Anorexic Vegan?!
Question: So I have a slight problem... Ok, maybe not so slight but here goes:
I recently made the decision to go vegan but I live in a household where it is almost impossible to maintain a healthy vegan lifestyle. I don't know how they survive on rice and meat but that is 99% of what they eat! I can either continue eating meat or I can starve... For the past week I've been doing the latter. There is no way I can survive on the bare minimum that is stocked in my house but when I think about eating meat it makes me want to puke. In the past few days I've been very dizzy, having frequent blackouts and just very groggy. I fear that my poor diet is going to put me in the hospital. I am starting a new job next week but even with that I wont be able to buy food for another 2 weeks or so... I just dont know what to do.
Answers: So I have a slight problem... Ok, maybe not so slight but here goes:
I recently made the decision to go vegan but I live in a household where it is almost impossible to maintain a healthy vegan lifestyle. I don't know how they survive on rice and meat but that is 99% of what they eat! I can either continue eating meat or I can starve... For the past week I've been doing the latter. There is no way I can survive on the bare minimum that is stocked in my house but when I think about eating meat it makes me want to puke. In the past few days I've been very dizzy, having frequent blackouts and just very groggy. I fear that my poor diet is going to put me in the hospital. I am starting a new job next week but even with that I wont be able to buy food for another 2 weeks or so... I just dont know what to do.
i cant believe people are so ignorant that they would tell you to shutup and eat a once living, breathing, animal because "it wont kill you". i am also vegan and although it is a personal lifestyle choice, it IS ABSOLUTELY possible to eat a healthy, well balanced diet without consuming animal products.
now on the other hand...
i dont know if you live with your parents (thats the way its coming off) but they need to respect the fact that you have chosen to not eat meat. they cant force it down your throat, so you should explain to them that its either you get something else you can eat (tofu, fruits and veggies, beans,etc etc etc) or you starve. would it be possible to just eat the rice that they eat? in the mean time, maybe you could even find something to drink that has calories in it, soda, juice..etc. this is NOT healthy but i understand where your coming from. dont give up!
aha
I hope your job will support your new lifestyle....!
Your household has to help you out for the sake of your health
If I was you I would start eating meat.. I almost came to the point of turning vegan.. but that food is just nasty.. there is nothing wrong with eating meat, just don't think of all that stuff that goes into it.. because being a vegan limits your food choices to a minimum anyways.
If it is your choice to be vegan, then it is your responsibility to provide yourself with foods that fit your life style. If you cannot afford your choice, then the decision is yours alone. Eat what is available or starve and suffer.
you rock girl be strong!
I can relate. I also am a recovering anorexic, but not because I am or was a vegan. It got so bad that I had to go to the hospital and eventually went to an inpatient program. I would give you advice but the thing is that hearing you say all that makes me actually want to restrict again. So all I can say is no you don't need meat but you will have to take vitamins and supplements, which are also pretty expensive, in order to get the nutrients in meat. Remember, vitamins require food in order to be absorbed into your body.
Rcovering from ana myself,
eds arent fun! vegan diets are really time consuming and turn a lot of people off. I am a vegetarian but eat chicken some of the time (it's almost just protein and won't put as much weight on you as an =calorie carb/fat)
also, veganism is expensive.
Try being flexible and find someone you can talk to about what you're going through. Maybe you can also talk to your family about some things you can all eat (comfortably)
Good luck!
My brother is vegan, and trust me when I say he is able to live a very healthy lifestyle and has a balanced diet.
You need to find something to eat, though. There has to be something in your household that does not contain meat. Any kind of fruit or vegetable? Top Ramen oriental noodles are vegan and cheap, if you have any extra cash at all.
If there is absolutely nothing else for you to eat, then you may have to consider being a "freegan" for a while. A freegan is essentially a vegan or vegetarian at heart, but when they have to, will accept food that does not meet those standards for the purpose of surviving. Eating nothing is so unhealthy and you're really hurting yourself.
what about eating potatoes, or something high in protein, like peanut butter, potatoes can ease your stomach. when i was pregnant with my 2nd child, i lived off of potatoes, broccli and crackers. every thing else made me throw up
Well I urge you not to eat meat. Not only is it bad for our enviorment, but if you could see the way these animals are treated you'll never touch the **** again. Tell you parents to respect your choice. Explain why you want to be vegan. If they are reasonable they will listen. Make sure you get your protien in other ways though. Ask whoever does the shopping if they can buy you tofu, beens, and nuts to ensure you do it the healthy way! Don't give up!
All my Hungarian grandparents lived into their late 80's. They raised, slaughtered and processed the meat that they ate, they ate vegetables which they raised in their own gardens, drank wine they grew and fermented at home, and smoked cigarettes. Just shut the hell up and eat the food your parents are giving you, it's not going to kill you.
