Recently, plant based diets and healthy living are the new craze. According to a person's Instagram, Twitter or VSCO, we can see what foods they're eating and what workouts help them achieve that #fitness lifestyle. But, vegetarianism seems to be getting a negative reputation. They’re laughed at and mocked. For example, if you've ever seen the post of a bowl of ice water captioned "Just payed $2.97 for my meal and people still say eating vegan costs too much," that's what i'm talking about. In order to help meat-lovers and veggie-lovers ease the tension, consider these ideas:

There are several types. We don’t all eat the same things! A vegetarian excludes all meat products and a vegan excludes gluten and all animal products including dairy and eggs. Vegetarians can be either lacto or ovo meaning they include dairy and/or eggs. Also, there’s another branch, pescetarian, meaning they eat fish. These labels can be a little obnoxious, therefore people tend to just use the term vegetarian interchangeably.

Diets are unique and personal. Everyone has their own preferences on what foods they like to eat. Likewise, each person can have their own altered diet. When I say "diet," I mean what a person typically eats, not the act of losing weight. It shouldn’t be a set of rules to follow so that people are watching over you making sure you don’t mess up. When someone doesn’t like a certain food, it shouldn’t be a huge deal if they don’t eat it!

It’s not always easy. But that’s the choice we’ve made. It takes dedication. If I was just wanting attention, then I wouldn’t be making my life more difficult. Most of us didn't grow up vegetarian nor are surrounded by vegetarian family members. We have to ask for altered meals when we go out to eat because unfortunately some places don't offer meatless options. We tell you that we are vegetarian/vegan not to have useless conversation about it, but because it does narrow our choices down significantly.

Our goal isn’t to annoy you. Some of us are a little more vocal about our diets than others. I understand that there are people out there that brag and try to rub being vegetarian in your face, which I completely agree is unneeded. But for those of us who haven’t done that to you, give us a chance because we're not trying to be a complete pain in the butt. We are not looking for any possible excuse to go all "PETA" on you. I would rather quietly peel off the pepperonis from my pizza slice than make an unnecessary scene.

No, we don’t miss eating meat. Maybe we miss the convenience and wider variety, but not meat. Nope, not even bacon. If I missed meat then I would simply go eat some meat. I am not shackled down to a strict diet and I think that’s where some people misunderstand. It's not that we can't eat something, it's that we've made the personal and habitual decision not to.

We will embrace the positive effects. OK, so here’s where I'm guilty. But, why wouldn’t we express the great things that our choice has to offer? It’s better for my body and the environment. Obviously we want the same for the people we care about. I'm not going to lecture because you can do your own research. I don’t think it's such an awful thing to embrace who you are even if it deals with your diet. You know what they say -- you are what you eat!