Cycling and vegetarianism

Preston Crawford wrote:
I've foudn it hard, as busy as I am, to get enough protein to feel good,
especially as I ramp up my mileage. So last summer I started eating fish
again after being a vegetarian for 5 years. I'm thinking of starting
turkey again. I think between turkey and fish and egg whites and yogurt I
should be good to go in terms of protein.

Has anyone here struggled with this issue? Do you think I'm doing the
right thing or do you think I should consider trying sources like soy
before turkey? The main reason for choosing turkey is because of its ease
of use as a protein source at work. Throw together a quick sandwich and
theres 20% of my protein for the day, you know.

Preston

I've been vegetarian for almost 25 years, but didn't eat many "mock
meats" until recently. I don't think I really needed extra protein but
sometimes I just get hungry for it. You can get TVP chunks from health
food stores that go into all kinds of recipes, and you can get
deli-style tofurky cold cuts for sandwiches. If you're "struggling"
with the idea of eating meat again those are good options to try first.

Some friends of mine are competitive on this team and the web page has
lots of interesting articles... with lots of spin of course.

http://www.organicathlete.org/

Preston Crawford wrote:

I've foudn it hard, as busy as I am, to get enough protein to feel good,
especially as I ramp up my mileage. So last summer I started eating fish
again after being a vegetarian for 5 years. I'm thinking of starting
turkey again. I think between turkey and fish and egg whites and yogurt I
should be good to go in terms of protein.

Has anyone here struggled with this issue? Do you think I'm doing the
right thing or do you think I should consider trying sources like soy
before turkey? The main reason for choosing turkey is because of its ease
of use as a protein source at work. Throw together a quick sandwich and
theres 20% of my protein for the day, you know.

I went vegetarian in 1987, but I began eating seafood again in 2001.
This was a choice of preference rather than necessity; I believe that
you can get plenty of quality protein for any physical activity if you
eat soy products, dairy products, and eggs.

I lived many years in vegetarian co-op houses. The only protein
deficiency problems I observed among vegetarian housemates were
limited to vegans and fat-phobic eaters. They tended to subsist on
just grains, legumes, and a few vegetables. They were mostly
stylishly thin, but also physically weak.

When I rode some 300 miles per week, I found that the problem was
getting enough to eat in the aggregate, and not a matter of consuming
enough protein specifically. I ate a lot of bean burritos;
nutritional density was less important to me by far than gross caloric
intake. No worries about too much starch, too much fat-- it all just
got shoveled into the firebox anyway.

Whole eggs have higher quality protein than that from any other
source, and their cholesterol content has recently been found to be of
the beneficial type. Eggs from cage-free and vegetarian-fed hens have
become universally available over the past 10 years or so.

If it matters to you, factory farmed turkeys are genetic freaks that
can no longer mate without human intervention or in some cases even
stand up.

Chalo Colina

neil0502 wrote:

a couple more fairly informative links:

http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/protein.htm

That article recommends 0.8 gm of protein per kg of body mass, which
is the standard amount for a sedentary adult. For endurance
athletes, who have a higher protein requirement, the amount is
1.2-1.4 gm/kg.
--
terry morse Palo Alto, CA http://bike.terrymorse.com/

Preston Crawford wrote in message ...

[...]
Has anyone here struggled with this issue? Do you think I'm doing the
right thing or do you think I should consider trying sources like soy
before turkey?
[...]

Preston



I've struggled with this some 10 years ago (when running) and ended up
eating fish from time to time, like you. I think the body has a way of
telling you what it needs through cravings.

It certainly is possible, however, to be strictly vegetarian and meet
one's performance goals. There are a number of endurance athletes who
pull this off.

Perhaps try popping a multi-vitamin every once in a while. It may be
that you are deficient in a particular vitamin/nutrient rather than
protein in general. If you look it up, you'll find that well-balanced
vegetarian diet has no problem meeting a human's protein requirements.

Of course, take this and any advice you hear on this newsgroup with a
grain of salt (or a multi-vitamin).

-H.

On 2004-08-31, Roger Zoul wrote:
Walnuts are a great source of omega3 fats -- but as with all nuts, they are
calorie dense...

This isn't intended for you, Roger, so much as the group writ large so
they know where I'm coming from. This just seemed like a good place to put
it.

Hopefully others are reading these replies. I appreciate the diverse
opinions. And I understand all the concerns about how foods are processed,
etc. My biggest concern is my personal health and if I'm doing the right
things. When I was strict vegetarian I lost a lot of weight, but I think I
was lacking in protein. So that's why I started fish and egg-whites again.
I've felt much better since. And as you say, while walnuts, peanut-butter,
cheese, etc. can be sources of protein, they aren't exactly calorie
friendly. I'm still trying to lose weight, though. That's what you have
to understand. I'm not done yet.

