It's been almost a month since I turned vegetarian (yay for meeeee!!!....ahem ), and for some reason everyone is worried about my health even though I have been eating better now than ever before since I am more aware of what I am putting in my mouth. This really didn't bother me as much until someone I don't know (an aquaintance of my boyfriend) started telling me what I have to do to live normally. He says he's a nutritionist (a fat one btw...) He started grilling me and asking me to name the five different vegetarians! I said ovo, lacto, latco-ovo, vegan, and frutarian. He didn't even know what a fruitarian is! The fifth one was supposed to be the vegetarian that only eat local produce. Anyway, he proceeded to tell me about all the vitamins I'm going to HAVE to buy at a health food store that will cost me $70 a month! And one contains fish oil???!!!!!!! WTF? What is the point of taking a FISH oil supplement when you are a vegetarian???? and especailly if they are specifically made for vegans??????? Needless to say he really pissed me off the way he was talking down to me and thinking I don't know what I am doing. Like I haven't done my research! Then to top it all off he says "Oh but don't let anyone tell you that being a vegetarian is wrong" after the lecture on the alteratives of organic farming. RAAAARRAARRARAR!! I feel much better now! Peace and Love Twila Red
I totally understand you! I am also a "new" vegetarian and my family is always telling me I'm not eating "well" and that if I don't go back to meat I will get ill... Of course I know they are wrong, and I'm eating better now than ever before, but it is very annoying to listen to my parents every single day complain about my eating habits. Anyway, no matter how much they complain I will never eat animal corpses again. And by the way, don't let that stupid nutricionist talk down to you, you don't deserve it
I have been a vegetarian for over 20 years. People that aren't vegetarians simply do not understand a vegetarian meal. They usually think it's what they eat just minus the meat... which means they think vegetarians only eat salads and maybe potatoes. Keep proteins as your "main meal". Soy and products are great. Eat a variety of things. If you are worried, find a good multi vitamin, and perhaps iron. You do not need fish oil. Oh, and never trust a fat nutritionist!
Don't stress yourself out.. I've been getting hell from my whole family about being vegetarian since I was 12, telling me I have to eat meat to be healthy. (they've never even tried a lentil, wouldn't touch soymilk, thinks seeds are for birds..I could go on) More importantly, THEY need MEAT because they don't have a balanced healthy diet! Not the other way around. So as long as you eat a varied diet of mostly natural products, you'll be right. The only vitamin to be careful of is B12, which you can get in soymilk, cereal all that stuff anyway. But I have to get a shot because my body doesn't absorb it. Hope that was vaguely helpful..
I think he topped it off with that comment because you put him on his own little island knowing your stuff.... A lot of people [who aren't veggie] don't do much research on it, therefore they think "oh how weak must a veggie be... you need meat to keep you strong!" which is total bullshit...i dont know about you but I feel more alive and energetic than I ever have since I went veg... i barely EVER have to take naps in the middle of the day anymore, I can exercise without it being a chore or exhausting, i seem to focus better at work, etc... Of course, if you don't know how to balance your diet, you're going to feel like shit... But that also happens to meat-eaters as well; it's going to happen to anyone who doesn't balance what they put in their bodies. From what you've explained you seemed to have researched a lot on it and know how to properly balance your diet....so just ignore what those misinformed people say to you. There's so many food products available these days that are fortified with the vitamins and nutrients that you need...if you can find a way to get enough of what you need, you don't need the supplements.... I've never taken supplements, and every year when I go to the Dr. for a check up and a blood test, I'm healthy as a horse. Getting those kind of comments can be annoying, but remember.... you have more knowledge on the subject than they do... so show them your stuff! A lot of people don't feel like elaborating as not to argue or whatever, but I think more people need to be informed on a veggie or vegan diet. thats just my h.o. though
wow, i can empathize with your frustrations. good for you for standing up for your beliefs! and even better that you're an intelligent veggie, who researched her decision before making it. your knowledge probably challenged his beliefs. in terms of the fish oil, he was probably talking about omega-3s, a fatty acid. hemp oil has a lot of it, and it's veggie-friendly of course. saying that you'll need to spend $70/month on vitamins is ridiculous!
This quote from Thoreau has always amused me... ...One farmer says to me, "you cannot live on vegetable food solely, for it furnishes nothing to make bones with;" and so he religiously devotes a part of his day to supplying his system with the raw material of bones; walking all the while he talks behind his oxen, which with vegetable-made bones, jerk him and his lumbering plough along in spite of every obstacle.
yeah, i noticed i got these waffles that had flax in them which apparently has the omega-3s ...completely vegan, not derived from fish oil.
