Going from Vegetarian to vegan , feeling weak

barrymanilow

Hi ,

I have been a vegetarian who very occasionally ate fish for the last 12 years and have about a fortnight ago started to go vegan .

For me that really means cutting out dairy and some products that used fish oils .

I have already lost weight as I was ploughing through a lot of milk and cheese every day . I was getting easy calories from that .

I am noticing that I feel weak , as in I used to fly up hills on my bike for my commute but now I slog up them and physically I am a bit drained .

I am a very active person and I have seen vegan athletes and the strong body types they have so I know that it can be done .

What I am asking really
1.
is if it is normal to have such a feeling of energy drain when transitioning to a new diet ?I hope this is just a phase that Ill have to ride out .I am only 2 weeks in .

2.
What can I do as someone who is very sporty to keep getting the calories I need , lots of nuts maybe ? I hear the fear of protein deficency is unfounded , its hitting calories that I think I need to do .

A typical days eating for me ;

Breakfast
3-4 weetabix with oat milk , and fruit bannanas , berries etc,smoothie from nutribullet

Lunch ,

Sandwiches with veganaise , hummus , avocado , tomatoes, lettuce cucumber , sundried tomatoes etc

Dinner

veg curry with chickpeas and brown rice , lentil sheperds pie , pasta with extra veg and nut cheese substituite , sunday roast with linda mac meat substitutes , veggie burger and chips.(not all of these meals at once , just a list of what I might have as a dinner)


Snacks / Supper

Pitas with peanutbutter
nuts
Fruit

Tar.Aldarion

Good on you for making a positive change! It's completely normal to feel odd when switching diet for a bit, you're not used to it and the kinks need to be worked out. I think you hit the nail on the head, you just need to eat more calories. Track what you are eating in Chronometer or a similar app to see what your calorie, macros, micros and such actually come out to compared to the amount to expend. The main issue people come across when changing is figuring out they can just eat more. You know yourself you've already lost weight and it's only been two weeks. Since you are a very active person, I am too, this is a great place for questions www.reddit.com/r/veganfitness.

There is also a documentary coming out by James Cameron on Vegan Athletes soon that you may enjoy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMQ1rzz9t5w

To replace fish oils you can buy algal oil for EPA/DHA btw, if you desire. You'll also need B12 unless the foods you eat are fotified in it like nutritional yeast or a lot of plant milk.

barrymanilow

Thanks Tar ,

That trailer looks great !

auspicious

Add a good handful of various nuts to weetabix along with two or three tablespoons of mixed seeds ( I keep a mix of linseeds and flax and pumkin/sunflower etc together into a jar to make it handy) and top with chia seeds or milled variety and alsorted berries ( already defrosted, I just keep them in fridge) and a little cinnamon. If you can have more porridge than weetabix during the week that'd be great.
I eat an apple, kiwi and a couple of already peeled oranges and grapes on the drive to work also.

And the expression 'full of beans!' is true. A good protein and energy source. 400g daily is good. Buy the packets and soak overnight(1/2 a pack, whole pack might be too many) There are so many different types that work well together; try a three bean chili. Or add to a burger recipe https://thecookful.com/veggie-burger-formula-make-perfect-burger/
I'm probably soaking three nights a week, four or five different beans and chickpeas.

Get a full 'shopping basket' of green veg. Red veg is good too. Add these in to your meals or make a decent soup.
You'll pick up tips from online recipes and before long there won't be any store bought vegan bugers and processed alternatives in the freezer. They can't be great for you in the long run.
I'm vegan two months. I never ate much meat, but loved chicken. I too started with the Quorn and Linda stuff but quickly found my own cooking tasted a whole lot better. Btw Quorn is not all vegan friendly nor Lindas'.

Splash out on spices and herbs , they each last a while. Lentils and quinoa are a must.
I big on one-pots. Cook Monday and no need to cook again until Wednesday.

Good luck.

henryporter

Hi OP, well done on making the final transition :-D I think you may have to make some adjustments to the diet as you aren't really taking in enough slow burning energy foods or proteins. Here's what I eat comparatively:

Breakfast: Freshly squeezed OJ with Iron supplement, Porridge oats with home made soya milk (organic) with raisins/maple syrup/chia seeds or a bowl of muesli with soya yoghurt and fruit, slice of home made sourdough bread or toast, coffee. Weekends would have something like scrambled tofu and hashbrowns.

