Kansas City Chiefs All-Pro Tight End - Ninth Consecutive Pro Bowl - Tony Gonzalez, Promotes Vegetarian Diet: Smashes Stereotype of Vegetarians

I wrote about Tony a few months back -

http://geari.blogspot.com/2008/05/

strong-fit-tough-guys-mac-danzig-and.html

As I said before, I’m so glad this stuff is coming out in the open. I too break the stereotype of the skinny, wimpy vegan, as I work out and am nearing 200 lbs while in shape. I love it when people hear that I’m vegan, as they’re pretty surprised. Yes, not all vegans have long hair, a long beard and are hippies. And, even more, as you’ll read below, a vegetarian diet WILL increase your performance and longevity.

Just check out this quote from the article below:

“A year-and-a-half after swearing off most dairy products and meat, the
6-foot-5, 251-pounder is laying waste to the stereotype of the scrawny,
wimpy herbivore.” Very nice. Unfortunately, they should have used the real term – vegetarian.

The story goes on to show that his performance actually increased after his move to a vegan diet:

“Coming off a stellar campaign that included 99 receptions for 1,172 yards
(leaving him 179 yards behind Shannon Sharpe for the NFL's all time lead
among tight ends) and earned him a ninth consecutive Pro Bowl invitation,
the 32-year-old Gonzalez insists he's at his physical peak, with no sign
of a decline.”

"It's unbelievable how good I feel," Gonzalez said. "Seriously, my
recovery is so much better than it's ever been, and my endurance is
tremendous. The best part is that during games I really don't get tired.
I have more focus, too. I'm even staying awake in meetings."

Finally the truth of vegetarianism and vegetarians is acknowledged all because a man with courage, intelligence, compassion and fame dove right into a diet that most would never even consider. Because of this, stereotypes are crushed and the “haters” and detractors lose their ammunition.

The same can be said of another hero of mine, Mac Danzig. He also stands out, as he actually won Spike TV's "The Ultimate Fighter." Everyone counted him out due to his diet, but he proved them wrong. As you’ll see below, “[l]ast month, on a diet of brown-rice protein, beans, soy, nuts and vegetables, Mr. Danzig defeated the last of his challengers in Spike TV's "The Ultimate Fighter."” As you’ll read on his website at http://www.macdanzig.net/ “Mac is featured in the new July issue of Men's Fitness magazine (in stores now) as one of the "25 fittest men in America".” Also, stated – “[a] vegan, naturalist, animal lover and serious photographer, Danzig transcends the typical stereotype of a combat athlete.”

So, Tony and Mac, you both are real heroes to me and an inspiration to men everywhere to break the mold and prove that vegan doesn’t equal wimp.

Article:

Gonzalez gives Chiefs steady diet of lectures

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ms-

thegameface081508&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

By Michael Silver, Yahoo! Sports
August 15, 2008

RIVER FALLS, Wis. – Tony Gonzalez heard the
frantic screams – "He can't breathe! He can't breathe!" a woman sitting
behind him in a Southern California restaurant was yelling last month –
and whisked around to see a man turning blue. Within seconds, the Kansas
City Chiefs' perennial All-Pro tight end was standing behind the stricken
diner and administering the Heimlich maneuver, a lifesaving technique for
which he'd never received any formal training.

As a chunk of filet mignon shot out of 45-year-old shipping company
manager Ken Hunter's mouth and onto the restaurant floor, the first
thought Gonzalez had was, "Thank God he's alive."


His second thought?

I'll bet that beef is full of antibiotics.


An exaggeration? If so it's only a slight stretch. Of all the NFL stars
who could've saved a man from choking, he may have been the only one
who'd be quite so grossed out by the food he managed to dislodge. Just
ask Gonzalez's teammates, who've grown so accustomed to his neo-vegan
diet and the accompanying lectures that they sometimes shy away from him
during meals.


"Eating with Tony is a great way to ruin your appetite," veteran
quarterback Damon Huard said last Saturday from the team's training camp.
"You'll be biting into a piece of meat, and he'll say, 'You know that cow
was probably corn-fed. And because of that, they had to give it
antibiotics, and that probably gave it ulcers. I don't even want to think
about what might be in there.' By then you're pretty much ready to clear
your plate."


An hour later, as he sat in the cafeteria at the team's University of
Wisconsin-River Falls headquarters, Gonzalez expanded upon the carefully
crafted dietary approach that has fueled his second decade of excellence.
A year-and-a-half after swearing off most dairy products and meat, the
6-foot-5, 251-pounder is laying waste to the stereotype of the scrawny,
wimpy herbivore.


Coming off a stellar campaign that included 99 receptions for 1,172 yards
(leaving him 179 yards behind Shannon Sharpe for the NFL's all time lead
among tight ends) and earned him a ninth consecutive Pro Bowl invitation,
the 32-year-old Gonzalez insists he's at his physical peak, with no sign
of a decline.



AccuScore on the Chiefs
The Chiefs defense allowed 20.9 points per game last season and is
forecasted for an identical 20.9 points allowed this season. The team
lost Jared Allen, but added Glenn Dorsey to the defensive line. The good
news offensively is the Chiefs are forecasted for 25 percent more points
in 2008 with the combo of Larry Johnson and rookie Jamaal Charles
generating more than 120 rushing yards and 16 rushing TDs this season.
However, a 25-percent increase only results in a 17 point per game
average (up from 14 last season) and an average margin of victory of
nearly negative 4 points per game. The Chiefs are winning an average of
6.5 games per season simulation, up from 4 last year, but it is still
only good enough for third in the AFC West.

