Nutrition

[~**KeTrA**~]

I'm a new Vegetarian, 3 months or so. I absolutely love it. But I have been so sluggish and tired lately and have gained 15 lbs! I know I need to start taking a multivitamin, but does anyone know where I can get some good info on what the proper nutrients I should be eating or somewhere I can set up some meal plans?

[Aimee]

Hi Ketra,
If you want specific meal plans that are designed by nutritionists, check out www.ediets.com. I was a member of that site earlier this year and found it to be very helpful. You can actaully get vegan diet plans on there. They also tell you exactly what to eat and how to exercise in order to lose whatever amount of weight you are aiming for.

It's possible that you're eating too many high glycemic carbs and that is what is causing the sluggishness.

Also, a couple of months ago, I started taking a nutritional supplement called Phenolmenal. It's created by a company that was founded by people from Whole Foods, Aveda, 24 Hour Fitness, etc. I wouldn't recommend it if I didn't 100% believe in it.

Not only does it have all the vitamins and minerals you need on a vegan diet, plus 150X more antioxidants than a huge bowl of raw fruit, it also contains pharmaceutical levels of Ginko and Rhodiola. Check out more info. here if you're interested: http://www.thebalancecompany.com/wellness

After I started taking it, I lost most of my junk food cravings, started sleeping better at night and found that I had more sustained energy throughout the day (due to the Ginko) and was less stressed out during crazy times at work (that's due to the Rhodiola). If you want more info., let me know!

[Tresa (MEAT: No Rx Needed)]

I go to a Naturopathic doctor who recommended www.FitDay.com. You can get a free version or a much more informative version that is not expensive and well worth the money. I don't put my food in every day, just once a week or so, so that we can keep an eye on where my nutrition intake is. It's excellent and I highly recommend it.

Another thing, as a Vegan we cannot get B12 which definitely leads to lethargy and loss of energy. In addition to my vitamins, I take a B12 supplements and a B12 sublingual (under the tongue drops) plus he gives me a B12 shot once a month.

15 pounds in only three months is a lot of weight to gain fast! Just what kinds of things are you eating?

Kindest Regards,
Tresa

[~**KeTrA**~]

Thank you, I'll try that. I have been eating a lot of pasta and potatoes. And I've been eating cookies at work, and I never eat sweets. I know that it's alot of wieght fast!

[Alex]

The pasta and the potatoes will do it. I am a junk food vegan. I eat mainly pasta and don't consume anywhere near enough vegetables and fruit. Do you feel more sluggish after eating? I know I do after eating a bowl of pasta. My sister and I are starting a fast and then will eat more raw fruits and vegetables and I will watch my portions more.

Taking vitamins is great but what you're eating is probably a huge contributor as well. And were your eating habits good before you became a vegetarian? I have always had issues with food and will turn to food for comfort. Being a vegan did not change my "relationship" with food. Only difference is my food does not contain any animal products but I am still not being healthy.

Good luck.

[Debbie]

I supplement my diest with lots of flax seeds and nutritional yeast...also vary you fruit and veggie intake.....if you aren't a big fan of raw veggie (which I believe most your veggies should be raw) then do what I do and juice...it's much easier to handle for me. Also lots of nuts, seeds especially pumpkin seeds for the added zinc, beans, avocados and olives. I use www.vegweb.com to plan all my meals. Once you get the hang of cooking your own food....it's amazingly easy to get all the nutrients you need......oh I also reccomend super food the green juice....it's full of all the greens your body needs...and it tastes so yummy...I make a smoothie with is by adding soy milk and flax seeds.

[~**KeTrA**~]

Thanks everyone for the support. I'm now taking a multi and B12 and feeling better already and I found vegweb. I love it! I have cut down my pasta and taters and addedmore veggie's and fruit. Also, i'm on day #5 as a full fledge VEGAN! Now i justneed to get my arse a movin and exercise! YUK!

