No Red Meat or Chicken for Weight Loss

AmerH

I am reading a book that (among other topics) describes how cattle, pigs, and chickens are mass produced for big food companies in big warehouses instead of free-range style. The descriptions made me want to give up meat and chicken, something I never thought I would do. I still haven't been able to eat a hamburger since I read about the conditions within these mass-production factories, so I decided to experiment with not eating any meat or chicken for the last five days while sticking to my allotted calories. In five days I lost four and a half pounds and I feel great. Any comments regarding this "experiment" I've done and am quite excited about?

awkwardlyhannah

get organic, grass fed poultry. red meat is good, but i'd cut it to 1-2 times a week (that's what i do). same goes for the beef. throw some vegetarian meals in there every once in a while (or meatless meals, for things like broth). it helps cut costs or balance them because the organic meat is more expensive. i would also suggest range free eggs!

awkwardlyhannah

eggs, meat, and poultry are really good protein, and protein definitely helps with weight loss (especially depending on your activity level and where you want to be).

HollisGrant

There's an MFP group of vegans, vegetarians, and other people interested in that lifestyle called Happy Herbivores. You can find it in the forum search feature. I agree with you about the cruelty and gross-out issues. I quit eating eggs this year even though I love omelets when I found out what the egg industry does with baby roosters, which they have no use for - they throw millions of them, alive, into a grinding machine every year (true - Google it). That was it for me and eggs. I refuse to support that with my money.

Weight loss is due to calories, though. You could eat donuts all day and as long as you stayed within your calories you would lose weight.

herblackwings39

If you're happy going meat free then go for it. There's no law that says you have to eat one thing or another. Just keep your calories up to goal. I'll also mention that, unless you have a good deal of weight to lose, the rate of loss will probably slow down if you're eating enough to fuel your daily life and work outs.

AmerH

Thank you for your post! Yes, I first looked into buying free-range beef, but unfortunately it is so high priced I put that idea on hold for now. However, I am going to try to include my family in limiting our meat intake (one to two times a week sounds perfect), so I might bite the bullet and buy the higher priced better-for-you meat and chicken. And I will look for free-range chicken eggs. Thank you!

YesIAm17

Did I get it in first? Do I win? Do I win? Do I?

YesIAm17

In five days I lost four and a half pounds and I feel great. Any comments regarding this "experiment" I've done and am quite excited about?

If you want to cut out a food for a specific verified health reason/benefit or on moral grounds, more power to ya.

However in all likelihood the weight you lost was water weight.

1lb equals roughly 3500 calories. 4.5lbs x 3500 = 15,750 calories and it is very unlikely (though not impossible) that you had that big of a deficit over 5 days... and if you did you may (or may not) be in need of medical attention.

Results of the experiment aside. What you choose to eat or not eat is your prerogative, just make sure you hit your macros and micros. :flowerforyou:

jennifer_417

In for the tinfoil hats.

YesIAm17

In for the tinfoil hats.

pinkraynedropjacki

There's an MFP group of vegans, vegetarians, and other people interested in that lifestyle called Happy Herbivores. You can find it in the forum search feature. I agree with you about the cruelty and gross-out issues. I quit eating eggs this year even though I love omelets when I found out what the egg industry does with baby roosters, which they have no use for - they throw millions of them, alive, into a grinding machine every year (true - Google it). That was it for me and eggs. I refuse to support that with my money.

Weight loss is due to calories, though. You could eat donuts all day and as long as you stayed within your calories you would lose weight.

Wait till you discover what they do with male calves once they are born. Also the fact they keep females pregnant just to produce milk all the time, then if it's a male baby they kill it at 6 days old (no use for it) and keep the females in order to keep the cycle going......... all for dairy products.

herblackwings39

There's an MFP group of vegans, vegetarians, and other people interested in that lifestyle called Happy Herbivores. You can find it in the forum search feature. I agree with you about the cruelty and gross-out issues. I quit eating eggs this year even though I love omelets when I found out what the egg industry does with baby roosters, which they have no use for - they throw millions of them, alive, into a grinding machine every year (true - Google it). That was it for me and eggs. I refuse to support that with my money.

Weight loss is due to calories, though. You could eat donuts all day and as long as you stayed within your calories you would lose weight.

Wait till you discover what they do with male calves once they are born. Also the fact they keep females pregnant just to produce milk all the time, then if it's a male baby they kill it at 6 days old (no use for it) and keep the females in order to keep the cycle going......... all for dairy products.

