My parents won't support my decision to become vegetarian?

After quite a bit of thought about it, I have decided to become vegetarian. My parents don't want me to because I'm on the thin side and they are concerned about me getting enough protein.





I love nuts, beans, and most soy products. I won't have any problem replacing meat with tofu. I explained this to them, but they keep falling back on telling me how easy it is to obtain protein from meat, and don't understand why I want to cut it from my diet.





I have always liked cooking. I plan to prepare pastas and tofu dishes during the weekends and store them in Tupperware containers that will serve me for the rest of the week. If my mom has prepared hamburgers for dinner, I can just whip out the pre-prepared tofu stir-fry. If she's made beef ravioli, I can heat up some ready-made spaghetti with marinara sauce.





I have always made my own lunches, and they usually consist of my favorite foods: lots of of my favorite fresh fruits and veggies, nuts, cheese and crackers, and sometimes a baked item like a cookie. (My sister and I both love to bake, haha.) So that wouldn't really change. For breakfast I usually have toast and a banana. No change there.





What can I do or say to convince my parents that they should allow me to follow this new diet? I've shared my prepared-ahead-meal idea and given them my reasons for becoming a vegetarian, but they won't change their minds.My parents won't support my decision to become vegetarian?
The best thing to do is to educate yourself and present the information you gain to your parents in a respectable way.





You will not be protein-deficient.


You will not be stunted in your growth.


You will not be unhealthy.





You will be helping animals.


You will be helping the environment.


You will be helping yourself.





I recommend:





-researching how much protein someone needs per day according to the World Health Organization (not a lot, about 25 grams, i.e. two glasses of soymilk) and the horrible ill effects of too much protein (typical Americans get way to much protein)





-researching how animal testing on protein-intake is faulty and that rats need more protein than humans





-researching how mixing proteins at every meal is not necessary, and how it's easy to get an excess of protein even on a vegan diet





-impressing your parents with notable vegans/vegetarians, i.e. Albert Einstein and a plethora of other scientists, the current fastest marathon runner in the world, Carl Lewis, Clint Eastwood and other actors, etc, etc, etc





-telling your parents that you cannot be at peace eating meat, and that cooking is something that you like to do





-showing the health benefits of veganism/vegetarianism, i.e. no cholesterol, less fat, etc





-showing the environmental benefits of veganism/vegetarianism; raising an animal for years to kill it for a few meals is extremely wasteful.





-making delicious food; there are plenty of vegan food blogs on the internet: vegan dad, vegan yum yum, that vegan ****, post punk kitchen, vegweb, fat free kitchen, the list goes on and on. They all have good recipes that even your parents will enjoy.





-showing them that farm animals are at least as intelligent as pets. Look at animal intelligence research.





I am probably forgetting a lot of things but yeah. Don't let big business advertising convince your parents not to let you live a good lifestyle. Beef does not have to be for dinner.My parents won't support my decision to become vegetarian?
I advise you to just go with your parents for now and when you move out or something and gain full control over your own diet than you can go with that? Perhaps you could also cook for them sometimes so that they can see that vegetarian doesn't necessarily mean lacking in protein, variation, nutrition, etc.
Buy them a copy of Jonathan Foer's ';Eating Animals'; and tell them that if they read it - cover to cover - you would be really grateful and would be more willing to consider their point and understand their view since by reading it they'd show that they are willing to try and understand yours.





http://www.amazon.com/Eating-Animals-Jon鈥?/a>
Ask your folks to let you try it for a month, and after that check in and see if there is a diffrence. Also offer to prepare one veggie meal a week for them.
Buy the groceries and make the meals, then they'll change their minds.
My parents were like that. My advice is to sit down with them and ask them ';How much protein is in a 1/2 cup of black beans?'; stuff like that. Unless they happen to be nutritionists and/or have freakishly good memories, they won't know. And then you can go ';it has so-and-so'; and I think they'll be impressed (or should be); find out how many grams of protein you need, and write out a normal diet for a day that has more than enough protein, and show it to them, how easy it is to get enough protein. If they're still worried and you can spare some money, offer to purchasing faux meats, protein powders and supplements, et cetera.


Best of luck :D





@ Joanne: You obviously have only known pescetarians.


