I feel kind of sick since going vegetarian?

Question

i am 13, and decided to become a vegetarian june 11th of this year. ive been feeling kind of sick and weak since cutting out meat and some dairy products. i know i am getting enough protein and calcium. is this normal for the first few months? this morning i didnt have breakfast and i almost passed out when we had to go to skool to get my lockers and stuff. i am kind of scared, i havent talked to my doctor and dont plan to because he is wierd.

can anyone relate?

Answer 1

Don't skip breakfast; it is the most important meal of the day.

No wonder you felt like passing out, so do I if I skip breakfast.

If you can't face a big breakfast first thing in the morning, at least break-your-overnight-fast with something simple and healthy like:

1) Make a shake. Blend together a banana, a glass of milk and a teaspoon of wheatgerm. Use rice milk, nut milk or soy milk, if you want to avoid dairy.



2) A fresh home-made vegetable juice (carrot and ginger)

3) A piece of fruit (apple)

4) Then follow up with more fruit later in the morning (bananas)

Also if you are feeling sick and weak, you are either doing something seriously wrong in your diet or you are experiencing detox symptoms.

Many young vegetarians (teenagers) seem to have shockingly bad diets, as they consume too much refined sugar, processed flour, sodas, diet sodas, takeaways, chips and packaged foods.

You should be aiming for 4 servings of fresh fruit and 6 servings of fresh vegetables everyday. You should be aiming for raw or very lightly steamed vegetables. Plus eat a variety of lentils, pulses, beans, raw nuts, sprouted seeds.

I don’t suggest seeing a doctor. Why do people insist in running off to see their doctor for every single slight issue.......Doctors know a lot about prescribing drugs but almost nothing useful about diet and nutrition.

You would be better off seeing a nutritionist or dietician who actually specialises in vegetarian diets or a naturopath.

EDIT:

I notice from your bio that you are a self-confessed diet coke lover.

So I highly suggest you watch the film:

“Sweet Misery – A Poisoned World”.

Here is more info:

http://www.mercola.com/forms/sweet_miser...

Good Luck

.

Answer 2

what you really need to do is get some veg cook books and never skip a meal have cereal in the morning with banana and rice or soy milk for a snack have carrots and some nuts all the time with you to keep your energy up soyjoy bars are a really good snack to keep in your backpack and they have fruit in them also. make sure to eat enough cals a day and take a daily multi vitamin

Answer 3

i'm fourteen and have been vegan since i was eleven. you have to be really careful to eat enogh. vegeterian foods have less calories than meat so you need  to eat more. don't skip meals and be sure to eat proteins or you could become anemic and you won't be very strong.

Answer 4

you're not getting B12. B12 is only found in animal products. you can buy a supplement at any grocery store.

Answer 5

1.) See a Registered Dietician that is familiar with vegetarian diets. They can make sure that you are following a healthy diet and getting the nutrients and calories that your body needs. This is important.

2.) See your doctor to rule out another reason for your symptoms, and for blood work.

I highly suggest you do both, and sooner rather than later.

Some schools offer both of the above services (some schools in my area offer doctor's and wellness clinics). If yours does not, ask your parents to make some appointments for you. Or call yourself. Going veg. requires planning, just cutting out meat does not automatically make a healthy and balanced diet.

You may only require a simple diet change, such as eating breakfast and small regular meals with some form of protein. Not doing either can lead to hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) which may be exactly what you have. But you should discuss this with health professionals, only they can tell you for sure. It's best not to take chances with your health.

Good luck!

Answer 6

You are probably not getting enough calories. Skipping meals is certainly not healthy and your body NEEDS a certain amount of calories to even function properly.  Calories are energy and you need energy for all bodily functions.  Follow the vegetarian food pyramid.

Answer 7

Omg! I became a vegetarian that day too!!!!! Weird. If you don't want to talk to your doctor, visit a dietitian They're all about food. You might have an iron deficiency. When my moms cousin became a vegetarian she felt exactly like you because she was iron deficient. Please get help, you need it! It's also very very very bad to have an iron deficiency when you are growing. Good luck and get well!  

