My mom is convinced that veganism is unhealthy, but I still want to be vegan?!

I have been a vegan for 4 years now and going strong. I eat healthy and take supplements. If I get sick it is because I was not eating right and not getting enough rest. I have meat eating coworkers who are always sick and calling into work but not me. You have to be sensible with your diet even as vegan as with any other diet.

You probably cant because from what I have researched in collage and herd it is un healthy because you cant get the protein and Iron that you would need. That's from both vegan and vegetarian. vegetarian is allot better but still very difficult to get all you protein and Iron just from vegges.

You should look for sucess stories. There's nothing wrong with going vegan, you have to take vitamins though and be real careful about everything you eat. So if your serious, you'll have to avoid a lot of things, not just meat but dairy products, eggs and a few other things.

You can't.
You can only give her whatever information you have.
SHE has to decide for herself what she thinks.

No one can truly "convince" anyone of anything -- they can only give information and hope the other party will see it as they do.

"I KNOW she'll take her co-worker's advice over mine (since she's an adult and has been a vegetarian longer than me)."
You're right, why should your mother listen to someone with real world experience, after all you have youth and half a nutrition class on your side.

its healthy what your doing, however protein is HIGHLY important. So make sure your finding a way to get that and youll be just fine.

do some research an show her facts.

Give her scientific facts then. Do some research online and show it to her so she can read.

Its obvious you've done your research. The best way to convince someone is by showing them that it is healthy. The people I know had a misconception about veganism being unhealthy. After I became one....my family did get influenced by the way I eat. No, they didn't all became veggies but they did cut down on meat and started making healthier choices like eating at home and adding more whole grains, legumes and veggies. Instead of cow milk, I drink almond and they drink soy milk now.

Get the facts. Then, make a presentation.

Lay out your meal plan.
If you have a doctor or a nutrionist (maybe your school has one), you can get them to approve your meal plan & write a letter of endorsement.

Explain how you are willing to do the hard work, the research, the food shopping & cooking for your new lifestyle, etc.

If you want this, then you can make it happen :)

Vegetarian for 2.5 years (but love my cheese too much to go vegan :) )

"but she lost so much weight and looked sick so she went back to being vegetarian"
That's probably because she just quit diary, cheese, etc. and all these fatty foods without any thought to just how much calories etc. is in that stuff, then she is hungry and eats salads or whatever and her weight drops and she just isn't getting enough nutrients. Anyway, you can eat a potato chip diet and still be vegan.

Get your hands on some books (such as Becoming Vegan), join Earthsave, .... every library has a whole section of cookbooks, health books, etc.

Veganism is unhealthy. Vegans are unable to get the protein and vitamins they need without taking supplements and other vitamins. It's better to eat a variety of foods including meat. If you're concerned about not eating meat because you're worried about animal cruelty then you can still make better choices about where you get it.

Also, those bloated children are also probably afflicted with parasitic worms that are taking up a lot of space in their intestines.