After a recent stint in hospital for the 3rd time in about 10 years i've decided to start eating meat. I've been a vegetarian for 14 years but i keep getting anemic resulting in so far 8 blood transfusions. Starting to eat meat again was a big step because i was as strict as they come. Anyway, my question is, has anyone else gone from being vegetarian to a meat eater and found they have lost weight? i'm not getting the bloat i used to get living on my veggie diet...

Someone told me eating meat speeds up your metabolism?

I've never heard that about eating meat and your metabolism but on average I think vegetarians tend to be skinnier than meat eaters so I kind of doubt it.
Sorry if this sounds rude but I think you weren't doing something right if you were anemic, though it's completely possible you are predisposed to anemia. But if not, whatever you were doing wrong to balance your diet may have affected bloating as well, I don't know. When I first went vegetarian, I was borderline anemic but that was because I was eating very unhealthily. I've never had a problem since then. (~16-17 years now).
I don't know anyone who has gone back to eating meat after being a strict vegetarian so I can't really help answer your question other than that.

__________________

it's all just simple math to me.

Vegetarians who follow the proper diet should lose weight. Allot of people mess up by replacing meat with carbs, and then you get chubs.

If you become a meat eater again, eat lean meats.

It's recommended you take B12 and iron supplements if you're following a vegetarian diet.

As far as metabolism... about a dozen different factors affect that. The weight loss may be temporary while your body adjusts.

it's not just meat you need, it's red meat, if you're afflicted with anemia so severe that you need blood transfusions. why don't they do iron transfusions, i wonder? and have they said what form of anemia you have?

in any case, i do know one person who has to eat some red meat in order to stave off anemic episodes so severe that she needs to be hospitalised. it doesnt mean you have to eat alot. just once or twice a week (no reason to eat more) eat a serving of red meat. not hamburger, hot dogs or any of that crap. if youre really doing this strictly for purposes of keeping your ferritin levels up. steak. liver. although i would never be able to stomach liver.


you just do it. do you remember liking any form of red meat when you were younger?

__________________
bebe #2

I don't know much about anemia so I didn't realize this having blood transfusions thing was so serious. The doctor who told me I had anemia actually asked me if I had anemia- I'm sure I said something to the effect of "I dunno, you're the dr, you tell me?" Anyways, something was wrong with my blood to make him ask me (I can't remember what, I was young at the time). But. I know I was eating an exceptionally crappy diet- consisted mostly of twizzlers and saltine crackers. I stopped eating such crap (actually I just incorporated a wider variety of crap into my diet) and never had the problem again. *shrugs*

Anyways, my point (sorry to ramble) was to express awe and confusion that they can do iron transfusions. Isn't there some kind of super vitamin they can inject you with? They actually have to get blood from someone else to give you the iron?

I also wanted to ask you if you knew about that "eat right for your blood type" thing?

__________________

it's all just simple math to me.

i think your doc was asking if you have a history of anemia which could account for a funky lab result you had. he was wondering if it warranted further investigation or if there was already an answer.

there are different forms of anemia some very severe. aplastic being particularly vicious. many women of childbearing age esp during teen years are mildly anemic, but there is not a need for transfusions in that instance. iron transfusions are not a blood product; they don't come from humans. its just iron bound in a couple different ways. iron dextran and iron succinate. with succinate there is no need for a test dose. iron dextran is best utilized though, so its still in use. and yes, you can get procrit injections, but insurance wont pay for it usually. you have to have cancer to get them to pay for it for the most part. they would rather wait until youre pale, feeling like shit and need to go to ED before they will fork over for a blood or iron transfusion.

but iron infusions only work with certain types of anemia. if youre having difficulty producing hemoglobin other than iron availability, then iron aint gonna do jack for you.this is when blood transfusions are used, but i never see them bc i dont work ED

in any case, some people do need red meat, or blood, to be more exact. its most readily absorbed and used by the body.

here is a synopses of the varying types

Anemia
\
What causes anemia?

There are many types of anemia, all with different causes:

*

Iron deficiency anemia (IDA). IDA is the most common type of anemia. IDA happens when you don't have enough iron in your body. You need iron to make hemoglobin. This can happen when you lose blood from problems like heavy periods, ulcers, colon polyps, or colon cancer. A diet that doesn't have enough iron in it can also cause IDA. Pregnancy can also cause IDA if there's not enough iron for the mother and fetus. You can get iron from foods like ground beef, clams, spinach, lentils, baked potato with skin, sunflower seeds, and cashews.
*

Megaloblastic (or vitamin deficiency) anemia. This most often happens when your body doesn't get enough folic acid or vitamin B-12. These vitamins help your body keep healthy blood and a healthy nervous system. With this type of anemia, your body makes red blood cells that can't deliver oxygen right. Folic acid supplements (pills) can treat this type of anemia. You can also get folic acid in beans and legumes; citrus fruits and juices; wheat bran and other whole grains; dark green leafy vegetables; and poultry, pork, shellfish, and liver. Sometimes, with this disease, your health care provider may not realize you're not getting enough B-12. This usually happens to someone with pernicious anemia, a type of autoimmune disease. B-12 deficiency may also be more common in people with other autoimmune diseases, like Crohn's disease. Not getting enough B-12 can cause numbness in your legs and feet, problems walking, memory loss, and problems seeing. The treatment depends on the cause. But you may need to get B-12 shots or take special B-12 pills.
*

