parents - Forum - The Frugivore Diet

Clarifying yesterday's question about my parents.

2016-04-08T21:59:57.000Z

Okay so, I TOTALLY agree about teens doing their own thing and managing their lives for themselves. The issue is that I'm not compleatly independent, and quite frankly my parents buy my food.. As parents should. As I said earlier, my mom is pretty fucked up and has a lot of misconceptions but she thinks she knows everything. My dad just goes along with whatever she says. I know this may sound like 'oh she's just some typical teen who has some frustrations and arguments with her parents'... This is NOT that. I have two older sisters and my mom has emotionally abused us all. She is better with me than she was with them and I don't tell you this for pity: I'm mentioning this to show the kind of person that she is.. She is stubborn and never admits she's wrong and never says she's sorry and thinks she is an expert on all this food related. She also thinks she knows exactly what is right for me. I know her and I know she will NOT believe me unless someone she deems credible (a doctor) tells her I'm right. Since I don't have anyone who can do this she will just say no that's redicullous and crazy and would be hard to manage. I don't know how to show you the kind of control she truly has over my life. I feel trapped and the only escape I can see is turning 18

Dealing with unsupportive parents

2016-02-14T20:09:56.000Z

Hey guys,

I am 15 years old and vegan for about 6 months now. I feel really good but the only problem is my mum...

She always tells me that it makes her so sad that I am vegan and we can't eat things like cheese together anymore. She also says that it is so extreme and I can't visit other people anymore because of my diet and stuff like that. She thinks that I'm excluding myself from the family by always eating different things than the rest of the family. And that I can't have a social life anymore.

She also believes that I can't get enough nutrients on a vegan diet. But she refuses to watch any documentaries.

And she says that I don't have verity and have to eat boring food cause I am always eating the same.

But I love my banana smoothies for breakfast and my potato fries for dinner so much!

Every time I try to talk with her it ends in me crying and I know that it is wrong that I start to shout and stuff but I am just so over it...

Another problem is that my private life is quite hard for me right now so I always seem so negative and sad to her. But that is not because of veganism.

I just don't know what to do anymore, my parents constantly tell me how disappointed they are in me and it makes me so sad.

I would be so happy if anyone has any advice <33

Unsupportive Parents

2015-09-13T23:28:08.000Z

Hi there,

I use to have an eating disorder (over a year ago) and have been vegan for about 10 months now. My parents support me being vegan (somewhat) but now that I am trying to be HCLF Vegan and eating fruits all day and cooked carbs (+veggies) for dinner they think it is just my "eating disorder" talking and completely disapprove of it saying "thats not normal eating" etc etc etc. I dont know what to do, whenever the subject comes up its like they have no intention of listening to me at all, they have already made up their minds and just dont care what i have to say.

Please help me, I just dont know what to do anymore. If anyone has any advice I would greatly, greatly appreciate it.

Desperate! WANT TO BE VEGAN

2015-07-18T08:40:55.000Z

Over the last week I have been watching videos and reading about veganism and the impacts of consuming animal products. I knew it was going to be hard to tell my mum that I wanted to go vegan and I finally gained the courage to tell her after a couple of days and her reaction was worse than I thought. She said over my dead body and that she was disappointed with me. She thinks I'm being extreme and that I am doing it to lose weight and that all Im going to eat is salads. She threatened to take me to the doctors. She will not cook me any vegan meals and thinks all Im going to eat is salads which is unhealthy. I have had troubles with her before thinking that Im too skinny for my height, when Im actually only slightly underweight and that I exercise more than the food i consume (if that were true I would be losing weight which im not and I only exercise maybe about 3-4 times a week). She is always telling me that I need to put on weight. I tried to reassure her that I am not doing this for health reasons and that it is not right how animals are treated. (even though i said Id actually be eating more and be healthier) but she wouldnt have a bar of it. She said that God put them here for a reason to eat. She said if i dont put on weight she will take me out of my modelling. Can someone please help me with this and how I might be able to convince her that vegan-ism is better for us and the animals. HELP ME BE VEGAN.

