The Traveling Vegetarian

3 Responses to “The Traveling Vegetarian – Vlog 21”

1. 

   Dennis Marsh
   

   27. Aug, 2009

   I am curious as to what capacity you will be “coaching” these people? Perhaps I am mistaken although I have not seen that you have any certifications to coach anyone in any sort of health or dietary program. As a physician who happens to be vegan, I still defer to registered dietitians and nutritionists when developing a diet for any of my patients. I would hope that your clients have consulted with their physicians as you may not know what ailments they may have or nutritional requirements they may need. Problems and deficiencies may be exacerbated by a drastic change in their diet and without proper guidance. I am all for a vegan diet but in order to create balance and a healthful transition, many things must be considered and I find it a bit irresponsible to be coaching anyone regarding diet change with no such training. In fact, if you are hoping to find converts, you may find that it backfires as some may become sluggish, may gain weight, etc – only bringing negative responses to their experience with veganism.

   Just because you love animals does not qualify you to be a veterinarian. By the same token, just by being a vegan for a short amount of time, it does not qualify you to be coaching anyone on their diet plan.

   I am all for promoting a vegan lifestyle although there are many myths and fallacies surrounding it that have shown it in a negative light and for good reason. Only trained professionals should be dispelling health information as it pertains to a vegan diet.

   Concerned…
2. 

   Yvonne
   

   27. Aug, 2009

   Dennis,

   I totally understand your concerns. These folks came to me with the idea because of their desire to make this change and I will only be considered a Vegan Lifestyle Coach in this experiment. I definitely do not pretend to be a nutritionist, but I will be there to help with resources, questions about how to handle being vegan in social situations, etc. We talked about consulting their doctors in our first meeting, actually, and I definitely encourage that.

   I appreciate your comments and if you would like to provide some resources yourself, I would welcome that as well.

   Thanks,
   Yvonne
3. 

   DM
   

   05. Oct, 2009

   Dennis,

   I totally understand your concerns. These folks came to me with the idea because of their desire to make this change and I will only be considered a Vegan Lifestyle Coach in this experiment. I definitely do not pretend to be a nutritionist, but I will be there to help with resources, questions about how to handle being vegan in social situations, etc. We talked about consulting their doctors in our first meeting, actually, and I definitely encourage that.

   I appreciate your comments and if you would like to provide some resources yourself, I would welcome that as well.

   Thanks,
   Yvonne