The big question in fantasy football is what kind of year can Johnson
have. AccuScore expects Johnson to average nearly 4.5 ypc in 2008, which
is significantly higher than his 3.5 in eight games in 2007. If Johnson
struggles and averages under 3.8 ypc, the Chiefs average season win total
falls to 4 and their chances of making the playoffs plummet to 2 percent.



Projected Record: 6-10
Playoff Probability: 12%
– AccuScore

"It's unbelievable how good I feel," Gonzalez said. "Seriously, my
recovery is so much better than it's ever been, and my endurance is
tremendous. The best part is that during games I really don't get tired.
I have more focus, too. I'm even staying awake in meetings."


There were times last season when Gonzalez felt like closing his eyes
during film sessions, especially during Kansas City's nine-game losing
streak to complete a 4-12 campaign. Frustrated by the motion-laden yet
inflexible schemes of offensive coordinator Mike Solari, Gonzalez chafed
as opponents such as Packers linebacker Brady Poppinga correctly called
out his routes before they were run.


"Sometimes we'd do all that shifting and defenses wouldn't move,"
Gonzalez recalled. "They'd just sit there and wait, and we'd run the ball
into an eight-man front and get stuffed. Even when we had a mismatch, the
quarterback didn't have the freedom to change the play at the line. It's
dumbfounding that we didn't do that."


With Chan Gailey having replaced the fired Solari and an influx of young
players that includes rookie left tackle Branden Albert, the 15th overall
pick in the 2008 NFL draft, the rebuilding Chiefs have reason for
optimism. If star halfback Johnson comes back strong from the foot injury
that short-circuited his '07 season, wideout Dwayne Bowe builds upon the
breakout flashes he showed as a rookie and third-year quarterback Brodie
Croyle justifies the faith coach Herm Edwards has shown in him, Chiefs
fans could at least experience some offensive excitement.


It's a given that Gonzalez, fresh off his fifth consecutive season with
at least 900 receiving yards, will do his part. "He's not slowing down at
all," Vikings safety Darren Sharper says of Gonzalez. "Plus he's such a
crafty tight end – he knows all the little push-off moves, and how to use
his body and post you up."


Another standout Vikings defender, recently acquired All-Pro defensive
end Jared Allen, says his former Chiefs teammate is "one of my biggest
role models in the NFL, because of his work ethic. A lot of people don't
see that – they see Tony Gonzalez, superstar pretty boy, the guy who has
to be dressed just right and have his hair done before he does anything.
But the guy works – he's out there catching 100 balls a day; he never
drops a ball in practice and never lets up. He's an absolute machine."


For Gonzalez, it all goes back to nutrition. When he decided to eliminate
dairy and red meat from his largely organic diet – he still eats fish and
the occasional chicken dish – Gonzalez's peers were highly skeptical.


"They'd tell me, 'You're gonna get crushed. You're gonna get your ass
kicked,'" Gonzalez recalled. "They still think that, too, because I look
so skinny, but I weigh what I've always weighed."


Gonzalez is currently collaborating with a nutritionist on a book
detailing his dietary philosophies, though not necessarily from a vegan
perspective, that will tentatively be published toward the end of '08.
Gonzalez, who was so moved by scientific tome "The China Study" that he
met with author T. Colin Campbell, has spoken to children about the
benefits of maintaining proper nutritional habits, something on which he
wants to expand in the coming years.


In the meantime he is more than willing to lecture his teammates.


"Anything I eat, he'll tell me what's in it," Croyle said. "I tell him,
'Man, I'm from Alabama. I just eat. Leave me alone.' When I hear him ask,
'Could you cook that in olive oil instead of butter?' I say, 'Dude, if
you went to Alabama and said that stuff, they'd ask you to leave.'"


Said Edwards, the Chiefs' third-year coach: "Tony and (veteran linebacker
Donnie Edwards), they both get on each other. They're each on diets, but
different kind of diets, and they argue about which one is better. I walk
by and go, 'You guys are like two women.' "


Bowe, who caught 70 passes for 995 yards as a rookie in '07, is
well-acquainted with The Lecture. "At least twice a week he'll be like,
'Man, what are you eating?' " Bowe said. "I'll look down and say, 'Fried
chicken? Cheese?' and then he'll stop eating his big ol' salad and give
me the talk. He'll say, '1 or 13? You can eat like that and play one year
or eat like this play 13.' And you know what – I listen."


Perhaps, but Gonzalez isn't close to satisfied. As he paused to inspect a
piece of tortellini to ensure that no cheese was inside, the tight end
noted that two nights earlier in a preseason victory over the Bears, the
Chiefs had moved 81 yards in 16 plays in the game's first 8:45.


"I wasn't tired at all," Gonzalez said, "but Dwayne Bowe is out there
tapping his helmet saying, 'Come get me.' And he's in his second year! I
was like, 'Bowe, you're killing me.'"


Spoken like a true lifesaver.


Take it to the ATM