Actually male calves tend to be kept for veal. So from 6 days to a year or so. It's not any better though.

jenilla1

I don't eat hamburger either, but that's primarily because I find ground beef disgusting. I can't tolerate the little hard bits of gristle. So gross. I don't eat much red meat. My liver has trouble processing it - some enzyme thing. So I mainly just eat birds and fish for protein and I've never had a weight problem. Watch your calorie intake and you'll be fine.

YesIAm17

There's an MFP group of vegans, vegetarians, and other people interested in that lifestyle called Happy Herbivores. You can find it in the forum search feature. I agree with you about the cruelty and gross-out issues. I quit eating eggs this year even though I love omelets when I found out what the egg industry does with baby roosters, which they have no use for - they throw millions of them, alive, into a grinding machine every year (true - Google it). That was it for me and eggs. I refuse to support that with my money.

Weight loss is due to calories, though. You could eat donuts all day and as long as you stayed within your calories you would lose weight.

Wait till you discover what they do with male calves once they are born. Also the fact they keep females pregnant just to produce milk all the time, then if it's a male baby they kill it at 6 days old (no use for it) and keep the females in order to keep the cycle going......... all for dairy products.

Actually male calves tend to be kept for veal. So from 6 days to a year or so. It's not any better though.

I can't argue... it is absolutely horrible... however I still want a cheeseburger.

HollisGrant

There's an MFP group of vegans, vegetarians, and other people interested in that lifestyle called Happy Herbivores. You can find it in the forum search feature. I agree with you about the cruelty and gross-out issues. I quit eating eggs this year even though I love omelets when I found out what the egg industry does with baby roosters, which they have no use for - they throw millions of them, alive, into a grinding machine every year (true - Google it). That was it for me and eggs. I refuse to support that with my money.

Weight loss is due to calories, though. You could eat donuts all day and as long as you stayed within your calories you would lose weight.

Wait till you discover what they do with male calves once they are born. Also the fact they keep females pregnant just to produce milk all the time, then if it's a male baby they kill it at 6 days old (no use for it) and keep the females in order to keep the cycle going......... all for dairy products.

Thanks for posting this. I have dairy a few times a year, a cappuccino or cottage cheese, but it looks like I'm crossing those off, too. I think I would rather eat dirt or lawn grass at this point. I'm an old person, age 59, and at this point in my life if something revolts me I'm simply not going to take part in it anymore. There are thousands of other things in the world to eat.

AmerH

I'm not sure what you mean by it was probably water weight. I know the technical definition of water weight, but I had already lost five pounds before this "experiment." So could you please explain what you mean? Can I have nine and a half pounds of water weight? I would really like to know. Also, I feel great and don't believe I need medical attention.

gonnamakeanewaccount

Almost everything is "mass-produced" nowadays.

Ophidion

If it works for you and you feel and see positive changes good for you OP, be sure to hit your macros and whatever the outcome of your experiment is to remember you never have to justify your own dietary choices...it is your life and body.

Also don't forget weight loss is dependent on calorie deficit, take it from me plenty of overweight/unhealthy vegans/vegetarians.

Some links...

Setting up your macros and calorie intake correctly...

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

Plant based protein sources (also others including meat for comparisons sake)...

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/926789-protein-sources

http://www.savvyvegetarian.com/articles/plant-food-protein-chart.pdf

http://www.22daysnutrition.com/blog/2013/05/01/15-vegan-sources-of-protein-soy-free-and-gluten-free-too/

Plant based dietary group on MFP...

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/45-happy-herbivores

AmerH

Yes, this is absolutely correct. Except when living animals are mass-produced in a small, confining area, horrible things tend to happen. Like pigs eating other pigs, chicken feet actually growing into the cages and they simply cut the toes off, and some cattle being skinned and slaughtered while still alive. There were also other descriptions that turned me off to these particular mass-producing industries. I have looked into free-range meat and chicken, but they are very expensive.

AmerH

Thank you, Ophidion, for the very informative links!

Ophidion

Yes, this is absolutely correct. Except when living animals are mass-produced in a small, confining area, horrible things tend to happen. Like pigs eating other pigs, chicken feet actually growing into the cages and they simply cut the toes off, and some cattle being skinned and slaughtered while still alive. There were also other descriptions that turned me off to these particular mass-producing industries. I have looked into free-range meat and chicken, but they are very expensive.

