The guy and the stairs reminded me of this picture.
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii85/Stormflakes/Random/OnlyinAmerica.jpg

I'll never understand why some people have such a problem with us veg*ns.  You'd think we had a contagious disease or something.

oh, wow.  you can't even get a warm up before the workout? i'm stunned.

and she stopped walking looked at me like I had two heads, stared a few seconds and said "really?" and just continued walking on silently and we changed the subject.  It was all I could do not to bust out laughing.

i'm from the south and i've received that look.  i've had people who even asked, "what's a vegetarian?" because they had NEVER heard of the idea before.  when i tell them how long i've been a vegetarian/vegan, they look at me like i've held my breath that whole time.  like it's hard.  to me, it would be hard to put something in my mouth that was once covered in blood, puss, urine, feces, etc.  but, then again, i'm the strange one.

::)

I couldn't muster up an answer and just ignored him and walked away from his 250 lb. meat eating self.  Sad thing his he's a Nurse Practitioner....

i find myself asking about the hypocrisy too.  my mother is a registered nurse and knows NOTHING about health, nutrition, or fitness... which is proven by the fact that she is super morbidly obese weighing somewhere between 450 and 600 pounds.  she's diabetic and was clueless when she stayed with us and we were saying that she wasn't following her "diabetic diet".  she didn't know there was such a thing.  she thought taking her pills would take away the need for a special diet.  *smacks forehead*

most people don't know this, but doctors are only required to take UP TO (meaning, could be less than) three hours of nutritional training, only one time.  they literally know nothing unless it happened to be a topic that interested them enough for them to do private study OR if they became a nutritionist/dietitian.

when my wife was anemic (from not listening to me on balancing her new veggie diet!!!) she asked her doctor what she should do different and her doctor knows me and knows i'm vegan (and that i have been vegetarian/vegan for practically forever) and that i study nutrition.  she looked at brittney, smiled, and said, "ask keri.  she'll know exactly what you should be eating." (i wasn't there, by the way) because her doctor didn't know the answers to brittney's questions.  she's an excellent doctor and she's not too proud to admit when she doesn't know everything (unlike most doctors who will pretend to know it all), but this just goes on to prove that they really don't know much about nutrition.

so it doesn't surprise me that your nurse practitioner friend scoffed at the obviously easy and intelligent steps you were making towards better health.  it probably never occurred to him. 

;D  Congrats!

http://i0006.photobucket.com/albums/0006/findstuff22/Best%20Images/Icons/congrats2.jpg

Hahaha, tyvm, now I have this stuck in my head:

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/rHRmjDqAxMQ&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/rHRmjDqAxMQ&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

Seriously though, sorry you finally experienced it, Tweety. I know it will roll right off your back, but it sucks just the same. Ha, but now that you've finally experienced it, then you can check off that tick-mark on the official Veg*n Card you carry in your wallet! lol

ETA: Whyohwhy do I suck so much at embedding?? I don't get it. Well, enjoy it twice!

The post about the diabetic mom reminded me...I belong to a Yahoo! Group for weight loss. But basically it's a chat group for overweight women who don't want to change. They want the weight to melt away, but they "just can't" give up the cookies, the soda, the chips...One woman wanted to get away from cofree because she "just has" to add cream and sugar. I suggested herbal teas. Oh no--she "can't" drink herbal tea without cream and sugar!!  :P
Blerg. I usually don't even put sugar in my herbals. In black tea, yes but that's because I'm half Welsh. :)>>>

Sir, I agree. The best films are those in which the silences speak louder than the dialogue.
I recommend to you the *original* "Get Carter" (the 1960's one with Michael Caine in the title role)
and "Three Colours: Blue". The subtext says it all.

I just saw my doctor for the first time since I decided to become a vegetarian, I made the appointment to specifically ask what do I need to be doing, what are common problems with newbie vegetarians and so forth. Her answer:
1. Protien! You need to make sure you get enough protien.
2. Calcium with vitamin D supplements
3. Vitamin D
Then she handed me a print out from some government site that talks about a healthy diet (sure important info in there, but I don't need the 'meat' section of the pyramid).
I'm sure she does have a valid point, but for some reason I was expecting more... stupid me.

Anyway, I wish I knew where to turn to for the right anwsers and who to go to, to be physically seen by someone who understands the needs and potential issues that could arise from my recent change in diet/lifestyle.
*sigh*

that's a very generic response and not really all that accurate.  did you see my post where i was telling someone where to get what nutrients and what they do?  i cannot, for the life of me, remember where that was.

protein isn't hard to get, at all.  it's in everything.  and you're more in danger of having problems from too much protein rather than too little.  most vegetarians still get at least twice the amount that is necessary.  i wouldn't be overly concerned there.  (still keep it in mind, but don't obsess only over protein)

the one thing that a lot of vegetarians seem to have issues with is iron.  that's the only thing i have ever had problems with but that was when i was living with my mom and all she was concerned about was the protein aspect so i lived off of mostly peanut butter.

low zinc can cause a low libido and other sexual disfunctions!  that's one that can run low.  pumpkin seeds have a ton of zinc just as one example.

but make sure your zinc/iron levels are balanced... too much of one blocks the absorption of the other.  (i think it's too much iron blocks zinc, but it might be the other way around)

calcium and vitamin d are important, but if you're eating a balanced diet full of dark green leafy veggies then you should be okay.  you need vitamin d to absorb the calcium, but your body makes its own if you get about ten to fifteen minutes of sunlight on your face and hands every week.  also, most vegan milks are fortified with both.  (don't believe the milk industry about the whole "milk prevents weak bones" crap... go with non-animal!)

braggs liquid aminos have the essential amino acids that our bodies need but do not produce on their own.  most of the amino acids your body needs are conveniently produced within itself, but the rest you need from food.  use it as you would use soy sauce.

nutritional yeast flakes have several important nutrients but ones that are especially crucial to veg*ns are the b vitamins.  you can use it in small quantities to add nutrition or in larger quantities to make cheesey sauces and such.  i add a few spoons of it to my mashed potatoes, soups, spaghetti sauce, etc.

if you are unsure if you are hitting what you need, try keeping a log.  fitday automatically calculates what nutrients you're getting enough of and which ones you're not getting.

you can take a multivitamin if you feel you need it, but honestly if you balance your diet you won't need it.

your diet should be mostly veggies.  lots of colours, but the majority should be the dark green ones.  fruits are good, but don't eat only fruits and no veggies.  you should have three to five servings of fruit a day (a medium banana is TWO servings... so if you are in doubt about a portion size, look it up).  also, try to eat more of the non starchy veggies.  corn and potatoes are great for you, but they shouldn't be your only vegetables.  whole grains, beans/legumes/nuts/seeds, tofus/seitans/tempehs, and vegan milks would be excellent choices in your diet.

just use your head.  if you have cereal for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch, and pasta for dinner then you did not balance your diet because you basically just ate bread all day.

the same if you had a banana for breakfast, a couple of apples for lunch, and a squash for dinner.  all fruit.

balance!

Wow,
Thank you so very much Rainbowdust and tino_bambino!

I'm going to print the advise you have and the charts! The information already makes me feel better about going about having a healthy lifestyle!

eta: I think that chart would be very helpful. I was able to add it to my cart (but did not purchase cause I still don't have my new debit card... so I'm not sure if it's back in stock or not...)