[Terek]

Hi KeTrA,
Great Name! I'm new at this too. My life changed after I started working with The Balance Company, put together by Whole Foods, Aveda, Odwalla and more. The Personal Coach is Dr. James Rouse and he is a naturopath that writesfor vegetarian times. He inspired me to start on this path of being a vegetarian and after I started taking the liquid nutritional from The Balance Company, I had all the viamins I needed plus the energy. If your interested in learning more you can visit my website, www.thebalancecompany.com/abundanze, it's on my profile and read the research on the product. It's really great and the information I get from Dr. James is priceless. BTW, I've been practicing Nutritional Counseling for 13 years and found this product to be super effective for most of my patients!
Good Luck!

[Miranda [TerraFire]]

If you're eating more junk food and foods high in carbs and sugar to replace items you usually eat, that could be a big explanation. This is the multivitamin I take, with no iron added [I'm SO sorry but I can't remember why there's no iron. My dad is kind of my nutritionist and he explained to me a good reason why not to get a multivitamin with iron but I don't remember it because it was like a year ago and I forgot, sorry!] http://www.amazon.com/Alive-Whole-Food-Iron-added/dp/B00016AE40
Also, http://www.vegansociety.com/html/food/nutrition is a great site for info about vegan nutrition. Also just googling "vegan nutrition" is a really big help!

If you've been more sluggish than normal, too, that could account for weight gain. No matter what "diet" you're on, you'll never lose any weight by being lethargic, only gain. Your body is very likely to go through some hardship when you're first starting out on a new drastic change in what you eat, especially if you're not doing it right and are not getting your body all the nutrients it needs.

Read up on anemias and vitamin deficiencies and check out the symptoms. You could be suffering from iron deficiency anemia. Your body stores B12 for a long time, so it's probably not a B12 deficiency if you've only been veggie for 3 months. The MOST important thing to do is make sure you're eating a balanced, varied diet and learning all the nutrients in the food you eat and all the nutrients your body needs, and taking a multivitamin just to be safe, and exercising at least a small amount like walking or dancing as often as you can.

I have a brother who knows just about everything there is to know about vegan nutrition because he wants to be a doctor someday. I can point you his way if you've got more questions, too. <3 Good luck and congratulations!

[Quantum Environmentalists]

I don't take vitamins either, i don't feel the need. I have been vegan for about 8-9 years and vegetarian since i was twenty five years old, about 18 years. I Do eat lots of organic fruits and vegetables, many raw as well. I only eat organically grown foods, doign my best to avoid any processed foods. I do drink high quality beer every week or two, and it has b-12 in it from the yeast. Also, as i understand it, the body doesn't need vitamin b12 on a very regular basis, i have read that the body stores it for a long time, years. Also if you drink soy milk, many of the soy milks have b-12 in them.

My children have been raised on vegan diet, never any animal products, and very healthy!

[Terek]

Actually, it's not only about what you eat. Because of the enormous amounts of pollutants and toxins that we are bombarded with on a daily basis, most of which we cannot see with the naked eye, nutrients are constantly being leached from our bodies ( through our skin, the largest organ and our first line of defense) and unless you eat " certified organic" then the soil in which your food source is grown in is also ridden with toxins. Unless you live in a bubble, most people need a certain amount of vitamins and certainly an antioxidant source. Oh and there is also the genetics factor.

[Ally]

If you like pastas, make sure to buy the whole grain style. More importantly, eat lots of fruits and vegetables. They keep your body "clean".

[CBrownColors]

Hi there,

Glad you posted this topic I've learned so much from reading the responses! I started eating Spaghetti Squash in place of spaghetti. Its an awesome substitute. I also recently read the nutritional book Becoming Vegan which needs to be updated since it was published almost ten years ago but still full of good advice. I've enjoyed reading it.

I plan on buying "Skinny Bitch" which I've read some online excerpts of its pretty funny and is all about being vegan.


Vitamin A:
One other thing I wanted to mention, with the fall season I started eating a TON of vitamin A foods like acorn squash, pumpkin pie and carrots and etc. I was eating large amounts of Vitamin A in every meal for a couple weeks. I started feel really nauseated and tired in the evenings. Frightened I was pregnant I took a test that came out negative. So I looked to my diet to find out that Vitamin A bio-accumulates meaning you don't pee it out like Vitamin C instead it stores up in fat cells. I was eating WAY too much Vitamin A. I completely stopped eating vitamin A for a week or two and now I eat my favorite vitamin A foods every 3 days or so. Just something to keep in mind as you try out the new diet! ~namaste