Help me!! Vegetarian?
July 28th, 2010 | 
Author: I have been a vegetarian for about a year now and i have become extremely pale and always tired and i have lost like 10 pounds.
I dont mind the weight its just that i used to be super tan and pretty but now i look washed out and dead. I liv e typical young tween girl life style so i dont have time for that whole food pyramid thing.. Someone help me!!!
If you’re going to make the choice to be a vegetarian you need to do a little homework about how to obtain good protein and iron. It sounds like you might be anemic from a deficiency in iron, protein, or both. People that eat meat typically get more than what they need from their diet, but vegetarians have to be more conscious of what they consume because many vital nutrients come from animal sources in most diets. So, in your case you may need to increase consumption of eggs, nuts, tofu, things of that nature to gain some protein and spinach or dark green leafies to get your iron. Do a little reading- if you want to be a vegetarian for either health or philosophical reasons you need to make time for the whole "food pyramid thing" so your body gets what it needs.
A good vegetarian/vegan multi-vit or supplement might be a good idea, too. Make sure it has iron. Ideally, you should have a nutritionist tell you the best ways to get yourself back to feeling peppy and "tan" again- but if you don’t have time for the food pyramid, I suppose you won’t for that either…
Posted in vegetarian food pyramid
Sounds like you need some protein in your diet.
Do you take vitamins at least?
Get some with added iron in them. See how you feel in about 2 weeks. If you don’t feel any better you better go see a Dr.
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vegetarians are weird.
come back to reality.
eat some meat.
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Your not getting enough essential fatty acids and probably are deficient in certain amino acids. Consider adding a limited amount of meat to your diet (like 500 calories a week or so).
Other ways to deal with this. Do a better job mixing plant based proteins. An easy way to do this is to eat a significant amount of your grain based carbs as Quinoa (sold in health food stores). The amino acid mix of the protein in Quinoa is ideal. Also, add flax seed oil to your diet….2 or 3 tablespoons per day.
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If you’re going to make the choice to be a vegetarian you need to do a little homework about how to obtain good protein and iron. It sounds like you might be anemic from a deficiency in iron, protein, or both. People that eat meat typically get more than what they need from their diet, but vegetarians have to be more conscious of what they consume because many vital nutrients come from animal sources in most diets. So, in your case you may need to increase consumption of eggs, nuts, tofu, things of that nature to gain some protein and spinach or dark green leafies to get your iron. Do a little reading- if you want to be a vegetarian for either health or philosophical reasons you need to make time for the whole "food pyramid thing" so your body gets what it needs.
A good vegetarian/vegan multi-vit or supplement might be a good idea, too. Make sure it has iron. Ideally, you should have a nutritionist tell you the best ways to get yourself back to feeling peppy and "tan" again- but if you don’t have time for the food pyramid, I suppose you won’t for that either…
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take vitamins
eat more proteins
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You probably aren’t getting enough nutrition. You need to take vegetarianism seriously. It is hard to do if you aren’t a good eater. I’m a vegan but I’m so healthy. It is hard to be a vegetarian if you are a fussy eater. Do some research so you can take better care of yourself. I drink protein shakes for extra protein. Take supplements too. You are very young. Take care of yourself or you may do irreparable damage to your body.
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You are young and your body is still growing. You sound like you are anemic. Do you eat eggs, drink milk, eat yogurt, eat cheese? What are you eating?
You sound like you will end up in the hospital if you don’t start eating and taking vitamins.
A growing spurt is happening to you right now and your body is basically drawing on itself to provide what you aren’t.
Eat some fish or chicken for a while so you can get healthy. This is all wrong. Being a vegetarian is not supposed to make you sick.
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Your health and appearance are pretty significant sacrifices for whatever your tween lifestyle is.
Try paying attention to what you eat. Eat a dark green leafy vegetable at least once a day, for starters. Do you do dairy? Make sure you’re getting three servings (low-fat is fine) a day of that. Pretty easy… milk on your cereal, cheese on your sandwich at lunch, and yogurt for a snack.
If you really aren’t willing to take the time to get a balanced diet, you may as well start taking supplements. They can’t hurt you, and if you’re not eating a balanced diet, they’re probably a good idea. That goes for anyone, not just vegetarians.
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Well the food pyramid is pretty simple no matter what your diet is (vegetarian, vegan, or omnivore)
eat a couple helpings of veggies at dinner, get milk in for breakfast and maybe w/ a snack after dinner.
some fruit for breakfast, like apple or orange, SOMETHING. cereal or OATMEAL is better.
eat veggies like broccoli or spinach. they contain protein and iron. which is good.
if not, take supplements at least. a multivitamin is good regardless. i know One A Day makes a teen girl vitamin, which is good.
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vegan
As a mom of a tween vegetarian…if you don’t have time for that whole food pyramid thing, you don’t have the responsibility it takes to be a vegetarian. I’m not trying to get down on you – I’m really not – but I am telling you exactly the same thing I would tell my son.
