For a while, I thought they got it. My father was encouraged to lose weight by his doctor. That meant cutting back on fatty meats and the high-cholesterol foods, like butter and cream sauces, in which he indulged regularly. But my parents, for all their sensitivity to my way of life, don't seem to understand that being a vegetarian informs all of my food choices all of the time. It's not something I can, or want to, turn off when a major social event rolls around, especially my own wedding.
People choose to be vegetarians for different reasons.
Of ten, the reason that you become a vegetarian influences the way you practice vegetarianism. My fiance and I are macrobiotic, which requires mixing specific grains and vegetables. The most liberal is a lacto-ovo diet, which allows dairy products and eggs. There are significant health benefits anywhere on the vegetarian continuum. Picture the food you eat as fuel for your body.