14 year old with unsupportive parent

2015-02-07T11:47:59.000Z

Hi everyone,I am a 14 year old girl (vegan) wanting to become even healthier and happier by getting into the hclf lifestyle! The only problem is, my parents are so unsure about my new way of eating. My mum thinks I'm eating waaay to much fruit and sugar, which she thinks will result in me getting fat. (I have previously been overweight and through hard work, I lost the weight) my dad thinks I won't get enough protein, and when I told them I was going vegan he made me eat tofu every day just to make sure I was getting enough protein!Now the real question is, how do I get them so accept me eating so much fruit every meal? I cannot eat more than two bananas without my mum giving me looks. And I know I will gain some weight on this lifestyle, which will just make my mum lecture me about how bad carbs are. My family is Asian (Korean, to be exact) so rice is a staple in our diet and I love it, but my mum will again, look at me funny when I eat more than a certain serving of rice. She always glances over and asks "I thought, you were trying to lose weight?" And "Too much rice will make you fat" and "I've dieted before and fruit made me gain weight so easily" and "Do you even know how many calories are in _____ bananas?" Etc etc.I really hate my parents telling me meat is needed for me to grow, meat is needed for protein, milk is good for you and all that bullshit.So please help me, I'm 14 so I can't move out or make my own money. My parents don't give a shit about documentaries or whatever, so I need a way to persuade them that a fruity, high carb life is optimal for humans.Thank you for reading this everyone!!!!

Is having one huge meal with few snacks okay? Instead of three meals??

2015-01-30T22:52:35.000Z

I started Raw till 4 last year around the same time, I lost weight, I did not have depression and I was alert and my performance in school improved. What stopped me? Parents usually aren't supportive of the rawtill4 decision, but my mother made it impossible for me to have even 1300 calories. I hadn't reached my weight loss goal and my mother told me that I was going to get diabetes and that I need to calorie restrict and that animals were for eating :'(. I was able to fight by not eating any meat but I was totally deprived of fruits. Thus, the rebirths of my eating disorders (<500calories into bulimia, then back to <300 but also since I had depression I became a self harmer since I stopped). I was crying because of my disgusting self then I looked at my pictures and remembered this lifestyle. I decided to go back to the lifestyle and MAKE it happen and FIND a way to eat as many calories as I want.

The only thing is, I need to do it without my parents' knowing. In two years, I'm graduating high school and living my own life so I just need to do this for two years.

It is possible for me to eat 1500 calories near 2:30pm because my parents are not with me and I can buy food. I can eat 300 calories for breakfast, 500 for snacks, and 300 for dinner. (total would be 2600 calories)

Would that be okay for me do for raw till 4?? Does anyone have any advice or solutions? PLEASE HELP ME.

not enough protein -_-

2014-09-01T21:34:59.000Z

i keeo telling my mother that its actually recommended by the WHO to get 5% protein, but when i told her i wanted to start building more muscle and lifting weights she said, well you wont gain any muscle without eating more protein... she just doesnt really get it. any ideas for what i can tell her?

My Dad Won't Leave Me Alone

2014-08-06T17:09:46.000Z

Every single day, no joke, he will cook some kind of meat (today was ribs), and he will put it in front of my face, telling me how good it is and that I should eat it. Then, he tells me that I need protein in my diet and that I need to eat meat. I am so tired of this. He doesn't listen to me and just keeps doing it. Each time he does that I just walk away, but he never stops. What should I do? Should I just keep what I'm doing? He refuses to be educated. Anyone else have this problem? What are you experiences?

how to convince my mom to let me eat hclf??

2014-08-02T23:51:35.000Z

im 15 and ive decided to go rawtill4 hclf and have sort of trying to be eating this way for a week now but i havent told my mom or anything. i have an eating disorder past so she is sensitive about what i eat and is always saying i should be eating more protein and that i cant get to a healthy weight by just eating fruit. i eat loads of fruit for breakfast and snacks and eat a somewhat typical rawtill4 dinner, but whenever im with her for lunch she makes me get a normal salad or sometimes something cooked with it (rice, etc). do any of you have any tips for how to explain to her what this lifestyle is and that it would be perfect for me and help me be able to get to a steadier weight? i appreciate any comments!! thanks!!!

Family thinks i have a problem?? MY STORY. REALLY NEED HELP

2014-07-21T21:09:56.000Z

Hello fellow fruit bats! I'm a 15 year old girl, and in the past few years, I have a question (ovi).

