Meat?

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chadam1015
chadam1015 Posts: 58 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Thinking of only eating meat for 1 meal a day. Anyone else cut their meat intake? Pro/ Cons? Meal ideas? Im a huge meat eater! This might be hard for me but if it can make me healthier I will give it a try. Open to any advice! Thanks!

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  • CeejayGee
    CeejayGee Posts: 299 Member
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    I go through phases where I eat more or less meat. Right now I'm in the more meat phase.

    But, I think that when people cut out meat, they instead add in empty carbs (pasta, potatoes, bread, etc), which isn't really any better for you. So, be careful of that.

    When I eat less meat, then I tend to replace it with fish, dairy, beans/lentils, and lots of vegetables.
  • Zeromilediet
    Zeromilediet Posts: 787 Member
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    Not sure the reasoning behind your decision? By meat, do you mean red meat only, or pork, wild game, poultry, fish or other seafood?

    If you're thinking of adopting a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle, you'll have to do the research to ensure your protein, iron & other nutrtional needs that come from eating meat, will be met through other sources.

    If you mean 'red meat' because you're concerned about the saturated fat, have you considered sourcing grass fed red meat? Not only are animals that are pasture raised healthier and treated better, but the meat from grass fed meat has almost the same healthy omega fats as wild salmon, and is lower in saturated fat--as is wild game (if you have a friend or can source a provider of wild game). You could also eat other non-red meat like turkey, chicken, fish to get your protein if fat is your concern.

    My personal dietary lifestyle includes protein from meat sources (rather than manufactured powders), and I'm very happy with the results both in terms of overall health and weight loss.
  • AZKristi
    AZKristi Posts: 1,801 Member
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    I rarely eat meat more than once per day and lately my husband I have been trying to have at least one or two meatless days a week. We still get plenty of protein from beans, peas, etc.

    There are a lot of problems with eating meat - I highly suggest watching Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, that may help motivate you to make this change. The way meat is processed and the amount of unnecessary antibiotics and growth hormones are dangerous.

    http://www.webmd.com/diet/healthy-kitchen-11/how-much-protein
  • chadam1015
    chadam1015 Posts: 58 Member
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    Im not sure how I came to the choice of cutting my meat intake. I think it came up in a conversation with a friend about obesity, comparing America to China. They have a lower obesity rate and she thinks it might be due to their lower meat intake. So I thought Hey I can cut back and see if it helps me lose a few more pounds. When I say meat I mean all flesh of animals only. I would still eat dairy.
  • Zeromilediet
    Zeromilediet Posts: 787 Member
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    Im not sure how I came to the choice of cutting my meat intake. I think it came up in a conversation with a friend about obesity, comparing America to China. They have a lower obesity rate and she thinks it might be due to their lower meat intake. So I thought Hey I can cut back and see if it helps me lose a few more pounds. When I say meat I mean all flesh of animals only. I would still eat dairy.

    Was this the China your friend was referring to? http://uschina.usc.edu/w_usct/showarticle.aspx?articleID=16595&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1
  • lizzil0
    lizzil0 Posts: 181 Member
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    You might want to do some more research. This is a great movie, the first part is mostly entertainment, the second part gets into the science/nutrition part. Check it out-
    http://www.hulu.com/watch/196879/fat-head
  • ssernst
    ssernst Posts: 69 Member
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    I'm a vegetarian and didn't know how I would get along without meat in the beginning. Cutting back on your meat intake is a great idea; it seems overwhelming at first but you'll start discovering some great meals without. Pasta, salads, stir-frys... I've made great friends with brown rice. There are some great ways to get enough protein if you are worried about getting enough. I like beans, quinoa and edamame to get enough.
    I also have read several articles about the difference in diets in China vs. America. Seems they were much healthier before they started eating like us. It does give us something to think about.

    Best of luck to you!!
  • angieyoumans
    angieyoumans Posts: 1
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    Interesting comments.... I think that one should research on their own what is best for their body, as we are all different... however, I would like to offer these things that I found:

    1. when you eliminate meat, you tend to replace it with things that you should not (like carbs)...
    2. When replacing protein from meat with protein from vegetables, it takes more calories to get the same amount.
    3. Yes, I think that the more China copies Americans habits, the heavier they get.
    4. I know a lot of vegetarians, and I don't know any of them that have a "protein deficiency".
    5. There are a lot of protein sources, other than meat.
    6. Dairy is a bad substitute for protein. While it does contain protein, it contains a lot of things that are bad for us.

