Whether you’re doing it for health reasons, moral objections to eating animal products, a desire to eat more sustainably, or something else, making a move to the vegan lifestyle is far from easy. However, that doesn’t mean that it’s anywhere near impossible, either. Let’s take a look at a few time-honoured tips for making your transition to the vegan lifestyle a little easier.
Keep in mind just why you’re doing it
Changing your diet can be difficult. As such, having a strong motivation is often crucial to making those changes stick. One way to build up that motivation is to always keep in mind the precise reasons why you’re making the change in the first place. If you’re going vegan, then you might want to write down the health benefits, your moral reasonings, or whatever other motives are behind your decision. Write them down so you can look at them every day, turning them into a mantra and a promise that you commit to each time you repeat the words.
Don’t feel like you have to rush it
New vegans constantly have moments of “oh, wait, this has animal products in it, which means I can’t eat it.” A lot of people find this pretty frustrating, and that the mistakes can only make their cravings harder to ignore. However, you don’t have to go “cold turkey.” You can make your change gradual, too, perhaps starting by cutting meat out of your diet, then dairy products, then eggs, and so on and so forth. If it helps you transition more completely and permanently, few will complain that you’re not doing it completely and cleanly, to begin with.
Find your replacements
Some other vegans will argue up and down until they are blue in the face that you have no need for your old vegan faves. You can find new faves with ease. However, that’s not easy when it comes to things like chocolate. As such, it’s a good idea to look for replacements that are a little more one-to-one like vegan chocolate bars. If you find the replacements for the treats that you used to adore, it might not be exactly the same but it can at least make your cravings a little easier to deal with. Similarly, take the time to “veganise” your favourite meals.
Plan your meals
Opportunity is the enemy of perseverance. To get more specific, if you give yourself the opportunity to slip, it’s very easy to do it. We can maintain a strong willpower 100% of the time. As such, make sure that your cupboards are always stocked with vegan snacks and ingredients and make use of vegan meal planning apps so that you account for every meal of the week when you go shopping.
There’s no “one way” to go vegan. You have to do right by yourself, which might mean a slower or slightly odd transition compared to people who go “cold turkey” on animal products. Managing your transition well can mean that you can more reliably stick to your new diet, so it’s worth it.
Have you taken the leap and gone vegan yet?
Let me know in the comments below.
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