the contented vegan

If you have not yet visited the Find Your Why page, I recommend you check it out so you can understand the three main reasons people decide to go vegan: for health, the planet, and the animals.

 

If you have just come from that page, you probably feel bombarded and overwhelmed. With all this new information about what goes on in your body when you eat animal products and the consequences our world and its inhabitants face because of animal agriculture, you may be feeling a struggle between what you have learned to be true and the fear of needing to change your lifestyle. You have found your “why”, but you don’t know where to start.

 

The reason for this site is to help you see how fun, simple, and realistic going vegan can be. It doesn’t have to be a big, scary, unattainable lifestyle. However, it is important to realize that the initial decision to go vegan can feel very scary. There is no denying that it is a complete upheaval of one’s lifestyle. All of a sudden, you realize what you thought you knew about food is not true, and now you have to start from scratch. You now have to try to figure out how to prepare meals three times daily without using many of the foods that are common staples in your household. If you are someone who eats animal products at every meal, the anxiety about such a huge life change can be very overwhelming. Even if you are a vegetarian trying to go vegan, the addiction to dairy can have an even stronger hold on you than on someone who includes meat in their diet. In the beginning, it may seem like you have a mountain to climb. 

 

If the idea of going fully vegan is just not something you ever feel you can do, join the club. I, along with lots of other vegans I know, used to have the mindset that going fully vegan was just too difficult and something we could never attain. I am not into the idea of living a high-maintenance, holier-than-thou, unapproachable lifestyle that will distance myself from other people having fun and enjoying their lives. The good news is veganism does not have to look like that! Veganism can be simple, approachable, indulgent, and fun while getting along well with others.

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Find Your "Why"

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As previously mentioned, the first step toward a vegan lifestyle is to Find Your Why, meaning to find your reason for going vegan. This step is extremely important, as it is the foundation for not only your initial lifestyle change but also the maintenance of that change day-to-day. Veganism is an outward-focused way of living. It has a positive impact on more than your own body, and that is what provides lasting sustainability.

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Set a Goal

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The next step is to set a goal. This goal is the ideal change you would like to achieve based on your “why”. Maybe your “why” is for health reasons, and you would love to eliminate all meat, dairy, and eggs from your diet to get your cholesterol down to a certain number. Your goal can be lofty, one that feels out-of-reach. How you will reach it is through taking practical, realistic steps over time.

 

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Reframe Your Perspective

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Before I move on to talk about what these practical steps look like, I wanted to mention how much attitude matters. It is crucial to reframe your thoughts in a positive way to be successful in your lifestyle change. With the standard American diet that many of us grew up eating, it seems to be an unspoken rule that animal products like burgers and ice cream are considered the epitome of deliciousness and indulgence, and foods like vegetables, fruits, and soy-products are restrictive healthy “rabbit food” and not scrumptious in any way, shape, or form. It is important to start seeing plant foods in a new light. They are not only delicious and totally satisfying, but they provide you with life-giving nutrients that will heal your body and do good to the world. That is the ultimate definition of "comfort food". Not to mention that you also can find very decadent plant-based substitutes for burgers, ice cream, or any other animal product you can imagine that taste so convincingly close to the non-vegan version.

 

It is so important to not look at animal products as the ultimate form of deliciousness that you are giving up for a lesser alternative. Remember where animal products come from and what they do to your body and the planet, and they won’t seem so attractive anymore. Removing meat, dairy, and eggs from your diet may be a difficult transition at first since your taste buds are familiar with animal products and are not yet used to eating only plant foods. However, over time your tastes will change to where you won’t crave animal products anymore and you will find total satisfaction in your diet of nourishing and energizing plant foods.

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Focus on what you're gaining, not losing. An anxious attitude towards veganism mainly comes when you only focus on what you have to "give up" from your diet. At first, it will seem like you have to eliminate a lot of foods that you enjoy eating. However, you will soon realize that a vegan diet is abundant, not restrictive. Perhaps your whole life, you were told that carbs are bad for you. In the "Vegan for Health" section on the education page, we learned from plant-based doctors and nutritionists that carbohydrates are actually the backbone of a healthy vegan diet. So, instead of cutting carbs, you can now eat pasta every day if you like!

 

Or maybe you have been dieting your whole adult life, and you are sick and tired of the constant food restriction and calorie counting. In the documentary Forks Over Knives, we learned that you can eat as many whole plant foods as you want until you're completely satisfied. No more spending half your day micromanaging your diet, and no more feeling hungry after every meal! 

Focus on the abundance and the freedom you now can look forward to on a plant-based diet. If you keep this perspective, along with remembering all the benefits of veganism, you will never want to eat any other way!

