Parents won't let me be a vegetarian?!
My parents found a book about vegetarianism in my room.
This was when I was a 24/7 vegetarian.
They told me "I found some disturbing books in your room about vegetarianism. are you trying to become a vegetarian?" I said "Yes." they said "Why?" i said "Because its healthier." and then they were like "You need a balanced diet to survive." I was like "No,there are a lot of vegetarians that are completely healthy. I can get all my nutrients from vegetables." and they were still like "You need a balanced diet. end of disscussion!" And I was eating stir fry and it had sesame chicken with it. So i was eating stir fry .My dad just stayed and said "i'm not leaving untill you eat it all." So from then on I only eat meat when with my parents. We're going tomorrow for my physical. I'm thinking about asking my mom to ask the doctor about me being a vegetarian. What should I ask her to ask
Answers: I have been a semi-vegetarian for the past 4 months. Semi, as in I don't touch any meat outside of my house.
My parents found a book about vegetarianism in my room.
This was when I was a 24/7 vegetarian.
They told me "I found some disturbing books in your room about vegetarianism. are you trying to become a vegetarian?" I said "Yes." they said "Why?" i said "Because its healthier." and then they were like "You need a balanced diet to survive." I was like "No,there are a lot of vegetarians that are completely healthy. I can get all my nutrients from vegetables." and they were still like "You need a balanced diet. end of disscussion!" And I was eating stir fry and it had sesame chicken with it. So i was eating stir fry .My dad just stayed and said "i'm not leaving untill you eat it all." So from then on I only eat meat when with my parents. We're going tomorrow for my physical. I'm thinking about asking my mom to ask the doctor about me being a vegetarian. What should I ask her to ask
That's a great idea, to discuss this with your doctor. It take work, but a balanced vegetarian diet can be healthy. Ask your doctor for recommendations and have your parents read over materials with you.
Remember there aren't necessarily fixed rules about vegetarianism, and there are different types that fit better for some than others. A room full of people could all be "vegetarians", and all hold a different diet, it's what about works for you, and your reasons for becoming one.
Vegetarian - does not eat any meat, poultry, fish or animal by-products such as animal fats or gelatin.
Lacto-ovo Vegetarian - Eats both dairy products and eggs.
Lacto Vegetarian - Eats dairy products but not eggs.
Ovo Vegetarian - Eats eggs but not dairy products.
Vegan - Does not eat dairy products, eggs or any other animal product. Will also usually not use any non-food items that come from animals such as leather, wool and silk.
Fruitarian - Diet consists mainly of raw fruit.
Macrobiotic - This is mainly vegetarian but macrobiotic diets often contain seafood. All other meat products are excluded, as are eggs and dairy products. There are different levels of macrobiotic diets.
This diet is based on the Chinese principles of ying (positive) and yang (negative), and people may follow it for philosophical or spiritual reasons.
Pescetarians/Semi/Demi-Vegetarians - Generally follow a vegetarian based diet but eat fish.
Flexitarian - This is a relatively new definition, it describes someone who still eats meat but follows a vegetarian based diet for most of the time, or who will only occasionally eat meat.
That's bull.. you can still be healthy! All meat does for you is give you protein and there are plenty of alternative foods you can have to get you the protein your body needs. Tell your parents they need to do some research before they make personal decisions for you!
Ask your doctor for information on becoming a vegetarian and ways to stay healthy if you become one. Then ask her to talk to your mom about it. It may not change her mind, but it can't hurt.
how old are you?
any ways i guess when you start buying the food you can buy what you want
you can ask her
"mom are you willing to buy special foods and prepare these special foods for me or not?"
good luck
I have a simialar story, my parents are divorced and i had week on and week off. basically my mom was okay with my decision, but my father was not. I simply didnt eat. He told me that if i wanted to eat id have to buy and prepare my own food. So, i did and eventually he accepted my diet and began to pick up my favorite veg foods along with his meat meals....
give it time, if you are serious about your decision no one should be able to change it.
