People become vegan for many reasons. Whether you are interested in becoming vegan for your health, the environment, or the animals, I have some tips to make that transition easier. As time passes the challenges of being a vegan disappear and it becomes a normal lifestyle. Many people give up on becoming vegan because they go about it the wrong way. Following these tips will ease the obstacles you may face.
Ease Into the Process
I have been vegan for three years, but the first time I attempted being vegan I failed miserably. I cut off meat, dairy, and eggs all at once and felt super hungry all the time because I didn’t know what to eat. My diet consisted of eating only fruits and vegetables and I only lasted a week being vegan. It is important to slowly transition into becoming vegan and not go full force. What I would recommend is cutting out meat first and still eating other animal products for a couple of weeks. After you are used to not eating meat, then start to slowly cut out dairy and eggs.
Dairy and eggs are usually the hardest for people to cut out because a large majority of food contains it. Instead of cutting out any product that contains eggs and dairy, start off by not eating or drinking it when you purchase it as a whole product. What I mean by that is don’t purchase milk, cheese or other dairy products. Do not buy raw eggs either.
Once you have successfully stopped buying meat, eggs, and dairy products then start reading the ingredients in the foods you purchase and cut out animal products completely. This part is the trickiest because it can be easy to accidentally buy something that is not vegan. However, after a while reading the ingredients on products will become a routine and you won’t even think about it.
Find a Purpose in Becoming Vegan
Another reason I did not last long as a vegan was because I had nothing to motivate me to stick with it when it got hard. If you want to become vegan because you want to lose weight and view it as a diet, you probably won’t last long. Being vegan is not a short-term diet, but a lifestyle. By becoming vegan you are leaving a positive impact behind. As many people know, being vegan helps the animals that are being slaughtered and tortured in factory farms. However, being vegan also helps reduce your carbon footprint on the earth. It helps reduce world hunger as well because the amount of grain used to feed livestock could instead feed people. Animal products also use very large amounts of water to make them.
Do Your Research
Often times when people think of vegans, they think of people who only eat fruits and vegetables but that is not the case. There are so many vegan options out there that are cheap and accessible. It is important to research what kinds of foods are vegan and which are not so you have a better idea of what you can eat. Instead of milk from an animal, you can drink almond milk, soymilk, coconut milk, rice milk or oat milk. If you really like eggs you can use tofu as a substitute. There are also vegan pizzas, ice-cream, cake, and so forth. The biggest thing to remember is not to restrict yourself because there are so many foods you can eat.
In the beginning, being vegan might seem like an impossible task, but trust me, it’s not. Transitioning to being vegan just takes patience and understanding. It is okay if you mess up and eat something that is not vegan. At the end of the day, it only matters that you are making an effort to become vegan and giving it your best shot.