For the past year with food. I used to be a binger, after months of restricting. As an example, after a huge binge the night before, I would have One banana with almond butter for breakfast, and restrict at school for the rest of the day, and binge out at night. My parents never though I had an overeating problem because I did a great job of hiding it. I was a yoyo dieter for the longest time, until I found freelee. Once I leaned about the vegan message, I did my research, watch a bunch of documentaries about veganism from a health aspect, animal cruelty and environmental aspects.

Sometime in February, after suffering from a week of indigestion/stomach flu and a concussion, I decided to go vegan for a week. I stuck with it, but I threw out a lot of the food that my mom gave me that included meat. I still felt so much better, clearer and more focused at school. I was no longer afraid of food. I continued with this, but on weekends, my dad gave me meat. One week, I refused the hamburger my dad gave me. The night ended with it getting shoved down my throat, me balling my eyes out, and later attempting to purge it out until my throat was raw.

This happened a couple more times until i'd had enough. My dad started getting more and more concerned about my refusal for meat and dairy that he asked me about it. I'm the type of person who can't stand up for myself because I know my parents will not understand and not take me seriously because i'm "just a kid" and that I " don't know anything"'. He disapproves of my smoothies in the morning and always asks "where's the protein" a

My dad has booked an appointment with my doctor on Friday, he is very reluctant to me going veg, and honestly, I think he's afraid of the social stigma he will get. My family is big into meat, and my grandma might think something is wrong with me.

HELP ME. I cannot hold on to this anymore. I am planning to change everything at the doctor's appointment, but how? I am a little afraid the doctor won't agree with me.

xoxo

-Nicole

Judgemental Parents on Raw till 4

2014-05-05T23:08:17.000Z

I'm at a point right now where I know in my heart [and not only that, but I know from my results and how I feel daily] that this lifestyle is for me and that it makes me feel healthy, vibrant, energetic, awake, and happy. I love this life, and I love eating fruit. I like to eat big portions of fruits and get in tons of calories per day, which is awesome! However, I am a student [highschool] and I live with my parents. I'm the only vegan in my household (let alone RT4) and I feel constantly scrutinized by my family. Every time I bring out food to eat my mother always hits me with "Oh you're going to eat ALL of that?! Honey, I just don't see how it's healthy to eat THAT MUCH fruit...." and I /mean/ every single time she sees what I eat. Today I had 4 mandarin oranges (they were very small and it was just a little snack) and she even thought that ways WAY over the limit. I don't feel that I have to eat less or stop this lifestyle all together, and I'm very passionate about it, I'm just struggling with my comfort level at home being surrounded by judgement 24/7.

ED triggers- I am DROWNING in them!!

2014-02-17T07:07:17.000Z

I am trying so hard to recover completely from my restrictive eating disorder, but my mom is majorly antagonizing all of my efforts and making me want to relapse so bad, that I could live off coffee for a week if I let myself, since my eating disorder killed my hunger anyway. But I don't want to do that anymore. I had been starving myself for half a year, and what really scared me into seeking recovery for real was when I was trying to ride my bike on a short ride, and when I came home, I was completely out of breath to the point where I couldn't speak, and my heart felt faint. I don't want to hurt myself anymore. I want to live the adventurous life of my many years' worth of daydreams.

But my mom will not let me eat without harassment.

I am a type 1 diabetic, and I had seen three dieticians/nutritionists who all advised no more than 225g carbs per day, 1800 calories max, relatively high protein, and moderate fat. So that became engrained in my mother's brain. She will not let go of this idea that I need to eat protein with EVERYTHING. Example: Today I bought myself a little container of sliced mangoes for lunch (because I'm trying to eat regularly in recovery) and she goes "Does that have protein in it? Cause you know what the dietician said. You have to have protein with all your meals and snacks". Then, I decided to buy 3 bunches of bananas for the week, and in the store she said "Why are you getting so many bananas?"

"Because I want them."

Then later, her friend stopped over for coffee and cookies. Not just any cookies. Macadamia nut cookies. Made from prepackaged dough. They each ate at least five cookies, and as they were, they started talking about how many bananas I bought, as they were sitting on the counter in the fruit bowl.

