Carl Lewis

[Guest guest]

Carl Lewis on Being Vegan

Excerpt from Carl Lewis’ introduction to Very Vegetarian,

by Jannequin Bennett

 

Can a world-class athlete get enough protein from a vegetarian diet to

compete? I’ve found that a person does not need protein from meat to be a

successful athlete. In fact, my best year of track competition was the first

year I ate a vegan diet. Moreover, by continuing to eat a vegan diet, my

weight is under control, I like the way I look. (I know that sounds vain, but

all of us want to like the way we look.) I enjoy eating more, and I feel

great. Here’s my story.

 

When I grew up in New Jersey, I always enjoyed eating vegetables and was

influenced by my mother, who believed in the importance of a healthy diet

even though we ate meat regularly because my father wanted it. At the

University of Houston I ate meat and tried to control my weight the wrong way–

by skipping meals. Frequently I would skip breakfast, eat a light lunch, and

then have my fill at dinner–just before I went to bed. Not only is skipping

meals the wrong way to diet, but the way I did it is the worst way because

your body needs four hours to digest its food before you go to sleep.

 

In May of 1990 I decided to change the way I ate when I realized that

controlling my weight by skipping meals was not good for me. Within the space

of a few weeks, I met two men who changed my way of thinking and eating. The

first was Jay Cordich, the Juice Man, whom I met at the Houston radio station

where I worked in the early morning. He was there to talk about his juicer,

which makes fresh juice from fruits and vegetables. He said that drinking at

least sixteen ounces of freshly squeezed juice each day will increase a person

’s energy, strengthen the immune system, and reduce the risk of disease. A

few weeks later while doing publicity for a meet in Minneapolis, I met Dr.

John McDougall, a medical doctor who teaches about the link between good

nutrition and good health and was promoting his latest book. Dr. McDougall

challenged me to make a commitment to eating a vegetarian diet and then to

just do it.

 

I remember vividly making the decision in July of 1990 to become a vegan. I

was competing in Europe and ate a meal of Spanish sausage on a Saturday and

on the following Monday started eating vegan. The hardest thing for me was

changing my eating habits from skipping meals to eating throughout the day–

which is much healthier. I also missed salt and so substituted lemon juice

for flavor.

 

In the spring of 1991 – eight months after beginning to eat vegan – I was

feeling listless and thought I might need to add protein from meat to my

diet. Dr. McDougall, however, explained that my listlessness was due to my

needing more calories because I was training so many hours each day, not

because I needed more animal-based protein. When I increased my calorie

intake, I regained my energy. I was drinking 24 to 32 ounces of juice a day.

I ate no dairy products. And I had my best year as an athlete ever!

 

You have total control over what you put in your body. No one can force you

to eat what you don’t want to eat. I know that many people think that eating

a vegetarian diet - and especially a vegan diet – will require sacrifice and

denial. Jannequin Bennett demonstrates in this book that eating vegan does

not have to be tasteless and boring. As she says, “vegan eating is a truly

indulgent way of life, as vegans regularly partake of the very best foods

that nature has to offer.†Here are recipes that will excite your taste buds.

By the way, a few of my own recipes are included.

 

Keep in mind that eating vegan does require a commitment to being good to

your body and to acting responsibly toward the world around you. Most of us

are not aware of how much damage we do to our bodies and to our world by the

way we eat. I challenge you to write down everything you eat and drink for

one week. You will probably be amazed at the amount of snacks you eat, the

different ways in which milk and cheese are a part of your diet, and–worst of

all–how much fast food you consume.

 

Most snacks such as cookies, chips, candy, French fries, or soft drinks are

highly processed foods that have lost many of their useful nutrients. Worse

still, most of these foods are loaded with fat, salt, and chemicals. For

instance, a 1.5-ounce bag of barbecue potato chips has the same number of

calories as a medium baked potato, but 70 times the amount of fat and 20

times the amount of salt.

 

Cheese and other dairy products are loaded with artery-clogging saturated fat

and cholesterol. Most cheeses get 70 to 80 percent of their calories from

fat.

 

You have to be especially careful when you eat in fast food restaurants. As

the consumption of unhealthy fast food has increased, so has obesity, which

is now second only to smoking as a cause of death in the U.S. Eric Schlosser

reported in Fast Food Nation that the rate of obesity among American children

is twice as high today as it was twenty-five years ago. Moreover, it seems

that wherever people eat unhealthy fast food, waistlines start to expand.

Between 1984 and 1993, for instance, the number of fast food restaurants in

Great Britain roughly doubled. And so did the obesity rate among adults.

Overweight people were once a rarity in Japan. Fast food restaurants arrived

there thirty years ago, and today one-third of all Japanese men in their

thirties are overweight.

 

Your body is your temple. If you nourish it properly, it will be good to you

and you will increase its longevity.

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

This is great Fraggle, thx!

 

I especially like the last line!

