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Do you know why?
Do you honestly know why you eat the way you do? Do you know why you do certain exercises?
If I asked you right now why eating vegetables is good, could you truly give me an answer?
Or would you just be able to repeat something that someone else told you?
How do you know that what they told you is even true!?!
YOU DON’T!
Unless of course you’ve done your own research.
Ok so I’m not saying to doubt everything that you hear. And I’m not saying that you shouldn’t trust a professional’s word.
But I do firmly believe that no matter what the subject, you need to do your own research.
I mean I tell you to avoid gluten. I tell you that fat is not the enemy. I tell you to eat LOTS OF MEAT aka I’m anti-vegetarian.
And while I hope you agree with me because I firmly believe I’m right, I know that people won’t believe with me.
And while I don’t mind a good debate, I really hate when people tell me that I’m wrong without truly backing up their opinion.
Sorry to pick on you vegetarians, but I really hate when you attack me about how our farming industry is hurting our environment and that we should all be vegetarians to protect it.
Because for one, this shows me that you obviously haven’t really read a word I said. If you notice I don’t promote conventional farming practices…I’m for all naturally raised animal products a.k.a the way animals WERE living on the land originally when we used to hunt them,
And two, no one really ever explains how being a vegetarian is MORE environmentally safe than eating meat raised the natural way. Most of the time when I actually point out how BAD mono-crop farming is for the environment, they have no response.
And why don’t they have a response?
Not because someone out there hasn’t come up with one, but because most people don’t really understand WHY they are doing the things they do!
haha random but funny!
So while I’m sure there will be a few vegetarians offended by this post, my point isn’t to get a response to my above comments. My point is that you need to THINK.
I don’t care what diet or exercise program you follow, even if it is mine. You still need to UNDERSTAND why you are doing it.
Don’t eat a diet low in fat and high in “whole grains” and tell me fat is bad and whole grains are good for you if you can’t back it up.
And saying, “Well whole grains have fiber” doesn’t cut it.
Anyway, next time you decide to take a stance on something, make sure you’ve really thought about your stance and understand the reasoning behind it.
Oh she’s healthy – She’s a vegan
WARNING: I will be insulting vegetarian and vegans in this post. If you can’t handle it, don’t read it.
I hear this statement all of the time, “She eats so healthy. She’s a vegan.” They say it as if I’m also going to believe that being vegan is the epitome of health – that everyone believes that being vegan is healthy.
It annoys the crap out of me.
I even sometimes have a hard time not saying, “ICK!”
Well frankly I don’t agree. Maybe it works for you, but based on the research I’ve chosen to follow, vegan DOES NOT equal healthy.
Why is it that it seems like only vegetarians or vegans make that comment (or the people who seem to worship that diet)?
Is it the fact that this diet seems to symbolize extreme self-control because the person doing the diet is able to cut out an entire food group?
I mean seriously, what is this attraction to a diet that can cause serious health problems and cuts out an essential food group!?!
People rail…I mean RAIL against low-carb diets because they claim that you are being too restrictive with a whole food group.
BUT mainstream media promotes being a vegetarian or vegan and they are even more restrictive eliminating almost all sources of complete protein from their diet!
While there are way more consequences to cutting out all animal protein sources like iron deficiency, lowered immune functioning and more than there are too eliminating many carbs, that isn’t even what annoys me the most about the statement that assumes a vegetarian or vegan diet is therefore healthy.
What gets me the most is the fact that MOST vegetarians and vegans eat so much processed crap – more so than most of the people who I know that switch to a more Primal style diet.
I mean just look at all the freaking processed crap created and marketed to the vegetarian market.
Soy nuggets. Pre-frozen veggie patties (that aren’t made out of whole natural ingredients).
FAKE MEAT!
Like that is good for you!?!
Also, chips are vegetarian. Chocolate is vegetarian. There are even baked goods made for vegetarians.
In other words….YOU CAN EAT CRAP AND STILL BE A VEGETARIAN OR A VEGAN!
So just because you are “Vegetarian” or “Vegan” doesn’t mean you are healthy.
Yea sure…If you eat all locally grown fruits and veggies and such, sure that is pretty healthy.
But honestly…I probably know only one vegetarian who actually spent the time to cook all fresh produce meals.