Mom: I told her that's too many bananas for the week.

Mom's friend: You've got to be careful with those. They've got a lot of sugar. You should only have one a day. I'm on weight watchers (so I know)

(Mom's friend is visibly overweight)

Then later, mom goes "Remember what the dietician said. You can't have as many apples and bananas"

WHAT THE FREAKING FROOOOOT

!!!WHY!!! IS SHE POLICING MY FOOD WHEN SHE IS STUFFING HER FACE WITH MACADAMIA COOKIES?!

I can't eat ANYTHING without her having a problem with it!!!!!!

GOD, she makes me want to relapse SO FREAKING BAD. The only thing that's stopping me from going back to starving the hell out of myself is the thought "Why would I hurt myself SO bad for someone I don't even like, and while I have done nothing wrong?"

I don't want to hurt myself, ESPECIALLY not for her, but living under her roof is KILLING ME.

When I get fat because of recovery, she is going to let me know it. Oh, I will never hear the end of it. How I should eat less apples and bananas and eat more protein and less calories and more exercising on the elliptical and oh I should listen to the dietician, oh if only you would eat cheese and fish, blah blah blah

I AM SO TIRED OF THIS GARBAGE!!

"GIVE ME LIBERTY OR GIVE ME DEATH"

end of rant.

Hi all!! Jackie from Northern Ireland here :D

2013-12-18T10:42:57.000Z

Hi all!!!

I would love to make friends within this lifestyle and find support. I'm a 22yr fine art sculpture student at University who has been vegan for 1 3/4 years now :D never felt better or happier :D however my happiness often gets questioned and bashed by my parents. They think I am 'stupid' 'doing myself harm' 'going to die' etc also that I'm being tricked by fakes yet when they see me happy and doing great they don't take notice.

I feel very alone in this but I do not want to fail because this is who we are and what we are meant to eat! I constantly get told by my mum "life isn't worth living if you're depriving yourself of nice things to eat and just eating fruit and veg" Then I get yelled at and bashed on when I reply with "you don't deprive yourself of anything if you don't miss it or need it. All my food is yummy...why else do you think I don't want to eat anything else plus I do not want to be apart of animal cruelty."

Anyways I could babble on more and more but I don't want to bore you all. I have been apart (a silent part) of this forum and site yet have not fully delved into the workings of it yet until now.

Please drop by and say hey :) I might start to upload my art works of animals to this? not too sure :P

Peace, free hugs, give a banana and suck a persimmon :D

Jackie x

Hi all!! Jackie from Northern Ireland here :D

2013-12-18T10:42:56.000Z

Hi all!!!

Anyways I could babble on more and more but I don't want to bore you all. I have been apart (a silent part) of this forum and site yet have not fully delved into the workings of it yet until now.

Please drop by and say hey :) I might start to upload my art works of animals to this? not too sure :P

Peace, free hugs, give a banana and suck a persimmon :D

Jackie x

My Mom NEEDS to do this lifestyle - how do I convince her to start?

2013-08-29T00:05:32.000Z

Alright, alright. The title seems a bit harsh ; I couldn't think of anything else to title it, okay?

My mom is severely obese. I've been going to doctors appointments with her (I'm so bored this Summer, what else can I do? :p) and she is 5' 1 and over 350 pounds. (That's a body mass index of 66.1!! Holy shitaki mushrooms!!) She eats and eats and eats crap food all day,*eating right now as I am typing this* and will not get up off of her bum to exercise. Heck, she can't even walk for five minutes without needing to sit down for another ten. She has diabetes type two, and takes tons of pills/vitamins daily. (I'm talking, maybe fifty?)

She has tried multiple diets in the past, but has gained all of the weight back. She does have a problem with bingeing and food is a very sensitive subject to her. Every time my mom eats she yells "don't judge me!" when really, I don't judge ANYONE by how they eat. It is rude and disrespectful. Yes, I do look at her while she eats, and that is because she is always talking while she eats. It's rude to look away from someone while they are speaking to you.

My dad (who is fifty-one going on thirty, very fit and healthy) and I are both very, very, worried about her. This year she had a horrid kidney stone that lasted for four months and had to be removed via surgery.