You have the choice (usually) if you want your parents there during the physical. And even if they come, you can ask them to leave because you have to talk to the doctor, and the doctor CAN make them leave. That's when you can talk about becoming vegetarian. And that is bull about not getting a balanced diet, because like the other answer, its mainly protein and fat. You can get lots of protein from beans too. It actually is way healthier to be vegetarian/vegan than a meat eater. Good luck, and TALK TO THE DOCTOR, they can kick your parents out if YOU don't want them in there!! GO for it!!
If your parents won't let you be a vegitarian just eat meat in healthy ways and limit portions while exercising.
Eating meat isn't bad unless you eat it in excess. Everything in excess is bad including drinks gallons of water in 1 sitting.(kidney flooding)
I understand your dilemma with your parents. When I was a teenager, I wanted to become a vegetarian and my family discouraged me from doing it. Eventually I wound up doing it anyway, and now I'm vegan. It sounds like you really need to do some research on how to be healthy as a vegetarian. The more you understand about it, the easier it will be to justify your decision to your parents. Don't listen to people who tell you that you need to eat meat for protein--it is absolutely possible to get plenty of protein on a vegetarian diet, as long as you are eating a variety of foods (veggies, grains, etc.). However, pay attention to your Vitamin B12 (usually gotten from fortified foods), iodine (gotten from sea vegetables and iodized salt), and your Omega-3's (easily gotten from flax seeds). These are the things you most need to be aware of.
I would like to point out though, that you might not want to count on your doctor to back you up on becoming vegetarian. Doctors receive very little training in nutrition in medical school--and some receive no training at all. So even though we think of doctors as experts, in a lot of ways they hold the same misconceptions and myths regarding vegetarianism as the general population. It is very possible that your doctor won't know much about it and may have some of the same beliefs as your parents. That's why it's important for you to do your own research--as you become more educated, you'll be a better advocate for vegetarianism.
I wish you a lot of luck!
to be fair here, its your life and if you want to be veggie that is totally up to you. i have been a vegetarian for 8-9 years since i was about 11. my mum had some reserves about it but once she discovered that cooking an extra meal in the evening wouldnt be so bad and found out a little more about it she was fine. she still has her doubts 9 years later but i eat healthy i am a nice weight, i have good blood pressure....i had blood tests done a few months ago and my blood count is good too....etc.
bring the subject up when you in the doctors, say that your thinking of the benifits of a veg diet, there are loads of products out there now that you can get all the nutrients that meat contains high levels of. I dont want to put pressure on, but i do believe you should be able to make your own decisions. if this is what you want, then you should show them how you really feel about it. show them around some veggie websites (ill include a few below and show them some easy recepies)
i wish you all the best with this and good luck @ the docs!
oh you can get vegetarian starter kits from some websites as well which is jam packed full of useful ideas and tips.
My first thought on reading this was 'how old are you?' My own daughter talked about becoming veggie a few years ago when she was about ten years old. I too asked her why, and she said because it's cruel to kill animals to to eat them. My reply was indeed it's not cruel at all, it's what pigs, sheep, cattle etc are here for. She said they should be in fields enjoying life; well the vast majority of animals for slaughter do live in fields for at least part of their lives. If we didn't eat them they would become extinct. I asked if she had any other reasons for going veggie, she said because her friends were doing it, so I told her they may be but you sure are not, and she has remained a sensible eater ever since!
Sam...that is a shedload of statistics and opinions you dished out regarding cows, none of it convincing. Farmers do not keep and farm these animals as pets or to make the countryside look pretty, they farm them to supply a need, and if people en masse became veggie of course the vast majority of these animals would become extinct. Granted, they do take a lot of feeding and watering but look at the returns...all that milk, cream, dairy products, leather, steak, beef etc, excellent value and all that lovely food for us to enjoy. As for damaging the ozone with their gasses - well try getting the Chinese, Indians, Russians and yes, Americans to become more environmentally friendly by reducing their gas guzzling and fossil fuel usage. A few cow farts are as nothing compared to that.
you have every right to become a vegetarian but you cannot just make your parents prepare veg food just for you.
why don't you wait a couple of years, when you can afford to buy your own food? then they can't complain.
