Omnivore vs. Vegan / Vegetarian / Nutritarian

shell1005 wrote: »

jddnw wrote: »

As an omnivore you can eat everything vegans, vegetarians, nutritarians eat. And then some. Or not. The only thing you don't get is a special label that lets you declare to your friends that you can't eat this or that because you've self identified with a label that doesn't allow this or that.

And that is so different as coming to a weight loss forum and loudly declaring your omnivore status. So so different. Pot. Kettle.

This I like. It is so so true.

The book Skinny B..ch changed my life. Beforehand I gave little thought to how food came to be on my plate. I stopped eating red meat and poultry immediately. I do still eat fish and seafood. I do struggle with my weight, but am making progress by cutting out most dairy.

Ginger512 wrote: »

The book Skinny B..ch changed my life. Beforehand I gave little thought to how food came to be on my plate. I stopped eating red meat and poultry immediately. I do still eat fish and seafood. I do struggle with my weight, but am making progress by cutting out most dairy.

I keep seeing posts like this one 'I read xyz and I instantly made drastic changes to my diet!' or 'I watched xyz documentary and I instantly made drastic changes to my diet!' Do people actually do this based on biased pieces of information? Without looking at the opposing views to get a more balanced idea of the issue? Without talking to their doctor first? Without researching the issue further?

I've read over 60 books on food, dieting, nutrition and food politics, as well as have watched pretty much every food documentary out there, many hours of lectures etc etc. I've read books from 'experts' from across the spectrum-from the Paleo/Primal camp, lead by Cordain and Wolf, to the other side, like Fuhrman and Esselstyn. And then the miscellaneous outliers like Taubs, Graham, Fallon etc etc etc. And yes I've read Skinny B, as well as several other books by the co-author Barnouin. What I've actually learned from all these 'experts'-

1. they ALL think their way is the ONLY way for optimal health, and if you don't follow their plan you will die a disease ridden, horrible death, possibly while sprouting horns.

2. they ALL spout off success stories, stats and studies that prove THEIR way is correct. And anyone who claims differently must be using false data, skewing data, is a shill for xyz evil industry, was dropped on their head as a baby etc.

3. they ALL are trying to sell a brand (their name). With that comes books and the ever popular follow -up cookbooks. And surprise surprise, several of them also sell supplement lines and special 'must have' equipment, like blenders that have better technology than my car. Plus dvds, apparel etc. Oh, and retreats, lectures etc etc

And let's not forget all the non-accredited-in-any-form 'experts' like the movie stars promoting certain diets as the only way to eat. Or those who have very sketchy credentials, like the co-author of Skinny B, Kim Barnouin, who is a high school drop out-turned model, who eventually got her Masters in Holistic Nutrition from a school that was non-accredited and was shut down due to lawsuits against the school, which they lost.

Or the regular Joes who went through an experience like cancer, and wrote THEIR own books, convinced the way they ate healed them (even though none of them actually ate the same way).

So yeah, everyone needs to figure out what works best for them, but before making drastic changes to your diet which has far reaching implications, spend the time and actually do some research. It will really help you in the long run.

eta: just realized I had already posted in this thread, with some of the same info as above, sorry about the repetition