    These were just a few facts that I found, but I definately say do your research before you decide, as there are valid arguments from both sides of this topic.

    :)
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    Im not sure how I came to the choice of cutting my meat intake. I think it came up in a conversation with a friend about obesity, comparing America to China. They have a lower obesity rate and she thinks it might be due to their lower meat intake. So I thought Hey I can cut back and see if it helps me lose a few more pounds. When I say meat I mean all flesh of animals only. I would still eat dairy.

    Whether or not you lose weight by eating less meat will depend on whether you also eat less calories. If you replace the meat with something lower in calories, then you probably will. If not, then probably you won't.
  • emilymiesel
    emilymiesel Posts: 216 Member
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    Lean meats are good for you! I'd cut down on red meats..the average person has I think 5lbs or more of undigested red meat in them! Gross, I know! Try switching from hamburger to ground turkey, sausage to turkey sausage, eat fish, lentils, beans, non fat dairy. I love chicken too because there is sooo many ways to cook it!

    I would be careful with cutting meat cold turkey because your body is so used to taking it in that it may make you crave it even more..that leads to over indulgence :-/

    I've heard of cutting out dairy to lose weight..like cheeses and higher fat milk. I switched to almond milk (it's helped).

    Good luck :)
  • Kristhin
    Kristhin Posts: 442 Member
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    I'm vegan and have been for 9 months.

    I'm NOT saying you need to be vegan, though I do think its a great lifestyle.

    BUT since you're already considering cutting back on meat I'll tell ya this: I've ONLY been vegan for 9 months. Before that I was a meat eater and I've dieted many times in my life. I've always been thin to average, but I've dieted many times in the past to lose relatively small amounts of weight--you know how it goes. You don't watch what you eat and the pounds slowly creep up on you over time. So I've always dieted here and there to lose those extra pounds that creep up. Anytime I've ever been on a sucessful diet, looking back on it, I realize that I subconciously ate much less meat and ate a mostly healthy vegan diet instead. Not 100%--
    I'd still have some dairy, and I'd still have meat if I went out to eat or went over to somebody's house--because I wasn't doing it on purpose. But I think it just always ended up being that way for the most part because plant based foods generally have less saturated fat, 0 cholesterol, and less calories than meat does, as long as you aren't eating junk. So, you know, when you diet, you're hungry a lot of the time because you're used to eating more food. It seems like when you eat a mostly plant based diet, you are able to eat more things to add up to the same amount of calories, so you end up being able to spread out your food more and eat more things overall, so it doesn't feel like such a deprivation.

    Thats what worked for me in the past, anyway. Just though I'd share. ;) If you ever have any questions feel free to message me, I've taken classes on nutrition and stuff.
  • End6ame
    End6ame Posts: 903
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    Lean meats are good for you! I'd cut down on red meats..the average person has I think 5lbs or more of undigested red meat in them! Gross, I know! Try switching from hamburger to ground turkey, sausage to turkey sausage, eat fish, lentils, beans, non fat dairy. I love chicken too because there is sooo many ways to cook it!

    I would be careful with cutting meat cold turkey because your body is so used to taking it in that it may make you crave it even more..that leads to over indulgence :-/

    I've heard of cutting out dairy to lose weight..like cheeses and higher fat milk. I switched to almond milk (it's helped).

    Good luck :)

    This is not true. You digest red meat at roughly the same speed as any other meat and leaner meats will not necessarily help you lose weight (outside of the fact that they are lower in calories). I eat red meat about 4 times per week (2 dinners then leftovers for lunch) and I drink whole milk, eat whole eggs, etc…, guess what I am still losing 0.5 to 1lb per week and my triglyceride and cholesterol levels are fine. Saturated fat is good for you, in fact when artery clogs are examined they are only aprox. 26% saturated fat, the remaining 74% of the clog is unsaturated fats.
  • Aurelina
    Aurelina Posts: 197 Member
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    If you want to eat STATS before you decide meat/no meat, then this guy is for you. http://healthcorrelator.blogspot.com/2011/02/china-study-ii-wheat-dietary-fat-and.html He has very positive things to say about the China study folks cause they offered their data up so freely! And what did he do with it? Enthusiastically crunched it to hell and came back with something along the lines of, "The China study's data shows that meat is good". Yes, I'm completely paraphrasing. Look for yourself. I'm not a number cruncher, but I do appreciate those that find beauty in the math and do try to follow. Alas, math is not my second language. hanging head....

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