How should I tell my parent I'm a flexitarian?

tachma15

To whomever is reading this message,

I have been following a flexitarian diet since early July. I am afraid of telling my father about my new diet, since he finds a diet 'lacking in meat' to be unhealthy. (Before I became a flexitarian, I would eat two to three plates of food for each meal. Then after eating my meals, I would still feel hungry.) For the past two weeks, my father has been teasing me. (He keeps telling me that I will get ulcers. What is ulcers anyway?) Right now, he suspects that I am a vegetarian.

How should I tell my father about my new diet?

P.S., Another reason why I became a flexitarian is because I am concerned with my body image. (My father teases me about my body image. It makes me feel very uncomfortable.)

Thank you for taking your time to read this message

Mokey41

Why do you need to tell him? Eat what you want, he eats what he wants. As long as you're eating nutritious food it really doesn't matter what anyone else thinks.

corgicake

The rest of the world still remembers that you don't need a slab of animal carcass at every meal. Just say your body tends to feel better on less meat

Alatariel75

Tell him it helps with your bowels. Then start going into detail until he begs you to stop, or leaves the room. If he brings it up again, rinse and repeat.

SiempreBella

Tell him it helps with your bowels. Then start going into detail until he begs you to stop, or leaves the room. If he brings it up again, rinse and repeat.

this

tachma15

[UPDATE]

My father doesn't believe a word I say; he thinks I'm anorexic!! T___T

prattiger65

[UPDATE]

My father doesn't believe a word I say; he thinks I'm anorexic!! T___T

Are you ?

tmm_0127

You're 18, you're an adult. You don't need to tell your dad about your new eating habits. >_>

* If you're still at home and eating what they eat, do they ask you if you need / want anything from the grocery store? You should make requests, or ask if you can go with them. Just show them that you're making a positive change, not a negative one.

iKapuniai

Let him think and say what he wants. Do what you gotta do, and get over your insecurity about what everybody else says/thinks about you. It doesn't matter. Do what's best for you. It's nobody elses business.

Briony14

Nothing wrong with not eating dead animal! As a kid it only bothered parents if they had to cook separately for me.

TeachTheGirl

How old are you?

Also, it doesn't matter what kind of things you eat on a day to day basis as long as you're not under or over eating them.

MinatoandClover

I wouldn't bother telling him. In my experience, talking about my diet with unsupportive people makes it all the more difficult to maintain my diet. Is it really important that he knows? Is him knowing worth the backlash you'll receive? If your answer to both of these is "no," I see no reason to tell him.

janicelo1971

[UPDATE]

My father doesn't believe a word I say; he thinks I'm anorexic!! T___T

hmmm....at a loss of what to say..not sure why you have to explain your habits to your father or anyone for that matter.......with that being said ED are not joking matter

ldrosophila

Just curious, and you don't have to answer this, but what is your culture? Sounds like your father is a very strong figure in your family.

PS-what is a flexitarian?

SailorKnightWing

I'm assuming she needs to tell her parents because she likely still lives at home and eats the same meals with them.

Have you considered offering to make dinners some nights? Gives you a bit more control over what you eat.

prattiger65

I might not always have this opinion, but for some reason, on this one, I am gonna lean toward dad of 18 yo daughter he believes may have an eating disorder. OP, you should ask yourself the question, why doesn't my dad believe anything I say? I have an 18 yo whom I believe anything he says. I also have a 21 yo and I don't believe anything he says. I have reason for both. Something tells me your dad does too.

keem88

eat what you want. it's of no concern to him.
i went vegetarian 11 years ago and my mother had a fit because, animals are here to kill and eat. okay that's nice but i don't want to eat it.
she gave me so much **** at first, refused to cook anything veggie friendly (i was 14 at the time) and would get mad at my dad when he would get me veggie burgers. she used to try to sneak meat in my food all the time so i just stopped eating what she cooked and would eat cheese sandwiches.
she finally stopped harassing me over it after she went with me to a chiropractor appointment (he gave me some suppliments, told her my body was all still alligned and that there is nothing wrong with a meatless diet), as well as an appt with my regular doctor (he said the same thing, that i looked healthy as ever, had amazing levels and that as long as i ate dairy and eggs it was fine).
fast forward now, just saw my doctor a couple months ago. mind you i have also been struggling with recovery from an ed, and have been underweight for some time. yet somehow even though i don't eat meat still and was undereating for so long, all of my blood work came out perfect.

long story short, who cares what your dad says. don't let him bring you down, ignore his bashing about what you look like and do whatever makes you happy. good luck.

tachma15

No. Way.

I've been using My Fitness Pal for over a month now to keep track of how many calories, proteins, sugars, etc. I need each day. So far, I've met the 1,600 calorie-mark, or a little below it (at least 1,500 calories).

So even with my diet change, I'm always aware of what I need and how much I need to eat.

tachma15

I had to tell him about my new diet because he asked me about it.

When he found out, he didn't accept it. Soon after, my family became diet-saboteurs.

Since I want to carry on this diet, I'll just ignore their temptations and complaints. Hopefully I will have a group of friends and supporters by my side.

tachma15

A flexitarian is considered to be a type of vegetarian by some people. Other people don't consider flexitarians to be vegetarians, because we're allowed to eat meat. What makes flexitarians unique is that we try to incorporate more veggies, fruits, dairy, nuts, and wheat in our meals. As for meat, we try not to eat too much of it. (There are some flexitarians that restrict themselves to eating meat twice a week.) I prefer to eat meat with my meals, but in small portions.

tachma15

Thank you for your support, and for sharing your story!
I hope you continue to eat what you love.