The Body-for-LIFE Vegetarian FAQ
This FAQ's location: http://www.bugsmack.com/bflveg.html
This FAQ was last updated on: Oct 6 2000
Contact: gnat23@yahoo.com
This FAQ is intended as an aid to those following Bill Phillip's
Body-for-Life program who are or might be considering vegetarianism or
veganism.
Obligatory disclaimer:
This document is meant to supplement the BFL program and should
not reflect on or replace BFL itself. The information contained in this
document is in no way guaranteed. This Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
list is based largely on the personal experiences of the members of Yahoo!
clubs, most of whom are not health-care professionals or associated with
BFL/EAS. As such, this guide is not a definitive medical document, and
does not take into consideration conditions which should be factored into
your diet and exercise plans (e.g., pregnancy, thyroid disorders,
diabetes, hypoglycemia, heart disease, etc.).
1...Why be vegetarian or vegan?
2...Can I be vegetarian on BFL?
3...Does the palm/fist method work for vegetarians?
4...What are good protein sources?
>5...What's with all this "complete" and "incomplete" protein stuff?
6...What are the differences between protein powders?
7...Isn't soy bad for the thyroid?
8...Are the supplements vegetarian?
9...Should I take a multivitamin?
10..Can I eat out at restaraunts and fast food places?
11..Help! I need inspiration/ideas/recipes!
12..What is TVP? Gluten?
13..Where do I buy this stuff?
14..More info, links
Appendices:
A...Vegetarian protein comparisons
KEY= * = New since last release > = Updated since last release
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====[ 1. Why be vegetarian or vegan?
Vegetarian is a blanket term for a variety of diets that exclude meat,
poultry, and fish. A pure vegetarian (vegan) diet only includes foods of
plant origin, such as nuts, seeds, vegetables, fruites, grains, and
legumes. A "lacto-ovo-vegetarian" (Noted here a LO) also consumes both
dairy and eggs. There's also a semi-vegetarian, which may eat chicken or
fish, but no red meat. (For sake of sanity, this FAQ will concentrate on
the vegetarians. I'll indicate vegan things when I know them, but you
meat eaters are on your own!)
Studies are constantly being done on the pros and cons of being
vegetarian, but the evidence seems to point to the fact that vegetarian
diets are typically more healthful than the average American diet. The
health benefits range from preventing or reversing heart disease, reducing
risk of cancer, preventing heart disease, hypertension, diabetes mellitus,
etc, etc. Some of it can be linked to vegetarians typically eating less
fat, fewer calories (try to eat 500 cals of lettuce in one sitting, I dare
you) and more plant-based foods.
That's not to say that holding the pepperoni and sausage on a pizza will
turn you into a nutritional genius! But... You get the idea. Balance!
People will also become vegetarian for ethical reasons. Some vegetarians
wear leather and/or fur, some don't. Basically, vegetarians come up with
their own reasons to do what they do, they'll have their own definitions
of it, and confronting someone to justify themselves can turn into an ugly
holy war of a debate. So. Don't judge others on what they eat and why,
and we can all be happy!
====[ 2. Can I be vegetarian on BFL?
Absolutely! Bill Phillips even said: "Vegetarians have completed the
Body For Life program with spectacular success as well. Most of them whom
I've had the opportunity to learn from say that the most difficult part
was deciding which sources of protein they would use to stick with the
nutrition plan. A lot of them used soy protein powders, cottage cheese,
and other supplements."
It may seem daunting to look at the list of Authorized Foods and realize
that only egg whites and cottage cheese are available to the vegetarian.
Luckily, there are many other products that have similar nutritional
value, but it takes some creativity and a lot of label reading.
====[ 3. Does the palm/fist method work for vegetarians?
This is where things start into their own universe. Because many
vegetarian products are based on soybeans, it's hard to call a lot of
things as "pure" of protein as, say, a chicken breast. For instance, a
fist-sized pile of lentils is over half carbs. Because of this, you must
master what I call the Zen of Nutritional Label Analyzing (ZNLA).
It's unfortunate, because the palm/fist method is such a convenient way to
get the meals planned. Instead, you've got to crunch the numbers just
like a regular body builder.
As an example, I am a 24 year old female, 5'4" with 23% body fat and am
currently weighing in at 135 pounds. My Base Metabolic Rate is about
1363 calories per day. On BFL, I'm burning about 2317 calories per day.