I really want what is best for her. I love my mother to pieces and want her to live a long, healthy life. She is 43 years old. The high carb low fat vegan diet (whether cooked or raw) is what is best for her, I know that for a fact. Is there any way I can inform her about this lifestyle without making her cry or feel pressured? I don't want to push her into anything, don't want to tell her she is fat, or make her feel absolutely awful about herself. I know this might not be any of my business, but if my father and everyone else in the family is worrying about her, something needs to be done.

Thanks for any help, it's really appreciated.

Are some Dreams Worth Pursuing?

2013-08-06T12:39:33.000Z

Just as the title says, are there goals that are so crazy and dangerous that it would be foolish to chase them? Now let me give you what a blogger told me about what I should do.
I started this path when I was 17 and it means everything to me, but even those closest to me didn't see it as that way.
From Jed Snomie.com

"

Today’s reader question: -That's Me

Jed, I have a serious problem, all the guys I see on TV from Vito, Hirano, and Bretz always have their family watching and cheering them on.
I look up to these guys and I strive to ride and compete just like they do, but my folks want nothing to do with my love and passion for snowboarding competitively.
They have no faith in me making it, which cuts and incredibly deep wound (emotionally) It’s already bad enough when you have people online saying “you’re too old” (I’m 19 going on 20), “you could never be pro”, and now you have mommy and daddy on the list of (excuse my french) “M——— you need to prove wrong”.
So I ask, what does a rider do when not even their parents will back them up.

Firstly, as I’ve mentioned before, be in competition for the fun of competing, not anything else because the other parts of pro snowboarding are the opposite of fun, but I’m sure you know that since I’ve told you that already and you’ve also mentioned that you just enjoy competing.

So, let’s address the other things…

What to do when even your family doesn’t support your snowboarding

That’s rough and I’m not going to say it’s not a crummy situation when your own parents don’t support you. However, you have to get past that.

Surround yourself with friends and people who do support you. That’s your support base. A true friend will be there for you, even if they aren’t sure whether you’ll make it or not.

That’s just what being a good friend means and you have to find those people in your life.

Listen to honest criticism and make a plan

Don’t just find ‘yes men’, but find good friends who believe in you and will be there for you, while being honest and upfront to you. You don’t just want people who say you can do anything then offer no criticism of how you’re going about getting your dream if you’re screwing things up.

People online will say you’re too old because you’re in a tough spot. Look here are the facts. If you’re 19, not pro level yet and you want to compete against guys like Ayumu Hirano, who have been training their whole lives, you’ve got some insane catching up to do.

Assuming you’re able to learn fast and stay injury free, you’ll still need to literally start riding 200+ days per year and get a private snowboard coach to catch up to that level of progression. That’s going to cost A LOT of money/creativity.

I hope you have some sort of plan for that because that’s what it’s going to take. A few weeks of coaching at a snowboard camp isn’t going to cut it to get to that level of riding.

You need a plan to basically live at a ski resort and snowboard non-stop with a ton of private coaching to reach that level of riding anytime soon. You’re going to have to hussle like crazy and find a way to get that sort of money and time otherwise it’s not going to happen.

You shouldn’t need to prove yourself to others

You say you need to prove your doubters wrong, but you don’t. At the end of the day proving yourself is great and being able to accomplish a goal that people didn’t think you could do is a great feeling.

However, you shouldn’t feel you NEED to prove yourself to others. You should be doing this for you. Not them.

What other people say or think shouldn’t have any bearing on why you’re doing something. You’re not living life for them or to prove anything to anyone.

A lot of people never thought my snowboard journey would work out, yet it did. You know what I thought when people said, “You’re going to fail and end up broke with no job.” I didn’t care because I wasn’t doing it for them or to prove it to anyone.

I was doing it for the love of snowboarding because it was what I enjoyed doing. Just being able to do it was it’s own reward and the whole ‘proving others wrong’ part was just a bonus.

You can’t spend your whole life constantly trying to prove people wrong. That’s a massive waste of time. You have to grow a tougher skin and shrug it off.

Set your own goal, find a way to get there and do it for you. What anyone else thinks or does shouldn’t have any bearing on why you’re doing something.

