Vegetarian Advice: Pre-Teen Goes Veg, Family Against

Question: Family, Protein Worries, Needs Help Getting Motivated

Hello ... i'm young. real young (almost 13) and ive tried the vegetarian lifestyle and my parents/friends told me that i wouldn't be getting enough protein. now i've heard of vegetarians trying protein pills, but i dont know where i could get any. do you have any suggestions?

and another simple question: ive been moving from diet to diet to diet and none lasted more than a week or so...so could you help me get motivated somehow? it is much appreciated!

my mother and the rest of my family arent vegetarians, neither are my friends. they dont quite understand why i want to be one, and dont approve of this type of lifestyle. especially my grandmother because she is big on eating.

and they all think that im not going to make the right decision with this lifestyle and that i wont be getting enough vitamins and protein in my diet! how could i convince them??? - Love N. R.

Savvy Vegetarian Advice

Dear N. R.,

It is possible to get all the protein, minerals, vitamins, etc. that you need from a vegetarian diet. You do need to eat dairy and eggs, though, to get enough Vitamin B-12. You can also get B-12 from some vitamin enriched foods.

At age almost 13, it's hard to become vegetarian by yourself without family support, and it sounds like you don't have much of that. You need to show your family that you're very responsible about your health & nutrition before they'll be comfortable with the idea. Flipping from diet to diet to diet isn't going to do it. You need to find your own diet, and that will take time.

I think you should go vegetarian very gradually and easily, learning and practicing as you go. For example, you could start by cutting out or reducing red meat in your diet. Trying to be vegetarian overnight is like trying to go from being a couch potato to a tri-athlete overnight. Or learning the violin in one day. It doesn't work! Your body just won't do it. Especially when that body is still growing.

I've attached the free report, 10 Tips For Beginning Vegetarians, which will help you get started, and might help to reassure your family. You should also buy a vegetarian cookbook, so you can start learning how to cook for yourself. Here are some I recommend, but get whatever appeals to you.

Take your time! There's no rush. Anything you do toward your goal of being vegetarian is good. And you have years and years, the rest of your life, actually.

All the best! Judith Kingsbury, Savvy Vegetarian

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