 

 

Take Realistic Steps

 

There are people who, as soon as they find out about the horrors of the animal agriculture industry, go vegan overnight. They will get up off the couch from watching a documentary and immediately throw out every animal product in their kitchen. This “cold turkey” approach works great for some people. However, if you are someone who currently relies heavily on animal products in your diet, or if you are someone who does not thrive off of change and reworking your lifestyle, the best thing to do is to start slowly. 

 

There are so many ways to ease into veganism. You can start by replacing one animal product a day with a plant-based one instead. Maybe try a non-dairy creamer in your morning coffee, oat milk instead of cow’s milk in your cereal, or a plant-based meat alternative in a meal like a stir fry, where it won't be as noticeable. Or, perhaps, you can start with finding some vegetarian recipes that look good to try and, over time, start reducing the amount of dairy in them, until it is eliminated or fully replaced with a vegan substitute. 

 

Another great place to start when learning how to eat vegan is to cook meals you already enjoy and either leave out the animal products or replace them with vegan substitutes. 

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Some examples:

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• Tacos made with crispy potatoes instead of meat, topped with guacamole, lettuce, tomatoes, and hot sauce

• Pasta with butter beans or Field Roast vegan sausage in tomato sauce

• Lasagna made with a tofu "ricotta"

• Chili with beans and soy chorizo, served over baked potatoes, topped with avocado and maybe a cheese alternative

 

Check out my RECIPES tab for delicious, filling vegan recipes like these that will make phasing out animal products easy!

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It is, of course, very important to know what to eat on a healthy vegan diet. After reading this, you can head over to the External Resources page for links to all the information you need on how to have a healthy, satisfying diet as a vegan. Also on that page are other vegan bloggers and YouTubers I use for vegan recipe inspiration constantly. I actually learned how to eat vegan and prepare vegan recipes mostly by watching vegan YouTube channels!

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What About Plant-Based Meat and Cheese Alternatives?

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If you're starting a plant-based diet for health reasons, your goal will probably be to eat primarily whole plant foods, rather than processed mock meats and cheeses. If this is the case, start by focusing on adding healthy plant foods to your diet rather than eliminating at first. For example, you can print off Dr. Michael Greger's Daily Dozen Checklist and keep it on your fridge as a reminder to include those healthy foods in your daily diet. Then you can slowly start to remove animal products once you have integrated some healthier substitutions into your diet. 

 

However, sometimes it is necessary to try vegan meat, cheese, and egg alternatives during the transition period from animal products to plant foods. These products are more expensive than whole-food pantry staples, but think of them as training wheels for your taste buds. They can be used as a tool to help your tastes adjust to eating solely plant foods, and your digestive system to the higher intake of fiber that comes along with it. After you get used to your new diet, you can work on eliminating these types of processed foods altogether, or keep them as an occasional staple in your diet if it is going to help you stay plant-based long-term. 

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It is obviously healthier and cheaper to not use these vegan meat and dairy alternatives. If you would rather skip them when first transitioning into veganism, that is fine! My advice for a smooth transition without these products is to be sure to incorporate plant foods that are primarily fat-based into each meal, such as avocado, tahini, peanut butter, or even olive oil. These fats are going to be the main flavor component in your meals and will help leave you satiated.

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If you ever don't like a vegan recipe, food product, or alternative you try, don't get discouraged and give up. Just like there are countless non-vegan ways to eat in this world, there are also so many ways to eat a vegan diet. Especially now, there are more vegan alternatives available in stores and restaurants than ever before, and it will only increase from here. You just have to keep experimenting to find out what works for you. It will take effort, but it will be worth it.

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A Couple Notes

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An important thing to mention is that animal products have many more calories per volume than plant foods. You will have to eat a larger quantity of food on a vegan diet than you did when you ate meat, dairy, and eggs. It is important to make sure you get enough calories in each meal to be satiated and to get all the nutrients you need. If a person ever craves animal products on a vegan diet, it is almost always because they are not eating enough calories. When I am eating a balanced vegan diet, I never have cravings because my body feels like it has everything it needs. As we have seen in the "Vegan for Health" section of Find Your Why, plant foods have all the nutrients your body could ever need, including protein. You just need to make sure you are eating enough of these plant foods. 

 

Another note is that plant foods have significantly more fiber than animal products. The most noticeable initial change when switching to a vegan diet is that you may experience some bloat at first. This is completely normal. If it is very uncomfortable, you may need to move more slowly with your fiber intake until your body adjusts. Eat foods with less fiber such as potatoes and white pasta at first, and start small with your legume and cruciferous vegetable intake. This video has some really good tips for help with bloating on a vegan diet, as well as some advice for new vegans. 

