Constant defense of the vegan switch

So, im a recent convert to the vegan diet after i finished reading the book 'Skinny Bastard'. After reading this book along with 'Becomming Vegan' i truly think that it is not only the most ethical choice but also the best choice for optimum health. The problem is that i am currently trying to gain some poundage as i am a bit underweight for my height/frame and the people around me are worried about me and constantly making me feel like an elephant in the room since i am a vegan and not eating any animal products. To be honest its a good switch for me anyway i feel since i tend to avoid things like butter, cream, whole milk and fatty meats... but i feel really out of place and self consious in my choices and i really dont think thats fair.

Has anyone else met with something like this and, if so, how did you go about handling it. I cant think of anything other than going off on everyone in the middle of a restaurant of just succumbing in front of people and eating meat when they want me to. (the latter is really not okay though since i hate it when i half-ass something).

clay...i say this out of concern not condescension, but you really should reconsider going vegan at this moment. you are still underweight and many people with EDs use veganism to maintain their underweight physique. i'm not saying that you are doing this but i think it's more important for you to get to a healthy weight prior to making the switch because getting enough calories to GAIN would be too much food in terms of volume and it would be rather expensive as well. for a normal weight individual they can get to the appropriate calorie range without too much difficulty but you should be eating about 3000 calories and without dairy or animal products it will be quite hard. maybe you should think about your immediate health first.

oh my gosh! i just read this book last week and am starting w/ vegetarian..dont know about vegan..but yah i have ppl telling me im not getting enough protein because i am not eating meat. I am also trying to gain some weight still...but i cant fathom the idea of eating any meat at the moment.

I agree, restrictive diets such as veganism are often used to fuel or maintain eating disorders. Better to recovery fully first and reconsider your diet after that.

the only thing im not eating is meat at the moment..otherwise my entire weight gain diet is the same..just adding in beans and nuts. definately still using other animal products and dairy.  those i cannot do w/o.

Believe me, i thought about that before the switch. But overall health and a cruelty free lifestyle really appealed to me. I guess the only thing that really gets to me about it is the people around me constantly calling it out as something used ONLY to restrict which it is not. Im not afraid of nut butters, olive oils, sugars in fruit or having carbs late at night. I always veiwed it as an abundance of food rather than a restrictive lifestyle, but I know i still worry people. What im trying to do now is a challenge to not count and just eat the vegan food. A no holds barred vegan lifestyle. Still making healthy choices but not obsessing or wiggin out when i 'have to have white rice rather than brown' then see what happens at the end of the month... not weighing till then.

Today i clocked in somewhere between 157-160 (stupid scales). Lets see what happens? Im sure if anyone can do it its this guy right here.

i think you have to be careful but you sound committed to being healthy and not maintaining the ED behaviors so as long as you're mindful of getting TONS of healthy fat then you'll be fine!! congrats and i apologize if i offended you at all!! 

The way I've always handled that kind of badgering situation was to come up with some stock phrases like "I'm good" (small smile, shake head indicating "no" and raise hand in stop gesture) or "Don't worry about what I'm eating" said with a tone of finality.  Lather, rinse, repeat.

I worked at this one place where some coworkers would mock my food all the time, calling it dirt (black bean soup) or sticks and twigs (salad with broken up pretzels on it). I just repeated the above statements until they quit. A couple of them started asking respectful, sincere questions and I happily talked to them about my dietary choices. One actually went veggie and another stopped eating red meat and dairy.