Underlying diseases. Certain diseases can hurt the body's ability to make red blood cells. For example, people with kidney disease, especially those getting dialysis (takes out wastes from your blood if your kidneys can't), are at higher risk for developing anemia. Their kidneys can't create enough hormones to make blood cells, and iron is lost in dialysis.
*

Inherited blood disease. If you have a blood disease in your family, there is a higher risk that you will also have this disease. One type of inherited blood disease is sickle cell anemia. Instead of having normal red blood cells that move through blood vessels easily, sickle cells are hard and have a curved edge. These cells cannot squeeze through small blood vessels and block the organs from getting blood. Your body destroys sickle red cells quickly, but it can't make new red blood cells fast enough. This causes anemia. Another inherited blood disease is thalassemia. It happens when the body is missing certain genes or when variant (different from normal) genes are passed down from parents that affect how the body makes hemoglobin.
*

Aplastic anemia. This rare problem happens when your body doesn't make enough red blood cells. Since this affects the white blood cells too, there is a higher risk for infections and bleeding that can't be stopped. This can be caused by many things:
o cancer treatments (radiation or chemotherapy)
o exposure to toxic chemicals (like those used in some insecticides, paint, and household cleaners)
o some drugs (like those that treat rheumatoid arthritis)
o autoimmune diseases (like lupus)
o viral infection that affects bone marrow o bone marrow diseases

The treatment depends on how serious the anemia is. It can be treated with blood transfusions, medicines, or a bone marrow transplant.

__________________
bebe #2

i forgot this part

yes i've heard of it. lollerskates!

my friend amy was convinced it worked for her, so far be it from me to take away that belief.

__________________
bebe #2

My mum has a book on that blood type thing. It's accurate. I can't eat certain things without getting a bit uncomfortable. It explains it.

Also, that whole Fit For Life book thing is true as well. Starch and meats is a bad idea, same with meat and cheese. So spaghetti with cheese is not good for your digestive system. Produces different acids and it gets fucked up. They didn't have pasta platters in the wild, our bodies aren't used to it. Fruit is the only thing you should eat for the first 4 hours of the day because it cleans you out, but they're not good before bed. Etc.

And the no meat thing is ALSO true. But you have to make sure you're supplimenting.

__________________

“Long gone are the days when you can see a package on a train or bus and think "I'm having that"”

~ Oscar Wilde on terrorism

fit for life is based in nutritional science. but i dont remember it saying you shouldnt eat a carb with a meat? because actually that doesnt make sense. if you mean starch as in simple sugar, i agree, but carbs should be paired with a fat or a meat. otherwise you run the risk of developing diabetes, or at least regularly flooding your bloodstream very fast with sugar and causing insulin dumping.

blood type determining your foods is hoohaa.

__________________
bebe #2

you are nice to give him the benefit of the doubt. if I had it to do over again I would never have gone to him, he was actually a gyno- my mom's to be precise and in hindsight I think he sucked. He was the first one I had though so I didn't really know better. He told me a couple of things that were wrong and/or didn't explain them to me very well I discovered later. I don't think he approved of me having sex, most of his clients seemed to be women my mother's age. I don't think I'll ever go to a male gyno again at all in fact. :scarred: sorry so off topic people, esp. threadstarter!

I worked at a health food store when it was very popular and I never knew what to make of it. If you ever hear any studies being done about it lemme know, I'm still curious. I've heard lots of people say it works for them but I want some kind of empirical data to look at.

__________________

it's all just simple math to me.

Starch with meat, not carbs with meat.

__________________

“Long gone are the days when you can see a package on a train or bus and think "I'm having that"”

~ Oscar Wilde on terrorism

like potatoes? when should you eat potatoes? kinda like... never.

__________________
bebe #2

what is this potatoes and diabetes thing?

oh my god. NO.

why are potatoes included in the primary group of foods used to guide food planning for people with diabetes here?

Using the Diabetes Food Pyramid - Nutrition & Recipes - American Diabetes Association

small amounts are ok, but if you eat a potato alone you are dumping sugar straight into your blood stream. french fries are better for you in that sense, than is a plain blaked potato.

__________________
bebe #2

also, just FYI diabetes educators and endocrine docs steer away from carb heavy food pyramid now. its still recommended by govt etc, but thats only because it takes a huge effort to effect any change within those systems. nutritional science is beyond the puramid.

most endocrine docs suggest at the very least limiting carbs to x amt a day with veggies as the base or as the "free foods" nutritionists are favoring the mediterranean diet as a standard.

__________________
bebe #2