Why do they think I'm not serious about being vegetarian?

I know none of my friends or family or coworkers would turn to a long-time vegetarian and say, "Just try this, come-on, why are you doing that anyway?" but they keeps asking me. I know I've only been vegetarian since Labor Day, but so what? I've made this choice. They keep thinking it's something I'm going to "snap out of" or something. I tell people I'm vegetarian, and the first thing they say is "Since when?" Like it matters! Why can't people just accept my choice and move on? And my parents and boyfriend and such keep saying, "So how are you doing with that vegetarian thing?"

I would imagine it is because it has only been two weeks.  It's not really fair of them to continue to offer you non-vegetarian food (kind of like offering cigs to a new non-smoker) -- but give them some time to get used to the idea.

People who knew you only as an omnivore will definitely wonder when you made the choice -- that's curiosity.

Alot of people try a lot of new things -- and then change their minds and go back -- it is kind of human nature to expect some failure.  I don't think they are being intentionally moronic.

Don't let it get to you -- when they offer you something, just say "no thanks", when they ask "since when" just say something like "recently, but I'm committed to the change", and when they ask you how's it going -- tell them "fine, thanks".

And if it continues and it continues to really bug you, sit them down (parents/bf) and just tell them how much it hurts that they can't accept your lifestyle change and keep expecting it to fail.

good luck 

From a meat eater

 

Hmmm actually it's been longer then Labor Day, now that I think about it... I've been vegetarian for over 4 weeks. But the point stands!

ive been a veg-o for 2 years now and i still get it from my b/f's roomates....some people just do it as a joke and dont realize you are hurt by it. either just let it roll off your back, or just tell them to cut it out.

good luck :)

i totally understand. i became a vegetatrian when i was 12 (now 15) my family thought it was just a faze and my friends taunted me with meat i guess they thoguht it was funny. and they STILL do it. i dont mind though. when people ask why i became a vegetatrian i dont know what to say. really i just woke up one day and decided to be vegetatrain. i hate how ppl think just cause your a vegetatrain youre a weird hippi and sooo agaisnt killing animals. yeah i think its mean and gross but im not going to try and change other people. because i know im not going to beable to stop the slauthering off animals. stay stong and they'll accept it. =]

i went vegetarian by age 12, and then vegan (no dairy, honey, meat, other animal products) at 15. i'm 21 now, and i get these same remarks! this is a lifestyle, not some phase. stick with it, no matter what they say! you'll feel great.

i have been veggie for about 3 months, and i get remarks like that. i just brush it off and go on my way. with my hubby i started offering him vegetarian dishes as often as i got offered meat ones, he eventually saw the point and backed off.

 

They just have a hard time relating because they have never probably never lived without meat for a long period, and they have a hard time understanding how anybody could do it.  Moreover, they don't understand why you would want to do it.  That's how my in-laws are, anyway, and I also get a lot of it from my co-workers.  ;-) 

Generally, I just laugh it off.  They will have more respect for your choice if they can see you have confidence in it.

I've been vegetarian basically my whole life (i'm 34) and totally vegan for about 13 years.

I STILL get "pressured" to eat meat by tons of people, and at EVERY family gathering I still get the "just try it - one bite won't kill you".

I also don't eat anything else anyone else prepares, because they always try to sneak stuff in there I don't eat - then tell me its fine for me to eat! Typically it's dairy products- but they have even stuck tiny meat chunks in there! So gross. I've been this way for so long though that I can taste it immediately and spit it right out! Luckily it only took a few times to realize I can't trust anyone when it comes to food as they just don't understand. My grandmother still says 'are you still on that "diet"' every time I see her around a meal, like it'll eventually end.. haha

I don't know whats wrong with people and the whole not accepting the decisions made by vegans and vegetarians.   I don't force my opinions on others & I don't try to sneak tofu in things..... hahahah

i just recently became a vegetarian, and fortunately, i haven't had too muhc of a problem; my dad had been one for as far back as i can remember--and my sister and her husband have been going back and forth with it for years, then the rest of the family has also been on these differennt  "health kicks" for  while.  But when i first tried to lose weight, i did get a lot peoplle trying to giiive me a bad time

::Chuckles::  Next time, before someone like Grandma even has a chance, how about go for comedy and say...  say are you still sucking down hunks of flesh and doing that Lard diet thing?   or something to that effect?  I mean, dont insult her personally, but get the jump on the questions.  There are no answers out there.  People are always unused to what is different in the world and they talk about it.

