I research natural health/therapies, raw veganism, etc. I am also struggling with a battle with unhealthy food cravings, withdrawals, etc. My twin sister always cries to me about her health problems & asks for advice, which she never takes. I am in transition. I slip up with hamburgers, ice cream, etc., but then I revert back to raw vegan living.I've read a lot of websites, some books & a lot of documentaries. I may not have a success story NOW, but I refer her to works of people who DO, &she bashed me for feeling depressed & eating 4 hamburgers 1 night, even though I told her that I got back up on my feet the next day.She told me that fluoride, aspartame, chemtrails, GMO's, etc. haven't killed her yet, so she doesn't care. She also said she will NEVER quit smoking. She's only interested in weight loss & not detoxing. She asks for advices, doesn't listen & then tells me that I'm FORCING my beliefs on her when I tell her that she brought the wrong product, when she might say, "Is this the right coconut oil?"Then, she just told me last night that she has to get surgery for something benign on her ovaries. -_-I don't try to preach to her. She asks which is the right product, I tell her, & then she gets the wrong kind, & asks me if it's right, & I tell her no, then she gets angry.
Recommended Answer:
1. No, you don't need to have a success story to inspire others. But being very confident in what you're doing will only happen after you've achieved your goals. That confidence will be more inspiring to others than anything you could say before, even if you pepper your comments with footnotes to research. 2. Your sister needs to learn to stand on her own two feet. From now on, whatever she says, do not say yes it's good or no it's not good, send her to a website or give her a book to read so she can discover it for herself. In short, teach your sister to fish, stop handing her fishes. Just say you don't know for sure, but probably it's in this book, or maybe she can check this website... you're too busy right now to research it. 3. If hamburgers and ice cream are your achilles heel, then your fats aren't right... look up essential fatty acid on google and keep reading starting with wikipedia until you understand how essential fatty acids are converted into long chain fatty acids by humans. Vegans need exactly the right fats so that they don't run deficiencies, and neither coconut nor olive oil provide these in ideal quantity. For the moment, make sure walnuts and flax seeds are part of your diet, until you complete your research in this area, and discover other sources of LA and ALA. Good luck!Other Answers:
- No have to's, but it would be good to have a success story, just so people could trust you.
- You must "walk the walk" if you "talk the talk". Preach what you say and live by it. Pretend you had money and you are about to hire a personal trainer to get the body you want, are you gonna choose the guys/girls that look athletic and healthy or the fat guy? Probably the athletic looking person, right? Why? Because you know he walks the walk, not just talk the talk.
- I think its extra difficult to listen to advice from family members, she is taking what you are saying personally rather than being able to listen objectively like she would a doctor or a nutritionist. The more advice you give her the more it will just sound like nagging. You can't control what someone else chooses to do, you just have to give her the information to make her own choices. I would give her information on a healthy diet plan that will be easy to follow.Buy her this book (for example) and then leave her to make her own choices.http://www.amazon.com/dp/0452266394
