Becoming a vegetarian, but feeling weak and tired.?!
Becoming a vegetarian, but feeling weak and tired.?
I recently decided to become a vegetarian and it's only been three days since I've stopped eating all meats, but ever since I've stopped eating meat I feel weak and dizzy, and extremely tired. These past days I've been talking long naps during the day. I think I feel weak and tired because I'm missing the protein, iron, and other nutrients I received from meat. My question is, what foods can I eat that can give me the protein, iron, and other nutrients without having to eat meat? Please be specific, and list examples or websites that can help me find food I can eat.
Additional Details3 weeks ago
Thanks for the answers, I definitely eat wheat. Actually the only type of bread I eat is wheat bread. For the person who asked why I'd like to become a vegetarian, It's because I don't want to eat food that has been produced by killing animals.I do not feel comfortable eating meat anymore after I've seen how it's processed and made. Also, if you've ever actually helped prepare raw meat or cooked it, you'll see how disgusting the bloody meat looks. Not to mention that eating meat isn't always good for your body. For example meat eaters are more prone to colon cancer and other health issues.
Answers:
3 weeks ago
Thanks for the answers, I definitely eat wheat. Actually the only type of bread I eat is wheat bread. For the person who asked why I'd like to become a vegetarian, It's because I don't want to eat food that has been produced by killing animals.I do not feel comfortable eating meat anymore after I've seen how it's processed and made. Also, if you've ever actually helped prepare raw meat or cooked it, you'll see how disgusting the bloody meat looks. Not to mention that eating meat isn't always good for your body. For example meat eaters are more prone to colon cancer and other health issues.
Eat a variety of "whole foods," with plenty of beans, nuts, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. Avoid unhealthy foods like trans fats, which are usually listed as partially hydrogenated oils. Deep-fried foods often contain trans fats. Choose margarines that use nonhydrogenated oil, like Earth Balance or Smart Balance. Although a diet consisting of Coke and French fries is technically vegan, you can't be healthy if you eat nothing but junk food. Vitamin B12: Vitamin B12 is produced by bacteria, and some experts believe that vegetarians used to get plenty of this vitamin from bacteria in drinking water. Since drinking water is now treated with chemicals that kill the bacteria, it's important to make sure that you get enough vitamin B12 from fortified foods (like most brands of soy or rice milks, some breakfast cereals, and many brands of nutritional yeast,also eggs and milk) on a daily basis or by taking a sublingual B12 tablet of 10 mcg per day.
Iron-beans, dark green leafy vegetables (like spinach),whole grain breads, Also eat something with vitamin c when you eat something with iron, it increases absorption
Calcium-dark green leafy vegetables (spinach, broccoli, soymilk)
Protein-Isn't really hard to get, just eat a variety of foods, good sources are beans, brown rice, nuts, whole grain breads, soy foods
Omega-3 fatty acids-flax seeds/oil,walnuts,canola oil
Zinc-pumpkin seeds (best source), beans and lentils, yeast, nuts, seeds and whole grain cereals
Selenium-Brazil nuts are a particularly good source of selenium, so try to eat a couple every day. Eating a small bag of mixed unsalted nuts can be a convenient way to get your daily selenium intake, but make sure it contains Brazils. Bread and eggs also provide some selenium.
Vitamin D- Vitamin D, often called the sunshine vitamin, is another common deficiency in those not drinking vitamin D fortified milk. Synthetic vitamin D is added to both cow’s milk and most brands of soy milk today.
Vitamins A (beta carotene),C, K, E and Folate-variety of fruits and veggies
Iodine-Iodine is a trace mineral that's important for healthy thyroid function. Table salt is the most common and reliable source of iodine in Americans' diets. (However, sodium in processed foods usually does not contain iodine.) If you don't consume table salt, you can get iodine from a multivitamin or from kelp tablets.
Source(s):
Conscientious vegan
You need to make sure you are eating foods that are high protein, beans and tofu.
Your body is going through withdraw/ detox period. As long as you are eating a well balanced diet of whole grains and veggies (at least half being raw) then you'll snap out of this soon. By the way, all whole grains and veggies have protein, fiber, and nutrients/ vitamins. Which are all the things your body needs. Meat contains no fiber!
I'm surprised. When I went vegetarian, my energy was crazy high. Anyway, beans and soy are my two favorite non-meat protein sources. Meatless chili, garbonzo bean stir fry, tofu stir fry (it sucks up any flavor you like), falafel, humus, etc.
