Step One: Find your reason. It may sound like an obvious thing to say but completely altering your diet is a really big deal. Not only will it have an impact on your body but the repercussions will be felt in so many other areas of your life. Social convention demands that we eat animal products and since food is the powerful force that brings families and friends together, you may be scrutinised, questioned, criticised, laughed at and at times even bullied. Hard to believe really, since veganism is slowly inching towards the mainstream but old habits die hard. Human beings are habitual creatures and food isn’t simply fuel, it’s deeply emotional, helps us to communicate and forms an integral part of our cultural traditions.
Without a reason that you truly believe in you will be doomed to fail. This is because you are swimming against the tide. Becoming vegan takes effort; whether you want to dip your toe into the water by eating plant-based a couple of days a week or whether you want to go the whole hog (so to speak!), it does require a little extra brainpower as you are breaking lifelong habits.
This is why Veganuary is such a great concept. Trying veganism for a month is attainable because people can see the finish line. January tends to be a time when we make resolutions, we’ve put on a little weight over Christmas and we generally want to kick start our health for the year to come. We all know that eating more fruit and veg can be incredibly detoxing anyway, particularly after a month of indulging on roast dinners and buttery mince pies. Telling yourself ‘I’m just going to try this for a month’ can be a great place to start because the goal is realistic and you can see an endpoint. Add to this the fact that many people are also going along for the ride and suddenly we feel a sense of community; we’re not alone. And as we’ve all experienced with peer pressure, it’s always easier to do something when everyone else is doing it!
But what is stopping you from trying ‘Veganuary’ at any other point in the year? Nothing. Human beings are master weavers of excuses. We can always come up with a million reasons not to do something. ‘I can’t go for a run, it looks like it’s going to rain.’ ‘I don’t have time to make dinner, I’ll get a takeaway.’ ‘I should call my mum back but I’m just too tired.’ We are a species blessed with incredible imagination and this imagination makes it possible to achieve seemingly impossible things. Yet, we also have an uncanny ability to use our imaginations to avoid making tough decisions. We create stories about why we can’t do something. ‘It’s too difficult,’ ‘It’s too expensive,’ ‘It’s too time-consuming.’ As long as we have a reason not to do something we can justify our inaction.
Many people don’t have any desire to give up animal products. They have always eaten this way and they want to continue to eat this way for the rest of their lives. These people will never jump on the V train and that’s ok. I’m not talking about them right now. I’m actually addressing the people who are standing on the platform teetering on the edge but not quite hopping onboard. Or the people who jump onto the carriage just as the doors are closing but then alight at the next stop. This post is for you. Because there is something inside you drawing you towards that journey. Perhaps the feeling is fleeting, perhaps it’s taken years to come to fruition or perhaps you’ve seen friends boarding the train but something has always held you back.
So to help you on your journey, here are some popular reasons to entice you to ‘live life on the veg:’
Health: This could be as simple as ‘I want to feel healthier and I think eating more fruit and vegetables will do that for me.’ Or it could be a bid to lose weight. Have you experimented with diets in the past and always failed? Perhaps you have a friend who swears that since going vegan they feel better, have lost weight and have more energy? This can be a powerful reason to opt for change. There are many sources citing the numerous benefits of a vegan diet.
Managing disease and risk: Do you have a health condition that you think can be managed better by eating more plants? Many studies indicate that vegans are at a lower risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, hypotension and some cancers but maybe you’re a person who suffers from IBS or an autoimmune disease and you have been researching the benefits of a plant predominant diet. Perhaps you have certain diseases that run in your family and you don’t want to end up ill later in life. I have cancer and autoimmune disease in my genes and I must admit, this played a part in going vegan. I wanted to do everything I could to mitigate the risk.
Environmental Impact: It’s generally acknowledged now that a plant-based or plant predominant diet has a lower carbon footprint. Methane gas produced by cows is a huge contributor to carbon emissions as well as deforestation to make way for livestock. We can feed everyone on the planet if the space and energy we used farming meat and dairy were instead used for growing crops.
The moral dilemma of eating animal products: Perhaps you’ve read lately about the life animals lead before they end up on your plates. Factory farming is big business. Gone are the days when animals roamed the pastures grazing happily. Today 99% of the animal products produced in the US come from factory farms where animals rarely see the light of day and this is common practice in many other Western countries including the UK and Australia. This, coupled with the knowledge that pigs are just as intelligent as dogs means that it’s getting harder for people to justify their bacon butty.
You may think that the dairy and egg industry are much more humane but the truth is, they’re not. But don’t take my word for it, do your own research. Going down the rabbit hole can be an uncomfortable descent but edging towards the truth of animal agriculture is the first step in really educating yourself when it comes to your food. You wouldn’t make an important business deal without having all the facts and figures, would you? So why are we happy to fuel our bodies based on habit rather than knowledge?
Hopefully, this has encouraged you to think a little more about why you eat the way you do and whether you really want to make the change. And don’t worry if you’re thinking of just altering your diet a little by switching to plant-based milk or trying ‘meat-free Mondays’ I’m talking to you too. Because what you are doing is a big deal. It takes guts and determination to switch out the food you love for something else. The biggest misconception surrounding veganism is that you have to be ‘all or nothing’ and I think this attitude is counterintuitive to what the vegan movement wants to achieve. If you eat a vegan diet 90% of the time can you still call yourself a vegan? I say yes. The fact that you eat animals products 10% of the time doesn’t cancel out the 90% of plant-based eating. There are situations where it’s incredibly challenging to follow a vegan diet. Maybe you’re travelling, maybe you’re unwell, maybe you’re staying with family or friends and it’s simply very difficult to be 100% vegan 100% of the time.
Perhaps, like my husband, you’re happy to eat vegan at home but occasionally when you go out for a meal or when you’re on vacation you want to indulge. If you think this could be you please don’t use this as an excuse to not try veganism in the first place. Make your own rules and if sometimes those rules get broken that’s ok! You don’t have to justify your decisions to anyone. Human beings love boxes. We love categorising and labelling people and sometimes this can do more harm than good. The most important thing is you do you.
So find your reason and step onboard the V train. Don’t worry, you can always alight at the next station. The doors will always be open for you. I promise. 😉
Inspired to take the plunge? Check out my Pantry Staples page to get your kitchen in vegan working order!
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