Tried veganism, felt dreadful—anyone else?

[stopgap]

So I was vegetarian for eight years (age 12-20) and vegan for a year (age 29). I’m now 42, and with the climate crisis raging, I’m wondering if I should try again.

BUT

I felt so hopelessly ill as a vegetarian and even more so as a vegan, with constant colds, hair loss etc. I struggle with iron and B12 absorption, and my current regimen of eating meat twice a week plus supplementation does zilch for increasing my ferritin levels, as my periods are extremely heavy, and I’m also autoimmune. Since my brief vegan phase I’ve also been diagnosed celiac, making a vegan diet even trickier.

Anyone conquered similar issues to become a healthy vegan? Or are some people just not suited to eating this way?

The avocado and almond milk comment is just an example.

Lots of people advocate going vegan because eating meat is bad for the environment. But how is eating foods that needs to be transported to the UK from the other side of the world any better?

But how is eating foods that needs to be transported to the UK from the other side of the world any better?

It isn't.

But you're going off the assumption that people who eat meat only eat locally sourced meat and don't eat other imported foods or use other imported products.

I don't care what anyone says, nobody only eats food which is locally sourced.

And the avocado thing is always thrown out to try and prove veganism is somehow worse. But the only people I know who eat avocados aren't vegan.

I don't care what anyone says, nobody only eats food which is locally sourced.

I never said they did. But vegans who do eat things like avocados, who drink almond milk, who eat soy-based products, who eat a diet heavy in foods that are grown abroad, often just trot out "well, meat is bad for the environment" as though their choices are perfect because their diet doesn't include meat or eggs.

Hi @stopgap I also have low iron and b vitamin levels (especially folate). I am not willing to stop eating meat entirely as I feel dreadful when my ferritin, folate and b vitamin stores are low. But we eat less meat and no red meat now, so I supplement with a high dose folate (5 mg folate - not folic acid), 2 sachets of liquid iron supplement and a b12 spray. Considering getting some b12 shots when I'm next visiting a country that does it privately.

I tried it for three months - so I gave it a really good go.

Sadly it just made me feel tired, grumpy and never satisfied.

A close friend is vegan and she absolutely thrives, and has never felt better.

I think some people just respond better to it than others. I was vegan for a while and put on a lot of weight, felt bloated all of the time, and extremely lethargic. It also triggered some ED style behavior in me, as I was using the rules of the diet to cope with a very stressful period of my life.

I remember someone saying how well you respond to a vegan diet is to do with blood type, but that might be a myth. Anyway, unfortunately it didn’t work for me, but I do feel much happier now. Sorry not to have helped much, but good luck with finding a solution.

I'm vegan, and I'd say that being celiac, vegan and healthy would be VERY difficult. Feeling ill was probably more likely to be your undiagnosed celiac than the vegan diet TBH though.

If you're worried about the environment you don't have to be completely vegan. Just choosing to consume less animal products is beneficial, it doesn't have to be all or nothing. It doesn't sound like you consume loads anyway!

@leasedaudi Thank you so much for the tips on iron.

I have friends who absolutely swear by B12 shots (I live in the US, and there are several places that offer it in my town).

Same here - two attempts at a vegan diet for 2-3 months and I definitely felt more tired than normal.

However I wouldn't say that my diet was exactly perfect - probably too much vegan junk food, too little actual vegetables.

I returned to eating eggs, dairy and fish and definitely feel healthier this way.

I may give it another go in future.

I'm the opposite, feel great without animal products. But it's what works for you and your body.

I am currently experiencing this, been vegan for 6 days as 13 month old has developed a cows milk allergy so decided to try giving up meat and dairy (didnt eat alot of meat before but quite bit of cheese etc.) so i could up the breastfeeding. Here's an example of meals, kidney bean chilli, pasta with cashew pesto, toast peanut butter, hummous, olives, dark choc, fruit, tofu thai curry, lots of veg and stuff, nuts, beans (did cheat and have fish and chips 😏). Am I missing something? Sorry to geg in your post but feeling like death warmed up! Achy, tired and pale 😖 Not sure how people do it especially preg/ breastfeeding! ?

All the best with it, but sounds like just focussing on healthy foods as opposed to restricting yourself as already sounds like you are slightly restricted xx

I had the opposite reaction OP, my energy levels rocketed, my sleep improved, my skin cleared up and I lost quite a bit of weight.

I imagine that eating both gluten-free and plant-based could be far more challenging though.

There are some evangelical people who take public profile extoling low carb & high meat diets after long stints as vegans.

Tim Shieff.

Virpi Mikkonen.

(some bloke I can't find his name right now, but he was vegan for like 15 yrs & in desperation to fix a long list of health problems, started eating tonnes of meat & since tells everyone else they should, too)