 

nikki

 

, EBbrewpunx@c... wrote:

> Carl Lewis on Being Vegan

> Excerpt from Carl Lewis’ introduction to Very Vegetarian,

> by Jannequin Bennett

>

> Can a world-class athlete get enough protein from a vegetarian

diet to

> compete? I’ve found that a person does not need protein from meat

to be a

> successful athlete. In fact, my best year of track competition was

the first

> year I ate a vegan diet. Moreover, by continuing to eat a vegan

diet, my

> weight is under control, I like the way I look. (I know that sounds

vain, but

> all of us want to like the way we look.) I enjoy eating more, and I

feel

> great. Here’s my story.

>

> When I grew up in New Jersey, I always enjoyed eating vegetables

and was

> influenced by my mother, who believed in the importance of a

healthy diet

> even though we ate meat regularly because my father wanted it. At

the

> University of Houston I ate meat and tried to control my weight the

wrong way†"

> by skipping meals. Frequently I would skip breakfast, eat a light

lunch, and

> then have my fill at dinner†" just before I went to bed. Not only

is skipping

> meals the wrong way to diet, but the way I did it is the worst way

because

> your body needs four hours to digest its food before you go to

sleep.

>

> In May of 1990 I decided to change the way I ate when I realized

that

> controlling my weight by skipping meals was not good for me. Within

the space

> of a few weeks, I met two men who changed my way of thinking and

eating. The

> first was Jay Cordich, the Juice Man, whom I met at the Houston

radio station

> where I worked in the early morning. He was there to talk about his

juicer,

> which makes fresh juice from fruits and vegetables. He said that

drinking at

> least sixteen ounces of freshly squeezed juice each day will

increase a person

> ’s energy, strengthen the immune system, and reduce the risk of

disease. A

> few weeks later while doing publicity for a meet in Minneapolis, I

met Dr.

> John McDougall, a medical doctor who teaches about the link between

good

> nutrition and good health and was promoting his latest book. Dr.

McDougall

> challenged me to make a commitment to eating a vegetarian diet and

then to

> just do it.

>

> I remember vividly making the decision in July of 1990 to become a

vegan. I

> was competing in Europe and ate a meal of Spanish sausage on a

Saturday and

> on the following Monday started eating vegan. The hardest thing for

me was

> changing my eating habits from skipping meals to eating throughout

the day†"

> which is much healthier. I also missed salt and so substituted

lemon juice

> for flavor.

>

> In the spring of 1991 †" eight months after beginning to eat vegan

†" I was

> feeling listless and thought I might need to add protein from meat

to my

> diet. Dr. McDougall, however, explained that my listlessness was

due to my

> needing more calories because I was training so many hours each

day, not

> because I needed more animal-based protein. When I increased my

calorie

> intake, I regained my energy. I was drinking 24 to 32 ounces of

juice a day.

> I ate no dairy products. And I had my best year as an athlete ever!

>

> You have total control over what you put in your body. No one can

force you

> to eat what you don’t want to eat. I know that many people think

that eating

> a vegetarian diet - and especially a vegan diet †" will require

sacrifice and

> denial. Jannequin Bennett demonstrates in this book that eating

vegan does

> not have to be tasteless and boring. As she says, “vegan eating

is a truly

> indulgent way of life, as vegans regularly partake of the very best

foods

> that nature has to offer.†Here are recipes that will excite your

taste buds.

> By the way, a few of my own recipes are included.

>

> Keep in mind that eating vegan does require a commitment to being

good to

> your body and to acting responsibly toward the world around you.

Most of us

> are not aware of how much damage we do to our bodies and to our

world by the

> way we eat. I challenge you to write down everything you eat and

drink for

> one week. You will probably be amazed at the amount of snacks you

eat, the

> different ways in which milk and cheese are a part of your diet,

and†" worst of

> all†" how much fast food you consume.

>

> Most snacks such as cookies, chips, candy, French fries, or soft

drinks are

> highly processed foods that have lost many of their useful

nutrients. Worse

> still, most of these foods are loaded with fat, salt, and

chemicals. For

> instance, a 1.5-ounce bag of barbecue potato chips has the same

number of

> calories as a medium baked potato, but 70 times the amount of fat

and 20

> times the amount of salt.

>

> Cheese and other dairy products are loaded with artery-clogging

saturated fat

> and cholesterol. Most cheeses get 70 to 80 percent of their

calories from

> fat.

>

> You have to be especially careful when you eat in fast food

restaurants. As

> the consumption of unhealthy fast food has increased, so has

obesity, which

> is now second only to smoking as a cause of death in the U.S. Eric

Schlosser

> reported in Fast Food Nation that the rate of obesity among

American children

> is twice as high today as it was twenty-five years ago. Moreover,

it seems

> that wherever people eat unhealthy fast food, waistlines start to

expand.

> Between 1984 and 1993, for instance, the number of fast food

restaurants in

> Great Britain roughly doubled. And so did the obesity rate among

adults.

> Overweight people were once a rarity in Japan. Fast food

restaurants arrived

> there thirty years ago, and today one-third of all Japanese men in

their

> thirties are overweight.

>

> Your body is your temple. If you nourish it properly, it will be

good to you

> and you will increase its longevity.