And a diet that largely consists of protein from walnuts, peanut-butter
and cheese is going to be a recipe for disaster as far as I see it. That's
not to say I don't eat nuts or peanut-better, but I have to have leaner
sources of protein other than just beans. And as I mentioned the soy milk
didn't sit well with me. So other than the foods I DO eat like egg whites,
salmon (and protein from veggies and bread) I really need a couple other
reliable sources. And reliable sources that are easy to eat in a busy day
when one is a full-time worker, full-time anxiety patient and bike
commuter. Get what I mean? I don't really have time to cook up beans and
rice every day. I don't have time to cook up tofu at night. I don't think
a diet of gardenburgers is very healthy.

Thus my idea about mixing in some lean turkey. Maybe I'm crazy, but I
thought that sounded like a good idea. Once again, just being pragmatic,
not dogmatic, about this decision. And I think that's what's important. I
still need to lose weight. I need more protein. Nuts are not the answer.
Soy can help, but unless I start eating soy slices (like turkey slices)
that's not really the answer. I don't know.

Preston

Preston Crawford wrote:
|| On 2004-08-31, Roger Zoul wrote:
||| Walnuts are a great source of omega3 fats -- but as with all nuts,
||| they are calorie dense...
||
|| This isn't intended for you, Roger, so much as the group writ large
|| so
|| they know where I'm coming from. This just seemed like a good place
|| to put it.
||
|| Hopefully others are reading these replies. I appreciate the diverse
|| opinions. And I understand all the concerns about how foods are
|| processed, etc. My biggest concern is my personal health and if I'm
|| doing the right things. When I was strict vegetarian I lost a lot of
|| weight, but I think I was lacking in protein. So that's why I
|| started fish and egg-whites again. I've felt much better since. And
|| as you say, while walnuts, peanut-butter, cheese, etc. can be
|| sources of protein, they aren't exactly calorie friendly. I'm still
|| trying to lose weight, though. That's what you have
|| to understand. I'm not done yet.
||
|| And a diet that largely consists of protein from walnuts,
|| peanut-butter
|| and cheese is going to be a recipe for disaster as far as I see it.
|| That's not to say I don't eat nuts or peanut-better, but I have to
|| have leaner sources of protein other than just beans. And as I
|| mentioned the soy milk didn't sit well with me. So other than the
|| foods I DO eat like egg whites, salmon (and protein from veggies and
|| bread) I really need a couple other reliable sources. And reliable
|| sources that are easy to eat in a busy day when one is a full-time
|| worker, full-time anxiety patient and bike
|| commuter. Get what I mean? I don't really have time to cook up beans
|| and rice every day. I don't have time to cook up tofu at night. I
|| don't think
|| a diet of gardenburgers is very healthy.
||
|| Thus my idea about mixing in some lean turkey. Maybe I'm crazy, but I
|| thought that sounded like a good idea. Once again, just being
|| pragmatic,
|| not dogmatic, about this decision. And I think that's what's
|| important. I still need to lose weight. I need more protein. Nuts
|| are not the answer.
|| Soy can help, but unless I start eating soy slices (like turkey
|| slices) that's not really the answer. I don't know.

As long as you don't have a problem with it, turkey is great! Other types
of fish & seafood are good too, like shrimp, catfish, talapia (sp?), trout,
etc.

I agree with your logic, too.

Kevan Smith wrote:
|| On Tue, 31 Aug 2004 17:38:34 -0400, "Roger Zoul"
|| from wrote:
||
||| Kevan Smith wrote:
||
||||| Most people eat too much protien.
|||
||| How do you know this?
||
|| OK, well, "too much" is relative. So, first off, I meant most
|| American people eat more than the RDA of protein. In fact, most
|| Americans eat enough protein to almost qualify for a "body-building"
|| type diet. I know this from extensive reading on dietary matters.
||
||||| .... Soy is better than turkey, for sure -- less
||||| trans-fats, no cholesterol in soy.
|||
||| Trans-fats are in turkey? Cholesterol in turkey?
||
|| That's correct. In fact, only animal and animal-based products
|| contain cholesterol.

The trans-fats in turkey are in such amounts as to have no significance.
Dietary cholesterol has little, if any effect on serum cholesterol. You're
listening too much to the anti-animal crowd.

I have to go with eat the turkey or chicken. Steamed chicken breast with
the skin peeled off is the best source of clean meat protein I can
think of

Egg whites

I am a 52 year old vegetarian (9 1/2 years) with no ill effects! I ride a
lot! 8,350 miles so far this year. I don't eat anything special, I just
eat a LOT
http://nanandmont.com/food_for_a_day.htm
Oh ya, 6'0" 160#


"Preston Crawford" wrote in message
...
I've foudn it hard, as busy as I am, to get enough protein to feel good,
especially as I ramp up my mileage. So last summer I started eating fish
again after being a vegetarian for 5 years. I'm thinking of starting
turkey again. I think between turkey and fish and egg whites and yogurt I
should be good to go in terms of protein.

Has anyone here struggled with this issue? Do you think I'm doing the
right thing or do you think I should consider trying sources like soy
before turkey? The main reason for choosing turkey is because of its ease
of use as a protein source at work. Throw together a quick sandwich and
theres 20% of my protein for the day, you know.

Preston

If vegetarianism is a moral issue then fish always seems to me a strange
choice. Over fishing is a major issue world wide and the way they are killed
is not particularly humane.

you're assuming he doesn't eat farmed fish