Veganism and Eating Disorders - Common misconceptions and Ideas

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Permalink Reply by Nyla Cione on April 11, 2010 at 1:00am

My experience (not opinion) is that there are some that do chose vegan food plans and who do have an eating disorder. I have found that it depends on a persons motive as to why they choose certain plans. I have a friend who is vegan, is a practicing anorexic, very unhealthy and you can see her bones, hardly any muscle mass sunken in the face.
But I think your topic is valid in saying that some people think that the way of vegan is a picture of someone who does not look healthy and is too thin (which there are, lets face it).
I think the ones who look like that (now this is my thought, as a trainer who has had vegan clients) is not eating a proper vegan food plan and who may have an eating disorder. I also noticed that the integrity of the their muscle tissue was sponge like and they could not handle any kind of weight training, just yoga and stretching.
SO, I feel that it all depends on the person, their knowledge of a proper vegan plan and their motive as to why they are choosing it.
For myself, I agree and relate to having a life that thrives so that I can help others in whatever way I am blessed to give back.
I am still so new at a total vegan plan, still have some fish only because I am still learning how to get the protein I need to sustain my muscle tissue without using animal sources, as a figure competitor (www.fit2give.com) but so excited at implementing the vega products to save me on that.
Thanks for the topic!

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Permalink Reply by Jay Crawford on April 13, 2010 at 2:18pm

Hi Aubrie!

15 years ago you never could have convinved me that I would be a vegetarian. In my group of friends they all seem to react the same way...'how can you live on rabit food?' When your not vegan I guess you don't think of some of the amazing superfoods that are staples in a raw-whole food diet like; chlorela, spirulina, wheat grass, barley grass, HEMP, sea vegetables, sprouts and a continually growing selection of veggies at the market. 15 years ago I imagined a vegetarian as living on bowl after bowl of salad or steamed veggies...'how could one be an athlete on such a limited diet?'

I hear; 'where do you get your protein?' to which I reply;"the same place cows get it!"

I continually evaluate what I eat for nutritional content and have found that I'm getting a better, fuller spectrum of nutrition than before. I have eliminated 70 % of the supplements I thought I NEEDED before...Now I'm geting better nutrition from less calorically dense food and my body is correcting 30+ years of mistakes at an alarming rate. I'm going to be better, stronger, faster with the energy of my youth and the power of knowledge!

The other thing I get is; 'don't you get bored of the food choices?'...I just picked up two amazing cook books: Ani's raw food kitchen by Ani Phyo (2007, Da Capo Press) and Living Raw Food by Sarma Melngailis (2009, HarperCollins Publishers). Then there is the Thrive recipes and the Recipes group here at vega community, the web and many links posted by people here, plus my own creative additions (kitchen time is my artistic outlet), I could very well never eat the same meal twice for the rest of my life!

"I feel like a heel when I think of my prejudices towards this lifestyle, but can never see myself going back!"
When I tell my friends this they next want to hear all about Thrive and what it may do for them.

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Permalink Reply by Becky on April 13, 2010 at 3:24pm

I think that individuals make dietary choices for many reasons. There are definitely a lot of unhealthy vegans who practice this lifestyle for reasons other than health and wellness. I dabbled in veganism on and off over the last 22 years (after turning strict vegetarian) but didn't look closely at why I would choose this as a lifestyle. It wasn't until very recently, when I was introduced to Brandon's books and the China Study that I saw the true benefits of a vegan lifestyle for me personally. I can't speak for anyone else. I turned to the Thrive Diet as an athlete to get into a strict regimen that I could monitor and know exactly what I was putting into my body. This isn't very different than what someone with an eating disorder does. But I'm pretty sure I don't have an eating disorder. Others may see me differently, but this is because they don't understand how not to eat processed, manufactured crap. I am 5'10 and 165 lbs of lean muscle.

Getting to where I am with my body and health has taken a lifetime, and I've given up a lot to get here. Veganism is now an important part of my life. The changes that took place as a result of a raw vegan diet changed my view on my reasons for doing it and my entire outlook on where I can go from here. It's exciting and I can't wait to continue on this journey!!

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Permalink Reply by Sarah V on April 14, 2010 at 1:31am

It's an interesting topic. Shortly after I turned vegan, my friend said he thought a lot of people who turned vegan did it 'to hide an eating disorder'. I don't think he was indicating that he thought I had an eating disorder but I did wonder why he would say this to me. I told him that it was possible a lot of people do use it as an excuse, but I had genuine ethical reasons behind my decision along with wanting the obvious health benefits.
I guess it comes down the lack of knowledge most people have on the subject and like everything in life, people who know nothing about something will still pass judgment even though they diddly squat!

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