And I don’t see how anyone can claim that their “soy nugget” is better for them than my local, grass-fed, NATURALLY RAISED beef!
Oh and please don’t comment on this post and say something about “environmental impact.” We aren’t discussing environmental impact here. We are talking about health. Trust me…don’t even get me started on environmental impact.
(And yes…I do realize that vegetarianism and veganism are two different diets…but heck…they both stink…Sorry)
Narrow-mindedness
narrow-minded – lacking tolerance or flexibility or breadth of view; “a brilliant but narrow-minded judge”; “narrow opinions”
So in a comment a little bit ago, I was called narrow-minded.
It kind of made me laugh because that isn’t something I’d ever considered myself to be.
I mean yes…am I arguing in support of MY viewpoint on this site….OF COURSE!
Anyone writing anything is basically supporting THEIR VIEWPOINT.
But while I may support one very specific viewpoint in terms of what I believe to be the BEST diet and exercise programs on this site, I would argue that I’m not narrow-minded.
First and foremost I tell people to constantly learn, experiment and evolve their diet and workout program. As I’ve said before, one size doesn’t fit all!
You have to find out what works for YOU and you only do that through research or learning, self-experimentation and constantly being open to evolving your beliefs and programs.
I have clients that don’t hold near the same diet beliefs that I do. And I have clients that LOVE running. I don’t try to change their diet views and I don’t tell them to stop running.
I will question their diet beliefs just like I hope people question mine. The only way we can make sure we are constantly learning and getting better is by questioning. I never just want to accept something as truth….I want to know WHY it is truth.
So I question them. If they are going to be eating a certain diet, I want them to know WHY they are eating that way.
And I help guide them to become more educated. I don’t say they are wrong or that they should follow my diet. I help them find their own way.
Because as I said before, it doesn’t matter what works for me. It matters what works for you.
And that client that loves to run…Do I force them to become a powerlifter?
HECK NO!
Am I completely dumbfounded as to why they love running? OF COURSE! 😛
BUT I don’t tell them to stop doing what they love. Instead I show them exercises and/or lifts to help them become fitter, stronger runners.
You have to do what you love. If you don’t love your workouts, you probably won’t stick to them for very long.
If you love running, do it. If you love lifting, do it.
But that doesn’t mean you can just ignore the rest of your fitness. You need strength training to make you a better runner. And you need cardio to help make you a better lifter. You need to give your body some variety in training and plenty of recovery or you won’t see the results you want in the activity that you love!
So maybe I am narrow-minded. I believe I’ve found something that works for me and I want to share it…hence the birth of Man Bicep. I respectfully disagree that I am not, but it is really up to you to decide.
All I can say is I hope that you find the diet and exercise program that works for you and if you need any coaching along the way, I’m always here…Even if you are a vegetarian runner and my arch nemesis….
WTF – Meat is the new tobacco!?!
I swear I uttered just about every curse word I know while reading an article that Ryan sent me called, “Meat is the New Tobacco.”
I try not to rip on vegetarians too often as I do firmly believe that different diets work for different people. Also, eating WHOLE FOODS is what is really important…(Of course most of the vegetarians I know eat more processed crap than most meat eaters I know…but that is a rant for a different day…)
But seriously…comparing meat to tobacco!?! How did someone even allow such a RIDICULOUS article to be published?
This article is ridiculously biased AND the research Kathy Freston cites has been criticized and torn apart.
Her first ridiculous, unfounded statement:
Animal products kill a lot more Americans than tobacco does.
The West’s three biggest killers — heart disease, cancer, and stroke — are linked to excessive animal product (this was linked to the China Study) consumption, and vegetarians have much lower risks of all three. Vegetarians also have a fraction of the obesity and diabetes rates of the general population — of course, both diseases are at epidemic levels and are only getting worse.
Do you know when the obesity and diabetes rates started shooting up?
They started increasing in the 1980’s when the consumption of RED meat started to go down. And guess what we started consuming more of in the 1980’s?
Carbohydrates in the form of refined grains and starchy vegetables and processed vegetable oils. Yep when we REPLACED animal products (butter and lard) with vegetable and seed oils (such as canola oil), we started to see an obesity and diabetes epidemic.