So, in order to lose 1-1.5 pounds of fat per week, I should consume about
1625 to 1800 calories per day.
(For more information on this formula, check out http://www.hussman.com/eas/)
Assuming I'm aiming for a 40-40-20 ratio (that's 40% of your calories
as protein, 40% as carbs, and 20% as fat), I'll need to plan each meal for
roughly the same grams of protein and carbs in each. And, on BFL,
I'm targeting 1-2 grams of protein per pound of lean bodyweight.
1800 calories per day = 300 calories per meal (6 meals)
Each gram of protein is worth 4 calories, carbs are 4 calories per gram,
and fat is 9 calories per gram. So per meal:
300 * 40% / 4 = 30 grams of protein
300 * 40% / 4 = 30 grams of carbohydrates
300 * 20% / 9 = 6.7 grams of fat
I can use these numbers then to guestimate each meal. I can have a little
more or a little less at any given meal, as long as it mostly evens out at
the end of the day.
Don't get TOO fussy over your calories. Use it to get started until you
get a feel for things, and maybe calculate a day's worth of food every
four weeks or so, but obsessing over every calorie is definitely not what
BFL is all about!
====[ 4. What are good protein sources?
- Eggs
(to come)
- Casein
A phosphoprotein of milk, usually extracted by heating the milk with an
acid (or by means of lactic acid) which curdles. Basically, cheese.
- Whey
The watery stuff left over from the above cheese-making process.
Remember Little Miss Muffet, sitting on her tuffet, eating her "curds and
whey"? She was eating what we now call Cottage Cheese, one of the best
combinations of casein and whey proteins!
- Soy
(to come)
http://www.webmd.com/soy/module20.html
For a list comparing the relative amounts of protein in common vegetarian
foods, please reference Appendix A.
====[ 5. What's with all this "complete" and "incomplete" protein stuff?
The body needs a complete sequence of amino acids to use a protein. Meat
has all of these right off the bat, so off the body goes using it. Beans
contain a lot of some amino acids, less or none of the others. The
reasoning was that you could pair it with rice, which has a lot of the
amino acids that beans don't, but it short on the ones that beans are
strong in. Now with a complete sequence, you've got protein as good as meat.
I studied up on this and got kind of paranoid about how I was eating!
But! Luckily, modern science has since proven that you don't necessarily
have to pair these *in the same meal* like it was originally thought.
Turns out the loose amino acids will sit around in the body for a while
until another uncomplete set comes along, and they piece together what
they need (like two incomplete sets of legos to make the pirate ship).
Of course, this is not *really* an issue unless you're mostly vegan or
never get any variety in your diet. If most of your protein comes from
eggs, milk (whey and casein) or soy, then don't worry; those are already
complete proteins. But the point is that there's a big difference between
the grams of protein on the label of something and the "useable" protein
that the body can actually put towards rebuilding muscle. If you're
interested in learning more about it, I'd recommend "Diet for a Small
Planet" by Frances Moore Lappé.
====[ 6. What are the differences between protein powders?
====[ 7. Isn't soy bad for the thyroid?
====[ 8. Are the supplements vegetarian?
Supplements alone will not cause you to build muscle or lose fat. There's
no magic pill or powder that will do all the work for you, but used in
conjunction with a proper diet and exercise routine, they can aid in your
progress.
Myoplex Meal Replacement shakes and bars:
Betagen (Creatine plus HMB):
This supplement is used by the body to hydrate muscles and help speed
the the repair of torn muscle fibers. Creatine is found in red meat
naturally, but the stuff-in-a-bottle is synthetically produced and should
be vegetarian. Due to a lack of red meat in the diet (obviously), this
supplement is probably more useful to vegetarian weight-lifters!
Phen-Free (Ephedra-free thermogenic):
Cytovol:
Phosphagen HP:
EFAs/UDOs/Flax Seed Oil:
====[ 9. Should I take a multivitamin?
If you are drinking at least 2 Myloplex shakes a day, then you are getting
100% of most vitamins and minerals in addition to those supplied by food.
If you are not using the shakes, then a vitamin supplement is probably in
order, in particular essential amino acids, iron, Vitamin B12, calcium,
Vitamin D, and zinc. Vegans, especially, should make sure to supplement
B-12, whether by pills or fortified foods such as enriched soy milk,
because this vitamin in particular is naturally only found from animal
sources.