Think of it this way... people have spent forever finding ways to talk about the weather.  For, century after century and they still seem to be in awe of the fact that it changes?  gee its raining today and was sunny yesterday.  Gee did you realize that today we had weather?  ::laughs::  Goofy as heck, but human nature. 

as for people sneaking things in... again I am being a comedian when I say this... but have a premixed container of fake vomit with you and when they arent aware, pretend to toss all over their kitchen floor?  I bet they wont ever add hunks of dead bodies to your food every again.  Yep yep, I know... how vulgar and over the top?  LOL but gets the point across in a way that they sure as heck wont forget and I bet you a veggie burger they dont try and trick you ever again. 

oh and just so you are all aware... Most of my past jobs have banned me from working on April 1st  ::giggles::  if you need ideas, write.  I am full of...  LOL well something... but it sure isnt ground beef  ::playful wink:: ~ Lost Artist
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omg! I was beeping know. I've been a vegetarian for four years now and people still say sily things like "Do you eat chicken or are you still a vegetarian?" There's no such thing as a chicken eating vegetarian!

Gosh, this takes me back.

I remember in high school, I got a lot of rubbish on this subject, and I remember getting slightly annoyed with most people. The one that hurt was someone who I actually liked quite a lot, and I really didn't expect a negative comment from. She said one word (we weren't talking English, but our native language) which I can't really translate. The meaning is roughly "someone who aspires to something (not in a good way, but childishly)". Implied was "you'll get over it, it is a phase you are going through, you will fail".

Wow, my mother tongue is such an evocative language! Anyway, I never forgot her saying that. It had me in tears.

 BTW. I've been vegetarian for 16 years. Nyah nyah!

At the start of every vegetarian's journey is that phase where everyone assumes your vegetarianism is a phase. But people will ccept it the longer you stick to it. what everyone called my "phase" has lasted over 6 years... and now everyone just accepts it as who i am. I'm so happy now that CC has helped me over the last few months that I'm able to put aside their "A vegetarian lifestyle can't be healthy" argument.

I happily just passed my 26th year of vegetarianism, and I started when I was 13. My parents didn't bother me much, because they thought it was just a phase. Ha ha!

You just have to stand your ground, and tell them that what they're doing is not respecting your beliefs. I'm a vegetarian for animal rights reasons, and it's become a way of life for me. I always equate it to religion. You'd never go to a Christian and say "come on, pray to Satan a little..." But people think with something like vegetarianism, which is as close to me as religion is to other people, it's all right to razz you, or disuade you, or trick you into going against your beliefs. Set your boundaries early.

Anyway, good for you for choosing vegetarianism, and there's always support around. I never preach to people, as my goal in life is for people to see how happy and healthy I am, and ask me my secret. Then I can tell them. Best argument around is living a good life!

If you're young and most of the people around you are family, they've seen you through many changes, learning experiences and temporary enthusiasms.  From their point of view there is no real reason to see this as any different.  Aside from the fact that it's annoying, there's nothing really wrong with that.  Youth is for exploring your options and finding what fits.  The only way you will really get through to them is to persevere.  They won't really see this as your long-term choice until long-term happens.  The same is true of other choices that you've made or will make that don't quite line up with their perception of you.  Don't let it bother you, if you can manage it - be true to yourself.  That will also hold true if, at some point in the future you change your views (not that I'm saying you will or should).  Be and do what you truly need and you'll be fine.

I becaue vegetarian at 40 and, even though it was a medical decision, my nearest and dearest gave me some grief for a couple of years (one cousin actually told me I was too old for that sort of nonsense and her mother, to this - 20 years later - day, insists she could find the supplement that will let me eat animals again).

You'll get some support and some flack for anything you do that isn't in the mainstream. Just be true to yourself.

I was Vegetarian for about 3 years in the early 2000's and had the same thing happen. Just keep going with your choice and they'll get over it.

In my experience, a lot of this has to do with age. I became a vegetarian when I was twelve and until I graduated from college, people persisted in asking if I was still vegetarian, or why I made that choice. It seems I get it a lot less since I 'grew up' and moved out of my parents' house. I also get it a lot less from people who never knew me as a non-vegetarian. My grandmother, however, insists on saying that I don't "like" meat, like it was broccoli and I was four years old.

My current run of vegetarianism did start out as a phase. I went on a weight loss diet and stopped eating animal products.

That made it a lot more palatable for people to deal with. "Oh, she's on a diet and it will be over when she loses the weight." But I fooled them. I lost the weight, but still don't eat meat and dairy! Now my friends are used to it, and they see I eat amazingly delicious food so nobody offers me food I don't eat.

Most Americans seem to understand weight loss, so maybe talking up your vegetarianism as a weight loss method will help people deal with it. And then just don't stop.