to think about just having a massively cheeseburger, huge bar of chocolate and a massive glass of wine?

[FedupMumma2]

So ... about 2 months ago I gave up dairy and meat and basically all animal products in a bid to loose weight. I haven't had a cheeseburger (I loooooove cheeseburgers from the Golden Arches!!!) in all that time, or been near a bar of chocolate!! (Massive deal for me!).

For the last couple of months I've eaten bucket loads of tomatoes, celery, nuts (where calories permit!), avocado and other superfoods. I have now, additionally, been alcohol free for a week.

I was reliably informed that I would not only loose weight (which is happening to be fair!) but that I would also ...

Feel Amazing! Have a new lease of life! Be buzzing with energy! Have gorgeous looking skin! Etc...

Well ..... ITS ALL LIES!!!! Lies I tell you!!

I feel like utter shit!

Today I've had a headache all day, as I have for the past 3 days! I have barely been able to get out of bed I'm so exhausted!

I'm pretty sure if I just popped to the pub and had a cheeseburger, chips, lager and maybe some chocolate, I'd be fine!!

What is going on?

And WIBU to chuck it all in? Or does it get better????

You should listen to your body, you obviously need a break from your diet or you are becoming deficient in something. You've done well for 2 months, but your body must be needing carbs or protein

Honesly eat what you like!

If that’s what you fancy it will do you no harm unless you are eating it everyday

Life is too bloody short, you may as well enjoy yourself

This is what cheat days are for - get yourself to the pub!!!

Also (controversial) but your body is craving the iron and nutrients in a burger etc, go and treat it. We generally eat far too much meat and dairy, but a bit is really good for you!

Life's too short love. Get yourself a burger, wine and chocolate! (Unless you have health problems, in which case, stick with it.)

You are, however U for calling yourself 'Mumma'

God yes do it. Life's too short. A balance of some indulgences and healthy food is my motto.

You clearly need some protein. Go and have steak followed by some greek yogurt (and honey). Try and avoid the booze and chocolate until you're seriously craving it. But don't worry about having some occasionally, you need to live and the odd treat is OK.

Thanks all :) I'm going to try not to cave! But nice to know if I do, it's ok! :) I do need to do something about this exhaustion though, so going to look out for some low calorie protein inspiration!!!! (Sounds mad!)

Sounds like you are lacking something to me. Iron or b12 maybe? There's a school of thought in the diet and fitness industry now that says that there's not such as thing as good and bad food, and as long as you don't eat over your daily calorie allowance (so around 2,000 for a woman) then you'll be fine.

Obviously eating McDonalds everyday isn't ideal, but the odd one won't harm.

You're allowed to blow out now and again. The trick is to get straight back on the wagon and not continue it. And don't weigh yourself for a few days after.

If you can't get back on the wagon don't do it. However if a diet is too restrictive it causes binges. You need to be able to manage it.

So go for your burger and chocolate, enjoy, but then say that's it, and stop straight after. Don't be doing the " well I've broken it now so I may as well have cake too" sort of thing.

I went vegan to lose weight and feel better (I feel ill all the time) and I GAINED weight and felt weak and awful.

I went back to cheeseburgers

What wizardoftoss said.

Have the burger - life too short

I always have weekends off the diet. Results are a bit slower but I’m fine with that. It’s important that you don’t completely deprive yourself if you want a diet to work in the long term.

Another one saying that if you feel tired all the time, you’re probably missing something in your diet. A vegan diet can be healthy, but all too often people cut out meat and dairy, and don’t really think about how to replace the nutrients in those foods. To get it right takes a good knowledge of nutrition, and a fair bit of planning.

If you feel like shit, why not try reintroducing meat and dairy, and see if you feel better. If you then want to cut them out again, do it gradually and carefully.

I think it gets better if you stick at it, your body wants what its used to and panics if something different happens, maybe make slwoer changes to your diet.
If I ate a cheesburger, a huge bar of chocolate and massive glass of wine now then I would be sick, feel awful tomorrow and absoultely have no energy.

DD right from weaning refused beef, she would eat a bit of chicken, lots of fish, mountains of pulses and a wide variety of veg. About six months into starting her periods she craved and scoffed a burger. This has continued, every now and then she needs red meat. She loves spinach but it doesn't give her the same iron hit

Have the burger if you really want it, but I would try and avoid a great big binge. Leave the larger and chocolate for treats another night.

There's also the question of how much alcohol you were drinking. If it was a lot, you might feel a bit crap coming off it. If just one or two units a day probably not an issue.

But yes, a vegan diet is notorious for both iron and B12 deficiency. If you're not taking vitamin and mineral supplements you probably need to.

Also, if you have one cheeseburger it will do you no long term harm! However, if that were me, it would definitely lead to more cheeseburgers. So you might want to look out for continued meat cravings.

I suspect you are short on iron and/ or B12. While it is perfectly possible to get enough on a veggie diet (B12 more problematic on a vegan diet), your body needs time to adapt vegetarian sources of iron are less easily absorbed. That's why it's not a good idea to suddenly go veggie unless you are taking supplements. Start taking iron and B complex and you should be sorted.

In the mean time, have a burger.

Oh, and it's highly unlikely that you are deficient in protein so I wouldn't bother trying to identify low-calorie protein sources.

That said, tofu and pulses will give you plenty of protein.

Do it and enjoy it!