Try www.fatfree.com. It is a vegan/vegetarian haven for recipes.
Good luck, and I hope you find your energy again.
i can help you because I'm a vegetarian too pretend its poison or assid its easy but if you feel bony & week maby you can have a lot of food thats not meat
Lentils (beans) & eggs, nuts all have protein, but u should really eat ur meat to stay strong & healthy. Why do u want to be a vegetarian???
It sounds like you are not getting enough carbohydrates rather than protein.
For carbohydrates, you should consume 100% whole wheat whole grain bread, brown rice, and pasta. I think carbohydrates have been dangerously misrepresented by the popular media as something to avoid at all cost; a big no-no.
For proteins, legumes are by far the best source, not to mention the incredible amount of fibers they contain; nothing comes close to them. Black beans, lentils are some of the top choices. Deep greens also contain large amount of proteins, such as spinach.
beans, nuts, peanut butter, eggs????.... good luck
You definately need to take an iron suppliment, but good foods for calcium and iron are veggies like kale, spinach, and collard greens. Also, good vegetarian protein sources are nuts, peanut butter, avocado, atrichokes, broccoli, tofu, beans, and legumes. Also, when you don't have much time or for just a quick snack, protein bars are a lot tastier than they used to be. I like the snickers marathon bars. They have something like 22g of protein per bar.
eat fruits,sea food or maybe start eating meat if your trying to lose wait drink lots of water and milk like for example 1 then 2 also don't eat to much fatty foods like stuff with oil but if your not trying to lose wait then why stop eating meat like you said you feel weak you are going to get sick and be unhealthy.
I've been a vegetarian for a long time, and I still nap for about 2 hours a day & yes at times I feel like I don't have energy, but I don't think that it's actually harming my health too much. You should eat more beans, yogurt, & nuts.
You definentley need protein. The human body needs at least 36 grams of protein. You can get this through tofu, beans, cheese, and yogurt. At some stores you can also find protein bars. They have up to 36 gop. Yet, you should not relie on these they have alot of sugar and are gross. Good luck!
Becomming a vegan is a pretty big change for most people. Your nutrition is not something you should just change willy nilly withut any research. You need guidance and advice. I bought this book and it has been a HUGE help in helping me to understand my nutritional needs and where my new vegan diet might be lacking:
http://www.amazon.com/becoming-vegan-com...
Go buy it! I got it at Barnes and Nobles. I'm sure you can find it all over.
I also would inquire with your local Seventh Day Adventist church and see if they have a nutritionist they can recommend to help you better understand how to plan meals. I am seeing one next week and I feel pretty sure it will help me out tremendously.
The first week I went all-vegan I felt a little funny, but once I got on a roll and started scarfing fruits and veggies I felt so much better and now I feel better than I EVER have.
Hope you stick with it and take some steps to make sure you're making these changes the healthy way.
You may be deficient in Iron or vitamin B12.
See a doctor and have your blood tested.
I was like that the first week of becoming a vegetarian. I was always cold and tired. When my body got used to the change I felt great and better than ever.
Your body is going through with-drawls and this is normal. Detoxifying is a challenging thing to go through if your not eating the right nutrition.
I know of supplements that will nourish, balance and cleanse your body at the cellular level. Cellular regeneration is what the body does to repair and rebuild itself. The higher vibration of live enzymes in the food your eating the faster the body will accept and use it as nourishment. I have pdf files that I could share with you via email.
You are in an adjustment period right now and you need to eat nibbles of food all day long such as peanuts, carrots, triscuits, pasta and lots of fresh vegetables steamed with olive oil drizzled on top. Drink soy milk or real organic milk if you aren't against that. It is not lack of protein that makes you tired. All the toxins from the meat are leaving your body and you feel terrible. Hang in there and you will feel good again soon. Better in fact than you ever have. Drink a lot of water too to help the toxins pass out.
I have been where you are and you will make it. Keep nibbles with you at all times. Organic peanut butter helps too. And take a nap, it won't hurt anything. Good luck.
Proteins: Body's protein needs can be provided by either animal or plant sources. Mixed protein diet obtained from various plant sources is better than animal protein and is recommended in diabetes, renal diseases and liver diseases. Mixed protein diet from different plant sources has been the pattern of diet in India for all vegetarians.
