How do you be a vegetarian when your family is against it?

I've read and reserched variouse reasons to be a vegitarian (mostly on this site, actually), and I'd like to try it. But EVERYONE in my family is against it. If I go against their wishes and start cooking for myself, I will end up offending ALL of them. Not a fun feeling, really. But on the other hand, if I don't start something soon, I'm going to end up overweight. What the ____ am I suppozed to do?

 

tell them its cause you want to lose weight.

 

just do it. why worry about what they think? you should have the choice of what goes into your body. if your age is correct (20), then it's your choice anyway. if you are dependent on your family for food, i would just not eat the meat. why worry about offending THEM? aren't they offending YOU by not letting you choose your own diet?

 

Youre 20 :S Just do it, your body. I went veg against everyones wishes at 13 and have cooked for myself ever since

Good on you for researching btw

Good luck

 

I agree with the others.

My parents freaked when I announced that I was going vegan. So I'm transitioning gradually, and focusing on the health benefits (no sane person is going object to a loved one eating more vegetables).
Just cutting meat is easier though, am sure you'll be just fine.

I also often cook or bake things for the whole family to eat, then casually mention afterwards it was vegan. So they're getting a more positive image of the lifestyle, because they've enjoyed the food.

Maybe your family will be more accepting than you expect, even if it does take a while for them to come around. There must be something they make which is meatless, or could be adapted to be, so you could have that and/or make some to share.

 

word, I shop for my own food and cook my own meals. I became a vegetarian a few years ago and my parents thought it was a phase that I picked up in college that I would eventually grow out of...lol They deal with it. the only thing that they say is, "your food smells!"

 

It's been 10 months since I went veggie and my Dad still asks me how I get my protein!!! We had a long talk about nutrition & vegetarianism this past visit and I think he has more of an understanding now.

It is not easy balancing protein, fat and carbs and worrying about vitamin B & iron. It has taken me months of educating myself on how to be a healthy vegetarian.

If it's something you really feel strongly about, don't worry what others will think and just give it a go!

 

just explain to your family what your motives are..
im not vegetarian or anything, but i can understand pple's reasons for being vegetarian, and if i can understand, i can respect it too.
going vegetarian, as far as i know, isnt gonna hurt u, so i suppose if u tell your family that it makes u happy to do that, they wont have anything to say.
its your life, and u're not putting it in danger so they should support your choices

 

Well, I mistakenly saw 45 posts and thought it was age 45, instead of twenty. Anyway, since this is still good advice, I thought I'd keep it here.



Hats off to you for wanting to go veg. It sounds like you may be the person cooking. This gives you a big advantage.

The trick to becoming vegetarian in an enviornment like that is to do it gradually. Add more vegetables to the mix. Try new things, add new grains and beans. Get a couple good vegetarian cookbooks.

Here are some good ones to start with:
The Compassionate Cook, Newkirk and Newkirk
The Fresh Vegetable Cookbook, Mayer
Vegan Planet, Robertson
Vegan World Fusion Cuisine, Reinfield, Rinaldi, et. al.
New Vegetarian Cuisine, Rosenweig

You can also get good recipes off the web. Depending on your cooking skills, you can go for anything from simple to spectacular.

Start to wean people off meat. You yourself can choose to opt out of the meat sections of dinner.

Since you are trying to lose weight, I would recommending the application version of the USDA food database:

http://www.ars.usda.gov/main/site_main.htm?modecode=12354500

You can search it online, but it's way faster to search with the downloadable version. Also, get a food scale that measures in grams.

Weigh you your food so you consume the recommended amount of calories to lose or maintain weight. caloriesperhour.com is a great resource.

If you don't want to be that anal, stick to a lot of veggies, but make sure you balance your nutrition. This subject is covered so much on the web I won't repeat it here.

So, the idea is that if you graduallly, over the period of 6 or more months, accustom your family to a vegtarian diet, and you provide for all their nutritional needs, they shouldn't notice. If they like junky food, learn how to make comfort dishes. Michael Roberts Secret Ingredients has more than a few excellent comfort foods.

Good luck. Hopefully, it can be painless.

If your family tries to harrass you about, tell them you're not trying to be a vegetarian; you are simply trying to make more health conscious food choices. If you debate the issue, they'll try to sabotage you. That's not to say they're mean, it is the reality of what our near and dear often to, however good intentioned.

 

This guy I work with said that vegetarians die from all the same diseases, and he doesnt see the point of not eating meat. He said god put them on this planet for something the same reason he put us here. He said he put the dang animals here for us to eat!

 

My parents are so pro- me not eating meat..
but they've gotten used to me doing strange things like sitting around outside all night, and talking to my cat. so they are used to it.

Just do it...
show that you arent sick and dieing because of lack of protien...
and bam they learn to live with it.

Love,
Gin

 

i actually think i get more protien than people who eat meat. I absolutely hate this stereotype.

 

you must eat a LOT if you are getting more protein than meat eaters.

 

Bumble, WHAT are you eating?!? I have to plan carefully to make sure I get the minimum amount in... for a 1500 calorie diet! I wanna know what I've been missing!
love,
mom

 

I consume a lot of soy drinks and I eat protein filled foods in most of my meals. crispy protein cereal, beans,pasta,peanuts, seeds, protein bars. May be I don't get as much, but it seems like it because i pay attention to what i eat. No, I don't eat a lot.

 

protien bars are wonderful...
I use slimfast to...but I still use milk products.
Slimfast gets you a lot of stuff you need in a neat little can.

 

I have another question...how do you suggest controlling hunger? My blood sugar has a tendency to plummet, so I usually have to eat every 3-4 hourse. I can't stand feeling hungry, because I usually then get really shakey and crabby. I usually lose track of how much I've eaten during the day.

 

I went vegetarian about a year ago. There was some initial hostility from my family, but since then it has lessened quite a bit. There are still some occasional moments when someone in my familty will ask me if I want a cheeseburger, or that they're stopping at KFC on the way home later and if I want anything. I then say simply, "no, thank you for asking" and leave it at that. I also sometimes do still get looks from them when I turn down anything non-vegetarian or non-natural. For the most part though, I think that they've accepted that they aren't gonna change my eating habits so I'm mostly left alone.