Newbie vegan feeling tired and weak...

[Joel]

This my 3rd week as vegan, the 2nd week i started to feel tired and week, so i decided to eat eggs and sometimes yogurt (sadly), then i started to feel okey-ish, but then today i feel really tired, weak, and also it is difficult to breath. I have read that can be b12 deficiency, but b12 deficiency takes time to do an effect. I didn't want to go to a doctor because they will start telling me to eat meat and animal products, which one of them already did... So, i want to know if these are detox symptoms or not. Maybe i need to do an step by step transition?

 

[Johannes]

Seems that we all are different, since vegan diet gave me and my wife the opposite effect.
We have way more energy.

 

[Plant Muncher]

I felt lighter almost immediately. I don't mean my weight but rather my psyche. I wouldn't say that I had more energy but I haven't lost any either.

 

[Jamie in Chile]

It could be physchological, or not from diet. It could be not eating enough total calories. Are you eating larger snacks and larger portions to make up for the less calories per gram in vegan foods?

B12 I doubt, because I think this changes more steadily over time. However it's always possible. Take B12 just incase.

Make sure you have a source of iodine.

Try not making rapid changes. Eat what you did before mostly, but replace meat with beans/soy/lentils. Suggest you start with no meat and eggs and fish (most intensely cruel foods) and keep dairy, but try to remove or reduce dairy later.

 

[Joel]

It could be physchological, or not from diet. It could be not eating enough total calories. Are you eating larger snacks and larger portions to make up for the less calories per gram in vegan foods?

B12 I doubt, because I think this changes more steadily over time. However it's always possible. Take B12 just incase.

Make sure you have a source of iodine.

Try not making rapid changes. Eat what you did before mostly, but replace meat with beans/soy/lentils. Suggest you start with no meat and eggs and fish (most intensely cruel foods) and keep dairy, but try to remove or reduce dairy later.

Thank you for your response! I think i eat a good amount of calories and a good variety, but i will keep an eye just in case, also i am going to buy b12 supplements just in case.

 

[amberfunk]

Eat a variety of foods, drink enough water and definitely get a b 12 supplement. I like the liquid ones better than the pills although it tastes horrible.

 

[sarrah]

Eat dried seaweed, you can buy them in most supermarkets individually or in a pack of three. They have B12 and iodin a pack a day is enough also marmite has b12 and so does some fortified vegan milk and butters. I never take vitamin supplements as I dont think thats a particularly healthy route. I also eat nuts, nut butter, peas, mushrooms, lentils, chick peas and beans for protein. Plenty of veg and fruit and a little wholegrain for added fibre. Hope this helps.

 

[Mark Mywordz]

It might be a bit late to comment but had you considered that food might not be the problem at all? Are you getting enough sleep (7 to 8 hours)? Are you getting enough exercise? Is there something on your mind that stops you from relaxing? Do you take time out to do pleasurable things (make/listen to music, see friends and family, take a holiday etc.)? Are you spending too much time doing things that make you dissatisfied - watching TV, reading magazines, talking to people with negative attitudes etc.? Food is important but it doesn't explain every problem we have.
Just a thought.

 

[sarrah]

It might be a bit late to comment but had you considered that food might not be the problem at all? Are you getting enough sleep (7 to 8 hours)? Are you getting enough exercise? Is there something on your mind that stops you from relaxing? Do you take time out to do pleasurable things (make/listen to music, see friends and family, take a holiday etc.)? Are you spending too much time doing things that make you dissatisfied - watching TV, reading magazines, talking to people with negative attitudes etc.? Food is important but it doesn't explain every problem we have.
Just a thought.

Oh geez thats a lot to think about, you've basically summed up life in general.

 

[Christine]

Though this isn't related to a vegan diet per se, I experienced similar symptoms of heavy fatigue and weakness when almost a decade ago I decided to go on an 8 day water fast. I'd obsessively researched detox symptoms ranging from everything from muscle weakness to acne outbreaks as one's body reputedly uses the excess energy not being used for digestion to purge the waste products from a system that under normal circumstances, simply has too many other things to manage.

Though no doctor or nutritionist, I feel there is an odd logic behind this scenario where the body jumps at the chance to clean itself up, inside out, the moment it's given a rest from breaking down all the things we eat.

I wonder whether switching cold turkey to a vegan diet can also produce a similar purging effect to fasting; after those 8 days of zilch I ate a cheese sandwich and felt awful...

Anyway, good luck with your diet: smaller steps towards a goal generally turn out to be wiser in the grand scheme of things - hope you are feeling better!

 

[rogerjolly]

Hi Christine,

Your past experience reminds me that a neighbour once invited my wife to join her in a seven day detox for “mutual support”. The neighbour had some difficulty in understanding that vegans have no need for detoxing because they don’t take the nasties into their bodies in the first place.

Roger.

 

[callador]

This my 3rd week as vegan, the 2nd week i started to feel tired and week, so i decided to eat eggs and sometimes yogurt (sadly), then i started to feel okey-ish, but then today i feel really tired, weak, and also it is difficult to breath. I have read that can be b12 deficiency, but b12 deficiency takes time to do an effect. I didn't want to go to a doctor because they will start telling me to eat meat and animal products, which one of them already did... So, i want to know if these are detox symptoms or not. Maybe i need to do an step by step transition?

What does your vegan diet look like for macros (protein, carbs, fat) an total calories? How much does your vegetarian (with eggs and dairy) diet vary from the vegan one?

I had the same issue for the first couple of days starting out. I saw a decrease in performance at the gym. My protein and total calories were a little too low. I bumped those up using vegan sources, and things started to get better. The fact that you felt better after eating eggs (protein and fat) and yogurt (protein, fat, and some extra carbs) makes me think your vegan diet is lacking.

You really won't need a B12 supplement right away. It would take months for you to see a deficiency. I would still take it right now so you don't become deficient, but you wouldn't be lacking B12 right away on a vegan diet.

I would look at your old diet and figure out what you were eating (protein, carbs, fat, and total cals) and try to mirror that on your new vegan diet- unless it was super unhealthy.