“A friend is the one who comes in when the whole world has gone out.” - Grace Pulpit
I must touch on a subject that, for the most part, I think most of us struggle with. Support for our lifestyle from the people around us. I have been blessed with a wonderful and understanding husband. He supports me in anything I do, whether I succeed or fail. And, if I do happen to fail, he picks me up, dusts me off, and gives me a hug and lets me know that everything is going to be OK. I consider myself lucky in that regard as I have my best friend in my husband and am 100% supported in everything I do.
However, what I have noticed is this, the world is not only not supportive in our lifestyle, but not very accommodating as well. Do you find your friends or family (in my case my extended family) telling you that "You're Crazy" or "What the hell is the point in that?" You see I come from a meat and potatoes kind of family. The kind of family that drinks milk with dinner, and dinner consists of a big slab of meat and a few veggies on the side... usually potatoes or corn or carrots or peas! lol
My family and I are close. I went grocery shopping with my mom the other day. The entire time we went shopping she criticized pretty much everything I bought. Please don't get me wrong. My mother is a wonderful, beautiful person! She just doesn't seem to understand 1: Eating Organic or 2: The Vegan Lifestyle! Everything I picked up at the market she was like, "Well, you should just buy this one it's cheaper, don't worry about it being organic..." or "I just don't understand, you should be eating meat, you can't live off veggies and nuts forever, and it's way more expensive to be buying all those veggies!"
After we were done shopping we went out for a coffee (yes I still drink coffee! lol). I sat there and I tried explaining to her about this book and about the lifestyle. I told her my reasons why I wanted to be vegan. Not only the weight loss but the moral integrity of the lifestyle. I talked to her about how I already feel better and how my body is already changing (bowels and digestion mainly). But she just didn't get and she chalked it up to "Another fad diet." So to say the least I'm giving up my battle with my family over my decision. I have raised the white flag and now I am just agreeing to disagree on the topic. Sad right?
It's OK. I have found that not everyone is going to agree. Not everyone understands. This is, however, the first time in my life where my eating habits have been met with resistance from my family and friends. It is the strangest thing!
I guess it's NOT that we, as vegans or maybe even vegetarians, are not prepared for the world and all its challenges, but perhaps the world is not quite prepared for us. So to all my vegan/vegetarian friends out there know this, YOU ARE NOT ALONE. Although our journeys or goals may be different, the overall message remains the same. And know that I am here, and there are others out there that will be your leaning post, your virtual shoulder to cry on, and your ear to listen. I know some of us aren't as blessed in even having one person who supports what we are going through and others have all the support in the world. To those who don't have support know we are here and to those who have the added support maybe you could be that shoulder for somebody who needs it...
I'm here and I'm not going anywhere :)
Luv Always, Anne <3 xoxo
I know exactly what you mean! I do get all the support from my family and extended family. And hubby supports me but doesn't really approve of all my choices. He's kind of like your mom I guess, he doesn't really get it and criticizes what I buy and how much I spend and keeps telling me he gets why not the meat but thinks that I should drink milk. I was like... ummm but I never really had milk in the past either except on pancakes or cereal sometimes. He's kind of worried but at the same time feels odd about the whole thing.
ReplyDeleteI hope that we're just the small group that will make the lead for a lot of other people to follow. They'll catch up soon! and we'll be waiting.
Best of luck to you!
Thanks Lily and I totally agree... Hopefully they will at least understand :)
ReplyDeleteHey! It is very frustrating when people are always scrutinizing what you eat as if eating too mnay veggies is bad for you. No one in my family eats the way I do so they usually bug me a little bit about it but they have gotten better. I think it is great that your supervisor apologized! And Super Great that you buy organic! I do too and I try to tell anyhone that will listen about it. I don't make a lot of money but eating organic is much better than buying a steak and a lot of meat. Although I will say since being vegan and buying organic I dont really notice a decrease in my grocery bill and I have been doing it for 2 years now. I am not sure what you feed Zoe, after reading TKD I tried feeding the dogs homemade food. It took too much time and boy can they eat a lot! So I started looking into dog foods... I found one I like called Organix. It is gluten free, soy free and whole ton of other stuff free too. My golden, Cooper, had really bad skin allergies and was on a special vet food for years. No table scraps no cookies nothing. His skin still wasnt clear. I switched him to organix and (knock on wood) he has been clear! Not to mention he loves the food!
ReplyDeleteP.S. just a word on your calories, make sure you are eating enough. If we eat too little our body stops burning fat and goes into starvation mode. There is a website where you can track your calories for free, kind of like weight watchers but without the points. its www.caloriecount.about.com.
I really enjoy reading your blog! I actually look forward to it!
Hey!! You're not alone!!!! I've had that happen to me as well, my dad can NOT understand how I don't eat meat. But I've been a vegetarian for about 3 years not and I'm happy with my decision!
ReplyDeleteAnd I feel wayyyyy healthier then ever before.
Hey Ladies! :)
ReplyDeleteJasmine: Thanks for the positive feedback ALL the time! I look forward to hearing from you :) I know about the calorie intake... I think I wasn't eating enough (I have it in my mind still that carbs are bad so I'm trying to step away from that thought process...but it's proving to be harder than I would like! Still get a guilty feeling when I eat anything that resembles pasta/rice/granola...lol)! SO, that being said... I am starting the super hero plan tomorrow and I just cooked a HUGE pot of brown, long grain rice! YAY me... so that it's ready for the week for breakfast and lunches and so on... So I'm pretty excited, but still finding a little resistance inside my brain! It's like a one on one battle with myself... CRAZY I KNOW!!! lol...
As for Zoe, I haven't changed her diet yet, but I already have her on "Orijen" dog food, it's natural, not organic though and it doesn't have gluten and all the other really nasty crap..lol.. but I also do add to her food, I buy veggies and fish (i know i'm awful!) and blend it up in a blender and add it to her food so that she has fresh ingredients... she loves it... I'm a sucker for a happy dog :P lol
Kiki:
Thanks for your support as well! I know I've been getting a lot of msgs about it and I have been getting flack at home myself! It's rediculous! But like I said as long as we stick together and we are happy with our choice, that's all that matters! <3