3rd day as Vegetarian
Posted by leahnc on Jan 15, 2011 · Member since Jan 2011 · 3 posts
Hi. Im new from North Carolina ;)b
This is my third day without meat. I watched Earthlings last week & have been considering a vegetarian diet for quite sometime. I finally made the switch :)
Anyway - Ive been noticable hungrier since going veg?
Things Ive been eating: 12 grain bread with pnut & almond butters, vegetarian burritos, popcorn, veggie burgers with raw veggies/hummus. Cereal bars, coffee, grits, walnuts,
Today Im at work & had a very high carb day. My hunger level was never satisfied?
Any suggestions for a newbie? Thanks
Well being a vegetarian is actually super easy. You can pretty much eat everything you did before with just a few substitutions. What did you eat before the switch? Congrats, by the way. The animals will thank you. :)
Let's make some distinctions. . .
Hunger
Cravings
Feeling "full"
Any one of these can be mistaken for another. If you are hungry, eat something, but it may not satisfy your cravings. If you are craving something, eating it may not satisfy your hunger. If you want to get full, it's better to do it with something that is not an unhealthy craving
Cravings are usually food addictions but sometimes it is due to a deficiency in your diet. It's pretty easy to make the distinction. For example, there is no such thing as a chocolate deficiency. If you are craving anything that has a low bulk/calorie ratio (sugars, carbs and fats), it's probably not a deficiency - it's a craving. Beware of cravings. There are only two things which cause unhealthy eating - cravings and food availability. The other unhealthy food craving is salt. We have trained our bodies to crave salt. The unhealthy cravings are really pretty simple to eradicate with a little self discipline. Just deprive yourself of those things you crave and the cravings will go away. It's true! I said it was simple, not easy. If you feed your cravings you will make those cravings stronger.
The general rule of thumb is that things with a HIGH bulk/calorie ratio are better. I eat HUGE healthy salads when I'm hungry. Also, you might try to eat smaller portions more frequently. Your hunger should not really be different if you are a veg, but your cravings certainly will be.
Some people mistake cravings for hunger which is normal when you make big changes to your diet.
I found that at first I started craving carbs a lot. but then I started eating healthy vegetables for every meal after a while, if I missed a few meals without veggies, I would crave them.
My best advice is eat large quantities of high-bulk/low-calorie items like. . . well. . . veggies. In this way you get full and satisfy your hunger while avoiding the cravings. Within 3 weeks you won't have the cravings and you will actually desire the healthy stuff. All it takes is self discipline. There is certainly plenty of healthy eating support right here on VegWeb.
anything high in protien is going to make you feel full longer. so like beans, whole grains, tofu things like that.
eating 6 small meals a day might help. the idea is to keep a constant flow of nutrients and thus keeping you full. personlly Im not a fan of the small meals. I enjoy eating big fat kid like meals way to much for that.
also the healtheir you eat the less your body will crave food, because it won't need the nutrients. once again i don't make a habbit of eating all that healthy because i enjoy eating like a fat kid on occation.
good luck and happy eating!
ps sorry for my poor spelling i don't have spell check and i spell like a small retarded child.
Congrats for going veg! Earthlings helped me make the change too. :)
It's strange for you to be feeling more hungry. Your body could just be adjusting to the change. I was really tired on my 2nd week of being vegetarian, but it was just my body detoxing and adjusting to the new lifestyle. After that week, I gained back all my energy, and some more!
So, maybe your hunger problem is temporary.
Like the others said, you could try eating more vegetables and high protien foods.
Healthy fats! Lotta new veg folks suddenly/ drastically cut their fat intake-- & that's what makes you get that 'hearty/ satisfied' feeling, more than protein... I think you're on the right path with walnuts-- as well as sunflower seeds, pepitas, pistachios, almonds, pecans, avocados, & other nuts (preferably raw or home-roasted, to avoid crazy-high sodium in commercially salted/ roasted nuts). Cashews are magical: raw cashews + a blender to grind them = luscious hearty sauces & cashew cheezes, guaranteed to leave you sated & happy... Add sesame/ olive/ coconut/ walnut/ almond oil to stews, stir fries, dips, chilis, & pasta; use sesame/ olive/ walnut/ almond/ hemp/ flax oil to cold salad or pasta dressings...
That worked like a charm, for me. It's true that fats should be used in moderation; but it's common for omnis to get most dietary fat from animal foods, so when you cut these you may need to add some healthier kinds of fat into your diet... Also, as much as you can, eat real food-- highly processed food is likely to have less fiber, & 'wear off' faster. Whole grain rice/ pasta/ etc are heartier than their bleached white counterparts, b/c of the way they're metabolized; so go with these choices over white/ bleached rice/ bread/ etc.
Hope that helps! Have fun exploring a new way of eating... Congrats on making the change! It gets easier with time/ practice/ habit. :-)
PS-- I'm from NC too! My family's near Morehead City/ Beaufort... where r u? NC isn't exactly the most veg-friendly environment, is it?! Tons of BBQ & fried critters, tho! :P (Much like AR, where I am now! grr... o well: where there's a will there's a way, right? At least there's a wealth of farmer's markets!)
Thanks for all the wonderful suggestions!
hotcooknmama: Nice to meet a fellow NCarolinian - I live about 20 miles north of Raleigh NC.
Im planning to have a better day today - Im going to have some pinto beans & broccoli for lunch. Hopefully the beans will give me some staying power?
It was just the oddest day for me yesterday - my stomach growled all day even after I ate a billion calories.
Welcome Leahnc! I am also from NC living in Wilmington. I wonder if your just thinking about food so much right now that your making yourself hungry. I do agree that it is probably cravings. I just went vegan and am experiencing the same thing but I'm constantly thinking about food anyway. Sigh! After I get a better menu planned I hope to be able to concentrate on other things. Anyway, congrats on your new journey.
I found that I seemed 'hungrier' at first as well when I switched.
I agree with others...making sure I got enough protein and good fat was key to making sure I felt full and satisfied. I take an omega 3-6-9 and eat lots of greek yogurt, beans, peanut butter and I also drink whey protein smoothies. The smoothies really help!
Also, I think part of it is just an adjustment period for my body and as rswhitaker said, learning to distinguish between 'craving', 'full' and 'satisified'.
good luck!
Great advice on this thread. Welcome to our world!
Welcome and congrats on going veg!
I second Tweety, awesome advice! Feeling full is all about a combo of fiber and fat so look for those things! Eat as close to how you ate before, just with veg substitutions. Then, you can start to get creative and add new foods and flavors. So exciting! I remember first going veg, I was so confused and freaked out, and then I decided to start experimenting and a whole new world of delicious food opened up to me! It's an awesome feeling. Congrats again!