- Jed

ps: Personally, if I was you, I’d just say screw the competition riding and just move to a ski resort and snowboard. If you love improving and training to be a better rider can still learn insane tricks like double corks and everything else without trying to go down this ‘I have to prove myself by competing’ path.

Ride for you – not anyone else. You can still enter local contests and have fun competing, but there’s no reason you have to go down the ‘I must go pro and compete against X-games riders to prove myself’ path in order to become a pro level rider.

There are plenty of riders who have the skills/talent to be ‘pro’, but don’t care about sponsorships or going pro because they just enjoy the snowboarding and freedom."

So what do people around here think?

Calorie Count for Stay at Home Parents?

2013-07-31T07:44:17.000Z

Hi,

I'm wondering how many calories stay at home parents eat.

I'm pretty new at practicing the 8-1-1 way of eating (about six months)I am a stay at home mum, I have a two and a half year old. He doesn't sleep during the day any more. We're pretty busy through the day, he watches a couple of shows on the computer in the afternoon which gives me enough time to prep/cook dinener for my partner.
I'm 23 years old, 175 cm tall, (5-9, i think) and weigh 60kg, so i'm at a pretty comfy weight but could still stand to lose a couple of kilo's.

Today I ate over 3000 calories from fruit, and then was still ravenous at dinner time, and woofed down about 1.5kg of root veggies.

For all you stay at home parents;

How many calories do you eat?

How many children do you have?
How old are your children?

Many thanks :)

My parents think I'm going mad...

2013-07-01T19:43:22.000Z

Im a 17 year old girl from the UK. Almost three weeks ago I turned vegan and wanted to follow the high carb raw till 4 vegan lifestyle. It started of well in the first week as I didn't tell my parents and just cut all the meat, dairy and eggs out. I went and bought about 20 bananas to add in replacement for the animal products. Soon enough though my mum found out, I showed her freelee's videos and my mum decided to go vegan too which was nice as I had some support. A few days later I needed to buy some more bananas so I went with mum to ASDA, she waited in the car whilst I went shopping. When I returned she noticed that I had bought 65 bananas and was outraged. I tried to explain to her why but she couldn't understand, she said I was obsessed which upset me but I shrugged it off. Our next shop (end of week 2) I added 30 bananas to the trolley including other fruit, veg, pasta and rice, it came to £50. She then continued to think that I was getting obsessed and said that this has to stop. My dad wasn't as supportive either, he began saying that im abnormal and going mad. I explained to them why, but they continued to think I was getting carried away and that we couldn't afforded it, (even though the bill was actually less than usual). She spoke to my dad about it and I over heard their conversation about me. I offered to pay for the bananas and gave my mum money towards the bill, she took the money but it hasn't changed anything. This is where I'm up to now. I feel so alone. I don't have any vegan friends and my non vegan friends don't understand. Am I getting obsessed? What should I do? Thank you.

That's MY problem!

2013-05-23T20:15:28.000Z

So after years of fighting, my mom finally decided to try go vegetarian. This is a massive change for my mother. I am so so happy that she has finally made a step forward. She is also lactose intolerant so basically the only animal product she will eat... If she pulls through are eggs.Here is the problem. My mother also recently went gluten free for her health. Coming from a South American background where animal products are in everything and never having to avoid gluten before in her life, my dad, the cook of the house, as well as my mom are infinitely perplexed as to what to cook for her.Being vegan for almost four years now, I thought it would be a great opportunity to help out in the house and cook gluten free vegan meals that my mother could enjoy, seeing as she's a terrible cook.However, because my mother is a very picky eater, I am hesitant to simply going into the kitchen and cook something that in my eyes is delicious but my mother would deem disgusting. So I googled 'vegan and gluten free recipes' and came down with a host of different delicious meals. I keep trying to show them to her, saying that I am more than willing to cook for her myself.And then she angrily yells at me that I am leaving in just two months (for college) and that this is HER problem and that she will figure everything out herself. Yes, figure it out with processed food is what she is doing. I am trying to help because I want her to commit to being a vegetarian. But she just pushes me away. If she doesn't figure it out soon I fear she is going to go back to eating meat with a vengeance. This is a woman who hates cooking and only knows about 10 different dishes, which is all she cooks. All the recipes she knows come from learning from other people.I don't have faith in her, and that's why I want to help. But she won't let me.Should I just play the lottery and cook lunch randomly, hoping that she will eat it? I don't know anymore.