Even the term "free-range" can and is often deceptive in the sense of implying lack of cruelty, I would just reiterate you should not feel compelled to justify the change in diet because no matter what your reasoning is people will tend to disagree or even accuse you of elevating yourself to a judgmental lentil.

ETA: Vegetarian for 10 years, vegan for another 10 years.

Good luck and try not to become discouraged as when or if you do something other than the norm people tend to get upset but remember this is your lifestyle choice and refrain from judging others or trying to impose it onto others.

ETA: Be sure to do research on maintaining a healthy diet and supplementing any nutrients/vitamins etc you may have difficulty getting during your transition.

CollieFit

Almost everything is "mass-produced" nowadays.

That doesn't mean you have to buy it.

As a consumer I have a choice to save my pennies and get a factory chicken, or pay a bit more for a free range one. The choice is yours simple.

I use our local farm shops and can see how the chooks are kept. It just depends what level of effort you're willing to make for your choices.

Alternatively, stop eating meat.

Ophidion

In for the tinfoil hats.

So basically every thread in the main forums

sybrix

Out of curiosity, what book were you reading?

If you find the free range meat too expensive, I second the idea of preparing vegetarian/vegan meals on non-meat days. In most cases vegetarian/vegan versions of meals can be a lot cheaper sans the cuts of meat.

If you're struggling with coming up with veg meals this cookbook was great when I was getting started:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Happy-Herbivore-Cookbook-Delicious/dp/1935618121

Has a lot of alternatives to some of the meaty classics. The cookbook is vegan, but I'm a vegetarian so occasionally I substitute the ingredients and it usually doesn't end too badly.

Best of luck!

Wilhellmina

get organic, grass fed poultry. red meat is good, but i'd cut it to 1-2 times a week (that's what i do). same goes for the beef. throw some vegetarian meals in there every once in a while (or meatless meals, for things like broth). it helps cut costs or balance them because the organic meat is more expensive. i would also suggest range free eggs!

This! Go Paleo!

AmerH

It's called "The Food Revolution" by John Robbins (the son of Robbins as in Baskin-Robbins ice cream). Thank you. I appreciate your post and the links

AmerH

Oh, is that what Paleo means!

Wilhellmina

Paleo is something like eating (living) like our early ancestors, the hunter gatherers would have and no they didn't eat bio industry meat, which is bad for the animals and bad for our health, check google

jennifer_417

In for the tinfoil hats.

So basically every thread in the main forums

It would seem that way...:devil:

Ophidion

Oh, is that what Paleo means!

It is a dietary preference...works for some but the science behind it is debatable as are all dietary preferences...Too restrictive for my taste, and personally don't agree with the methodology or premise, but each to their own!

Basic cut and paste from-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleolithic_diet...hate using Wikipedia as a reference but feeling lazy.

The paleolithic diet (abbreviated paleo diet or paleodiet), also popularly referred to as the caveman diet, Stone Age diet and hunter-gatherer diet, is a modern nutritional plan based on the presumed ancient diet of wild plants and animals that various hominid species habitually consumed during the Paleolithic era—a period of about 2.5 million years which ended around 10,000 years ago with the development of agriculture and grain-based diets. In common usage, the term "paleolithic diet" can also refer to actual ancestral human diets, insofar as these can be reconstructed.

Centered on commonly available modern foods, the contemporary "Paleolithic diet" consists mainly of fish, grass-fed pasture raised meats, eggs, vegetables, fruit, fungi, roots, and nuts, and excludes grains, legumes, dairy products, potatoes, refined salt, refined sugar, and processed oils.

Paleolithic nutrition is based on the premise that human genetics have scarcely changed since the dawn of agriculture, and modern humans are genetically adapted to the diet of their Paleolithic ancestors. Therefore an ideal diet for human health and well-being is one that resembles this ancestral diet.

Proponents of this diet argue that modern human populations subsisting on traditional diets, allegedly similar to those of Paleolithic hunter-gatherers, are largely free of diseases of affluence.They assert that multiple studies of the effect of Paleolithic diet in humans have shown improved health outcomes relative to other widely recommended diets. Supporters also point to several potentially therapeutic nutritional characteristics of preagricultural diets.

ETA: Highly debatable...like everything.

Ophidion

Paleo is something like eating (living) like our early ancestors, the hunter gatherers would have and no they didn't eat bio industry meat, which is bad for the animals and bad for our health, check google

One could argue that killing an animal is bad for it whether it is free range or factory farmed.

ETA: less cruel maybe, better for your health perhaps, but not guaranteed.