Vegetarianism and Martial Arts

Ive been a vegetarian for 3 years now because I wanted to be more intuned with my religion of Buddhism as my style of martial artsis closely connected to it. I usually only train hard in the summer and during that time I usually start eating chicken again. However now I want to be more serious. What are negative points in becoming a vegetarian and doing intense workout? I can't remember if I am weaker now that I dont eat meat as when I did eat meat. Because I have aged and just dont have the same adolescent resilience. Anyone else has done something similar to me?

 

http://www.mikemahler.com/

I could never a be a veggie and IMO it's harder to get the best out of your training than if you ate meat. However, as shown on the above website, good control of your nutrition will yield excellent results.

 

I am vegan, and I have to problems with anything, I get enough protein from nuts, pulses and seeds, also wholegrains

 

First of all, no offence to you, whatever you do it's your thing, but
being vegeterian or veggan or whatever, just because your martial art is closely connected to budhism is,well....rubish. Why not eat chicken? Who do you have to prove anything, you know i mean?
In any case, you aint gonna see some really muscular vegetarian people, it's a lot harder to get evrything form plants only

 

Hey,

I used to think that too before when I was younger. Buddhism has become one of my saviors of life. Learning kung fu was just a window into the philosophy and for a good 3 years I didn't care much about it. But during a critical time in my life, Buddhism has become very therapeutic and changed my life drastically. My belief is if you can control not eating meat, you can control many other things of your body; pain, temptation, desire which all leads to some form of suffering. I think martial arts and philosophy run together. I'm sorry if I sound preachy.

Shaolin monks eat very little meat some none at all, and they have alot of muscle. Although they start at a very young age on a particular diet. So far I havent felt anything different although Im wondering if my joints may be weaker and so forth due to it.

 

wat rubbish...traditional indian wrestlers are used to be veg. they never had problems with muscles or less energy...
-TkdWarrior-

 

Hi,
I was wondering if your diet prevented you from eating sea food. I know of many vegetarians that eat fish and the like. If it is possible for you to, i would highly recomend that you up your intake of the fatty oils in fish and shellfish to compensate for the loss of meat.

The Ancient Maoris from New Zealand ate very little meat, they got their nutrients from the ocean. It is said that they were one of the most physically strong race in the world.

 

er, obviously i was refering to vegans , not vegeterians (from plants only)

 

Robert Cheeke Vegan Bodybuilder

 

I'm vegetarian, well I think pescetarian would be more accurate as I eat fish, maybe once every two weeks. I've been eating like that for about seven years now and have been training for the last three of those. I put on about a stone after I started training due to an increase in muscle (I assume it was muscle rather than fat as I still fit into the same clothes - must have toned up!) There's a few of us who are veggie at training, and none of us suffer from it. One guy trains loads, goes to the gym every day, really fit and great body, and he's a veggie.

Not eating meat makes no difference to my strength or endurance or anything like that - it's rubbish, and would be even if I ate meat! No really, there's no difference between me and my friends of a similar build who do eat meat. You've just got to me a bit more careful about protein sources - not rely on dairy all the time but have soya/tofu, pulses and grains etc too. To some extent, you have to eat more healthily as a veggie, as there's just not the crappy junk food like there is for meat-eaters. Tins of precooked beans, like pinto or borlotti or kidney beans, are a really easy way to get protein and are great in stirfries etc. Just got to be sure not to eat vegetables and nothing else, as they don't really have as much energy as protein or carb foods.

 

Imagine if he ate meat!

 

*cough*genetic*cough*

Ahem... where? The ones I've seen on TV were skinny little rakes.
The problem being that plant protein is much poorer quality than animal protein- the actual amount of protein absorbed per thing eaten is lower.
It can be done, though.

 

3 points about your posts MsDwee:

1. Yes, you can get very good results on a vegetarian or vegan diet. The point I would like to make is that the large majority of people would get better results on a regular, meat-eating diet. Most people get better results in muscle gain, fat loss, recovery etc. when eating more protein and fish oils and these things usually are not very available to vegetarians (good fats are present in nuts but you have to eat a fair amount to get enough of what you want).

2. Please don't use the tone word around here. This isn't meant in an offensive way, it's just a very ambiguous term thrown around by aerobics instructors and celebrity fitness videos:

http://www.martialartsplanet.com/forums/showthread.php?p=394091#post394091


3. Soy sucks.

http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=461709


There are many great physical specimens who stick to a vegetarian or vegan diet, but the best usually know exactly what they need to eat and exactly why, such as Mike Mahler. Check out his site for some good stuff on his diet and training ideas.

 

2. Please don't use the tone word around here.

Ok. I just used it to mean my wobbly bits are less wobbly than they used to be!

3. Soy sucks.

Maybe, but to be fair, there's potential problems with all kinds of food, including meats, so it's up to the individual to decide which one they prefer to risk. Also, it's tasty, at least it is in a takeaway! If you're veggie, you can get fed up with eating out and being presented with a plate full of veg. Or the ubiquitous goat's cheese and tomato-based dish or mushroom based dish. So soya makes a nice change!

 

Adam that article gave very few risks for non pregnant females and an ocasional food soy would do little harm to anyone - most vegetarians also know about protein combining -ie pulse and grain, grain and nut, nut and pulse, to get a broad spectrum of amino acids, you get junk food veggies and vegans just the same as you get junk food omnivores
amino acids

 

http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=459516
http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=461006
http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=459861
http://www.wholesoystory.com/

Anyways, thats enough about soy. I'm more curious as to why of all things, people choose to give up meat. Alright, animals died for it. Animals eat other animals.......are you saying all the lions and tigers and what not are being immoral by eating meat? Say you were dying of some disease and the only medicine that could save you as froms ome gland in some animal, only by taking whatever out of the gland, the animal dies, would vegitarians save themselves?

Don't take this to be condescending or anything like that

 

I'm vegetarian, the original reason being that I don't see why animals should be killed for my food where it is not necessary. Secondarily, for health reasons to an extent ... and thirdly, pretty much out of habit now.

If there were no reason to eat well without eating meat, then I would eat meet. I also see the necessity of animal pharmaceutical testing, and as a science teacher have even carried out dissections with my classes. The difference with eating meat is that, IMHO, the vegetarian alternative is as good or better than the meat alternative. The caveat here is that you need to get a little nutritional knowledge and plan your diet appropriately.

And, while vegetarians need a little thought to get enough protein, meat-eaters need a little thought to avoid saturated fats. So I guess it's swings and roundabouts really.

 

Hi,

What is a pulse? Ive never heard of it. And how much does a stone weigh? I live in the US, so these dont seem like words we use around here.

Also, who needs muscle when you can have qi!! And good qi comes from a good mind and body. Being a vegetarian is a personal choice. It is my belief also that one should not kill unless its necessary. One should not be selfish with food. People dont need much food to survive. Of course it is important to eat nutritiously. Anyway, qi can be harvested and I believe is more powerful than muscle mass. Look at all those great old taichi and qigong masters. They can hold down 10 men. And to do those things all you need is good practice, good spirit, a clear mind, and a lot of qi!!

 

I was with you right up till here

you just playin?

 

DO NOT EAT SOY EVER- except perhaps fermented soy in very small amounts.