i have been doing a lot of soul-searching/researching these last few days. i have decided atkins is not the way for me, i know it promotes quick weight loss initially, etc.. but everytime i ate a burger with mayo,bacon & cheese i just couldnt fathom that this was actually a healthy lifestyle i could continue for my entire life.

one of my close friends is vegetarian and showed me a website that has truly changed my outlook on life/food/eating healthy. i warn you though, don't go here if you are squeamish or easily grossed out, or if you dont want to see what actually happens that alows us to consume tons of bacon and eggs everyday. however, if you want a fresh perspective and are like me and haven't really fell into the atkins way of life/thinking easily, please go here and watch what i just did...


goveg.com

and click on the pig movie titled "meet your meat"


again, i warn you not to go here if you are faithfully happy and committed to atkins, or any other high protein plan. i am not trying to change anyones way of life, just wanted to share my epiphany.

Good luck with the vegetarianism.

You can still do Atkins/low carb as a vegetarian. Check out our Vegetarian subforum: http://forum.lowcarber.org/forumdisplay.php?f=109

Rosebud

Dear brown,
I used to be vegan and also vegetarian at different times, and I understand why you would feel this way. Please consider reading this site from people who have had their health damaged by (mostly) veganism. http://www.beyondveg.com/ I know of one lady who has nerve damage from lack of nutrition from being vegan. Also, not ONE primitive culture was vegetarian, as the book, Nutrition and Physical Degeneration states. The man who wrote it was specifically looking for healthy, vegetarian societies, but found something completely different. The book is available for free online, and has pictures of people to back up its findings. Take a look:
Nutrition and Physical Degeneration .
I know the treatment of animals in factory farms is atrocious, but it doesn't have to be that way. Losing weight is not our only goal, but to be healthy as well, which, unfortunately requires some nutrients from animal sources.
Best of health whatever you decide.

Maybe it's not for you, and that's ok. You are already at a healthy weight for your height, so weight loss is not the goal.

There are many routes to health. Just be certain that you are feeding your body what it needs to be healthy.

Be aware that exactly what constitutes a healthy diet, and what our bodies really need to be healthy is not a subject in which all are in agreement at this time, but you have every right to eat what you think is best for you.

Thank you for your input guys. I love how everyone is very understanding and open, and isnt quick to criticize.

I think you should eat the way you want. You can also do low-carb and vegetarian, as has been previously stated, which might work for you since at least part of your choice is ethical and not nutritional.

I have a bone to pick with your statement that Atkins promotes "promotes quick weight loss initially". You should take the "initially" out of that sentence.

In my case, the "initially" has lasted over four years. I realize that many people fail on Atkins, but that's the case with most diets, vegetarian included. My guess is that the failure rates are pretty consistent across the board, although there is not any definitive answer to that.

One of the issues I have with vegetarians & vegans is the evangelical zeal with which they promote their lifestyle. Just as here, you have a movie about the treatment of animals. That's an ethical, and not a nutritional argument. The core of these dietary philosophies is often ethical, which I totally respect. But then there is an attempt to spread the religion by any means necessary, which is where you see the PETA/PCRM tactics of distortion, character assassination, phony health stories, slanted studies, and lies. This is probably why you see low carbers who sometimes have thin skins about the whole thing.

And I know it's tough to metabolize the idea that fatty foods, meats and cheese are healthy, but they are. You've just been inundated with the unsupported cascade lipid theory to the point where it's hard to think otherwise. It's a definite "shift" moment when you realize that. Read the Taubes book, if you're interested in understanding how we got to the point where processed pastas, breads, and white rice are considered healthy and whole food steaks and chops aren't.

Good luck with your choice!

while often more expensive, there are many non-factory farm animal products available at most health food markets... organic free range eggs, grass-fed beef, wild caught fish, raw pasture-fed dairy products... its all good.

I was reading on another thread about the fact that there is no "bloodless" diet. They mention that many vegetarians ignore the fact than many small animals that live in fields are killed during the process of producing grains. Plowing, reaping, pesticides, all contribute to the death of many small animals, and I doubt they die a humane death, either. So while it sounds good to say "I'm not contributing to the death of animals with my diet", what's really more accurate is to say, "I didn't eat the animals that were killed to produce my food." Mice and rabbits don't seem to have the political pull that cows and pigs do!

Just a thought.

Agree with the above - if the inhumane treatment of animals is what bothers you. If you decide to go veg, I would not recommend veganism - way too much reliance on soy products. Also, look up some Indian cookbooks or blogs for ideas - we have long tradition of meatless eating & a lot of people manage to remain in good health w/o meat. This should give you some idea on what your meals should consist of.

Not sure why that link gets posted on sites like this. Maybe it's because I wouldn't go to a vegetarian site and post burger coupons, out of respect for the space. At any rate I hope the epiphany is all you want it to be.

Factory farming like that is absolutely disgraceful, it's little wonder people try vegetarianism. Still, there are a couple points in that video that struck me as being off.

- Feeding animals before transfer to slaughter would be a waste of food and end up making more mess in the end. You don't stuff a creature with food if you intend to take out on the road or gut it because you don't want to deal with its poop.

- Hanging a chicken upside down for slaughter calms them. Cutting the jugular veins stops blood from going to the brain, knocking them out in one to two seconds. Then they will flop around like crazy and keep jerking for a while. This reaction is the most disturbing part of humane killing if you don't know what's going on. That's why it's impossible to tell from the video if any of the birds being scalded were still conscious as claimed.

- Chickens gang up and kill weak chickens because that's what chickens do. It's the famous chicken pecking order at work. I'd hesitate to call the chicken on chicken murder happening in factories insanity, though I really do believe it's made worse through overcrowding.

- Pigs that don't grow quickly are sometimes sold for 4H projects instead of being bolted in the brain.

There are people out there that do care for animals and work to make sure they're comfortable and healthy before they make the ultimate sacrifice. It's possible to find humanely produced meats if you're motivated. Here's a couple links.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_Grandin

This wonderful woman's methods have been adopted by some of the industry for a while now. It makes me wonder where and when the footage in the video came from.

http://sugarmtnfarm.com/blog/index.html

This fellow and his family raise pigs on pasture in Vermont. Letting the pigs be pigs is a big part of his operation, it's quite interesting.

http://www.newagrarian.com/homestead/ducks/

Keeping animals for eggs doesn't have to be painful for the birds.

Yes to the above.

I am a former strict veg and I am still recovering from the depleation it did to my body. It seriously was one of the worst decisions I ever made.

If you are concerned with animal rights I would recommend finding a small farmer with humane practices to buy animal products from like other have suggested. I hope you can feel right in whatever decision you make.

Shrimp and krill and oysters and mussels and sardines and bugs. I could stomp bugs all day without the slightest twinge of guilt. Why go all the way to the bottom of the food chain? Sardines'll give you all the b12 you need. (Of course the goveg.com people claim the ocean will be fish-free by around 2048. If you wanna get your share, better eat quick.)
I'm serious about the bugs, though. My dad suggested mealworms from the pet store, but I dunno if I'm that serious.

Yes maybe it would be better if animals weren't treated so poorly but I'm not going to sacrifice my health in protest.