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New Vegan need advice
Started
by Howard Chu
on December 29, 2009
Hello,My wife and I stop eating red meat over one year ago and we became vegan about 3 months ago. We read Alicia's book and watched a few documentaries about food and where meat comes from and I have no desire to eat meat again. I plan to stay vegan as long as I can. But here is a little problem I'm dealing with. I know I have been vegan for only 3 months but I feel like I have less energy most of the time and it seems like my body is not as strong as it used to be. Also my body seems to take longer to fight back a cold. I got a cold a month and a half ago and I'm still fighting it. It used to take a few days in bed with chicken soup. I've never been to an urgent care center or hospital for anything, but I had to go 2 weeks ago because I wasn't getting better. I have high metabolism and with the vegan diet, I have to constantly eat and take soy protein shakes, if not I get very low. Some days I can't think clearly. I've been taking a vitamin shake for one year now so I know I'm getting all my vitamins.Please let me know if someone went through what I'm going through. I was wondering if this was just my body making a transition or if I'm doing something wrong. We try to include protein in every meal. My wife is doing fine with the vegan diet. She has lost weight and feels good, although she feels like her body is going through a transition as well.
Hi Howard! I gave up the meat 6 months ago and am just now phasing out the dairy and other animal products and introducing new foods. I definitely went through a period of adjustment after giving up the meat and i can feel changes coming on as I switch my foods around. However, I wouldn't have described it as low-energy or health-concerning as what you're going through. Before reading The Kind Diet I had read Skinny Bitch and both books talked about a period of detox (where your body FINALLY gets rid of the toxins built up) and readjustment of your gut to new foods. I would assume you and your wife ate very similar foods before and her transition doesn't seem to be as rocky as yours. I would check with a doctor to see if your focus on how your body is feeling is revealing a much more serious medical issue. They may also be able to tell you where you may not be getting enough nutrients, or (always a possibility!) that you've overdosed on any vitamins. The side effects of toxic doses of some nutrients can be pretty terrible and when we make the switch it's easy to eat a LOT of something we're familiar with. Good luck!
Hi Darci, Thank you for your post. My cold is gone but I still have low days. I made an appointment with the Doc. for a check up. Thanks again!!!
good! i hope everything turns out ok!
Hi Howard, A vegan diet means no meat or animal foods but isn't automatically perfect for everyone. It sounds like something isn't working quite right with you. For instance protein powders are commonly associated with auto immune processes that make you feel sick. A person eating potato chips and coke may be vegan and still undernourished.
What do you mean when you say "you get too low"? also, Howard could you give us an idea of a typical day's diet and your symptoms?
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