vegan on a trial basis
Posted by hms on Feb 06, 2010 · Member since Feb 2010 · 14 posts
Hi all. A recipe search led me here.... thought I'd poke my nose into the forums and say hello.
For 10 years I've been not-quite-vegetarian, eating a little dairy and eggs, and seafood once a week or so. It's a compromise that has worked well for me and kept me from falling completely off the wagon. Now I'm going vegan on a trial basis: I plan to stick to it for at least a month and see how I feel before committing to permanent changes. One week into the experiment, I'm feeling no pain. :)
Fatigue and shortness of breath with exertion are definitely not caused by vegan diets. Most of us are robustly healthy. You need to get a checkup with your MD or nurse practioner ASAP.
You might have had a pre-existing problem that the vegan diet exacerbates. If you don't already have an MD, try to pick one, if possible, that is vegan friendly that isn't going to tell you simply "you must eat meat to be healthy", but one that will work with you.
Another thing to consider is gluten intolerance, which can cause extreme fatigue.
Best of luck to you!
Hi HMS,
I've put back on about half of what I dropped in that month over the past year or so. I'm really not sure still how much of that initial loss had to do with the diet change and how much was from my running, but it was likely some combination of the two. I've actually recently decided to give my legs a rest for a couple months after 2.5 years of constant marathon training, so I anticipate those last pounds to come back pretty quickly!
If you are wondering about your iron level, one trick I learned was to donate blood--they will check your iron level right on the spot and will give you the results! If your level is good, you can give blood (which will be a good deed for the day!) And if it's too low, at least you will know that you need to address the problem. It's a win-win!
Best,
Liz
Agree with people who've said anaemia might be the problem. I've suffered from it intermittently and the tiredness and lethargy are classic symptoms. Get thee to a doctor and check :)
I'm sorry to hear you were having problems. I've never heard of such a problem as headaches and feeling so tired when switching to veganism. I switched and feel great. Did it overnight. Today is my 10th day and have had no problems other than a few cravings here and there.
You should see your doctor to see what could be causing your problems. It doesn't sound like it's a nutritional problem. Good luck.
Just have to chime in: I know that I personally had physical withdrawal symptoms, from dairy... casein (main protein in milk) breaks down into casomorphins that hit the same receptors as other opiates... I had night sweats, anxiety, insomnia, fatigue, bad headaches, etc when I quit dairy 'cold tofurkey', and nothing else in my diet/ life had changed at all... During the peak of it, I was craving nutritional yeast like crazy! I mean, I'd just eat that stuff with a spoon, there for couple days!... you know, 'cause it tastes like cheese... the worst was the 7th to 10th day; after that it resolved, and I felt great within about 2-3 weeks from quitting the (cheese) sauce.
Maybe there's some other stuff going on too, with your iron etc... but don't underestimate how hard it can be for your body to recover from dairy! That's some hard stuff... Especially if you were (like me) a 'heavy user'-- at the time, I was also coming from ovo-lacto-pesco perspective, and ate cheese/ dairy probably more than the average omni...
Anyway, hope you're feeling better! Good luck with everything. :)
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