Vegetarianism and Protein

When I started collage I decided to become a vegetarian, for health reasons. It is a diet often recommended for diabetics, and other people who have problems processing sugar. Not only did I have problems with sugar, but I generally lacked a healthy balance of nutrients to support an active lifestyle too. I figured that by restricting my diet by removing meat it would force me to make better food choices, and it worked for me. I experienced an increase in energy, a decrease in lethargy, and all the feelings of weakness and grossness from poor sugar metabolism all went away.

I'm not recommending this diet for everyone. It is a very personal choice, and one has to do what is best for one's body.

The biggest concern regarding a vegetarian diet or reduced meat diet is protein intake. The ideal amount of protein intake depends on what one is trying to do. If one is trying to lose fat it should be 50 percent protein, 30 percent carbs, and 20 percent fat. If one is exercising a lot it should be 40 percent protein, 40 percent carbs, and 20 percent fat. And if one is just trying to maintain their weight the ratio should be 20 percent protein, 60 percent carbs, and 20 percent fat. An important fact to keep in mind is that most foods contribute to two or all for these three categories. One has relearn how to categorize food.

Protein is fairly easy to consume without eating meat, but the trouble lies in getting enough complete proteins. Which are needed for a well balanced diet. Very few foods make complete proteins by themselves: any meat, animal products (dairy and eggs-gelatin excluded), amaranth, aphanizomenon flos-aquae, buckwheat, hempseed, soybeans, quinoa, seafood, and apirulina. Foods can be combined to create complete proteins if one can't or doesn't want to get all of their protein from complete protein sources. Here is a list of good combinations: Legumes with Grains, Legumes with Nuts, Legumes with Seeds, Nuts/Seeds with Legumes, Grains with Dairy, Nuts/Seeds with Dairy, Legumes with Dairy, Dairy with Nuts/Seeds and Legumes. Some ways to combine these are rice and beans (grain and legume), and macaroni and cheese (grain and dairy), but the possibilities are endless!

Conquering a Lifelong Battle Against Unhealthy Eating Habits

Ever since I was very young I struggled with poor body image. I remember asking my mother before the age of eight, while standing in front of the mirror, if I was fat. While I might have been kind of chubby when I was little, I was by no means overweight. Any doctor could have told me that until puberty a few extra pounds is fairly normal. In my early teens I was no longer chubby, but regardless of the fact that my self image was warped. I developed an eating disorder when I was twelve, and throughout high school I fought it on and off. After I thought I had it beat I was plagued with lingering feelings from before, and even though I technically didn't have an eating disorder anymore my meals were unbalanced, full of junk, and too large. Now it wasn't just a battle with myself, but with my weight. For the next four years I yo-yo'd between 120 and 160. The only difference between the top and bottom weights was an excessive amount of exercise.


All of that isn't my focus in this post though. Upon reaching a size 10, and a strong sense of disgust with myself. I was a size 4 just months previously, and feeling amazing in all respects. It was a wakeup call that something was broken with my system. I needed a way of eating that was sustainable over a long period of time (ie. not a 'diet') that would not cause me to gain a lot of weight during times of decreased physical activity. A lifestyle change was in order.

To start this change I started a food journal, and aimed for 1200 to 1500 calories a day. As a rule one should add a zero to their ideal weight if they do not exercise (ie. 100 lbs = 1000 cal.), and one gets another 100 calories for every hour of physical activity. I had been keeping a journal for a couple of months before I got bored with it, usually hitting approximately 1300 calories a day. Then I started working on integrating some kind of regular exercise regimine. Getting to the gym is half that battle, for the purposes of weight maintenance it doesn't really matter what one does as long as one does something. I'm fairly fond of yoga and running on a treadmill, personally. The stair machine is fun every now and again too.


All that aside what is the quality of what I'm eating? I think the food journal needs to be reinvoked. Maybe it being electronic this time will make it more interesting...or not. According to several articles from MSN's health and fitness section and Alton Brown I have compiled a list of foods I should eat daily or often. Spinach, eggs, blueberries, apples, and other fruits, winter squash, whole grains, leafy greens, nuts, carrots, oily fish, yogurt, broccoli, sweet potatoes, and avocados. All of these foods are nutrient rich, provide great health benefits, and therefore are considered more than just empty calories by far...

It's exciting, because I know I'm on the right track. When this process is over I will be rewarded with a new lease on life (please pardon the cliche).

Introduction to Blog

I named this blog Life Trajectory No. 68 to accknowlegde the many life paths I have not taken, and to validate the ones I have. Therefore this blog will probably be personal in nature, even though not all posts will be about my personal life...directly anyway. Anything I deem important and relevant to this life path could find its way into this publication. I could give you a quick and dirty bio now, but that isn't as fun as finding out who I am one piece at a time during whatever time we might have together.