I just wanted to post about eating out and losing friends, seeing how there
has been so much discussion. I am a VLF (practically FF), almost-vegan (I
eat honey & white sugar) and I have had no problems with my friends and
co-workers. If anything, they have been really supportive, always keeping
me on the straight and narrow, especially when I'm craving a dozen Krispy
Kremes. I go out to dinner with my friends and the people I work with, all
of whom are SADers and have never had a negative experience. Don't think
that just because you're going to change your diet, that it must restrict
your social circle. I have found that if I just tell people about my diet
in an unoffensive manner, they understand. All of the negative reactions I
have ever seen have been due to the utter offensiveness of the vegan or
vegetarian. Don't be rude to your friends, call them names, or make fun of
their eating habits. As in everything, respect others, and they will
respect you. All of my friends appreciate that I leave them alone about
their eating habits. All of the rudeness and snide remarks you make will
never change their eating habits. The only way they will change is if they
come to the realization *themselves*-for it is within ourselves that change
develops.
Gayle D. Green
Vanderbilt Institute for Public Policy Studies
Evaluation and Methodology Research
"To become what we are capable of becoming is the only end in life"
-Robert Louis Stevenson
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