As a post on Fatty Lane states:
1950- 33% of Americans overweight. 10% Obese
1970- 47% of Americans overweight. 15% Obese
Today– 65% of Americans overweight. 30% Obese
Those are some pretty big changes over 60 years. Health “experts” say we’re getting fatter because of too much fat in our diets and not enough heart healthy “whole grains.” Let’s break it down. (See every year here)
So our meat, egg and nut consumption has increased 4.1% since 1970
Our fruit consumption has increased 22%
Our dairy consumption has decreased 3.7%
Our vegetable consumption has decreased 2.4 percent
Our added sugar consumption has increased 14%
Our added fat consumption has increased 56.3%
Our grain consumption has increased 44.6%
So is it really meat? Or might it be the grains, sugars and processed oils?
Now onto Kathy’s obsession with Dr. T Colin Campbell and his China Study, which she claims proves the link between heart disease, cancer and stroke and consumption of animal products.
His China Study is full of holes. I found numerous articles and a WHOLE SITE dedicated to providing studies refuting the China Study.
First off, the first part of the China Study was an epidemiological study in which a questionnaire was mailed to the Chinese people asking what they ate. Off of this Dr. Campbell claims that the people who ate more meat were at higher risk for disease.
BUT he doesn’t take into consideration what else the meat eaters consumed. He also didn’t take into account what their lifestyle.
Oh and by the way….his data doesn’t actually prove what he claims it does!!
People that have analyzed the study have shown that:
Significant differences in the diet of rural Chinese populations studied suggest that wheat consumption may promote higher insulin, higher triacylglycerol, and lower SHBG values. Such a profile is consistent with that commonly associated with obesity, dyslipidemia, diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease. On the other hand, the intake of rice, fish, and possibly green vegetables may elevate SHBG concentrations independent of weight or smoking habits. (From Raw Food SOS)
There are more quotes I could pull and studies I can cite, but I gave you a link to a ton so I’ll let them speak for themselves.
Only one more point about the China Study, which has to do with the second part of the study.
The other part of the China study was a rat study in which rats were either given powdered casein or gluten. The rats that consumed casein got cancer while the rats that ate gluten didn’t.
There are two problems with this. One, powdered casein isn’t a whole food and doesn’t accurately represent milk and meat! For example:milk contains vitamins A, D, E, and CLA & omega 3, which are anti-cancerous, which I’m sure the casein powder didn’t have! Secondly, the rats that ate casein, lived longer!! As with any population that lives longer, there is going to be a higher incident of disease! Any reasonable study considers mortality to be the most important factor…but not Dr. Campbell’s….
And now on to my last point…since I’m giving myself just three or I would literally write a ten page rant about this.
Going back to the initial comment that ticked me off: “Animal products kill a lot more Americans than tobacco does.”
Uhm seriously?
I would beg to differ:
According to pure vegetarian ideologists, people consuming vegetarian diet have better health and live longer than nonvegetarians, because persons consuming milk, dairy products, meat, eggs and fish are at health risk. In fact the most healthy people in Europe are inhabitants of Iceland, Switzerland and Scandinavia, consuming great amounts of food of animal origin.
So the healthiest people consume the most animal products…..Hmmm doesn’t sound like animal products are killing more people than tobacco…
Maybe we should be consuming more meat and not less…Maybe processed CRAP like grains and vegetable oils are really the reason we have such a high incidence of heart disease, cancer and stroke…
Ok…now I’m ready for all you vegetarians out there to try to refute me…bring it on!
Eat Meat
I run into vegetarians all the time who tell me that my meat-eating ways are bad for the environment and that I’m promoting cruelty to animals. And I’d like them to reconsider that statement.
For one, I eat animals that have been naturally raised – I eat pigs that grub and cows that eat grass. So actually by eating naturally raised animals, I’m doing more to fight against the farms/companies that raise animals in an inhumane environment than you vegetarians are!
And two, herbicides and pesticides are NOT good for the environment. And what do you think we use to grow the crap load of vegetables, grains and such that you vegetarians eat?
Could it be that eating meat that is raised in a natural way is actually way better for the environment? YEP!
Check out this article “Ordering the vegetarian meal? There’s more animal blood on your hands.” Maybe you vegetarians will stop trying to convince me that eating meat is so unethical!
A true environmentalist! haha
Man Bicep 