Yay - My Nutritionist is Accepting my Veganism =)

[Dreamer]

Today i went to be assesed for my eating disorder. I was diagnosed EDNOS (Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified). My counsellor says I look underweight and that i eat too few calories and not nearly enough variety...

What i was concerned about is "Will the dietition let me continue my vegan eating habits?" The counseller said "YES"! I am so happy and so much more confident about recovery now. She said that traditionally they would 'force' meat, cheese, eggs,... on the clients in an attempt to get them to overcome their fear, but with the increased amount of vegans they now incorperate it into the eating program if required.

I am so much more motivated and happy about this NEW system. US vegans are making a DIFFERENCE!

Woooohooooo!


Okay, I'm done bragging

[Tigerlily]

Yay! Good luck.

[Dreamer]

Yay! Good luck.

Thanks. It went very good. My nutritionist worked with me and we were able to make a part time solution that I can agree with.

So now it's just up to me to buy the food and go along with the plan.

[thecatspajamas1]

awesome!

[Wishin986]

thats awesome! it definately is different now - my dietician also didnt even question my veganism when I told her I had been a vegan for 2 years - so its definately nice to see them not automatically associating it as part of the eating disorder. though i can understand where that concern or suspicion may come from. good luck with recovery!

[Gorilla]

great stuff Dreamer - i wish all nutritionists would start to accept veganism. i've had some less positive experiences with nutritionists.

[Melanie]

My dietician HATES me being vegan, ironicly she is an overweight meat eater...
-Chuckles-
Glad it's going well sweety!

Melanie
~xx

[mooli magic]

Hi Dreamer,

I'm glad to hear that your dietician is going to accept and respect your lifestyle choices!

I worked my way through three different eating disorders and I still have times when I'm not 100%, even now, but to be honest veganism has made me a lot better with food than before. I think eating more natural foods, and taking more time and care shopping,preparing and cooking them connects you to the nourishing side of food, rather than using it as something you restrict or try to control.

Good luck with your recovery and best wishes,

MMx

[Dreamer]

i wish all nutritionists would start to accept veganism. i've had some less positive experiences with nutritionists.

I think many nutritionist have been brainwashed by all the factory farm industy ads and propaganda. It's everywhere. How often do we see a commercial about vegenism? Or even vegetarianism? I don't think I've ever seen one. I think many of the nutritionist have a 'monkey see, monkey do' attitude. They digest the information without questioning it.

My dietician HATES me being vegan, ironicly she is an overweight meat eater...
-Chuckles-

There is so much irony with meat eaters i'm not even gonna get into it...

I worked my way through three different eating disorders and I still have times when I'm not 100%, even now, but to be honest veganism has made me a lot better with food than before. I think eating more natural foods, and taking more time and care shopping,preparing and cooking them connects you to the nourishing side of food, rather than using it as something you restrict or try to control.

Good for you MMx. I know how difficult it can be to overcome an eating disorder and not many people understand how complicated it can be. I'm glad you've learned to use healthy eating habits. Sometimes it's not the most easy thing when food restriction and purging are all we know in coping.

[Lady Clare]

That's so great!

I have been there myself and I know you can get past this. There is life on the other side of an ED. I have a husband and baby now- and I am going to nursing school, with the hopes of working in an ED clinic/program. I am seriously considering the nutritionist thing however, b/c we do need more vegan nutritionists out there!

[mooli magic]

ORIGINAL: Dreamer
I think many nutritionist have been brainwashed by all the factory farm industy ads and propaganda. It's everywhere

haha, it's not just nutritionists either! We were debating animal rights in my philosophy class and someone thought even the idea of being vegetarian as ludicrous, let alone veganism- ("but it's scientifically proven that you *need* to eat two portions of meat a day")

Unbelievable!

[Cumin]

I think it is ludicrous that any dietician or nutritionist should think being vegan is a bad thing.
They are clearly very ignorant, blinkered and not worth listening to.
** ooohhh it makes me MAD ! (sorry)

[Tigerlily]

I think in terms of nutritionists who deal with eating disorders they might find veganism too restrictive. I don't blame them and I think it's a valid concern. Although I don't have an eating disorder, I used to spend some time lurking those types of web communities (). A lot of people with eating disorders use veg*nism as a way to further restrict their diets or "hide" their eating disorders.

[Cumin]

OK - then the nutrionist should identify that as the cause of problems - not the diet itself. It's like any diet - you can do it wrong.

[Leaf-let]

The American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada state that "well-planned vegan and other types of vegetarian diets are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including during pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence."

From what I understand, nutritionists are supposed to support anyone who wishes to pursue a vegan diet and not work against them. I would be mighty unhappy to find a nutritionist who was pushing meat on someone who didn't want it.

BTW, Hello. I'm new. Glad to be here.

[=Sarah=]

I've set up an appointment with a nutritionist for February.. it will be the first one I've had in quite a while, much less since I've been vegan (5 months today actually). I'm hoping obviously that this won't end up being a back-and-forth of me telling a 'trained professional' why a plant based diet is better than a meat/dairy poisoned one versus her telling me why i should eat that junk.

My other worry is that in the 5 months ive been vegan I've lost about 25 pounds. This works quite well for me obviously since I've got about another 25 to go before I'm back at my ideal weight. But my worry is if that is too much to have lost already? I haven't added much to my lifestyle in terms of exercise yet, aside from the added energy from finally eating all (okay, mostly ) healthy foods.. I just hope she doesn't use this as one of those points people like to make about vegans being tiny and frail and all that..

If anyone can think of any other on the spot questions she might ask that I should have a good answer for let me know (I've got my witty responses for the obvious b12 and omegas and protein and calcium and all that worked out already).. something tells me I'll be educating this person more than she'll be helping me.. she works in the same office as my family doctor and another specialist I saw and they leave much to be desired..

thanks

[Willynilly]

The American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada state that "well-planned vegan and other types of vegetarian diets are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including during pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence."

Of course, if you're not veg*n you can eat absolutely anything and be perfectly healthy!

[fiamma]

Hi Sarah,
why don't you check out the Vegan Society website? They have factsheets on all the main dietary concerns for vegans, so if you make sure you're knowledgeable about those then I don't think she'll be able to floor you with any unexpected questions. If you can, get some blood tests done so you can go with the results in your hand; if the results show you are in good health then again you shouldn't have anything to worry about. Another thing you could do is keep a food diary so you can show her what you're eating, she should have no cause for complaint All the best.

[Rvn]

I've set up an appointment with a nutritionist for February.. it will be the first one I've had in quite a while, much less since I've been vegan (5 months today actually). I'm hoping obviously that this won't end up being a back-and-forth of me telling a 'trained professional' why a plant based diet is better than a meat/dairy poisoned one versus her telling me why i should eat that junk.

My other worry is that in the 5 months ive been vegan I've lost about 25 pounds. This works quite well for me obviously since I've got about another 25 to go before I'm back at my ideal weight. But my worry is if that is too much to have lost already? I haven't added much to my lifestyle in terms of exercise yet

I am being vegan for a similar period and had the same weight loss from 90 kgs to 78 kgs. At 80 I was pretty anxious - but it got balanced now and I dont lose any more weight. I guess it is some detoxicating procedure of the body - something connected to the higher fiber intake and others.
Much easier for my practing joga too