Vegetarian Advice: Tired, Weak Vegetarian Transition

Question: ... trying to transition to vegetarian diet, weak, no energy, overweight - anything you can recommend to get me through?

I've been feeling really weak and no energy, trying to transition to becoming a vegatarian. I also need to lose weight. I've been eating mostly beans, eggs, milk and cheese for my protein. Is there anything you can recommend to get me through being tired and weak? Thanks for your help! - G. W.

Savvy Vegetarian Advice

Dear G. W.,

You could be detoxing, or not getting enough of the right nutrients, or not absorbing them well. It takes the body a while to adapt to a different diet. Here are some suggestions:

1) I've attached the SV nutrition report, so you can get an idea what you should be eating.

2) Take a probiotic and/or digestive enzyme to help your digestion. Udo's Choice is a good brand, available at Vitacost.

3) Eat lots of fresh veggies and fruit, both cooked and raw, and juice them too, if you have a juicer.

4) Easy on the beans, eggs, milk and cheese - you may be overloading your digestion with too much of a good thing. Investigate other sources of vegetarian protein, like nuts and seeds, tofu, and whole grains, and eat less protein, favoring fresh veg and whole grains. Read the SV article: Myth of Protein

5) Drink lots and lots of water - 2 to 3 quarts a day, and no caffeine or sugar, carbonated beverages, etc.

6) Have blood work done to check the levels of these and other critical nutrients: B12, iron, folic acid. Take a nutritional supplement - Rainbow Light makes a good food based one-a-day for women. Frequensea from Forever Green is an excellent whole food cellular tonic which would help the detoxing, your digestion, and your energy. Here's an interesting B12 article: Vegetarians, Are You Getting Enough Vitamin B12?. And one on iron: Iron and Vegetarian Diet

Let me know how it goes! Judy Kingsbury, Savvy Vegetarian

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