Being a vegetarian is a choice that comes with a responsibility. When you eat meat, you get things like protein, iron, and other nutrients pretty easily. When you choose to not eat meat, you also choose to take on the responsibility for finding those nutrients elsewhere. You need to eat things like green leafy vegetables (spinach, etc.), quinoa, wild rice, nuts, eggs, dairy (milk, yogurt, cheese), and soy products on a regular basis. Otherwise, you won’t just lose your tan prettiness…you’ll lose necessary muscle mass, energy, mental focus, health, and put yourself up for damage to many of your internal organs (if your malnutrition goes on like this).
You may also want to look into Michael’s Pre-Teen vitamins – they don’t taste very good, but they do contain many of the nutrients you’re missing. They’re not a substitute for healthy eating habits but they will catch things that you may miss occasionally.
You look washed out and dead, thin, and lifeless because you’re not giving your body what it needs. Yes, vegetarianism is very healthy…as long as you are careful about what you eat. Not everything that we’ve listed here might be a favorite of yours, but you have a choice to make – eat these things and be responsible about it or start eating meat with the rest of your family again. I’m sorry, but there really is no middle ground. This isn’t something that you get to be lazy about – if you’re going to do it, do it right.
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Mom of a veg tween…one who is required to be responsible in his eating habits in order to maintain the ability to stay a veg.
You might needs some vitamin supplements… look for ones with high B12 levels, as most vegetarians lack this in their diets… and load up on high fiber…. beans and tofu… balancing meals is the key! Your health is your wealth!
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Which is more important to you? Your ‘life style’ or your life?
It’s time that you FOUND time for ‘that whole food pyramid thing.’ If you don’t find time, and you carry on the way you are at the moment, you’re going to end up in hospital or worse.
Don’t listen to all the "you-obviously-need-more-protein" people and the "just-eat-a-little-chicken-or-fish" people. You’re short on iron. Your symptoms fit iron-deficiency, not protein-deficiency. Protein-deficiency is practically non-existent in Westernised countries. Vitamin B12-deficiency is highly unlikely after only one year as a vegetarian, as it takes something like five years to show up.
Eat more of the iron-rich foods, eat more of the vitamin C-rich foods to help you absorb the iron from your food, and cut out the caffeine (yes, that means cutting out cola and guarana and similar softdrinks) because that interferes with your body’s absorption of iron.
Take time out (perhaps just one weekend might be enough) from your ‘life style’ to do some necessary research. Read up on what nutrients your body needs, what amounts you need per day, and what the best sources of those nutrients are. That should help you more than any answers you’ll get in here, because then you’ll be actively doing something to help yourself, instead of being passive and/or lazy. A book on vegetarian nutrition would be a better source than the internet, as the internet contains almost as much misinformation as it does facts.
Sorry if I come across a little brusque, but you need a ‘good talking to’ more than you need to be spoon-fed.
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The first thing you really need to do when you go veg is to eat the majority of you food raw, as in fruit and veg. That’s the key to being healthy. A lot of veggies don’t eat ANY fruit or veg then get sick.
Eat fruit and veg for health.
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Try vitamins & sun for a few minutes a day
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have some cereals.
you probably need some iron stuff.
get veggies and fruits in your diet.
vitamin C helps absorb iron…
just be careful!!
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Uh… please don’t tell me you were ONLY eating fruits and vegetables… Here, this is a list of some things that you need to replace when you stop eating meat, and things to replace it with.
-PROTEIN
Plant proteins should provide for you enough, as long as you make sure your calorie intake is high enough for your energy needs.
-MORE AMINO ACIDS
If plant proteins simply aren’t enough, try eating whole grains, nuts or seeds.
-IRON
If you’re not totally vegan, egg yolk provides iron well. However, dried beans, dried fruits, and spinach are good sources as well.
-VITAMIN B 12
This only comes naturally from animals. It can be found in some fortified (not enriched) breakfast cereals such as Total and some brands of nutritional brewer’s yeast, or in supplements.
-VITAMIN D
You will need a reliable vitamin D source. If you don’t get a lot of sunlight, you’ll need a supplement.
-CALCIUM
Studies have shown that vegetarians absorb and retain more calcium than meat eaters. Cool, huh? Calcium can be found in greens such as spinach, kale and broccoli, and some legumes and soybean products.
-ZINC
Grains, nuts and legumes are good sources. If you chose to take a supplement, be sure to pick supplements containing no more than 15-18 mg zinc. Supplements containing 50 mg or more may lower HDL ("good") cholesterol in some people.
–And some more tips–
Keep your intake of sweets and fatty foods to a minimum. These foods are low in nutrients and high in calories.
Choose whole or unrefined grain products when possible, or use fortified or enriched cereal products.
Use a variety of fruits and vegetables, including foods that are good sources of vitamins A and C.
If you use milk or dairy products, choose fat-free/nonfat and low-fat varieties.
Eggs are high in cholesterol (213 mg per yolk), so monitor your use of them. Limit your cholesterol intake to no more than 300 mg per day.
Good luck. If this doesn’t help after 2 weeks — a month, get to a doctor.
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http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4777