How To Go Vegan

I promise going vegan isn't as hard as it seems, but hopefully, I can give you some tips/ instructions if you're looking to transition to living a plant-based lifestyle. 

1. Do your research

This is a very important step. Many people who go vegan on a whim and don't do their research end up falling back into their previous diets. It is important to learn about all the foods that are out there, and how to do it right. I know many people who have tried to go vegan, but then complained about how about lethargic they felt, and when I asked what they were eating, it was clear they were not eating enough. Eating enough on a vegan diet is so important because you're cutting a big amount of calories out of your daily calories. One thing that I felt has helped me eat enough is eating every couple of hours. I also will eat more calorie-dense foods like peanut butter, pasta, and rice.

2. Eat what makes YOU feel good, not what you see other vegans eating.

A common mistake I made when going vegan was following what the Instagram famous vegans ate. Many of them only ate fruit and other "healthy" food. I even made the mistake of cutting peanut butter of my diet because a popular vegan YouTuber said fats would make you fat, even the healthy ones. I ended up losing my period and felt miserable. As soon I introduced it back into my diet, it was a huge difference and I felt much better. I can't stress enough to eat what makes you feel good. If eating pasta and potatoes makes you feel great, do it. Don't try to emulate other vegan diets. You will thrive off of what makes you feel good, and it will help you stay vegan. 


3. Watch documentaries.

There are so many educational and informative documentaries about planted based lifestyles on Netflix that could help you go vegan. Some of the ones I watched were Forks Over Knives and What The Health. Both of these gave me a lot of food ideas and also break down more of the facts of why a vegan diet is healthier than the standard American diet.

4. Go at your own pace.

If you're a meat-eater, or a vegetarian and are trying to transition to a plant-based diet, I would recommend going at your own pace. If you do things too fast, it may be harder to sustain the vegan diet. A lot of people go vegan overnight and end up returning back to eating meat because they found they craved so many things. If you transition slower, it will help with those cravings and also get your body accustomed to the lifestyle easier.

5. Figure out why you want to go vegan.

If you figure out why you want to go vegan, you can take the following steps that will help you stay vegan. For example, if you are going vegan for the ethical reasons involving animals, I would suggest watching the documentary Earthlings. Although this documentary is heartbreaking, if this won't keep you vegan, I don't know what will. It goes deep into the animal agriculture business and everything you don't see as a consumer. It's very graphic, but as mentioned, will remind you why you want to go vegan and help you stay vegan.

6. Don't become a judgy vegan.

A lot of new vegans go through the phase of judging other vegans and meat-eaters. They give their input when no one asked, and it becomes hard to be around them. If someone is trying to go vegan and isn't as far along as you, don't judge them. Everyone is trying their best given the situation they are in. It also does not help the movement to be judgemental of other people's diets because it's not exactly the same as yours. 

I hope these tips helped on your journey to becoming vegetarian or vegan. If you have any other questions or tips, leave me a comment and I'll be sure to discuss with anyone who is interested!