I am trying to continue on a vegetarian diet. I found it was real easy a couple of weeks ago. I guess the newness of becoming a vegetarian has rubbed off, and now I am so, so tired. I have tried to add tofu, soy, etc....to already a diet high in vegs.........but this week, if I see a "whopper" I know that I will fight tooth and nail not to gobble it down in two bites.......
What in the hec' is going on???
I even added B-12 and got a good 8 hrs of sleep last night. I run three miles daily, but this darn meat craving is trying to grab me. Is is typical that new vegetarians go through a transition period of craving meat? I don't want to fall of the wagon......so please if you have heard of this, it would be great to know. At least I am saving some animals........and getting healthy as well.......
Thanks all!!
Andi

I'm sorry to hear that!


I'm sure it's natural to have meat cravings after cutting out the stuff altogether (though it's been about 15 years since I've had a hamburger!). If you're really determined to stick it out, hang in there! On the other hand, if you start to feel like you're forcing yourself to abstain from meat "for your own good" then that's not good on your body (or soul) either!

I personally am by no means a fanatic. I don't see anything wrong with eating meat, poultry, etc. if that's what you like. It's just not right for me. But as a vegetarian, you do need to worry more about getting good proteins.

Do you eat eggs? You can do a lot with eggs: Omelets and scrambled eggs with all kinds of veggies in them (and also meat substitutes, i.e., meatless sausage, meatless Canadian bacon, meatless breakfast patties, etc.), frittatas (starts out as an omelet, lift the edges while it's cooking and tilt the pan a bit to let raw egg run underneath so top is left moist but not raw, then spread with filling of veggies, meat substitute, etc., sprinkle with cheese, and pop in broiler for a minute or so till puffy and brown), crustless quiches, and don't forget egg salad (add dried dill, a bit of mustard, and some chives). Also, don't forget cheese is good in salads (unless you're trying to avoid dairy). And nuts (erm, well I guess not on induction if you're doing induction but can't you have them eventually? Good fat and good protein in those little buggers.).

As for the fatigue, well, I'm probably influenced by the plan I'm doing (Schwarzbein, who doesn't make you count carbs in everything like Atkins does), but that sounds to me like not enough carbs! I tried cutting down on my carbs a while back because I wasn't losing, but I got groggy and irritable, so I upped them back up and it's helped. You do need those carbs. Schwarzbein says in her book to think about it like fuel: If you're going to be more active, eat more carbs; less active, less carbs. If you run 3 miles a day, I'd say that's pretty active! If you add just a bit more carbs in the form of nuts and fruits, maybe, you might see a difference.

HTH,
Tal