Been Vegetarian for about 5 months! Why am i so poorly all the time?!

its a possibility. are you getting any sources of protein?

It really depends on what you've been eating. If you've been eating a generally unhealthy diet - too many processed foods, not enough vegetables, whole grains, and beans - this is probably the source of your general low health.

Try eating lots more beans and whole grains, first off. You may not be getting enough protein now that you are not eating meat. Also try eating things like tofu, nuts, eggs, and the occasional fake meat product. Eating lots of fresh vegetables helps too, especially kale, collards, and the like.

Do a little research and figure out what may be lacking in your diet, and see what helps. It also doesn't help that you went vegetarian during the cold, winter months - so this may be one of the reasons you're getting sick all the time.

Keep with it though. Once you figure out how to eat healthy, you'll feel much better overall on the vegetarian diet.

http://vegonline.org/Health-&-Nutrition/…
http://vegonline.org/Health-&-Nutrition/…

You are poorly because you didn't properly research how to replace the nutrients that meat provides with vegetarian food. You are obviously deficient in something, and its not because you're not eating meat, its because you're not replacing it with something that provides the same nutrients! Buy a couple of books on vegetarian nutrition and start reading! A well planned diet will contain everything you need, in the mean time I suggest a vegetarian multivitamin.

A lot of people don't understand this, but it is impossible to have a protein deficiency. This can't be a protein deficiency, because there is protein in a lot of food. I'm just saying that because I noticed a lot of people in here saying it's because you're not getting protein. These are symptoms of iron deficiency. If you don't get enough iron, then you'll get dizzy, have head aches, and feel lethargic.

Non-meat foods to get all your iron from. You also need to have Vitamin C with it to help the iron absorb. You can take Vitamin C tablets, or eat foods with Vitamin C along with your foods with iron.

-Whole-grains and Barley
-Beans, soybeans, lentils
-Sweet Potatoes
-Broccoli (has both Iron and Vitamin C)
-Dried dates, raisins, and watermelon
-Sea vegetables
-Tofu

http://www.fatfreekitchen.com/nutrition/…

You're probably eating a crappy diet.

How many lentils
walnuts
peanuts/butter
almonds/butter
chickpeas
fava beans
split peas
sesame/flax/sunflower/pumpkin seeds
soybeans of tofu products
avocados
coconuts
bananas
wholegrain breads and pastas
brown rice dishes
curries with rice
spinach, kale, collards, broccoli dishes
peas, beetroot, yams, sweet potatoes
soycheese, yoghurt and whole fruits
buckwheat pancakes
barley, millet, quinoa and wheat berry dishes
granola, oatmeal, congee and noodles

are you eating in your day?

It sounds like you're eating lettuce and rice cakes.

To be a vegetarian, you can't just cut out meat. You still need iron. So you have to really look at your whole diet as you may be malnourished. Iron can be found in many places besides meat, but you need to look it up and find what makes sense for you. My wife has had two babies, where iron is essential to her health and the babies' health, and she did fine. It can be done, but you have to be thoughtful about it.

I'm a vegan and i'm energetic. Eat tempeh, seitan, legumes, cakes made of tofu(they work like eggs), potatoes, don't forget to take taurine pills, bananas, prunes, soy milk, and so on. That stuff about vegans and vegetarians not getting enough protein is bullshit. I get more protein than the average meat eater.

Are you getting enough nutrients? Being a vegetarian can be a very healthy lifestyle, but only if you make healthy eating choices. If you're not getting enough protein or some other vital nutrient, you may need to reevaluate what you've been eating.

This website has a lot of resources on being vegetarian. I think you might find some helpful information. I don't really know what your diet is like, but I think your problem probably stems from a lack of variety.

http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Vegetarianhea…

It sounds like you're not getting enough protein. If you cut meat completely out of your diet you need to make sure you're substituting that protein with protein from non-animal sources. Eat plenty of legumes which are full of protein (beans, chickpeas, lentils, etc) and lots of nuts and seeds. Soya products are also a good source.

Ex-vegetarian

Did you research how to get your nutrients? If you're not eating the right foods and getting the right amount of nutrition, obviously you're going to feel ill all the time.

vegan :D

Hello!

You probably need protein. Try lentils or nuts as a source of protein, or see your GP to discuss whether these problems are normal.

You need more protien. Eat more meat, eggs or beans.

You can't expect to replace meat with salad and stay healthy. Meat is a nutrient, calorie dense food. Not knowing what you replace it with, it's impossible to say what's wrong with you. Apparently you weren't eating very well before you cut out meat, so your body probably didn't have good stores of B12, iron, protein to go into when you cut out meat. You're probably just not getting enough calories every day. You need about 2000, perhaps 2500 if you're an active, growing youngster. It's hard to get that many calories on just vegetables without some serious meal planning.

My guess is that you're iron deficient. I think a protein deficiency would take a while longer to show up, though you're probably not getting enough of that either. And you're probably low on B12. The bad thing is that a calcium deficiency probably won't show up until much later in life when your bones and teeth start to go bad.

1. Get yourself a good B12 supplement. Take them in accordance with the instructions on the bottle. There are different kinds of B12 and the dosage is different. It won't do you any good if you're not taking it right. Don't depend on "fortified" foods. They are not a reliable source.

2. Iron in veggies is non heme iron and your body doesn't absorb it as well as the heme iron in meat, eggs, dairy products. You need to find out which veggies are high in iron and EAT THEM. Remember, though that some of those green leafy, iron rich veggies, also contain oxalates. Oxalates inhibit your body's ability to absorb iron and calcium. If your body can't absorb the calcium you take in, it passes it out through the kidneys....sometimes leading to kidney stones. A vegetarian delima.

2. Start a food diary or find an online calorie counter and see how many calories you're getting every day. If it's not 2000, adjust your eating.

3. Don't listen to people who say "well, I never got sick and I never took B12. Everyone is different. Your body may not absorb and store B12 as well as my body.

4. Don't build your diet on soy products. If you don't have thyroid problems or a family history of them, soy in moderation is probably ok. But soy has been tied to early puberty in girls, low sperm count in men, thyroid problems. Japan, France and Germany have all issued guidelines for soy in their food supplies, especially for young people. Your soy consumption can get really high without you even realizing it if you're eating soy cereal, soy milk, toful, soy hot dogs, soy burgers..... it's also used as a filler in a lot of things like bread.

http://thyroid.about.com/cs/soyinfo/a/so…