The KInd Life Community Forum

my friends and family had questions and thought it was weird at first, but are now all overwhelmingly supportive -- they simply cannoot deny how much weight my husband I both lost, how good we look or how healthy we have become. The more time that has gone on many of them ave joined us.

It's important to stay strong and be true to yourself. I always remind myself in situations where I'm being picked on "what is right is not always popular and what is populars almost never right"

I understand how being Vegan can be difficult. I live in an area where everyone hunts and eats meat and dairy. Its weird to eat healthy and even weirder to not eat cheese and drink milk and now that I don't eat animal products I am just strange. I feel like I am from another planet. My husband is a big hunter but understands my choice. He doesn't like it but lives with it. I do on the other hand shy away from going out places because of my lifestyle and choices. I don't get invited to nearly as much as I used to because people say well we don't know what you would eat. I laugh and always say you know fruits veggies, grains, beans. Those sorts of things. My family understands to some degree but friends and acquaintances just don't get it. I am glad Alicia has this website set up. I feel slightly more empowered in my choices now. Thank you Alicia! Yeah I am finally not totally alone!

I can relate to what you are saying! Every one of my friends and family (except one friend who moved away!) thinks that I am crazy to be a vegan. I recently went out to dinner with my boyfriend and his parents, and he and his parents kept asking me if I wanted to sample their meat dish or baked good. I politely declined and later asked my boyfriend if he told his parents about my choice. He said, "No. Give it a few weeks and you'll be back to eating meat and dairy." I was offended and told him that it was a choice I had made after many long months of research and transition. I got away without talking about it because we went to Indian food and an alternative baker, both of which offer vegan friendly options. My friends and I used to bake together frequently, but they stopped inviting me, declaring, "We don't know how to bake vegan things." It is so frustrating! The only people who don't give me a hard time are people in the health food stores and restaurants. It is so weird how the people I know seem personally offended when I say I went vegan. I barely talk about it except when they offer me something with meat or dairy in it. Then, I just say no thank you, but it usually turns into a discussion about how there's no possible way I wouldn't want a hersheys bar or some ice cream. I think I just need to give people time to get used to it. I will keep bringing great vegan food to parties and start getting over my shyness :). I'm so glad for this website though! It's awesome!!

Thanks Karen! Don't worry :). I don't live with my parents anymore so I only deal with them when I go home. I'm lucky to have vegetarian housemates, so that's a plus! Also, the health food store employees now know me as the nice vegan girl who bakes delicious things for them, and they'll often save new products for me or order something special or give recommendations. So, I have a support system in an interesting place, I suppose, but it's there! It pays to be a nice, unobtrusive vegan LOL:). Yeah, dealing with the boyfriend and friends can be hard, but at least the people in town are in my corner! And the people on this website! Just wanted to make sure I didn't complain too much :). Thanks for the support!!!!

I remember when I first started telling people I was vegetarian (and now vegan), the first thing people asked me was "What are you going to eat?" I told them I eat veggies, fruits, grains, beans, nuts, etc. It's really all the stuff we should be eating that is healthy for us. It's funny how our country's way of eating is sooo revolved around meat and dairy. People literally think they'll starve if they don't eat meat or drink dairy!