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Keep Moving Forward

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Once you have taken your first step and it is integrated into your life seamlessly, move on to the second step. For example, if you eat one plant-based dinner a week and it is working out well, try two days a week. Or maybe try to go one entire day per week eating plant-based. Start with whatever steps make for the easiest transition and go from there. Whatever you do, don’t underestimate your power to adapt to a new lifestyle, especially if that lifestyle will help you thrive! Keep an open mind, reach your small goals, and see where it takes you. The easier it becomes to eliminate certain animal products from your diet and replace them with plant foods, the more realistic the idea of being a fully-committed vegan will be. The main point, however, is that you keep moving forward. Don’t get comfortable before you reach the ultimate goal that you decided when you found your “why”. 

 

Stick With It!

 

Whether you have made the decision to go fully vegan or you are simply trying to add more plant foods to your diet, you have made such a positive decision for yourself and the world, and I applaud you. You have taken the first step on a wonderful path. The initial choice can be very exciting, giving you the desire and motivation to change your lifestyle completely. However, deciding to go vegan and sustaining your plant-based goals long-term are two entirely different stories. 

 

It is easy to think you will stay vegan forever once you get super fired up after reading the articles and watching the documentaries. However, those feelings will fade. You will forget the reason you wanted to go vegan. You will be tempted to reach for what is easier, rather than sticking to the goal that you decided was more important than convenience. 

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That being said, my tips for staying vegan for the long-haul are:

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1. Remember your “why”.

It can be a simple sentence you write down in your phone notes or a video that you save and watch every now and then. If you have decided that going vegan (or whatever your plant-based goal is) is important enough to be in it for the long haul, you need to always have your reasons for that decision within reach. 

 

2. Remember your diet does not just affect you.

Going vegan is not only a personal decision, in which your health is the only thing at stake. Animal agriculture is destructive to the entire planet and the other people living on it as well, not to mention the animals that are exploited within the industry. Be aware of these "big picture" impacts and implications and make this part of the reason you will stick with your goal. 

 

3. Come up with a game plan for social situations.

Studies have shown that the #1 reason people fall off the vegan bandwagon is due to social pressures. However, what I found when I first went vegan is that, once I got over the initial awkwardness of telling people I was vegan, people were surprisingly understanding and accommodating. Sure, you will get the few who make fun of you, which is fine. But you will be amazed by the love that some people show you by going out of their way to remember your dietary preferences and have vegan options available for you.

It is important, however, to always be prepared to deal with having no vegan options at a party, or to know what to order when going out to eat.

Here is a good article for tips on eating out as a vegan.

 

4. Remove your obstacles.

You have to decide if your “why” is more important to you than your worries. It is also important to realize that the worries you may have about a vegan diet won’t stick around forever. Just take each obstacle as it comes. Go slow and celebrate each victory. 

If there is one specific thing that is holding you back from going vegan, like enjoying your grandma’s lasagna or cookies baked by your friend, then let yourself have that one specific thing, if it is going to allow you to sustain your vegan diet for the long-haul. Just make sure to keep your allowances specific and few, so they don't leach into other areas and make you lose sight of your goal.  

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5. Find a vegan community.

Online or in-person. Search for a vegan group in your area on meetup.com or in your local classifieds. You can also go on Facebook and join a virtual vegan group if you prefer. Or you can just follow vegan influencers on social media to get daily vegan inspiration. Watching vegan activists, researchers, and home chefs on YouTube always helps re-inspire and motivate me. Check out my External Resources page for a list of my favorite online vegans to follow. It is important to have constant reminders that you are not alone in this movement.

 

It DOES Get Easier!

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Veganism will eventually feel normal. You won’t even think twice about which foods to eat and which to avoid. Once you get accustomed to using your new set of staple ingredients, finding a few go-to recipes the whole family enjoys, and knowing what to order when going out, it does get easy. You will enjoy your new way of eating. Cooking will become fun and exciting because you see ingredients in a new light. You will reach a point where you can honestly say that you wouldn't rather eat any other way!

 

In Summary

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To Start and Stay Plant-Based:

1. Find Your Why

2. Set a Goal

3. Reframe Your Attitude

4. Take Small, Realistic Steps

5. Stick to Your Goal

• Remember your why and the big picture of veganism

• Have a game plan for social situations

• Remove obstacles to change

• Find a vegan community, online or in-person

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From here, check out the RESOURCES page for more information on various topics of veganism, such as nutrition and grocery shopping, or go to the RECIPES page to start cooking!