@John: The fact is that a third-world country child will not be switching out with her. She is not being ungrateful or disrespectful, she is thinking for herself and making an independent decision. Just because you don't think like someone (including your parents), doesn't mean you are being ungrateful to what they have given you or disrespecting their lifestyle choice. She's probably not going vegetarian because she doesn't feel live eating meat, thinks it would be cool, is trying to be a pain, wants to feel superior- THAT would be ';choosy';. Most vegetarians do it for a cause.
I gave this answer to another person asking the same question today:





I will add one thing for you since your parents really want feel reassured your getting enough protein there are websites that really are intended for weight loss but could be used in reverse to just track your diet you enter the foods and it calculates calories, protein and fat ect for you. If you leave your question open until late tommorow I can edit and give the site a freind of mine is using it looks really good. Your breakfast sounds a little light for a teen. Maybe add heavy layer of peanut butter on that toast or yogurt.





I'd suggest you get this book from the library ';The Complete Idiot's Guide to Being Vegetarian'; It's an idiots guide but no one should take it personally they are great for fast communication. It makes a good case for becoming vegetarian, vegan, they cover options for cutting back on meat, jumping straight into being vegetarian or using slower approach. Either way it's approach will help a meat eater that has trouble understanding the benefits see it can be ok. There's is a a section regarding concerns about teens becoming vegetarians. The book will be educational for you to understand your nutrititional needs and for your parents to. There are more references for more detailed information provided in the back of the book.





They have it or for 26 cents plus $3.99 for shipping Amazon.com it's been out awhile you can move on to more complicated books later. Read it for you own information and have your parents read it they will feel better about you eating this way. As part of one review says:





This book helps answer all of the questions vegetarians are bound to face on a daily basis. How do you get enough protein? Iron? Calcium? Etc.... It also has specific sections on vegetarian diets for pregnant women, children, teens, athletes, and older people. As well as helpful info on easing the transition to a vegetarian diet.





I would also recommend this book for non-vegetarians who have friends or family members who (want to) follow a vegetarian diet. It explains in easy-to-understand detail the different kinds of vegetarian diets, and things to keep in mind ect.





Your parents may even decide for health reasons after reading the book to eat less meat. It's short and easy to understand. Here's the link:





http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0028628鈥?/a>
Help them feed you in a way that doesn't make them do any major changes to the way that they eat. They love you.


Make it easy for them. They don't have to change the way they cook. You eat everything but the meat. They can give you one ounce of any kind of nut they buy. One ounce of nuts replaces the protein of a small portion of beef. Adults only need 4 oz of meat per day, so there should always be vegetables or fruit served at every meal.


Don't make your needs a problem to them and you can probably do what you want to do.


Ask your mother what she thinks of that plan.
I have been vegetarian since I was around 7 years old. I've just never liked meat. My parents didn't have much of a choice since I simply wouldn't eat the meat on my plate. There are more and more excellent vegetarian restaurants, cookbooks, and products around right now. You could try showing your parents the nutrition information of a soy product in comparison with a meat product. Maybe your mom feels like she should be cooking for you. If so, you could give her a vegetarian cookbook. If your parents refuse to believe that you need meat, they could consult a doctor or dietrician and they would likely explain the situation to your parents and convince them that being vegetarian is not detremental to your health and wellbeing.
Pfffttt! Who cares what your parents think! Its your life not theirs! Don't let them push your around like that! My parents are EXACTLY like yours! There is no way they are ever going to make me eat meat though. It's my decision and they aren't going to influence it! Also show them meet your meat on youtube that made my parents buy free-range from then on.
I can read the Johnathan Foer's or whatever his name is and still eat an animal on the rare or medium rare side. I agree with the post that said that people in third world countries WOULD take your spot and eat everything on that plate of yours...Americans are becoming more and more ungrateful than anything else. Your parents raise you right now, listen to them strap on the helmet and enjoy the ride. When you get out of the house you can do whatever the hell you want.
I'm sure any kid your age from a third-world country like Egypt, Haiti, THAILAND, India, COSTA RICA, Nigeria, etc. would be glad to take your place if they had the chance. If you don't want to die of starvation, I suggest you eat the foods that your parents feed you. So choosy. There is so much devastation in Haiti right now you cannot imagine.
Will you at least eat fish? All the vegetarians I've ever known do eat fish.