Hey there! This post will be all about how to start a vegan diet or lifestyle. It will give you all the tips I wish someone had given me when I first started my vegan journey. I hope these will be helpful to some of you new vegans out there. It can be hard to make the transition but this will hopefully make it a bit easier.
1. My first tip is to get educated and know what you are getting yourself into. I know doing research can seem boring, especially if it consists of going online and reading articles, studies and papers, but what I recommend doing is having a Netflix binge session instead. If you want to know all about the health, environmental and ethical benefits of being vegan you should give these 6 documentaries a watch;
- Cowspiracy (the environmental side)
- Dominion and/or Earthlings (the ethical side)
- Forks over Knives - I recommend this one over What the Health (the health side)
- Game Changers (the health side)
- Seaspiracy - this one is on Youtube and is all about the fishing industry. That industry is often left out of the conversation but is also very important.
There are also some podcasts I love listening to;
- The Disclosure Podcast
- The Viva! Vegan Podcast
- Food for Thought (by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau)
These can be found on all the major podcast streaming services.
Lastly there are some Youtubers I love watching;
-Mike the Vegan; He debunks myths about veganism and always has rock solid research to back him up.
-Earthling Ed; He is a ‘street activist’ that has conversations with people about veganism and also does talks. He has the perfect answers to all the different questions vegans get on a daily basis. I highly recommend his Ted talk and this speech here.
-Colleen Patrick; She also has really good answers to all the questions about veganism. I highly recommend this speech of hers.
So in a nutshell my first tip is all about learning the answers to all the typical and annoying questions you will get when becoming vegan. Unfortunately these questions and comments are unavoidable but you are going to be way more confident and better in social situations if you have your answers ready.
2. My second tip is to get a blood test to see if you have any vitamin deficiencies or if you need any other supplements. The only supplement all vegans have to take is B12, you should be able to get all other vitamins/supplements you need on a plant based diet, but it may be a little harder than what you are used to. It also doesn’t hurt to do a little research into plant based nutrition just to make sure you know all the basics.
3. This is a little bit of a bonus tip but I just wanted to say that it is okay to become vegan in steps. A lot af people become vegetarians first and then vegan. It can be quite hard to adopt a vegan lifestyle over night or in a few days. It takes time to find the right vegan beauty products and clothes. It is also okay to mess up, everybody does it, as long as your intentions are in the right place.
If you ever start to really crave animal products and want to go back to eating them it can be good to think of veganism as something bigger than yourself. You are not only doing this for you and your health. You are saving the animals and fighting climate change! Why go back to eating animals that don’t have to die? The only thing you accomplish is harming the animals, the planet and your health.
4. Now that you have done your research it is time to start cooking. In the beginning I recommend cooking similar dishes as you did before, just switching the animal products out for vegan versions. This makes the transition seem smaller. Then you can slowly move towards more whole food vegan recipes. In the beginning it is good to have 5 - 10 fairly easy recipes that you love and know how to cook, that way you always have something to cook when you run out of ideas or have little time to make something. Whenever you find a recipe that you love I recommend writing it down in a recipe book and soon you will have a book filled with delicious recipes you can cook at any time.
If you have friends or family members that think vegan food is boring or tasteless I recommend cooking for them and showing them how wrong they are. This is also the perfect time to use your recipe book!
5. I know going vegan can be very hard in todays society. Food is after all a very social thing. You are going against societal norms and it can feel like you are swimming against the current all by yourself. That is why my last tip is all about becoming a part of the vegan society. It can be hard doing that in real life so I recommend following some vegan people on social media and joining vegan groups on Facebook (they will have answers to all of your questions). This makes you feel like you are a part of something bigger than yourself and motivates you to keep going. It can also be fun to find some vegan friends in real life and start a vegan food club where you come together and cook.
You have to remember that in order to sustain and feed almost 8 billion people on this planet we must cut down our consumption of animal products. By becoming vegan you are ahead of the curve and are setting a good example for others. You are also saving hundreds of animals each year and bettering your health as a bonus.
If you have any questions about veganism please feel free send me a message, I will be happy to help out. Just remember that I am not an expert on the matter, I am always educating myself and learning more about it every day.
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