I disagree with just eating the egg whites, because while they have less calories, they have less overall nutrition. The egg yolks aren't bad for you. If that's your preference, fine, but I disagree with it.

I'm a vegetarian (more toward vegan) and I don't eat any flesh, dairy or eggs. My calorie control is good but the weight isn't falling off like crazy, it is dropping at the average rate. People think that you HAVE to eat meat, eggs and dairy for health, but you don't. I am healthy & have more energy and haven't had any illness in a while (colds included).

As Steve said, the veggies fill you up. So you do take in less calories. It is all about moderation in all cases. There are some chubby vegetarians out there. I mean technically pizza is vegetarian right ??

There is nothing wrong with vegetarianism. That is a personal choice. However, I do take a stand against those who try to recruit to their chosen way of life based on misguided information. Your body's main goal is to extract nutrients from the chewed mass of whatever you send down to it. It doesn't realize, "well we are a vegetarian now so it's time to digest better." Your gut enzymes do shift with time and diet habits but, for the most part, your digestive system is blind. A fat is a fat and a CHO is a CHO. Your health is dictated by the nutrient compliment of what you eat on top of other factors such as genetics. Painting vegetarianism a healthy with such a broad stroke is false. The likelihood of being healthy is just as great for someone who eats meat as someone who does not. It all comes down to dietary choice and design. If you are healthy while being vegetarian then I applaud you. Stay the course. Promising better health through vegetarianism is misleading.

Egg whites or albumen is comprised about 40 amino acids (some essential others not), a small amount of carbs, a small amount of sodium, and 20 calories. It is an excellent source of protein naturally. In fact, it is the closest thing you can get to ingesting a complete protein (it still lacks some essential amino acids). It is advisable to limit large scale consumption of egg whites though. They contain a protein known as avidin which binds to a vitamin known as biotin thus making it unavailable. Granted you would have to eat large amounts of it, but there are people who eat many eggs/day.

Egg yolks contain all the fat soluble vitamins as well as some saturated and unsaturated fats. In addition, there are about 300mg of cholesterol. Don't let that scare you from eating them as part of a healthy diet. Just don't make a six egg souffle everyday.

I don't know Solarin, I disagree, but that's OK.
I don't think eating meat is healthy at all, especially if you are eating regular store bought meat. If one eats organic meat, then I think it is a better choice. Eating 'regular' meat cannot be healthy with all the things they do to those animals. Antibiotics, feeding them ground up portions of their own species. YUCK. Of course organic meat is pricey.

Vegetarians and Omnivores will never agree. I'm healthy and happy with my choice. I'm not force feeding anyone, anything. Everyone is in charge of their own life and body.

Most people that have been here for the past few months know I'm a vegasour, so if they have questions, they can always pm me.

Well to be fair, fruits and vegetables that are prepackaged, or that aren't organic probably aren't all that wonderful either.

I'll deal with it in both cases.

Umm, why...?

I'm not entirely sure why you're asking why.

If it's to why I'll deal with it, it's because I don't have a job to support my organic food needs, otherwise I would love to eat organically.

care to elaborate? The white contains the majority of an eggs protein and is also only around 17 calories per white, and around 3.6g of protein. Egg whites are for the most part protein.

I eat around 4-5 whites a day and around half a yolk

Eating the egg whites and egg yolk together provide more nutrition than just eating the egg whites alone. That's what I was trying to say. The yolk has protein too, and other nutrients to contribute, some nutrients that the whites hardly have. For me, it's not just about protein.

Of course regardless, it is still a matter of preference.

I work in the animal agriculture industry. It was not a trade I was born into being that I am from NYC with no previous knowledge of agriculture. That said I am going to let you all in on a little secret about "organic" meat. This literally means that a producer can take less care of their animals. Animals become sick more often and never receive medical care in the pursuit of the organic label. Many are forced to live outside with no thermal regulated houses in pursuit of the organic label. Many are lost to predators in pursuit of the organic label. Producers who grow organic meat don't give a rat's behind as to the imaginary health benefit in consuming it. It costs more money to have organic meat because they experience higher death loss. It's simple economics.

There is much media hype concerning these evil chemicals that meat is claimed to have (cue spooky music.) First, let's discuss antibiotics. EVERY single animal that EVER enters the human food chain MUST have had a very documented period of withdrawl diet. This allows them to work it through their system. Likewise, all drugs that can be administered to livestock are highly monitored by the FDA and USDA. There are two very simple reasons why animals are given antibiotics: overall health and acute disease. Overall health refers to animals being fed sub-theraputic levels of certain antibiotics to improve growth and performance. With this approach fewer animals contract disease. Acute disease is pretty self-explanatory. As it stands today, many producers are switching to super doses of copper rather than antibiotics because it is cheaper. Copper in very high amounts to lethal to microbes.

I've heard Oprah carry on about this over and over; grinding up animals to feed to themselves. It just doesn't occur in the way many people think it does. This is a classic case of a sensational practice that is now used as the poster child of evil animal agriculture. Sure, some animal by-products like feathers, blood, and the like are rendered to be used as animal feed for pigs and chickens. Otherwise they would just go to waste. Most of their diets are corn/soybean meal. That's a simple fact. Cows are ruminants and don't require the ingestion of animal products to thrive so any practice your quote me of it is very very fringe. Cows usually receive forage/silage/corn/cotton seeds/DDGS and the like.

I'm not interested in converting you back to meat eating. Like I said I don't care either way what a person chooses to eat and not to eat. However, as I said before, I do care when outright falsehoods are used to try to convince other people. I don't think you are trying to deceive people on purpose. You really are dedicated to a healthy lifestyle. You've chosen vegetarianism. However, it is my belief that you have some ill conceived notions of how animals are really raised in this country as well as meat consumption. Eating meat is healthy and entirely natural for a human. If humans were not supposed to consume animal products then explain why we have a nutritional requirement for vitamin B12 which is only found in animal products.

I'm asking why aren't they so wonderful? I'll entertain the possibility that organically grown food is better, but I'm sure regular fruits and vegetables are still fine.

It was actually a rather sarcastic remark, well not quite sarcastic, as much as just in response to her remark about meat that isn't organic. Don't worry about it dear. Would smart-ass count?

I would eat organically though myself if I could afford it. Just for my own psychological satisfaction --thinking that I'm going the extra mile to get thin, regardless of what it's actually doing.

And because they eat organically on a Jon and Kate +8

A-F-in-Men.

Great post!

I'm not ignoring the rest of the stuff you wrote, I just want to concentrate on this. I am sorry if I gave the impression of 'converting'. I don't think by me saying that I am healthy is trying to convert anyone. I'm just letting people know that being a vegetarian isn't unhealthy either. I don't see how that is converting. If a meat eater said they were healthy eating beef or chicken, no one would blink an eye. Would they?

And there are other forms of B12 (Nutritional yeast). But I really don't care to argue about this. Eat a whole cow if you wish, enjoy.

Yeah I know, the pesticides are out of control to. We can't win either way actually.