HELP! Last week I completely changed my eating habits (fyi - i've been using the food pyramid as a basis for ?

You're probably just not getting enough protein. There are actually a lot of protein sources. You can eat tofu and beans and legumes, nuts, seeds, nut butters (peanut butter is really good for you in moderation, because it's high in unsaturated fats), whole grains (like quinoa, tempeh, couscous, millet, etc), soy products (any of the "mock meats", but in moderation because they are usually high in sodium), soy milk, and some vegetables (try sea vegetables like spirulina and chorella. The darker the vegetable, the better, so eat broccoli, spinach, kale, etc). In health class we learned about all the essential amino acids, which together form complete proteins. As a vegetarian, you need to combine certain foods to get complete proteins, so try:

Beans on toast

Corn and beans

Hummus and pita bread

Nut butter on whole grain bread

Pasta with beans

Rice and beans, peas, or lentils

Split pea soup with whole grain or seeded crackers or bread

Tortillas with refried beans

Veggie burgers on bread

I think you get the idea. Just go by combining legumes+grains, legumes+seeds, and legumes+nuts.

Good luck :)

I became a vegetarian over ten years ago and felt no ill side affects from the sudden change in diet all those years ago. What I would suggest you do is of course diversify your diet with a much more balanced array of meal options. Go to your favorite Mexican-Tex-Mex and get a bean and cheese burrito, eat pastas, try meat alternatives i.e mock meats, veggies for stir fries, vegetarian based soups and stews, eggs, fruits, dairy items such as yogurt and cottage cheese. Most ethnic cuisines are very vegetarian friendly so give that a try by cooking for yourself or dining out. Hope this may help a little. Good luck and take care.

No it is not normal. Your feeling hungry because it sounds as though you are not getting enough balanced nutrition. Are you eating any vegetable protein like pulses, dried beans and nuts? Do you eat too many refined carbohydrates and processed foods to compensate for the animal protein your not eating because your so hungry? For example too much bread (white), chips, sugary foods, white pasta & rice, cakes, pastries and snack foods? If you are, then your eating high GI foods, which causes havoc to your blood sugar. Your blood sugar goes up quickly after one of these foods then quickly crashes down, giving you the feeling of weakness, a light head and more extreme hunger. Your brain requires glucose to function and when the glucose in your blood drops by the way of the insulin hormone, your brain becomes starved of glucose and you feel weak.

It is ok not to eat meat, and power to you, but you need to compensate in your diet for the protein you are lacking. Eating nuts, seeds, pulses dried beans which are high in protein makes you feel incredibly full and satisfied. These foods have a low to mod GI which will keep your blood sugar steady, and are high in fibre, all contributing to filling you up for hours after you eat them guarenteed.Too much, though can bloat, and give gas. Try not to over do it with fruit, as healthy as it is, it is still sugar, 2 pieces a day is great. Eat as many raw vegetables as you can, 5 serves if possible. Here is a tip, combine raw veges(e.g salad) with cooked veges (e.g stir fry) in the same meal. Perhaps sprinkle some sunflower seeds and pepitas on your stirfry at the end of cooking. The different colours, smells, textures in the one meal has an amazing satisfying effect on your hunger and makes the meal much more interesting.

Also, if your eating eggs, then an egg or two in an omelette for e.g, a day is a great way to get protein and feel full. There is a misconception about eggs. They do contain cholesterol, but are in fact cholesterol healthy. They help to lower the bad and increase the good cholesterol. They are low in saturated fat, which is the culprit in increasing bad cholesterol level, found in animal flesh. If your eating dairy, eat low fat yoghurts with no added sugar, natural fruit sweetened if possible. Drink low fat milk, organic if possible as it has been proven to contain over 2/3 more antioxidants and vitamins than regular milk. Try to eat brown rice and pasta and bread such as sour dough and spelt, they taste great and are very nutritious. I hope this helped.

Are you eating large amounts of fresh fruits and vegetables? Are you eating soy productS(soy milk,soy cheese,or soy milk) and/or consuming beans and nuts? Are you consuming very small portions of organic yogurt? You need a complete and balanced diet if you want to pull this off.

It's possible you are just going through a phase...but just to be safe, start taking a multi vitamin...and make sure you are getting plenty of iron and protein such as rice, beans and green leafy veggies.

that may be because since you are not eating meat you arent getting your protein. what you should do is either eat protein bars, or you can try meat replacements. its not actually meat, but it has the protein in it you need and its good. also you can try to get your protein by eating beans too.

Yes.

When I stopped eating meat, I was very weak.

Eat some protean rich veggies.

that should help.

It lasts a while if you don't do anything to add protein to your diet,

meat gives u protein and a lot of other things that strengthen your body, animals (such as cows and things) were meant to be eaten

believe me i don't hate animals, in fact i LOVE animals one day i hope to maybe be a vet, but i wouldn't sacrifice chicken nuggets for anything :)

To me animals are cute but better to chew....