Hi everyone!
So for years I have had various health issues. Liver failure at 8 years old... couldn't eat meat until I was 13.
Recently I have gone vegan in an attempt to have more energy, and take less from the earth and to do my part to stop the abuse of animals.
I went from an already under-weight weight of 135 pounds, to 115 pounds in 2 months. I have been eating 100% organic and lots each meal, at least 3 per day with some snacks in-between. Mostly nuts/chips in-between meals.
I start off the day every day with a decent helping of fruit & lots of water.
About an hour thereafter I eat a large bowl of cereal with either coconut, hemp or almond milk that I make myself. Type of cereal varies but I always picks those with the fewest ingredients, and very small amounts of sugar.
For dinner I have been eating mainly soup + some sort of veggies. Usually potatoes, sweet potato, squash, beans, rice, etc.
What I do is a make a huge pot of soup, that consists of only leafy-greans & non-starchy vegetables.
My usual soup would consist of Broccoli, cauliflower, zuchini (blended-in to give the soup thickness,) and Leeks, green onions, celery, various types of kale, spinach and collard greens.
I am very particular about not overcooking any of the ingredients, and adding them in at the right times. None of it is cooked for more than 20 minutes to preserve nutrients. I then freeze the soup in portions suitable for one dinner for me & my girlfriend.
We have been able to basically live off mostly soup for around $50 for close to a month. Which is really nice. However, it can be extremely boring, even when mixing up the "main" ingredient in the soup each night.
However, we are not rich and this was the best way I could think of for us to be able to eat vegan and not go broke while still getting all the nutrients we needed. I use A LOT of leafy greens in the soup as I have heard/read that they are loaded with vitamin C and other nutrients that our bodies truly need.
I also make and eat A LOT of home-made organic hummus and organic chips. I can eat a whole $5 container that you would get at the grocery store all to myself in one sitting, though I usually eat around half of a 16 oz container (+ an unknown large amount of chips,) and I am still losing an unhealthy amount of weight.
I've been to doctors and they just say "OH... you'll be healthier in your old age because your so skinny..."
However I am losing muscle like you would not believe. And it is affecting my strength and endurance. My energy levels are higher, but I cannot exert myself as much as I would like. On a short bike ride I lose steam very quickly.
I'm really worried and I do not know what to do...
It's really depressing that I can't seem to make more interesting/yummy meals. I have tried to make non-deep-fried fallafel about 10 times now with zero luck. Always turns out gross... I've tried all kinds of meals, but aside from the soup and hummus, I haven't found much meals that me and my girlfriend actually enjoy.
Any advice would be much appreciated as I feel utterly lost and hopeless currently. I want to continue to eat vegan because I do feel good and for all the other reasons most are vegan. However I don't want to shrivel up into nothing...
Also my body cannot handle mixing 10 different kinds of foods into one meal to get extra calories. I have practiced food combining in the past + currently and it has always helped me a great deal. But since going vegan... I am starting to look like a skeleton.
I am 6'2" and 115 pounds. Lowest I've ever been before going vegan was 130 pounds.
So for years I have had various health issues. Liver failure at 8 years old... couldn't eat meat until I was 13.
Recently I have gone vegan in an attempt to have more energy, and take less from the earth and to do my part to stop the abuse of animals.
I went from an already under-weight weight of 135 pounds, to 115 pounds in 2 months. I have been eating 100% organic and lots each meal, at least 3 per day with some snacks in-between. Mostly nuts/chips in-between meals.
I start off the day every day with a decent helping of fruit & lots of water.
About an hour thereafter I eat a large bowl of cereal with either coconut, hemp or almond milk that I make myself. Type of cereal varies but I always picks those with the fewest ingredients, and very small amounts of sugar.
For dinner I have been eating mainly soup + some sort of veggies. Usually potatoes, sweet potato, squash, beans, rice, etc.
What I do is a make a huge pot of soup, that consists of only leafy-greans & non-starchy vegetables.
My usual soup would consist of Broccoli, cauliflower, zuchini (blended-in to give the soup thickness,) and Leeks, green onions, celery, various types of kale, spinach and collard greens.
I am very particular about not overcooking any of the ingredients, and adding them in at the right times. None of it is cooked for more than 20 minutes to preserve nutrients. I then freeze the soup in portions suitable for one dinner for me & my girlfriend.
We have been able to basically live off mostly soup for around $50 for close to a month. Which is really nice. However, it can be extremely boring, even when mixing up the "main" ingredient in the soup each night.
However, we are not rich and this was the best way I could think of for us to be able to eat vegan and not go broke while still getting all the nutrients we needed. I use A LOT of leafy greens in the soup as I have heard/read that they are loaded with vitamin C and other nutrients that our bodies truly need.
I also make and eat A LOT of home-made organic hummus and organic chips. I can eat a whole $5 container that you would get at the grocery store all to myself in one sitting, though I usually eat around half of a 16 oz container (+ an unknown large amount of chips,) and I am still losing an unhealthy amount of weight.
I've been to doctors and they just say "OH... you'll be healthier in your old age because your so skinny..."
However I am losing muscle like you would not believe. And it is affecting my strength and endurance. My energy levels are higher, but I cannot exert myself as much as I would like. On a short bike ride I lose steam very quickly.
I'm really worried and I do not know what to do...
It's really depressing that I can't seem to make more interesting/yummy meals. I have tried to make non-deep-fried fallafel about 10 times now with zero luck. Always turns out gross... I've tried all kinds of meals, but aside from the soup and hummus, I haven't found much meals that me and my girlfriend actually enjoy.
Any advice would be much appreciated as I feel utterly lost and hopeless currently. I want to continue to eat vegan because I do feel good and for all the other reasons most are vegan. However I don't want to shrivel up into nothing...
Also my body cannot handle mixing 10 different kinds of foods into one meal to get extra calories. I have practiced food combining in the past + currently and it has always helped me a great deal. But since going vegan... I am starting to look like a skeleton.
I am 6'2" and 115 pounds. Lowest I've ever been before going vegan was 130 pounds.