& you don't have to ask your mom to ask your doc. you can ask the doctor yourself, in your mom's presence. but be sure to ask "just for clarification", not in a way that seems critical of your parents' views, or she will automatically be defensive & won't be receptive to your views
At 16 you are still legally subject to your parents wishes, so if they are dead set against it, you may have some issues.
However, do ask your doctor about the specific health issues/consequences of becoming a vegitarian. He/she may recomend some vitamins as dietary supplements (but other than certain B-vitamins if you're going vegan, it shouldn't be an issue.).
Do the research! Show how your food choices can provide balanced nutrition!
Offer to buy & cook your own meals (& clean up the kitchen afterwards). Better yet, offer to cook for them to!
Good luck!
It is possible to be healthy on a vegetarian diet, but you do have to be concerned about getting complete protein however. Vegetarianism is a good way to eliminate cholesterol and many high fat foods from you diet (if you don't fry things). If you usually eat a lot of fast food or junk food, such as chips and sweets instead of healthy vegetables, salad and fruits it would be hard to stay healthy.
Perhaps your parents aren't convinced that you are serious. If you purchase a book on healthy foods that are vegetarian and cook some dishes for you family maybe they would be more willing to accept the idea.
They are probably just worried about you and think it may be a stage you are going through. If you truly are opposed to eating animal protein then try to educate them as to why, and convince them that you intend to stick to the diet long term.
My neice became a vegetarian at age 11, her parents helped by educating her on what to eat and allowing her to try various food combinations. She is still a vegetarian at age 32. Good Luck.
Well, I think a lot of people still living at home face that problem. Do what you've been doing, and don't eat meat when you're away from home.
Taking your parents along to the doctor might help. You should also learn how to cook, if you don't already. Sometimes parents have reservations if they think it will mean extra work for them.
Don't get preachy, but try to explain why it's healthier. See what kind of meats they think you need. If any of it is fried, smoked, really fatty, etc, point out that you don't feel that eating it would be a healthy decision. Meat can certainly be a part of a balanced diet, but it isn't essential.
Invest in some books while you're at it. When you go to the doctor's, discuss it with him or her before your parents come in. Or, ask him or her for a referral to a nutritionist. Professionals go a long way in helping win parents over to a healthy decision that they don't understand.
Failing that, minimize your meat consumption at home as best as you can. Work on making menus with your mom (or whoever does the cooking) and be sure that you're eating okay sources. (Skip anything processed.) If you can, get organic meats to minimize the passive consumption of pesticides, etc. Working on menus will also help you two collaborate on learning more about nutrition. She'll learn about healthy non-meat sources of protein, and you'll learn about her concerns and habits. See if you can talk her into letting you cook one vegetarian meal a week.
Good luck to you. Get a book specifically on vegetarian nutrition. You can go over your dietary needs and find various sources there. Happy hunting!
If you are 16 years old, you are old enough to ask the doctor yourself about becoming a vegetarian. I became vegetarian when I was 13/14 years old and have been one ever since (I am 24 now). My parents respected my decision and never bugged me about not eating meat. If your parents actually read the books that you had or actually knew anything about being vegetarian, they would know that you can be completely heathy eating a diet free of meat. If this is something you really want to do, you need to approach your parents in a mature way and lay out the facts for them. Do research, explain the nutrition to them, etc. If they are rational people, they should listen to you if you can back up what you are saying and explain why it is important to you.
