I recently became a vegetarian. Lately, I have been getting headaches and felt like I was going to faint . . .

Question

Is that my body's way of going through "withdrawal" from not eating meat. I'll eat sandwiches and cooked veggies, and maybe some cake or chips ( one or the other, not both), but I'll still feel famished later in the day.

For those of you who are vegetarians, how did you feel when you went through the process? Experience anything different?

Answer 1

It's nice that you are eating sandwiches, veggies, cake, and chips... but you NEED to throw in eggwhites, beans, soy-based meats, and/or some flaxseed. Without that stuff, you won't get your protein up and probably WILL get headaches.

Answer 2

You may be anemic. You can get iron from veg, but you probably need an iron supplement. You can get a blood test to confirm, but there are iron supplements over the counter, or get a good multi that has some. Making sure you have enough vitamin C will help, because it increases absorption of iron from non-meat sources.

Lentils, cooked 1 cup 6.6mg

Chickpeas,mashed cooked 1 cup 4.7mg

Spinach, cooked 1 cup 2.9mg

Potato mashed 1 medium 2.8mg

Peas, cooked 1 cup 2.5mg

Raisins 1/2 cup 1.6mg

Watermelon 1/8 medium 1mg

Tomato juice 8 oz 1.4mg

This website has an extensive listing:
http://www.soystache.com/iron.htm

Answer 3

Hm, that's really weird, but it does sound like an adjustment period. I felt great during the process, but there were adjustemt periods.

Just look at all those smokers, like my wife's friend, who stop smoking then sudden they feel really sick, all this black stuff coming up out of them, coughing fits, they feel horrible, so they smoke and feel better, and continue to smoke again.

Athlete Carl Lewis (vegan) was feeling very low in energy making the switch, but once he increased his calorie intake, he felt better. Everyone's different, but if I were you, I'd avoid sugar and oily foods (deep fried). Especially be careful of sugar, most people making the switch crave it.

For me, as a bicycle racer, just switching from pasta to rice was a very long adjustment. I know that all the athletes in Asia mainly eat rice, but my body was hooked on pasta. I was SO hungry eating rice (unpolished brown) no matter how much I ate. Eventually, though, my body did adjust and now I can perform on rice just as well as I did on pasta, if not better. In fact, I can perform on stuff from my garden alone. What’s wrong with pasta? It’s more processed. I guess I could have tried switching to cooking whole wheat kernels, but didn’t think of that, nor was it at the grocery where I shopped.

So, perhaps increase your calories with potatoes, rice, beans, and more hearty food might help. Experiment. I also found that quitting meat and junk foods, my digestion took a long while to adjust. My gut was used to totally different foods coming in. It seemingly was digesting food too quickly and inefficiently; that was my feeling anyway. I guess it was finally being unclogged and fibre could finally clean out the crud blocking my digestive system.

Answer 4

Always keep small healthy snacks to nibble on. Instead of cake or chips, what about a handful of almonds or dried fruit and nut mixture. These will take the edge of your hunger, but better for you and your energy levels. Bananas are a filling and energy food, so keep one handy. Rice balls, vege sushi rolls, inari, are good filling top ups.... a well rounded vegetarian or vegan diet shouldn't leave you faint or headachey, you need to be balancing your needs over the day. Good luck

Answer 5

You may have a vitamin deficiency of some sort; make sure you are taking a multi every day. Also, many vegetarians don't get enough protein, which can also make you feel hungrier. Studies have shown that people report feeling fuller with less food if the meal contains at least some fat and protein.

Answer 6

first off...GOOD FOR YOUU!!! vegetarian all the way. im a vegetarian as well...I advise you to try veggie burgers. I can live on them..anyway yes eat almonds/nuts they help decrease your headaches. Your body is just not used to getting all the protein it needs and right now its lacking it so if you eat soy and nuts [because they provide protein] then they should go away. anyway good luck.

Answer 7

Can't comment I am a pure vegetarian.When u get headache u can try a little bit of non veg and decrease its quantity slowly not abruptly.Hope it works.Good luck

Answer 8

i went through the same things. headaches, nausea, dizziness.
my body was just in withdrawal. since i went from chemically inhanced food to organic, its a huge change.
it left bwteen a week or so

your body just needs to get used to the change

Answer 9

i dont know thats wierd because the opposite happened to me. i have low blood sugar and fruits/vegs have natural sugar that stabalizes the sugar level which helped my dizzyness, headaches, feeling faint, etc. i still feel that way if i havn't eaten as often as i should but i dont have to eat as often anymore

Answer 10

This is GODS way of telling you that you need MEAT. Man discovered fire, then he barbecued the meat......YUM - YUM.