New Vegan

[KeepMoving]

Hi Guys!

So my BF and I watched the Game changers last week and it opened our eyes A LOT, we then went on to watch a few more documentaries and decided for health, ethical and sustainability reasons we wanted to cut out diary and meat and eat more plant based.

We planned to go slowly but Saturday we didn't eat meat, Sunday we cut out diary as well and did a food shop and we haven't looked back since so we are a few days in.

My BF feels amazing, he is full of energy and loving it! I, on the other hand feel awful!

I am so exhausted, I am going home and sleeping from 6pm until the following day. I have brain fog. Dizzy spells. Hot flushes. And weak and fatigued and out of breath way too easily!

I know that is not going to be a deficiency this soon in. I have downloaded Chronometre and looks like aside from needing to cut my calories a little I am almost 100% there with everything aside from zinc... so its not diet. We have been eating really healthily.

I could just be sick... and its just a coincidence - I have a doctors appointment tomorrow but I am not sure I will mention my diet change as I expect to get a lecture which I think really isn't relevant. I am on ant depressants for anxiety and the way I have been feeling the last few days is similar to when I went on those initially which is weird.

I am also aware I could be feeling a serious detox maybe? I have eaten meat and dairy 2-6 times a day all my life (I am 33) so I guess I will feel it. as we transitioned over night really. My BF maybe is just lucky that he feels awesome, I dont know!

I have also realised after reading through this forum how lucky I am that we have both made the switch together and are fully on board together and as excited as each other to lead a more sustainable, kinder and healthier life.

Any hints, tips or anything you have heard which may be useful to me is appreciated!

 

[Second Summer]

Hi there KeepMoving, welcome to VF and congratulations on your decision to go vegan!

A few questions, if you don't mind ... Do you eat a proper breakfast? Are you eating "slow" carbs that can maintain your energy levels for longer? Does it feel like you're eating significantly different to what you were eating before? Are you doing all the cooking and feel exhausted from all the work? Are you doing a lot of physical exercise?

 

[KeepMoving]

Thank you so much for your reply and kind words!

Yes I think so.

So as an example what I ate yesterday was;

Organic oats with almond milk, 1 crushed banana, a few blueberries and a sprinkling of linseed and chia seeds for breakfast
Lunch I had a mixed bean chilli with half an avocado, olives and beetroot - small satsuma and an apple
peppers and hummus and carrot or Cherry tomatoes and mixed nuts or rice cakes and marmite for snacks (I was so hungry!)
I tend to have a vegan protein shake on the way home with almond milk
for dinner i had tempeh and mixed veg stir fry, baby corn, carrots, green beans, kale, chickpeas and green beans

I drink 3 litres of water a day as well.

I am not eating significantly differently in terms of amounts but I used to have eggs for breakfast, ham for snacks, meat based lunch, meat based dinner, yogurt and blueberries or a mini cheese and plenty of milk in coffees so you can see meat and dairy was a huge part of my diet!

I have not worked out this week due to feeling rubbish. And my BF has been cooking as I have felt so awful, I have been going home and getting into bed at 6pm.... honestly so unlike me and I am thinking if not some weird detox maybe I am just ill and its coincidence?

 

[Three Chickpeas]

This is the same scenario Mama Chickpea and I went through when we made the switch. We made the decision overnight and never looked back. For me, I felt amazing (besides a week of gas pain two weeks in) and loved it. Mama Chickpea, felt miserable and really struggled with it. It was rough for her.

We kept at it, and after the first two weeks of feeling miserable, she felt a little better. She did some more reading, and I did some more reading, and we worked through some of her issues by imitating her comfort foods. This helped the transition a little and after a month she was free and clear of those symptoms and now SHE feels great as well.

The only difference I imagined was her typical consumption was considerably higher in sodium than mine, and she ate a lot more cheese than I did (before the switch), so it was rougher on her. I'm not sure if this is the same with you or now.

Scientficially, I am sure there is a reason, but I am not sure why the transition period for people differs. There's a lot of factors that come into play (previous diet, gut biome, etc). Just know, if you keep at it, your body will adjust and it will get better.

Good luck!

 

[hungryraccoon]

Welcome to vegan life

I hope you feel better very soon! I'm sure you will as it sounds like you're eating a great diet full of things that will make you feel amazing.

Let us know how you get on.

 

[Emma JC]

welcome @KeepMoving to the forum and congrats on your decision to change this part of your life

Everyone above has given you good advice and my input would be that when you see the doctor it may be important to tell him (not ask his permission) about your new lifestyle, as medications can be affected by the change. eg. When people attend Dr McDougall's 10 day program they can often reduce or get rid of their diabetes medications, heart medications, etc within that 10 day period. It wouldn't surprise me if you may need to cut back eventually on your medication but you definitely need to have a doctor's input on that.

Good luck and let us know who you feel as time goes by.

Emma JC

 

[TofuRobot]

Hello and Welcome!

Some people here will say that the 'detox' effect is BS, but I don't believe it is. Your gut has a certain flora which adjusts to any change in diet, and if you change your diet drastically, you may feel the effects of that. Some vegans feel this change over 3-4 weeks, while others don't really notice it much at all.

That being said, I honestly think that these kinds of things are cyclical and are part of human nature and are affected by a variety of things - hormonal changes, stress, amount of sleep you're getting, etc. I will go through a few days or a week of feeling like this at times, then I'll come out of it, without having changed much of anything. It is also entirely possible your body is fighting something like a cold or whatever without you even realizing it.