i'm 16 too and im a vegetarian!!!! i went almost a year ago. my parents wouldnt let me when i was younger. but then i realized something. i realized that i didnt need my parents to tell me whether or not i can make those choices or not. so i did w/o their permission. and i told them that i have been for the last several months and i wanted to for myself. and i told them the reasons that im about to tell you now. im a huge animal lover and i cant stand it that animals are being killed and tortured in slaughterhouses. and its just disgusting to me. i never really liked steak or chicken and stuff like that. and then tell your parents that you can pay for meals by getting a job (if you dont already have one). show that you re responsible with it 2. i have meat alternatives like BOCA and Morningstar. they have great stuff there. but never have the veggie chicken nuggets or veggie turkey. thats gross w/ a capital G!!! but just try new things. hav fun, like i am! and people (including my family) will always pick and make fun of you, but dont listen 2 them. they dont understand! but anyways, if your parents dont let you, have a good attitude anyway and as you said n ur 1st sentence, dont eat it outside of the house, but eat it when your parents are around. and i think its wrong that your parents called those books "disturbing". thts not cool. evr since i went vegetarian, i feel healthier! its better 2 me and a lot of celebs are veg. 2. like carrie underwood, shania twain, alicia silverstone, andre 3000(from outkast), tobey maquire, etc. i look up 2 them completely. but whatevr.
good luck and hope everything goes well w/ ur parents.
does that help?
my mom is the only one who really accepts my decision, everyone else in my family feels the need to pick a fight with me about it, or shove meat in my face every chance they get, and it really sucks. but you are 16 and able to make your own decisions. i was 14 when i stopped eating meat.. and even at age 14 without any support, i did it anyway. i went with my mom to the grocery store, shopped for my own food, and prepared it myself.. i still do that now. i think you should try doing that. your 16, you should be able to accept the responsibility to cook for yourself if your own parents wont support you.
what happened for me was, i started cooking my own food so much and got so good at it, i usually will cook vegan meals for my whole family.
one thing that might convince your parents to let you become a vegetarian.. watch a video.. its called "meet your meat" you can find it on the peta website. the moment after i watched that video i became a vegetarian.
are your parents religious? if they are christians-- in the bible, it says that people are not supposed to eat meat at all. and lots of other religions oppose eating meat.
and by the way, Sue... you are very wrong about how if we didnt eat the animals, they would become extinct.. if people stopped eating cows,yes, there would be a lot less.. but that would be so beneficial to the environment. actually, by mass producing these animals we are destroying the environment. the gases they produce are ruining the ozone. and growing all the crops to feed farmed animals requires massive amounts of water and land—in fact, nearly half of the water and 80 percent of the agricultural land in the United States are used to raise animals for food. could you imagine how many people we could feed if we stopped giving it to cows?
My parents was negative & nasty about me becoming a vegetarian when I was growing. I became one after I go to college and moved out. I feel physically & spiritually better. Most doctor will recommend meat eating because that is what they taught in medical school about nutrition. But than, I am sure they will recommend a lot of vegetables, fruits and whole grain, also.
To bad. My whole family is vegetarian. i agree that you will be healthier if you are vegetarian, as long as you don't just pig out on junk food. Sounds to me like you will eat good food, so it won't be a problem. There is so much fat in meat and with all the hormones and other stuff, you are much healthier without the meat. Hopefully your doctor will agree, some are so traditional that they say you have to eat meat to live. If you look at human teeth and the teeth of carnivores you will see that humans have teeth more similar to an herbivore. Hope you are able to work this out.
Wait until you move out of the house and then you can eat whatever you want. Under the circumstances you are doing the best you can. Keeping peace and getting a good foundational diet is more important right now.
Definitely ask your doctor to talk to your parents. Almost all doctors these days agree that being vegetarian is just as healthy as not. Just tell him openly "I want to become vegetarian but we're not sure if it's healthy" and see what he says. Preferably in front of your parents.
Grow up.
Get a job.
Move out.
Buy your own food.
Become a vegetarian.