My mom thinks I'm killing myself...

2013-05-05T12:27:25.000Z

When my mom heard I went vegan (didn't even tell her that I'm going raw yet) she was outraged. Nobody in my family really supports me, and I can do this without their support, but my mom actually thinks I'm killing myself.

I'm finishing uni in a month and I'm going back home (although I'm going to live alone, yay), and I don't want to constantly fight with her over this positive thing. When I went home for holiday we fought every day (she yelled at me, told me I had mental problems, and put half a bottle of oil in my salad, because I told her I didn't want any).

We've always had a really good relationship, so this sucks.

I've tried explaining why meat and dairy are unhealthy, and how I get everything I need from plant food, but she simply refuses to even listen.

I know she's just worried about my health, but I wish there was something I could do to show her it's not only ok, but actually great.

My whole family watched a TV show with a doctor talking about the dangers of vegetarian and vegan diets (after I told them), and they told me to watch it. I did, and this doctor was talking bs! About how plants are not complete proteins and we can only get essential amino acids from animal protein (?!?!!?), and talking about how cholesterol is necessary for the body (completely overlooking the fact that the liver produces enough) and other ridiculous things..

And they're all telling me about how naive I am for believing everything on the internet, although they haven't done any research on the topic and they only watched that TV show and blindly believed it.

They want me to go to a nutritionist. And I'm afraid the nutritionist is going to be an idiot, and they'll believe him/her.

Sorry about the rant, I just don't know how to approach this. Does anybody have any tips? I would really appreciate them.

can i send my family you tubes like this?

2013-02-24T18:21:43.000Z

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=l4MRI-gojVQ#!

my mother still does not know (does not want to know) what is vegan.

it is hard for her i am a vegan so now and than i send my family videos like this.

do you think i can do that?

they don't like to know the truth but i have something like i have to speak my truth,

and like i am their daughter it is time they have to know why i am a vegan and

meat is not just meat on your plate but it was once a lovely living animal that has been murdered.

MY DAD THINKS I'LL DIE FROM EATING RAW FRUITS AND VEGETABLES LOL

2012-06-27T04:34:06.000Z

So my dad came to visit for some days and we've been going out to eat because it has always been that way, but now with my diet things became a little complicated lol and we've been having mini debates on eating meat , and dairy and protein ( basic stuff). He eats A LOT of meat , and I'm not talking about lean meat he eats brains, guts,ribs, lets say he has a SAD diet but with meat as his staple lol. The problem is that now he's talking to my mom and telling her how I can get an anemia or even die from leukemia lol idk what the f.. is going on through his head but I'd say he's over reacting (maybe cause his mexican and mexicans are really close minded) but I don't know how to let them know that I feel better than I did before and that this diet is really working for me. I'm eating about 90% percent of my calories from fruit and 10% from greens.

Ps. My dad is a person who thinks that God created cows and chikens for us to eat them o.0, he says that if we wouldn't eat them they'd eat the earth's grass and we would die. facepalm
(WOW I didn't know there was such an unbalance in nature that cows were gonna end up fu.. up our world.)lol anyways this is more of a rant but i wanted to share this with people that will get me (:

How to jump start family to start eating a bit better?

2012-06-20T15:07:17.000Z

My family doesn't eat too well. I'm never the one to confront people, or even set my beliefs on the table, but I have a good reason to as my family is practically dying of American food. To start, my family does not eat well. Fruit consumption among them is sparse. (I eat all the fruit that comes through the door. They never buy fruit for themselves because they rather eat meat and tv dinners.)They rarely eat vegetables - if they do it's alongside a steak and it's sparse. Probably half a cup of peas or carrots a dinner plate.) this is not everyday. They probably eat 2 or 3 whole veggie servings a week. Second, my parents are both ending their lives slowly. My mother has kidney disease. She's goin into dialysis soon enough and she still gargles down multiple sodas and bags of chips a day. Surprisingly, she's not obese. She's around 5"7 and weighs 160 (Roughly). Her diet reflects her cowardly attitude towards life. Everytime I talk to her about eating healthy she babbles and says "But I'll be dead soon enough." yeah... No shit. Third. My father has diabetes type 1. That doesn't stop him from crunching cakes, sodas, cheese, Hungrymen Tv dinners, wheat. Etc. It's a disaster. Their health cripples their bodies and they're unwilling to change their diets. I can now see clearly they are addicted to American food. I rather them eat processed vegetarian foods than this stuff. Any tips on confronting them?

