Been vegan for 3 days. Headaches normal?

Question

I've stopped eating animal products for health reasons and I'm dermined to keep going. I've been getting mild headaches (which I usually don't have) and I get quite tired after 2pm almost....is this normal? Is it my body adjusting or could I be doing something wrong?

Thanks everybody!

Answer 1

It could be that you are missing something from your diet, OR that you are slightly allergic to something that you have added into your diet.  Or it could be a complete coincidence.  My headaches actually went away after becoming a Vegan so no, it's not a normal reaction.  

And like someone else said, it could be the weather or even allergies.  

Are you drinking enough water?  Dehydration can lead to headaches as well!

Answer 2

I think its just your body adjusting and detoxing. You could have headaches, bad breath and a coated tounge, just to list a few.

The same thing happened to me and it shouldn't last to long.

Answer 3

No, it's not normal.  Vegans don't live with chronic headaches due to their diet.  You could be "doing something wrong" but 3 days is not long enough to develop any sort of deficiency, so you really can't blame it on that.  D.O.T. is probably on the right track: you're perhaps not eating enough.  Or, you know, it's just a coincidence and you're feeling tired and headachy for any number of reasons which would have happened anyway.  For the long haul, you need to educate yourself on nutrition.  I highly recommend "Becoming Vegan" by Brenda Davis and Vesanto Melina, both registered dietitians.

Answer 4

Mild headaches could just be the change in weather (check the barometer and see if it is going down for a low pressure and this will give you headaches). Now the nutritionist in me says that you are just detoxing. Toxins are being released (from just eating vegetables and fruits) into the blood system and this will give you a mild headache (to full-blown flu like symptoms). People who go RAW (raw food diet/lifestyle) have intense headaches.

The tired at 2pm could be from a number of reasons. As one person said, you could not be getting enough calories to keep you going. You are digesting food that is probably pretty easy to digest and is gone by 2pm. What are you eating? Just because you have gone vegan doesn't mean eating vegan junkfood (sugar and fat/vegetable fat are vegan) is going to be healthy for your body. I would suggest a good bean dip with corn chips for lunch to keep you going thru the afternoon. Another example would be a hummus sandwich or my ultimate favorite for lunch: falafel wrap!!!!! (It has alot of olive oil in it to keep my digestion going all thru the afternoon!).

I would give yourself a week to adjust. If you still have headaches, then go to the doctors to check it out. I will not say that eating meat will make the headaches go away, cause that is just ignorant. Just like the Vitamin B12 comment. If you become vegan you will learn that your liver stores your B12 for up to 5 years! And if you have been an omnivore for your childhood life, then you have a complete store of it! I've been vegan for 5 years now, and started supplementing around the 3 year mark.

Answer 5

trust me, there is nothing healthy in not eating meat. your body is suffering, cause you dont get essentil nutrients that exist only in meat. like B12. other vegetables claim to have it but its unnactive.

Answer 6

I'm a vegetarian, but during January and February this year I tried out eating a vegan diet.  Like you, after a few days I felt really tired and started getting headaches.  Usually, the only time I get bad headaches is when I haven't eaten enough, so I wrote down what I ate to see how many calories I was eating per day.  It turned out that I didn't compensate enough for the lack of dairy (which is high calorie), and I wasn't eating enough food.  I started adding more calorie dense foods (nuts, seeds, olive oil) and the headaches went away.

Answer 7

I actually had the opposite happen, I stopped having all headaches that dairy was causing.  I never get a headache anymore, ever.  What could be happening is your body could be detoxing.  Whenever I've given up unhealthy things, I get tired and feel odd.  I'd give it 2 weeks of an adjustment period, I'm sure you will be feeling better after that.  Good luck!

Answer 8

Bravo to your determination ! Very good ! Meat and dairy can cause a lot of toxicity in the body. Especially in the way that we get mucous from dairy and that holds in the toxins.

When someone fasts, the cleansing effect very often causes headaches and tiredness for a day or two. You are now fasting from meat and dairy so lets hope that you are beginning detoxification.

You could maybe test this by undergoing a one or two day juice fast to help the detox process or adding any other known form of detox therapy like massage or magnetic clay or e***a (so many kinds).

Espescially by drinking lots more water.

It migtht help the headaches go quicker.

I have done that several times, fasted when I felt gassy or toxic. It helped  me.

Answer 9

Well you body could be adjusting but you probably need to eat alot more. Veggies and things have smaller amounts of calories than meat so you need to eat alot of things throught out the day to keep energized and strong! Plus work-out ocasionally! It keeps your blood pumping and gives you energy!!

Answer 10

nope. try drinking more water. if that doesnt help go to your doctors.