hi.. i am a 25 year old female. I became vegetarian at the age of 8 because i loved animals too much. I began eating meat again in small amounts at the age of 18 after being diagnosed and hospitalised with an eating disorder at the age of 15 I am now perfectly normal (!) with a very positive view of my body.. and a balanced nutritious diet that does include small amounts of meat. It genuinely sounds like your daughter is making this choice for her diet because she is uncomfortable with her body image and wants to change it. and she believes that becoming vegetarian will assist with this task. People become vegetarian for many reasons, and none of them are wrong. The are millions of vegetarians in the world and it has been proven even that a vegetarian diet reduces many illnesses/cancers/prolongs life. However from reading your posts i get the distinct impression that your daughter is making this choice for the wrong reasons and it overly concerned about her body image. Teenagers are the most vunerable for body image stereotypes.. especially these days when celebrities are plastered over every available surface setting an example to teen girls of how exciting their life can be when the teens 'grow up' Please seek help with your daughter, a nutritionist would be ideal but also perhaps someone who specialises in eating disorders/habits. There is no reason for her not to become vegetarian and live a completley healthy life (probably more healthier than most other people) however this really does sound to me to be more like a body image issue than a 'healthy lifestyle approach'. If she is concerned about eating bread because its 'fattening', living on carrots and celery and things - and wants to lose weight (via becoming vegetarian).. it sounds like she needs help. Unless she is obese, teenagers do not need to diet and should be discouraged from it in any possible way! Just because she enjoys mcdonalds means nothing.. i loved mcdonalds the entire time i had eating problems, eating disorders are far too complex to pigeonhole and assume that because she is displaying traits of 'bad eating' that she is concerned with loosing weight. on to the meals: basically i had for dinner what the family ate, but with five times more vegetables! Once a week mum would cook up a whole batch of meals for me and freeze which i would have on nights when just eating the potatoes/vegetables etc wernt an option. This was also supplemented with the great array of vegetarian foods available. But honestly, i do believe that your daughter has a deeper reason and that she may need some professional help. xx
skindeep
JoinedPosts by skindeep
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Supporting Vegetarian/Vegan Teens
by Scully inmy youngest is toying with the idea of adopting the vegan lifestyle.
she came to me at 11pm last evening with a strict list of what she wanted me to purchase for her as soon as the store opened this morning.
her enthusiasm could easily have been mistaken for "preaching".... and i'm afraid it didn't foster a very receptive spirit in me.. my main concern is her having adequate nutrition.
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