Hey everybody, happy Thursday!
Today's video
is going to be
a little bit controversial,
I hope you're sitting down.
The question came from the website
and it had a ton of chatter
and a lot of comments.
And people really wanted
to hear my thoughts on it,
so let's get into this.
What is it?
The suspense is killing me.
The question is:
"Hey Kati,
as the vegan community continues
to grow on social media,
I've noticed that a lot of people
who end up turning vegan come from
a past of struggling with an
eating disorder.
That got me thinking,
if them embracing veganism is
eating disorder driven, since plant foods
are relatively low in calories/fat, etc.
I don't claim that every person
who's vegan is affected by an eating disorder,
but I was just wondering
if their "recovery" isn't really that,
since they don't eat
calorically dense animal products at all.
Do you think that one can recover from an
eating disorder by turning vegan,
or is that not really recovering?
Thanks."
Now, I thought this was really interesting
and something that I want you all to hear me out.
And I have a really, really old video
about my thoughts on being a vegetarian and being a vegan,
and I will link it at the end of the video
and I'll put it in the description,
you can check it out.
Because I have a feeling that
there's going to be a lot overlap within
that video,
because my thoughts
really haven't changed,
and that is if you,
for you own purpose,
seperate from the eating disorder,
right,
I'm gonna
draw the line in the sand.
We're not talking about people
with eating disorders.
If you decide that veganism, or
being a vegetarian is something
that you want to do ethically,
it's something that you've been raised in,
or it's a religious thing.
There are a lot of different reasons
for people to
be a vegetarian.
And, also, some people
become vegans.
And I think that's fine,
as long as we're still listening to
our bodies,
potentially working
with a doctor
because there are a lot of vitamins and minerals that we need
to make sure we're getting,
making sure we're properly taking care of ourselves.
But, if done properly,
if we listen
to our bodies:
eat when we're hungry,
stop when we're full,
I have no problem with it.
I do, however, have to agree
with this,
that when we "turn vegan"
as a way to recover from a eating disorder,
I feel like we're just trading them,
one for the other.
Because vegans have to,
many of you out there
that have done this know,
you have to be extremely cognizant of
what's in food, where it came from,
how it was prepared...
it's way too much brain power
and focus on food,
what it is.
And I find that we're often just
trading one eating disorder behavior
for another, and we're focusing instead
on, like, is it "animal-based" versus
how high of calorie is it, and
is it a safe food.
And, often, with my clients
the unsafe foods are the
animal-based products or
quote unquote "unhealthy, bad foods"
that are really triggering,
and those don't always exist in the vegan world.
However, someone else on the website
did have a nice, you know,
argument back to that:
where there are all
of those types of,
you know,
"unhealthy, bad foods"
available.
And I'm using air-quotes,
so I know that
annoys people sometimes,
but I'm doing it because I don't believe
there are any foods
that we shouldn't be able to eat
in moderation.
And listen to our bodies when its hungry
and stop when we're full.
But, someone talked about how you can
actually find those in vegan versions.
And, if that is part of your diet and
you're will to challenge that
and challenge that eating disorder voice
and come back to it, and eat a variety
of types of food, more power to you!
But, I think, it's a slippery slope
and something we have to be very
cautious about as to why we're doing it.
And that's kind of what
my old video talked about:
how we have to be really, really aware
of why we're doing it and where that urge
to not eat these foods or that foods,
or this is O.K. for us and this is not.
Why is that? What is it?
Where is it coming from?
Are we just swapping our eating
disorder out for another
"eating disorder" or is it actually
something that's healthy and happy for us?
Take some time! Think about it.
Everybody is going to be different,
but the one thing that I will voice
my opinion about is: being a vegan
or a vegetarian (or not being a vegan
or a vegetarian) isn't anything that
you should shove down someone's throat.
Pun intended.
There should be no force for someone
to not be a vegan or be a vegan.
I find that online it can be kind of a battle ground.
Some people feel like you're wrong if
you're not being this way,
and there's no right or wrong.
Listen to your bodies,
do what's best for you.
Do what's best for
you and your dietitian
or your doctor
and all of the people you have working with you
for your recovery.
Don't let other people
tell you what to do with your body,
and I wouldn't
do that to anybody else.
So, I'm just throwing
that out there
'cause that's something that also
bothers me.
What do you think?
Let us know in the comments!
I know this is going
to be controversial,
we'll get thumbs downs
and thumbs ups,
but I think it's important for us
to talk about it.
And, I think, as a community
it's important for us
to be able to have
differing opinions
and conversation that
may not be, like, a we all agree
and it's wonderful.
And know that that's still O.K.
And that's what's great
about our community, we share our
information and our experiences
and together we learn more.
I love you all,
and I will see you next time.
Bye!