11's Roasted tofu slices and fruit.

Lunch: Quinoa, olive, hummus, tomato, quinoa sprout, rocket and roasted tofu. More fruit.

Dinner: Either a Seitan chickpea burger , or tofu in a number of different ways (eg cauliflower curry, spinach curry, cashew nut butter sauce etc.), or pulses/beans, lasagna with spinach or aubergine and macadamia nut ricotta, Kale and potato enchiladas etc. served with rice/spuds/salad and veg.

For treats: dark chocolate, homemade cakes, buns, mousses etc.

That helps fuel my cycles to work as well as running average 100 km a month (and I'm still overweight!)

I'd recommend getting a book like Brendan Braziers 'Thrive' or Deborah Madison's 'This can't be tofu' or the PPKs 'Veganomicon' all which have great easy to make recipes that give great energy.

If I were to recommend one quick fix it's to get the porridge oats (I use Flahavans Organic which is the best - others taste like wallpaper paste) with some soya or almond milk and some nuts or fruit and a bit of maple syrup - that would get you most of the way to lunchtime.

Keep it up - it's a huge learning curve but you're on the way...

barrymanilow

Thanks a mill for all that info , have started getting my energy back , last few weeks has effectively been a massive dairy detox but I think i'm coming out the other end

Bugsy2012

When i first went Vegan i too got the feeling of sudden lack of energy. I was a big meat eater before and not vegetarian so it was a big change for me. I suspected it was just my body adapting to my new diet and lack of calories.
To overcome this i have bags of nuts in my car and at home so when i felt it coming on just tucked into them. I also carried fruit with me and found a banana sorted me out straight away.
I was on the challenge22 fb group and got a load of help from members on there and where a huge help. (google challenge22)
It does get easier over time, keep it up

Zero Point

I've been using spirulina in smoothies for some time now and feel my physical strength has really increased since. There are some issues that seem to arise around the type of B12 it contains and that it can possibly interfere with B12 in other foods. This link is useful which suggests taking it at a different time to other foods containing B12.

https://www.drugs.com/answers/spirulina-deplete-b12-991728.html

ElKavo

Good on you Barry,

I did feel a bit drained for the first little while, I was a big meat, dairy and egg eater as I believed that I needed it for the gym. I'd say that lasted about 2 weeks, once I found out how much I needed to be consuming I was fine, I don't even think about it now as I know what I need to eat. TBH it almost felt like my body was in detox mode! I would be a fairly active person, minimum of 3 heavy weights sessions per week, Typically 4 or 5, Cycling, walking. Lots of out door pursuits etc. I am 2 and a half years in and once I got used to eating more I have no issue with energy. As Tar says, get yourself a food and calorie app and track everything. You'll be surprised by your actual intake. Quinoa, lentils and beans are all great sources of energy. We typically eat 100% plant based weekdays and at the weekend we might have some processed crap. Friday night is typically burgers or hot dogs etc (note the vegan hot dogs, not a sphincter in site, lol) and chips.

Typically I would have a protein smoothie on workout days for breakfast ( I work out from 6:10 am) as I cant eat at that time. This would typically be 300 ml soya milk or a nut milk, 4 tbs yogurt, 1 scoop bulk powders choc peanut vegan blend, some vegan bcaa, frozen banana, mixed fruit and 2 tbs of peanut butter. That is a monster smoothie and keeps me going for a good while. For about 11's I'd have a wrap with falafel, hummus, mixed quinoa salad and fresh veg, then a salad bowl about 2 with mixed quinoa salad, nuts and fresh veg or leftover lentil chilli or lasagne etc. Dinner about 7 and thats me done. I've found that building muscle as a Vegan is way easier than when I was an omni.

We (my family, OH and 3 kids) are all vegan and we are thriving, never been more healthy! People are always commenting on how much energy and life we have, we haven't been sick in ages!! My younger kids are active in their local boxing club and the eldest was in MMA and kickboxing clubs with no issues at all. When he is out in his nannies he might have dairy but he always comes back saying I wish I hadn't had it as it makes him feel so sluggish!

barrymanilow

Thanks a mill , lots of good ideas there , that smoothie sounds like what I need to be hitting