I'm a vegetarian.

I haven't had too much trouble with it as long as I eat enough of the right stuff. The people who get in trouble are the "cereal vegetarians" and the "Taco Bell vegetarians". They are usually the people who ate a lot of junk to begin with and then decided to go vegetarian after watching a documentary on slaughterhouses. They stick to it until they get pretty sick, then they give up and wonder how other people ever get by being vegetarian.

I've know people who claim you can't build much muscle if you're vegetarian, but I've seen enough counter-examples to know that isn't true. No that you'd know it from looking at my skinny frame, of course.

andy

been a veggie my whole life, Im convinced that anything else would probably kill me at this point. Shhhhhh dont tell my body that it could get protein and energy elsewhere, it does just fine now!

I have tried to be veggie, but never made it. Sorry cows, but if you didn't want to be eaten, you shouldn't taste so good.

Anywhere with Chinese or Italian or Indian or.................... restaurants means you won't starve as a veggie.

I've been a quasi-vegetarian for about 12 years, after spending my first 28 or so as a pure carnivore, not counting the french fries. It almost killed me. Had a blood clot, obesity, the works.

I still ate cheese and eggs, mainly when there was nothing else available in podunk towns. Big cities are not a problem for tasty veggie meals.

Lately I have been eating fish, particularly sushi. And trying to cut out the cheese. Cheese is the crack of the ovo-lacto vegetarian world. If you find yourself eating cheese omelettes every day, or doughnuts, well, then, you might be better off with red meat.

My wife can't take the dairy and has been practically vegan (occasional fish). She is incredibly skinny and her only exercise is walking. I'm not sure that's a good thing either.

When I am riding a lot I eat like a pig.

That is all.

p.s. Strange story. Our 2 year old daughter eats what we eat.
So she's sort of a vegetarian who eats fish and eggs. Well,
my wife told this to an old acquaintance who said, "You can't
decide that for a child!" This is an example of how vegetarian is such a loaded word. Every kid eats what the family eats, right? (If you can get them to eat anything! My kid is mostly a Cheerio-atarian.) I figure if a mostly fish and veggie diet works for the Japanese, nothing wrong with it for my daughter. She can eat whatever she wants when she is old enough to decide. But she'll still have to wear a helmet.

Hey, the more Vegitarians, the more meat is left for me!
but actually there are a few Vitamins that are only produced by animals that we need. B-12 is one of them I think. The suppliments are okay, but the pure source is much better.

B-12 is as far as I'm aware the only vitamin that would normally come from animals. Unless you are vegan then you are extremely unlikely to have any problems, as there is a plentiful supply in milk and eggs. Long term vegans may have a problem if they don't eat products that contain synthesised B-12, although most research suggests that it the body holds adequate stores of B12 for up to 20 years from starting a strictly vegan diet. B-12 is produced by certain yeasts, and may be found in small quantities in some fermented soya products and seaweed, I say may because many of the tests have only found inactive B12. Synthesised B-12 is often added to many common foods, bread, cereal, Marmite, but vegans should probably consider supplements.

Interestingly B12 is produced by bacteria in the lower intestine, but too far down for the body to reabsorb it. However when crops are grown using animal manure the plants absorb it. This probably accounts for why there are groups in parts of the world that follow a vegan diet without any B-12 deficiency problems. In the western world you probably couldn't obtain enough organicly (and specifically grown on manure) grown food to rely on this.

Richard

i'm vegan.
let me just say that you do NOT need meat or dairy for energy. i am continuously waiting at the top of hills for all my carnivore riding friends. i have raced cross country on my mountain bike. i play a whole 90 minutes in competitive soccer matches.

just wanted to clear that up.
-happy riding!

My bikes motor have been running on vegetables for about ten years now. The motor runs just fine, just getting older ;-(

I have been a semi-vegetarian for a year and a half now. I cannot see myself going back anytime soon. I do however still eat clams, mussels and shrimp. I still eat dairy, but, avoid it due to sinus problems. I decided to go veggie after working a summer job as a grill cook at the local ZOO, LOL! Just seemed odd to me that everyone was admiring all the pretty and exotic animals while I had the char-broiler loaded up with dead cows and chickens =( I could here customers ask the cashiers for straws and lids and they were told "no straws or lids due to animal safety". Hum, what about this poor chicken on my grill? Anyways, if anyone has any thoughts on what to eat before or after a ride let me know. I eat just about everthing else expect BEETS, OLIVES AND TOFU! YUK!