====[ 10. Can I eat out at restaraunts and fast food places?
====[ 11. Help! I need inspiration/ideas/recipes!
- Baked potato with salsa and cottage cheese
- WW pita pocket with Yves Pepperoni Slices (5), Fat Free Cheese, 2T
spaghetti sauce
- WW pita pocket with Yves deli slices (5), lettuce, sprouts, Veganaise
- 4 scrambled egg whites with 1 Morningstar breakfast patty or 1 slice
Yves Canadian bacon. for carbs: Piece of fruit or 1/2c. Kashi Good
Friends cereal with 1/4c. vanilla soy milk.
- 2 "Smart Dogs" on 2 slices whole wheat bread, with fat free cheese and
ketchup/mustard
- Tofu chunks marinated in sweet & sour sauce, with mixed veggies, served
over brown rice
- 4 egg whites, salsa, lofat chedder, lofat sour cream on whole wheat
tortilla
- Progresso lentil soup, small protein shake
- Soy burger (no bun), home-fries (baked)
- Soy Joe, open face on 1 slice whole wheat bread
- 3/4 c. whole wheat spaghetti, 1 soy burger (crumbled), spaghetti sauce
- Cottage cheese and fruit
- Oatmeal with scoop of protein powder
- 6 egg whites, 1c. skim milk, onion, green pepper (baked as a quiche)
- Tofu chunks over salad with oriental dressing (1c. rice vinegar, 2T
low-sodium soy sauce, 1t. toasted sesame seeds)
- Mashed potatoes with scoop protein powder and seasonings (mmm, garlic,
butter buds, pepper, splash of skim milk)
- Veggie frank n' beans. 1/2-3/4 of a cup of vegitarian baked beans plus
a sliced up yves veggie hot dog or two.
====[ 12. What is TVP? Gluten?
TVP is a common abbreviation for "Texured Soy Protein". TVP is produced
from soy flour after the soybean oil has been extracted, then cooked
under pressure, extruded, and dried. TVP is easily stored in airtight
containers (flavored TVP keeps for about a year, unflavored keeps
indefinately), can be seasoned and shaped in uncountable ways, and is
probably one of the most versitile vegetarian proteins out there. You
can buy TVP in granules, strips, chunks, bits, slices, pieces... you can
also have it pre-seasoned (completely vegetarian) as beef, chicken, ham,
sausage, pepperoni, bacon, and so on. It's also high in protein and
moderate in carbs, which makes it fabulous for cooking BFL style.
Gluten (also known as Seitan) is a wheat-based (non-soy) meat substitute.
It comes as a flour which is rehdrated, seasoned, and shaped. This is
usually the "vegetarian chicken" that you'll find around, as it most
closely resembles the texture of the meat. I'm not sure of the
nutritional content (can someone find out and email me?) but I would
imagine that the protein is not as good as with the TVP-based products.
====[ 13. Where do I buy this stuff?
- Healthy Eating
http://www.healthy-eating.com
This place has the most incredible selection of TVP, Gluten, vegetarian
foods (including a Thanksgiving Tofu Turkey!) and tons of vegetarian
books. You can also request their print catalog.
- Trader Joes
http://www.traderjoes.com/ (no online catalog, just store info)
Not known for their wide and varied selection, but rather the best food
and beverage values you can find. Not all vegetarian, but their own
brands and the stuff they tend to carry is great quality and VERY well
priced, lots of organic selections, and eco-minded products such as Toms
of Maine. Well worth checking out, especially for their frozen herbed
tofu raviolis (ten minutes, some sauce, and you have a dish good enough
for even the fanciest of guests)!
- Whole Foods
http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/ (store info)
http://www.gaiam.com/ (online store, tho not much food there)
The largest retailer of natural and organic foods. Also not strictly
vegetarian, but tends to have more selection than Trader Joe's. Pretty
pricy for a grocery store, but their bulk section well worth the trip.
- Local Food Co-op
More community oriented than Trader Joe's. Co-ops tend to use local
farmers for their produce, and volunteers help out at the store to keep
prices down. It varies from one co-op to the next, but some are only
vegetarian, or organic, or bulk, or what have you. These types of places
usually don't have as much of the "pre-packaged" foods, so bring your own
containers! Check your local yellow pages to see if there's one near you.