I am with you on not mentioning your diet to your doctor, especially if you're feeling under the weather, unless you feel that they are educated on the topic (most are not). However, if it continues for a longer period of time, then perhaps bring it up, especially with regards to your medication.

What you could do, just to put feelers out there, is mention to your doctor that you BF has changed his diet to a WFPB diet, just to see their reaction. Some doctors are educated on that matter and who knows, maybe yours is. Many won't offer dietary advise for the simple fact that they may not see you in the office as much or you may end up going off your meds (I have actually heard people say their doctor said this very thing).

Good luck and welcome again to the group! I've been WFPB vegan for a little over 2 years and I feel better than I ever have. It should be noted though that I do take a few supplements regularly - B12, B Complex, Vit. D, and a vegan Omega 3 - the latter is advised as a general rule people who are on the "older" side (I'm 54). I do tend to feel a little less energetic when if forget to take my B vitamins, but that's probably due to the fact that I have a tendency towards being deficient, and when I'm not taking the Vit D (or getting enough sunshine).

Cheers!

 

[KeepMoving]

Thank you everyone for your replies

So I went to the doctors today and I had a doctor I haven't seen before and she was LOVELY! Honestly the universe works in mysterious ways... she was unlike any other doctor I have seen at that surgery and she was kind, and really understanding. She is also a massive animal lover and has a horse... I used to own a horse and my number one love aside from travel is animals so it was so nice to connect with her on a personal level. I took your advice and told her about my diet and she wasn't judgemental at all. She just asked if I had researched it to make sure I would be getting everything I needed and I told hr about the app I was using and she was reassured. She also said the extremity of how I am feeling sounds a little much for a change in diet a few days in and offered full blood tests straight off to check me out.


IN regards supplements mentioned I have started taking a b12 but have always taken omega 3 and vitamin d anyway so thats covered as well as a multi vitamin

Either way feeling healthy or not, we are now day 5 into no dairy and meat and we are both really enjoying the food. My BF cannot believe how well he feels and he has already started spreading the word at work to a few people that have said they are going to give it a try

The funny thing is he was always the one to not 'believe in being vegan'.... so coming from him now people are taking it really seriously and are like, well if he is feeling this amazing when he was a proper cynic there has to be something to it!
Thank you again everyone for all of your support and posts!

 

[shyvas]

Hello & welcome.

 

[Emma JC]

Thank you everyone for your replies

So I went to the doctors today and I had a doctor I haven't seen before and she was LOVELY! Honestly the universe works in mysterious ways... she was unlike any other doctor I have seen at that surgery and she was kind, and really understanding. She is also a massive animal lover and has a horse... I used to own a horse and my number one love aside from travel is animals so it was so nice to connect with her on a personal level. I took your advice and told her about my diet and she wasn't judgemental at all. She just asked if I had researched it to make sure I would be getting everything I needed and I told hr about the app I was using and she was reassured. She also said the extremity of how I am feeling sounds a little much for a change in diet a few days in and offered full blood tests straight off to check me out.


IN regards supplements mentioned I have started taking a b12 but have always taken omega 3 and vitamin d anyway so thats covered as well as a multi vitamin

Either way feeling healthy or not, we are now day 5 into no dairy and meat and we are both really enjoying the food. My BF cannot believe how well he feels and he has already started spreading the word at work to a few people that have said they are going to give it a try

The funny thing is he was always the one to not 'believe in being vegan'.... so coming from him now people are taking it really seriously and are like, well if he is feeling this amazing when he was a proper cynic there has to be something to it!
Thank you again everyone for all of your support and posts!

That is great news! having access to an 'understanding and listening' doctor is wonderful and certainly helpful. You are both taking great strides in managing your own health and using the system to augment that self care.

We look forward to updates from you and your sharing with others what you are learning along the way as everyone's journey is different and yet many pieces can overlap and sharing them is helpful.

Emma JC

 

[TofuRobot]

That is great news! having access to an 'understanding and listening' doctor is wonderful and certainly helpful. You are both taking great strides in managing your own health and using the system to augment that self care.

We look forward to updates from you and your sharing with others what you are learning along the way as everyone's journey is different and yet many pieces can overlap and sharing them is helpful.

Emma JC

I hereby give @Emma JC permission to speak for all of us in saying we look forward to your updates. I'm feelin' the love, @Emma JC

(I have decided this is my most favorite forum/group I've ever been part of since 2001-2002. [Back then I was part of a really big knitting community and I had a blog which I let go but some of the knitting blogs I read have gone on to be successful businesses...])

@KeepMoving I'm so happy how your doctor visit went and "we" are definitely looking forward to your continued updates!! Welcome again to the forum!

 

[Emma JC]

@KeepMoving - hope your day is going well, I was thinking about you last night when I saw a new video out by Derek at Simnett Nutrition - he put a new YouTube video out to help people who have seen the Game Changers movie and are changing their lives as well - thought you might find it interesting

Emma JC

 

[FredVegrox]

I generally will tell those who would be starting in vegan eating, or those vegans still searching the best way or some betterment for themselves, about always having whole food plant-based meals to eat. You are already doing that, though. Still I share a site with such people that is so helpful, including in effective transitioning, it should still be good for you too, with it showing recipes of tasty healthy meals, for you and such others to pick from. www.forksoverknives.com