Sweetie there is no reason for you to be doing this to yourself. Is your life really worth not eating meat, because if you are having blackouts than you are clearly malnourished. I'm not going to lay the guilt trip on you and tell you about all the starving people in the world and how lucky you are or anything. Just please eat, too many people die senselessly from horrible things like anorexia.
I'm sure you're a wonderful, beautiful person with a great life ahead of them. Don't throw it all away for the sake of a meal. Bite your tongue and just eat the rice if you can't stomach the meat. Rice will keep you alive, not healthy, but you'll survive until you can buy your own food.
Also you might want to rediscover why you are becoming a vegan, it may be linked to your anorexia. Tofu is great for you and very healthy, get some of that into you a.s.a.p. Please just don't starve yourself!
When I was in high school I had the same issue. If you're old enough you can apply for food stamps, or food asst. Your towns Churches, community centers, or Slavation army should help you find free food. When talking to them add in it's your belief to be Vegan. But in a pinch drink lots of juice and eat beans w/ rice. beans are great in protein.
3 Responses to your question(s).
* It sounds like you live in a horrible household if they are flat out refusing to eat any vegitables and fruits at all. You need to speak with your parents immedieately if they are just refusing that. Or have you even asked?
* There is no such thing as a "Well balanced" vegan meatless diet. Out of most of the essential Vitamins and minerals you need to live healthy, 11 of them can ONLY be obtained through eating animal flesh. You can also only get really good amounts of protien through a meat diet, although this is slightly less difficult than the animal only vitamins
* And if you were anorexic even before the veganism started, stop for your own good. The reason you lose weight during those bouts is not because it is eating through all your fat reserves, your body is going to start eating your muscles to get protien for itself. Anorexia is awful for you and you will die if you continue.
Proteins are very important for your health. You're body wouldn't function well without them. If you don't include vegetarian sources of protein in your diet, then you should eat meat!! You can restrict your red meat intake (even though it's a good source of iron, so it would be better to eat that too since you were anorexic and you might be anemic and you're body needs iron)
White proteins are very good, especially fish and chicken. They are very healthy, low and fat, and they taste good (at least for me)
If you don't eat proteins, you're taking a big risk! because as you said, you might end up in the hospital, and eventually lose your job, which you don't want to happen I'm sure.
hello. I'm believing you are an American, and Americans have 'meat' as part of a normal diet. We know NOT of the diets the south american tribes had, where they we truer vegans. I stop here, that's not my cup of tea. I strongly suggest you go on a multi-meal diet, so you can arrive and perform at your NEW JOB
try that, I strongly suggest. change the WAY you receive your food amounts, by having smaller meals each day. good luck. : }
your first worry needs to be the anorexia. You are putting your body through more and more stress by denying it anything at all. Take care of ONE problems at a time... your struggleing with anorexia and now with meat. Whats next? BE CAREFUL you are on a slippery slope
Contact a charity, or go to a soup kitchen. (USA) Call 211. Find out about food stamps. Enter "food bank" in your search engine, or ask here, in Y!A (I'm Australian, so don't know the US system). Contact Dept. of Children, and Families. Go to www.socialsecurity.gov Monopolise what acceptable food is there, and make a simple meal: just boil vegetables & rice. It is very difficult for a vegan to be truly healthy, and needs a well designed eating plan, and supplements. If your objections are moral, about killing, dairy products are OK, and eggs are unfertilised, and you don't have to kill to get them: they can never produce life, but can make a big difference to your health. See anorexia, in section 44, at http://www.ezy-build.net.nz/~shaneris Contact vegan groups, if you are not prepared to be a vegetarian, at Myspace, Google, or Yahoo. A standard post: BASIC HEALTHY DIET: A healthy diet consists of: 5 serves of vegetables, daily, including a leafy green one, such as broccoli, spinach, cabbage, kale, or silverbeet (swiss chard), and a yellow/orange one, like yams, (sweet potato) carrots, or pumpkin/squash. One of the other serves should be legumes, such as beans, peas, or lentils. A serve is 2 heaped tablespoonsful, or half a cup (125 ml). Also 3 - 5 serves of fruit: one should be orange, or grapefruit, for the vitamin C, and bananas are high in potassium. In addition, your body needs at least 2 teaspoonsful of oil. Olive oil, coconut oil, grapeseed oil, or macadamia oil, are the healthiest, but you can get some in the form of Omega 3 fish oil, mentioned below. Also a serve of protein: meat, fish, poultry, or eggs. For calcium, some yog(h)urt, and/or cheese and/or milk, or tinned sardines, with bones. ~~~ The avocado is highly nutritious, and vegans should eat these, preferably daily.
I think all vegans are anorexics.