- Local grocery store
Tricky at best, but sometimes if you make enough recommendations to your
local grocery store, they'll start carrying the items that interest you!
====[ 14. More info, links
==== [ Appendix A: Vegetarian protein comparisons
This chart is for rule of thumb ONLY. Except for egg whites and cottage
cheese, NONE of these are BFL authoried protein sources. Yes, I know the
ratios don't add up to 100%.
Items on this list do not take into consideration the preparation
(deep-fried tofu is way more out of range than the raw stuff).
Watch out for that fat sneaking in! Also, this chart does not take into
consideration sodium content (ever present in soups, canned beans, etc)
Type: (V) vegan, (OL) Ovo-lacto
Cals: Per serving, NOT per portion
Protein, carbs, fat: in grams
Ratio: approximate calorie ratios for PROTEIN-CARB-FAT
Type Cals Prot Carb Fat Ratio
2 Egg Whites OL 33 7 1 0 84-12-0
Lightlife Smart Dogs V 45 9 2 0 80-18-0
Yves Turkey Slices V 90 16 7 0 71-31-0
Tofu V 34 6 1 0 70-12-0
1% Cottage Cheese OL 80 14 4 1 70-20-11
Gardenburger FatFree V 90 14 7 0 62-31-0
Boca Burgers (orig) V 80 13 8 0 60-40-0
Trader Joes Soy Joe V 70 10 11 .5 57-62-13
Slice of Life Salami ? 139 18 11 3 52-32-19
Slice of Life Pepperoni ? 139 18 11 3 52-32-19
Trader Joes Burger Nouveau OL 140 18 12 3 51-34-19
MrngStar Breakfast Patty OL 80 10 3 3 50-15-33
Trader Joes Taco Mix V 80 11 10 1 55-50-11
Soybeans * V 387 34 28 17 35-29-40
Lentils * V 324 27 55 1 33-67-1
Veat Chicken nuggets V 140 12 18 2.5 34-51-16
HealthyFoods Chili ? 160 13 28 1 33-70-6
Kidney Beans * V 306 21 55 1 27-72-1
Lima Beans * V 88 6 16 1 27-72-1
Great Northern Beans * V 310 20 57 1 26-74-1
Black Beans * V 331 21 60 1.5 25-72-4
Chickpeas * V 364 20 60 6 21-66-15
FntsFood Nature's Burger ? 170 8 30 3 19-70-16
Vanilla Soymilk V 110 5 15 3 18-54-25
MrngStar CornDogs OL 150 7 22 4 18-69-24
Progresso Lentil soup V 242 8 20 1.5 13-33-1
* Beans and legumes are .5 cup for serving size, raw
veat shish kabob
marinade: 2 crushed garlic cloves
1/3 c. tamari or soy sauce
1/3 vegetable oil
5 tbs honey
1/4 c. apple cider vinegar
1/4 c. apple juice
1 tbs minced fresh ginger root
1 bell pepper
onion slices
mushrooms
mix marinade ingredients together and add Nuggets. marinate at least 30
minutes.
Place Nuggets on skeewers, alternating with th efresh cut vegetables and
place over barbeque. Baste kabob with marinade, turning for even cooking.
Serve over rice (?).
http://www.brinkzone.com/soy.html
http://abcnews.go.com/onair/2020/2020_000609_soy_feature.html
Attitude is the most powerful supplement.
sample diet:
Breakfast: 3 egg whites, 1 slice vegetarian bacon (just found this and
it ROCKS MY WORLD!), half cup Kashi
Good Friends cereal with .25 cup vanilla soy milk.
Snack: Myoplex lite with 1T Flax Seed Oil
Lunch: Vegetarian Deli Slices, Slice Fat Free American cheese, whole
wheat pita pocket, organic spring green salad
with Raspberry vinigrette dressing
Snack: 1 cup 1% cottage cheese, .5 cup pineapple
Snack: Myoplex lite
Dinner: 1 cup whole wheat pasta, .5 cup spicy bell pepper sauce, 1
crumbled veggie burger, .75 cup mixed veggies
with butter buds
Here's the breakdown:
Calories: 1550
Total Fat: 26g
Saturated Fat: 2g
Cholestrol: 30g
Sodium: 4042mg (whoops!)
Carbs: 178g
Fiber: 25g
Protein: 155g
Vitamin A: 232%
Vitamin C: 269%
Calcium: 125%
Iron: 172%