Soy is OK if it is used with other combinations. It has been proven to help aid in the risk of breast cancer if consumed throughout developmental years in life. It is much more difficult to gain results as a vegetarian, however Bill Pearl and his wife proved it can be done(if its something you are intersted in then you must by his fitness book). Why are you a vegetarian is my second question. I was for 4 years but was starving my body of essential fats and aminos that lead to a very unhealthy state. So ask yourself why? My problem was the in humane tereatment of animals that were stuck in animal slaughter houses. So when I decided to make my body No. 1 then I simply stuck to free range chicken, buffalo, cow, etc. Also how does fish/eggs treat you. These are easy ways to get a mixture of essential oils and aminos of different ratios from soy. You need to watch those essential fatty acids though, they seem to be one of the most lagging aspects in most veg/vegan dieters. PM me w/ any other ques

thx for the response! i am a vegetarian for many reasons. mostly because i find it completly disgusting to look at/eat meat. when i see raw meat i actually get sick to my stomach! to think you are eating something that was once walking around living makes me sick. also, seeing blood, bones and veins really groses me out too. another reason is, like you said, how poorly the animals are treated. the way they are raised, fed and killed is completly imoral in my opinion. ... but after 6 years of complete vegetarianism i have put something else first. ...myself. ( like you ) i recently talked to a nutritionist friend (along with many trainers and fitness-friends) of mine and he basically told me there is no way in hell i am going to become buff, without some kind of animal protien. i mean, i am very fit for my age, but after 3 years of intese training, i am not at all where i should be. 3 years of training, i should be pretty damn big, right? wrong. not if youre a veg. so through a lot of thought, i have brought myself to start eating fish and fowl. i ate some tuna on a salad the other day and some baked chicken. ( skinless, boneless, all white meat) . it took me about and hour to get the shit from my plate to my mouth, but i did it! however, i will ONLY eat fish and fowl. as long as there are not bones or blood or veins, and someone else has to cook it for me. lol! but i did it. i was proud yet i felt bad at first. i just hope i am doing the right thing. i hope it works for me. i seriosuly have cut out a lot of carbs, and am now eating small amounts of tuna or bird along with my soy foods and shakes. hopefully this works. if you have anything else to say, add, or ask, feel free to do so! thx again, and feel free to pm or e-mail me if you'd like too. ~CAROLINE

Dont get discouraged, I think you can do it...Ill help you, but make a list of all the shit that you can/cant/wont eat/drink....OK. We will get you there. Also, dont fret so much on carb numbers as carb quality. Many forget that anabolism also encourages amino acid production by the body from carbs....you just need to ingest the essential ones.

PM that stuff!

thx for the respone once again i am doing a lot better day by day at this whole eating fish and fowl things. i'm eating a lot of chicken and turkey. and i'm trying to get used to fish still. but for the most part i'm doing better then i ever imagined.
my list you asked for is pretty simple. i wont/dont eat any red meat, or any animal meat with veins or bones or shells. also, big NO NO's for me are fried foods, sugary foods, candy, soda, or fast foods. i am a big health nut so i eat anything that is benificial to my health. i am open for ideas and will try anything new as long as its healthy. thx again!! ~CAROLINE
p.s. e-mial me if you'd like MVDANCERGIRL@AOL.COM

You can make it as a vegetarian. Check out www.mikemahler.com he is vegan and maintains muscle mass very well.