I’ve been a vegan for like a year and a vegetarian for the past 6 months or so (yes, I switched from vegan to vegetarian). So far, I’ve went from 255 pounds to 198 pounds. I’m shorter height around 5’8"-5’9" male. I also did cold turkey (radical diet change) to vegan when I was 12 to 14–prob hacked a couple inches off there.
I’ve think I’ve suffered a lot of consequences (recently) as a result. I’ve basically lost all my appetite, I feel weak, and I think my metabolism has dreadfully slowed down. Probably half of what I lost was muscle, although I know for a fact I was obese then, and probably still now.
I still feel fat–yes I exercise–but, recently I got lazy one day (lack of energy, feeling weak). As a result, I didn’t make breakfast and basically ate bread and fruit all day. I go to sleep at like 10pm-12am and basically have a hard time getting to sleep and I wake up at like 3-6 am and go back to sleep till like 9-11 am. I keep waking up and I always feel lethargic, with a bad case of headaches.
This has happened since the last week, I basically eat nothing besides a piece of bread and fruit; I feel terrible. I’ve been up 30 hours straight now. I couldn’t get to sleep last night and I’ve been trying to work myself to exhaustion and go to sleep. I’ve been cleaning out and organizing my room and drinking a lot of water. I am using a pur water filter that doesn’t filter fluoride. My shower filter doesn’t either.
So, basically to sum it up, I feel terrible and don’t know what to do. I went vegetarian because I thought it was horrendous killing animals, esp. the way they kill them.
For some reason I felt healthier with meat, but the thought of another living thing to die for me haunts me. The worst problem I have is the way birds (chickens and turkies) are killed, it disgusts me. Those videos you see of factory farming lurk and stick in your mind–might be propaganda, but nonetheless.
Now, I realize I probably need meat to be healthy (at least me). My Dad’s side of the family (pre-baby boomer gen.) lived to their late seventies (not old) to late 80′s and beyond. I come from a super heavy meat eating culture (I’m Jewish). My dad eats tons of meat and I was raised with meat. He’s not into the organic thing though.
I’m by no means a newbie when it comes to nutrition. I know to stay away from fried foods, soy (or anything with soy in them), heavily processed or junk/fast food, pasteurized dairy, frozen stuff, hydrogenated oils, fluoride, canola oil (turns worse than trans fat when cooked), and the like. So, I keep with whole ingredients and organic when necessary, at pretty much every meal I do happen to eat.
I know this is a long post and all. But, basically I am looking for someone to answer (that is certified in the area of nutrition) about what I should do. You don’t have to answer everything… I am just looking for some advice of what I should do now to get myself back on track (to a healthier life), the kinds of things I should be eating, and what to do about the water.
Please, I don’t want any arrogant vegetarian posts telling me what to do.
Thank you, and God bless.
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