Carbohydrates: Carbohydrates are mainly found in plant foods; like cereals, grains, fresh and dry fruits, legumes, vegetable, greens, nuts etc. plant carbohydrates include' large amounts of starches, sugar and fibers which are important for gut functions. The body is better suited to a high carbohydrate diet than a low carbohydrate diet. In fact 55% of the food intake should be carbohydrate. All animal products do not contain carbohydrate which is essential for body.
Fat: Plant fats differ from animal fats in two different ways 1) they are cholesterol free 2) they generally contain more polyunsaturated fat and less saturated fats. Plant fats usually have higher polyunsaturated fat value than animal fats.
A diet which is low in cholesterol and which contains fat of a high PIS value is associated with a lower incident of coronary health disease.
Vitamins and Minerals: plant foods are rich in many vitamins and minerals.
Vitamin D: Vitamin D is obtained by exposure of skin to sun light and this is not a problem in India.
Calcium: The vegetarians can meet their needs for calcium from dairy products. Riboflavin (Vitamin B2) Dark green vegetables are good sources of Riboflavin as are legumes and whole grain cereal.
Iron: The problem of iron deficiency is relatively common but vitamin C significantly enhances absorption of iron hence it is advisable for vegetarians to include with each meal a food high in vitamin C which as lime, citrus fruits or juices.
Zinc: Zinc is found in large number of plant foods.
Fiber: Fiber is found only in vegetarian food like whole grain cereals, legumes, greens, fruits, vegetable etc.
Thus in vegetarian foods all requirement of nutrition for body growth and maintenance is fulfilled. One can have a complete and balanced diet provided we take enough food which is as close to nature as possible in maintaining sturdy and disease free body. It is equally helpful in curing many diseases.
ADVANTAGES OF VEGETARIAN DIET:
More & more evidence is surfacing that directly links a prolonged non- vegetarian diet to diseases as cancers, heart diseases, diabetes, asthma just to name a few.
1. LOGEVITY: Vegetarian can expect to live 4-10 years longer then the non-vegetarians.
" Source: Seventh day Adventists study
2. LESS HEART DISEASE: Because of low fat, saturated fat and cholesterol content of the vegetarian diet the risk of heart disease is lowered. High blood cholesterol levels are associated with increased risk of heart disease.
3. LESS CANCER: Up to 40% of all cancers are diet related. Cancer death rates have been associated with obesity and high fat / low fiber diet. Vitamin A & C are thought to be protective against colon cancer. Low fat diets protect against prostrate and breast cancer. Indoles, lignans, isoflavones, protease inhibitors which are present in plant foods and shown to be potent anti carcinogens.
4. LESS BOWEL DISEASE: Diverticular disease and appendicitis occur more frequently with low fiber intake as in meat diet.
5. LEES OBESITY & LESS INCIDENCE OF DIABETES: It is easier to plan a low fat diet for a vegetarian then for a meat eater. The fiber in plant food dilutes the energy & provides a satisfying meal without all the calories. Diabetes over the age of 40 seems to be related to obesity.
CONLUSION:
When activists like M.K. Gandhi, sports personalities like Martina Novratilova & Carl Lewis, beauties like Brooke Shields & Kate Winslet, physists like Edison, Albert Einstein & A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, religious leaders & mystics like Jesus & Osho can be legendaries in there respective fields taking the advantage of being vegetarian, Is'nt it more prudent on our part to switch over to vegetarianism & enjoy better quality & longevity of life.
Sounds like you haven't been eating sufficient foods hire in Iron Such as Beets, Other Red foods, eat plenty of fruit too.
Fruit has a similar enzyme in it that is also found in meat. This enzyme is more important than protein. Protein is important.. get that from beans, lentils, kelp, sprouts! Also don't forget Potassium.. you need that too.. Banana's are nearly mostly potassium!
I can't see how that is possible after 3 days. Unless you are specifically not eating anything remotely good for you for months, you would not have any deficiencies yet. Deficiencies take a LONG time. Google the vegetarian food pyramid.
It's important to eat a heap more food. Meat has a high amount of fat and unless you making up for that you could run into trouble. Nuts and seeds are a good source of fat in a vegetarians diet.
Take it easy on switching to being a vegetarian. ease yourself into it gradually.
The problem is you're starving to death! Have a nice, thick, juicy steak. You'll feel so much better.