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Thursday, 4 June 2015 16:30Can I use this place to vent for a minute? I have no support at all on this and I just want to get it out there. I have struggled for many, many years with disordered eating of all varieties. I have extremely negative thoughts about my body. In fact, I spend the majority of each and every day thinking negatively about my body.
But every time I have sought out a professional's advice they have all come down negatively on me for being vegan. And I am not a junk food vegan. Sure, I eat my fill of unhealthy vegan food, but the majority of my meals are composed of whole, fresh ingredients, with hearty servings of dark greens at least five days a week, lots of vegetables steamed slightly or cooked without oils, whole grains, the whole shebang. I'm not bragging about this, I'm just saying that the majority of my diet is composed of foods that for a very long time have been considered the very definition of "healthy". Yet for some reason, despite good blood test results (I'm not anemic or B-12 deficient and all my levels are within the normal range), I'm always told this isn't good enough because....well vegans are crazy! I don't know. I am not vegan because I want to feel morally superior to others. I am not vegan because I want attention. I am not vegan just for the sake of being "weird" or "different" or "quirky" or even "trendy". I don't even consider it a diet. I eat healthy because I care about what goes into my body. I am vegan because of moral reasons that I won't get into here but you probably know what I'm talking about.
I'm tired of people I pay and am supposed to trust coming down on me for a lifestyle choice that is one of the only things I am proud of. The second I told my doctor I was vegan she told me I looked anemic (blood tests showed I am not, nor am I B-12 deficient which is also a major concern) and implied I didn't know what I was doing as far as protein intake. From almost no information except that I was vegan.
And I am currently basically hiding from the personal trainer I had because he was on the verge of harassing me because I don't eat meat. He grilled me about my diet every single session we had together and any time I mentioned I had even one piece of fruit he told me how terrible fruit was because of the sugar, and essentially told me I should only consume protein shakes. He told me my diet of fresh, whole foods was inferior to processed shit that makes me feel terrible, because I tried the protein bars/protein shakes and it did not work for me. I told him I felt better eating plant-based but all he kept saying was I needed to up my protein, I would never be lean if I didn't eat mostly protein, carbs are bad, and all that junk. I understand that protein intake is important, and in fact according to an app I have I do consume adequate amounts of protein most days, but he has just brought forth my body issues again and I feel so uncomfortable around him that I sent him a text saying I was no longer his client and then immediately blocked him. I would dread going to every session because over and over he would ask me what I had eaten the day before/that day and then tell me why it was bad for me.
I do want to lose weight, and am now doing so on my own terms - what I know works for me and has worked every time I've tried and damn what others say - but this dogma is really getting me down. I wish I could ignore what other people say, but I have been stressing about this for weeks and I just wish people would THINK before judging. I know in reality there are not a lot of people who think this way and I've only encountered a few, but those few have been people who are supposed to be professionals and they're so inflexible in their thinking. It makes me not want to trust anyone and it isolates me because I'm afraid to say anything for fear people will just attack all my opinions.
But every time I have sought out a professional's advice they have all come down negatively on me for being vegan. And I am not a junk food vegan. Sure, I eat my fill of unhealthy vegan food, but the majority of my meals are composed of whole, fresh ingredients, with hearty servings of dark greens at least five days a week, lots of vegetables steamed slightly or cooked without oils, whole grains, the whole shebang. I'm not bragging about this, I'm just saying that the majority of my diet is composed of foods that for a very long time have been considered the very definition of "healthy". Yet for some reason, despite good blood test results (I'm not anemic or B-12 deficient and all my levels are within the normal range), I'm always told this isn't good enough because....well vegans are crazy! I don't know. I am not vegan because I want to feel morally superior to others. I am not vegan because I want attention. I am not vegan just for the sake of being "weird" or "different" or "quirky" or even "trendy". I don't even consider it a diet. I eat healthy because I care about what goes into my body. I am vegan because of moral reasons that I won't get into here but you probably know what I'm talking about.
I'm tired of people I pay and am supposed to trust coming down on me for a lifestyle choice that is one of the only things I am proud of. The second I told my doctor I was vegan she told me I looked anemic (blood tests showed I am not, nor am I B-12 deficient which is also a major concern) and implied I didn't know what I was doing as far as protein intake. From almost no information except that I was vegan.
And I am currently basically hiding from the personal trainer I had because he was on the verge of harassing me because I don't eat meat. He grilled me about my diet every single session we had together and any time I mentioned I had even one piece of fruit he told me how terrible fruit was because of the sugar, and essentially told me I should only consume protein shakes. He told me my diet of fresh, whole foods was inferior to processed shit that makes me feel terrible, because I tried the protein bars/protein shakes and it did not work for me. I told him I felt better eating plant-based but all he kept saying was I needed to up my protein, I would never be lean if I didn't eat mostly protein, carbs are bad, and all that junk. I understand that protein intake is important, and in fact according to an app I have I do consume adequate amounts of protein most days, but he has just brought forth my body issues again and I feel so uncomfortable around him that I sent him a text saying I was no longer his client and then immediately blocked him. I would dread going to every session because over and over he would ask me what I had eaten the day before/that day and then tell me why it was bad for me.
I do want to lose weight, and am now doing so on my own terms - what I know works for me and has worked every time I've tried and damn what others say - but this dogma is really getting me down. I wish I could ignore what other people say, but I have been stressing about this for weeks and I just wish people would THINK before judging. I know in reality there are not a lot of people who think this way and I've only encountered a few, but those few have been people who are supposed to be professionals and they're so inflexible in their thinking. It makes me not want to trust anyone and it isolates me because I'm afraid to say anything for fear people will just attack all my opinions.
