...yeah, I do, too. But you know, it changes when you're a vegetarian. Due to my picky eating, I've definitely not been following its guidelines for the past month.
This weekend I got really sick (like nasty stomach-bug-sick). Unfortunately, I had to call out of my 14 hr shift at work yesterday, and when I talked to my co-worker, she expressed concern that being vegetarian was part of why I got so weak so fast. My roommate was worried, too, and the only way she could get me to eat protein was to make me french toast. Until this weekend, I did not realize how much my body may have been suffering from vegetarian eating habits. Of course, I can not blame vegetarianism on getting ill, but I'm sure not getting the right nutrients heightened my susceptibility to illness. I could not eat the soup I had in the house yesterday because it contained chicken broth - laaame.
Anyway, now that I'm on the mend, I decided to look up nutrition stuff on vegetarian diets. According to the USDA, most vegetarians lack in protein, iron, calcium, zinc and vitamin B12. When I look at the list of protein-rich foods, the only items I consume on the list is nuts. I definitely do not drink enough milk, so I'm lacking in calcium as it is. As I said before, I do not eat eggs or beans, so that rules out a lot of zinc and vitamin B12 other vegetarians may acquire without hassle. I guess there is a reason why my roommate fed me a vitamin and iron supplement yesterday! Good lord. I feel bad for my body now.
In the final week of definite vegetarianism, I owe it to myself to try soy based products that are meat substitutes. I actually bought tofu last week, but I have been avoiding eating it. I think that will be my goal for the coming week - to try tofu again and hope that it has grown on me!
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