i've been vegan for 2-3 years, and was vegetarian for roughly the same amount of time before that. i lost ~30 pounds after going vegan, though i started running and cycling basically the same day, so i call it "lifestyle change" instead of "diet change."
similarly, the largest change i noticed in myself was the way i related to the world and my place in it. "an it harm none" took on a deeper meaning for me; i felt a deeper sense of connection and connectedness to the world.
but, you did ask about diet. i went through all sorts of wonderful things adjusting my diet to the point it is at now.
protein deficiency
at first, i was not getting enough protein. this actually felt completely amazing and wonderful, and i'd do it again if it weren't
really bad for me.
but my hair stopped growing, my nails were brittle and my sex drive tanked. i started both drinking a homemade protein shake and incorporating higher protein grains into my diet. these days i drink two protein shakes a day. adding the second shake was incrementally better, but that first one made a huge difference.
iron deficiency
getting that under control, i went through periods of massive fatigue. i was tired all day, even when i felt i was eating enough food. taking a daily multivitamin with iron caused those symptoms to disappear. i added b vitamin supplements at the same time, as b vitamin deficiency had similar symptoms.
i think i had been getting
just enough iron when summer hit. i increased my level of physical activity and that tipped the scale.
salt/potassium deficiency
after that, i still had days where i was feeling off. i've linked it now to salt deficiency. particularly now that it is 90+ degrees in the day around here. i sweet buckets if i'm out riding in the afternoon.
i'm not particularly fond of salt, which adds to the problem in my case. but i now recognize the early symptoms, which in my case are a particular kind of headache followed by general fatigue. sometimes also low diastolic blood pressure. (feeling light headed after standing up quickly.)
i'm glad you change in diet is leaving you feeling good! if that changes, hopefully you'll be able to identify what it is that is causing you problems and tweak accordingly. as a friend of mine says about diet and health "we're aiming for perfect here."