Answer 8

I couldn't disagree more with most of the advice on here. First of all, I would have to know what you are substituting the animals products with! If you still eat lots of sugar and refined grains, then the lack of protein will show up as hypoglycemia. The answer isn't to load up on more protein, but to cut out the sugar and other refined carbs in the diet. Are you eating raw fruits and veggies every day? This is the direction you should be headed in. And also realize that since animal products are very toxic, it will seem like you feel worse before you feel better! The same would happen if you were quitting caffeine, for instance.

For those who recommend iron pills, did you know that even doctors are becoming leery of advising patients to take them since they are causing all sorts of problems building up in the system? The body cannot absorb these dead minerals and they create health problems.

Answer 9

well I'm a vegetarian and my doctor  said people don't need meat well I think your sick because

1. your body not use to it and wants meat

2. your not eating enough fruit and vegetables if that’s it you might could try eating vegetables soup like me my mom makes me that and its good

3. your sick of something else  

i think you should go to the doctor also maybe your going to have to eat chicken or fish or your going need to eat meat because of you body

good luck hope I helped

Answer 10

Sweetie, you need to see a doctor about this. Us veggie girls sometimes need iron supplements, because we loose so much with our monthly periods.

Answer 11

Try eating some plain, nonfat, preferably organic yogurt. You can get it from wal mart for like $3. I had this problem too, and adding yogurt to my diet definitely made a bit of difference.

Answer 12

well this is odd apparently every vegetarian i have heard on here seems to claim that a vegetarian diet is very healthy and you get everything you need....hmmm doesnt sound like that to me

you have 2 options....eat meat and veggies the way you were and be healthy...or go vegetarian...and to supplement the meat your gonna have to find alternative sources of b12, iron, folic acid etc etc al of which comes from meat...name a veggie that contains all the nutrients meat has and il buy you a porsche

Answer 13

Then you are not educated enough to consider yourself a Vegetarian.

Answer 14

Ok, so we know that you've cut out meat and some dairy products. That tells us absolutely NOTHING about your diet.

Are you taking a B12 supplement regularly?

Are you eating a balanced diet? What is it composed of?

Why would you be surprised that skipping breakfast made you feel sick?

No one should skip breakfast, not even morbidly obese people should skip breakfast.

If you talk to anyone, it should be a dietitian that supports vegan diets in all stages of life and not a "doctor".

http://www.veganhealth.org/sh

http://www.pcrm.org/health/veginfo

Answer 15

hi, you said you know you're getting enough of everything but you still might be missing some stuff. Are you taking vitamins? I've been a vegetarian since last summer but i never felt sick. You should talk to a doctor. It doesn't have to be a weird one. Oh, and skipping a meal can make anyone dizzy, but you should still have it checked out.

Answer 16

you may be lacking in iron and need a supplement. I  advise you to see a doctor

Answer 17

Chances are, you aren't consuming enough calories or enough fat.

Make sure you eat breakfast- a couple of tablespoons of peanut butter on some whole grain toast is quick, filling and nutritious.

If the culprit is low iron, chances are it's unrelated to vegetarianism.  It takes much longer than six weeks to deplete iron stores, and anemia is more common among omnivores than vegetarians.

Answer 18

well, the reason you probably felt sick this morning was because you didnt eat enough. i can realate to feeling a litle sick for the first couple weeks, but dont worry!!! if you feel like you should though, go see your doctor, even if he is weird.

Answer 19

Lol I have a weird doctor too but your probably feeling this wbecauseuse your body isn't used to having meat. I'm not a vegeterian so i dont know if that is normal in the first few months but it probably is since your body just needs to get used to not eating meat. If you start to feel worse you should go to the doctor and not eating meat and not eating breakfast doesn't sound like a good idea that's alot of food your body is going to have to learn to live without.