I feel so ill

[Timmygnome]

I think it's lack of protein
I'm doing a VLCD ,and I just want to sleep all the time
I'm so tired, and cold so I'm not moving around as much .
I've been vegan a long time , nearly 10 years ,I was vegetarian for most of my life before that ,but only ate cheese different from what I eat now ..
no milk or eggs
Starting to think I'm making myself very ill
So I need some ideas please for low calorie high protein foods .
I wish there was a protein tablet like a vitamin tablet

Why are you doing a very low calorie diet? Do you actually need to lose weight or are you already at a healthy bmi or close to it?
It sounds like you should be eating more full stop?

Why are you on a VLCD?

Unfortunately I ended up extremely fat
I've lost 5 stone ,but I've another 5 to go

Are you open to re-incorporating dairy and eggs for a while?

Poached eggs would be a good place to start.

get some protein drinks

Lordy this is a tough one. You have done amazingly well to lose 5 stone!!! But it's clearly taking its toll. I feel like you need someone more knowledgeable to properly analyse what you are getting and not getting in your diet.

Be kind to yourself. Amend your goals. Although I am guessing it feels impossible could you up the exercise in order to up the calories?

You can't go on feeling the way you are. What about increasing your calories but slowing your weight loss to a more healthy rate?

Goodness ,no ,even before I went vegan I couldn't get them down ,
They would come back up as fast as they went down

This I'm think is possibly part of my problem
I think you might be right ,

I think you need to try to speak to a dietitian.

What is your calorie intake? If it's too low you won't be losing weight effectively.

You need to increase your protein- there are plenty of low calorie and vegan ways to do this- beans and lentils to start with.

Can you provide a rough overview of your daily food and drink intake?

Feel free not to answer but were you REALLY very overweight?

I think rather than changing something you should go to the GP for a check up. You might need high strength vitamin infusions or iron. Or there could be something completely unrelated to your diet going on.

Trouble is that a Vegan diet can be high in carbs which isn't helpful when you want to lose weight. Handful of nuts for a quick energy boost? or nut butter. If not lentils are high in protein. Make a dahl with coconut milk and curry powder with plenty of veg in it.

No amount of weight loss is worth being ill and miserable. Nourish your body with healthy foods and stop starving yourself. You can’t do VLCD forever and you’ll just gain it back when you start eating more normally again. This is not a sensible weight loss plan.

You can be overweight and still be malnourished OP. It sounds like you aren't getting all the nutrition your body needs, if you feel so unwell and just want to sleep the whole time. I would call your GP and ask for an appointment asap.

It’s not protein it’s lack of calories.

you aren’t taking in the energy you’re expending, significantly so. So that’s why you’re tired and cold.

food has calories. If there where such things as low calorie protein or carbs none of us would be fat.

if you up your protein you’ll need to cut calories elsewhere to maintain your allowance.

All well and good being vegan and low calorie but how much nutritional knowledge do you have to pull this off safely?
Where are your sources of b12, folate and iron?

Ah, sorry to have put the thought in your head then.

A GP appointment sounds good. Maybe a nutritionist as well?

Rebalancing supplements?

Very low calorie diet (VLCD) doesn’t sound good no matter how overweight someone is. It takes energy for your body to break down fat and muscle for energy. The more of a deficit you have, the more your body will break down muscle instead of fat which can cause wasting and heart issues.

I think you should see a dietician, there is a reason why they recommend a small calorie deficit and slow loss of excess weight.

Have a listen to the Doctor’s Kitchen latest podcast on how to get more protein into your diet - sounds like you have lack of protein and just about every other nutrient and calories.

First, I hope you are taking a B-12 supplement. That is possibly the only thing that can be a serious problem with vegan diets but a B-12 deficiency can have terrible results.

(B-12 comes from bacteria in the soil, which is washed away with our modern food sanitizing methods. Therefore, you need to get it from eating meat or from supplements).

I don't think protein is usually a problem, though many people erroneously believe it is. The vegan diet is actually excellent, if you address the B-12 issue and if you are eating whole foods rather than overly processed junk. You can count up the protein in what you eat and check it against the recommendations. Just guessing isn't helpful.

Anyway, it sounds to me like a more obvious reason you're tired is because you are getting so very few calories. Anyone would be, especially if not drinking enough water.

I am seeing a dietician and I'm under the hospital because I'm due WLS in Dec
I'm desperately trying to loose the weight myself so I don't have to have the opp.
Dietitian says to take vitamins,I take vegan vitality with 23 nutrients in each tablet.
But I'm really struggling to find protein that I like ,so I'm assuming that's why I'm feeling ill ,lack of protein
I just need some ideas please of what other vegans are eating to get their protein in

Why don't you ask your dietician about your protein intake?

Also, have you considered Ozempic or similar, instead of weight loss surgery?

Ah, I would ask for blood tests to check for deficiencies. You may be unlucky like me with a gut unable to absorb nutrients from tablet vitamins. I am glad you’re under a hospital dietician, but don’t assume because you’re taking a tablet that you are not deficient.