I'm not a vegetarian anymore.... help?

Question

Today I stopped being a vegetarian after 3 months. When I was playing tennis today I felt sick, I was pale, tired, I felt terrible! I'd been watching my diet really good but it just wasn't working for me. Is being a vegetarian easy when your an adult? If it is I think I'll be one again then.

Answer 1

Decide for yourself. Not everyone can do it because of dietary needs but i know my biggest problem is not getting enough iron which makes you get tired really easy so that might be what was up with you.

Answer 2

Everyone, regardless of diet, has down days. I am a guy with a 'petite' (a sports trainer adjective that should never be used to describe guys) frame. If I didn't have a high-calorie intake and a high-calorie output, I'd feel miserable all the time.

So you stumbled, so what? It's not for us to judge what you have done, merely what you are going to do, as long as you keep your mistakes in the past, they're simply mistakes in the past and can do no more harm than has already been done.

The trick to being a vegetarian NOTE vegetarian not vegan is simply making sure you get plenty of protein, and lay off the saturated fats, milk is the best way to do that. If you're a vegan silk is almost as good, and better in some cases, but you may want to take a b vitamin substitute. You can continue being a vegetarian and remain completely healthy, just keep a balanced diet and exercise schedule and you'll be fine.

Don't give up on it because of one bad day, it's a reason for caution, not for surrender. The only wrong choice you can make now is to keep supporting the slaughter factories.

Answer 3

You are probably anemic. Make sure you eat red meat. Liver would be even better.

Answer 4

Sorry to hear you've not been feeling well.

There's nothing wrong with the vegetarian or vegan diet, most problems occur when people don't take enough care to have a balanced diet. This happens with meat eaters, too, it's just that people are very prejudiced towards veg*ns... I know someone who started losing more hairs because he was growing his hair long, his mother got freaked out and thought it was because he doesn't drink cow's milk any more?! You see what I mean?

I answered a similar question recently, so to save me from typing it all out again in different words, I'll copy and paste segments of it if you don't mind too much:

A lot of people who go vegetarian, especially young people, seem to just cut meat out of their diet and not replace it, which isn't enough. It's true that vegetable protein can be harder to assimilate, but the fact is that a lot of people in the Western world, especially the UK and USA, eat too much protein, which is really very bad for you. Protein repairs and replaces cells in your body, so it's important to have a good variety of protein rich plant foods, such as the following:

Type of food Quantity providing 10g protein (g)

Soya flour 24

Peanuts 39

Pumpkin seeds 41

Almonds 47

Brazil Nuts 50

Sunflower seeds 51

Sesame seeds 55

Hazel Nuts 71

Wholemeal bread 95

Whole lentils dried & boiled 114

Chickpeas dried & boiled 119

Kidney beans dried & boiled 119

Wholemeal spaghetti boiled 213

Brown rice boiled 385

Iron is another thing that some new vegetarians and vegans neglect, even though it's pretty easy to get if you just take a little bit of notice of the variety of foods that will keep you healthy. Both me and my girlfriend have really healthy iron levels because we eat a good variety of fresh fruit and vegetables, dried fruit, nuts etc. Here's some info on plant sources of iron:

Type of food Quantity providing 2mg iron (g)

Pistachios 14

Cashews (roasted) 32

Whole lentils 57

Chick peas (boiled) 95

Wholemeal bread 74

Sesame seeds or tahini 19

Black molasses 22

Apricots (dried) 59

Spinach (boiled) 125

Another thing you may be worried about is calcium. The ironic thing is that eating meat can actually reduce your body's ability to use calcium; a vegan diet is statistically no more likely to lead to calcium deficiency than a meat-eating one. You'll definitely be fine as long as you just take a little notice of what you eat. There are some plant sources of calcium that are actually richer than cow's milk, and don't contain all the nasty cancer causing substances and traces of blood or pus like 'the white stuff' does:

Examples of amounts of foods providing 100mg calcium   Type of Food

Black molasses 20g

Dried figs 40g

Almonds 42g

Soya flour 44g

Parsley 50g

Kale 67g

Brazils Nuts 59g

Wholemeal bread 185g

Vitamin B12 is something just to bear in mind as well. Your body stores enough B12 for several decades, and some people are starting to think that a long-term vegan learns to make B12 in his own body - eating too much of it in your diet can actually rob your body of the ability to make it. However, not having enough B12 can lead to you feeling lacking in energy or woozy, in which case, just look for some B12 fortified products such as yeast extracts and cereals.

I can certainly say that you don't need soya milk etc. to have enough calcium and protein, and that you certianly won't die from not having either that or cow's milk, on the contrary, cow's milk protein is thought to be the most potent carcinogen (something that can cause cancer) exposed to man on a day to day basis!

There are other alternatives to cow’s milk apart from soy, too. There are milks made from rice, various nuts, oats and hemp. Some are fortified with things such as calcium, as well. There are things like ice cream made from these other alternatives as well, although they may be harder to find in the shops. However, I’d certainly recommend eating a lot of fresh vegetables (especially greens), beans nuts and legumes for protein and calcium.

There is a lot of contradictory evidence out there, as there is in most science. It's hard to figure out what's right, but it's important to remember that the meat, dairy and egg industry are very powerful and have a lot of influence over the research out there. It's also pretty well known that a vegan diet can significantly reduce the chance of many cancers, heart and circulatory problems (including high blood pressure), respiratory complaints, osteoporosis and other diseases. On a personal note, both me and my girlfriend have never been healthier since we turned vegan (around a year ago). I feel full of energy and stamina, have healthy levels of everything, low blood pressure and a resting heart rate of 59. I have done quite a bit of research, watch what I eat and exercise regularly, but it shows you just how healthy a vegetarian or vegan diet really can be. Millions of vegetarians and vegans alive today are liv

Answer 5

as an adult it's actually better to be vegetarian than it is when you're younger because your body is fully developed, so you shouldn't have any problems.

if you never feel satisfied with what you eat as a vegetarian, eat a lot of fiber foods which make you full, and other protein foods. also, soy meat and other products are easily found at Henry's- health food heaven!

make sure to take iron supplements daily to avoid becoming anemic

:D

Answer 6

You probably felt sick because your body isn't used to meat.  You should probably slowly eat a little more meat along with vegetables every day instead of just stopping all the sudden.

About you making the right decision, that's really up to you.  I am pretty sure it is no easier to be a vegetarian when your an adult, although I'm am not a vegetarian so i am not sure.

Answer 7

It could be a few things. It could be a lack of carbohydrates or possibly you were dehydrated. Often what happened to you can happen to people who go to the gym and have not eaten in the morning. You should consult your doctor about your diet. Don't ask questions on here because no one really knows without knowing you, they just guess as I am doing.  

Answer 8

Keep on moving. I think you're older than me!

Answer 9

Your body is just getting use to eating meat again. Take meat consumption slowly, but this reaction is normal.

Of course you made the right decision, your body needs natural protein.  

Answer 10

Sounds like you weren't getting enough iron. I used to have iron deficiency anemia and I had many of the same symptoms. I'm not a vegetarian, but iron deficiency anemia can be common for vegetarians if they do not find a way to get the iron normally found in meat into your diet.

I would check this situation out with your doctor and get tips from your doctor or a nutritionist before going back to being a vegetarian.

Answer 11

You made the right decision. Welcome back to reality.