issue with a significant other?
http://www.veganbodybuilding.com/
http://www.veganbodybuilding.org/
A know my husband has read a lot about one certain vegan bodybuilder, but I don't know his name, and he's not home.
There are quite a few champion athletes that are vegetarian or vegan. . .
http://www.treehugger.com/galleries/2009/05/10-superstar-athletes-who-do-not-eat-meat.php?page=2
There are quite a few champion athletes that are vegetarian or vegan. . .
http://www.treehugger.com/galleries/2009/05/10-superstar-athletes-who-do-not-eat-meat.php?page=2
Carl Lewis!
i was going to post vegan body building site, too.
also, www.foodnsport.com
i'm sure he's not interested in becoming a raw vegan. but if he pokes around that site or reads the china study (more focused on health only, though) or the 80/10/10 diet (focused on athletics a lot) they both advocate vegan LOW PROTEIN diets.
most vegans actually get to much protein.
btw, what's he eating that he says he immediately feels hungry after? what are his daily caloric requirements? my bf eats at least 5,000 calories a day most days, and his diet is based in fruit!
Here's a website I found. Hope it helps http://www.veganbodybuilding.com/
Hello to all of you nice vegweb members who replied to my post. I really appreciate your resources and advice.
I hope that next time that my husband and I talk about vegetarianism, he might spend some time on the sites you recommended.
Thanks!
Protein is so overated. When I was a waterpolo player/swimmer, I was vegan and very buff. I could lift more leg weights than the skinny meat eating cross country runners. And I am a women.
It is a myth that you need a lot of protein to build muscle. Most of the mass in muscles is actually glucose (sugar) stores. The RDA for protein requirements are set amount not a precentage per calorie. Its .8g per Kilo of wieght. Thats about 45g for women and 60g for men. Thie RDA has a high margin of error. So, most people meet or exceed their protein requirements. For extreme performance (i.e. professional or college) athletes the need is about 20-50% above what is for the average person.
Secondly, protein from plant sources is more than adequate. All plant and animal foods have all the essential amino acids in various proportions. Meat, soy and a few other foods do have the proportions closer to what are body needs. This isn't a problem, though. Our bodies take these amino acids and store them for about 24 hours or when they are needed. Food combining is not nessecary.
Thirdly, leafy green vegetables not meat or dairy has the highest percentage of protein per calorie. Beans do not fall too far behind. If you eat adequate calories and a fair variety of foods you are covered.
Finally, ask your hubby if he has read the research on excessive protein consumption, longevity and cancer. It has been shown several times that rats fed a high protein diet live a signicantly shorter life than those on a low protein diet. There is also two recently published studies that demanstrate an increase in the amino acid methionine (mostly found in meat and dairy) in flies reduce their lifespan by 65%. The China study demonstrates similiar occurences in humans. This several decade study shows a connection between the increase in animal protein and the development of cancer, especially hormonal cancers like breast and prostate cancer.
There are quite a few champion athletes that are vegetarian or vegan. . .
http://www.treehugger.com/galleries/2009/05/10-superstar-athletes-who-do-not-eat-meat.php?page=2
Carl Lewis!
that's what i was gonna say