Helping dad to save his health

2012-04-04T20:13:09.000Z

Hello, my mom asked me to live with them again for the reason that my dad looks really unhealthy. He is smoking, drinking, is overweight and has a huge beer belly, eats really bad fried food, will be 60 in two days and he is always working stressing job where he has to argue a lot. We are really worried. I cant look at him anymore, so I moved back home. My dad's temper is really bad, he is a choleric, be too. It is really hard for us not to argue. But I want to help my parents to start healthier living.

Can anyone help me for the start?

He really wishes to feel better, but its like whole bad habits in one person and the age of the risk to get a stroke.

How to start with a person who is totaly into fried, fat foods and arguing. How to help if it is your own father?

Iam not ready to be a life teacher for anybody, but there will be no any time and if i will not try, i will regret all my life if we will loose him

Any comments and links will be good.

i CANT TAKE IT ANYMORE, and i need help!

2012-01-03T21:58:28.000Z

my parents are threatening to control what i eat out of the fear that i have an "eating disorder" even though i eat 2-3k calories a day, which is a ton for someone my size (5'3")
my dad is a mcdougall supporter, and has an obsession with whole grain. all the time, it's all i hear - "you need more whole grain, whole grain, blah blah EAT YOUR BREAD"

of course i don't.
i need articles that talk about why grains are bad for you and how fruit does not spike blood sugar any more than bread does, and i can find plenty online, but not from reliable sources.

if i don't get some info to fire back at him, i'll be forced to eat oatmeal at breakfast, tofu sandwiches for lunch, and rice and beans at dinner.
i'm gonna cry. someone help me out of this.

New and Need Advice! (youngen recovering from anorexia parents don't approve of lfrv!)

2010-08-23T00:43:21.000Z

Hello vibrant vegans! I go by Happee and I am a 16 year old lfrv teenage girl living on the east coast of the USA. I am so excited that I finally joined this site as I think it is awesome (and rawsome!) A short summary of my 'story' is that as a kid growing up I tried being vegan off and on but found it difficult to stick to it when my voice wasn't as strong as that of the carnivorous adults in my family. About a year and a half ago I did my research and put my foot down and said "I am going to follow a vegan diet for the benefit of the animals, the planet, and myself." I truly believed in this way of life, and they accepted. However, about a year ago for one reason or a million I turned down a dark path of anorexia. I lost a considerable amount of weight quickly and started to have some health issues at which point my parents took me to the doctor and I got diagnosed and began recovery. Against my doctors insistance that veganism was a way for me to 'restrict' I still believe that my eating disorder had all to do with a build up of emotional problems and NOT a vegan diet. I said to my doctor that it did not matter if I was eating a one inch bite of chicken or one carrot--the act of not eating was far beyond the food and so I remained vegan throughout my recovery. Anyway, it is now about 9 months into recovery and though it took a while and not without small relapses I am at a 'healthy' weight. I still have not regained my period, however, so that is of concern to my parents and doctor. I began eating lfrv a few weeks ago as I have always LOVED my fruit and have instinctively drifted to a high fruit diet in the past as well (and reading this site has been an amazing tool!) Though I feel great and stress free when it comes to food (no obsessions, guilt, etc) my parents and doctor are NOT happy with my diet choices. My doctor wrote me a concerned e-mail (she's going on a trip for a few weeks, and she cares for me) in which she said that she fears I'll have zinc, calcium, b12 and fat deficiencies. She says that all the fruit carbs I eat are used up quickly by the body and will not have the "staying power" of fat and protein rich foods. She also mentioned that in the longterm all the sugar from fruit will make me '"gain more weight" then I'd like (I responded to her e-mail asking why she is pointing out hypothetical weight gain and making it sound bad even though im recovering still! not smart of her...) Anyway, this all frazzled me a bit. so I would love any advice, suggestions, and support from any of you beautiful strong and glowing beings!Happee