5 Steps to go Vegan in 2023
And other tips from a 4 year vegan who was, too, addicted to cheese
Hi Friend,
We are fully into 2023 and with that comes all those fun dopamine-inducing goals that come with a new year. Being that it is January, it is also Veganuary!
Wtf is Veganuary you ask? Veganuary is a month-long ‘challenge’ where people challenge themselves to follow a vegan diet for the month of January. This is in hopes of the participants deciding to go vegan for the rest of the year and beyond. It was started by a UK-based non-profit called, well, Veganuary!
The point is, if you are also considering making some changes this year when it comes to your diet and/or lifestyle, I hope this post helps you.
I have never ever had the desire of sharing such tips because everyone’s experience is different and this can definitely be a delicate topic when it comes to the accessibility factor of a vegan diet. It wasn’t until I was sleeping Friday night, that this post was the only thing consuming my dreams, or at least that part of my brain that is still kinda conscious when I’m sleeping but close to waking up.
Before we get into the 5 steps(that are fully based on my experience, btw and are by no means an end-all be-all), we gotta take care of some housekeeping.
Wtf does being vegan even mean?
As defined by The Vegan Society, aka the definition that I think most vegans that you know on the internet follow, this is what veganism is and how it differs from the term ‘plant-based’(which is based only on diet):
"Veganism is a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude—as far as is possible and practicable—all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose; and by extension, promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of animals, humans and the environment. In dietary terms, it denotes the practice of dispensing with all products derived wholly or partly from animals."
What I really want to focus on for a moment is the highlighted part “as far as is possible and practicable.” This is all about trying our best and to our best capacity.
Let’s get into it.
1. Why do you want to go vegan?
This is quite literally the most important part. This is what is going to make your lifestyle/diet change sustainable and this is what will keep you going when things get hard. The three main reasons people go vegan are:
Ethics/Morality
Environment
Health
If you have been considering the change, dig real deep as to why you want to do this. Does eating animals make you uncomfortable? Are you trying to live more in tune with your values? Do you want to reduce your carbon footprint? Are you trying to live a healthier lifestyle? For me, the first and second questions are it. It’s mine so hard that 3/4 tattoos I have are because I’m vegan (lmfao)
2. Get Educated
Once you start getting into the rabbit hole of going vegan, you’re going to hear a lot of shit. Whatever you do, make sure if you are reading any information it has been peer-reviewed and fact-checked. Especially when it comes to the nutrition aspect of veganism. One of the most important things to understand is the fundamentals of your nutrition and how you can still meet those nutrition needs by eating a vegan diet.
You are going to hear a lot of shit on the internet on how to eat a vegan diet. Like, a lot. Make sure you don’t start eating bananas for breakfast or doing some crazy shit like eating only fruits or a raw vegan diet. (Now, there are people that follow raw vegan diets and seem to be healthy but idk to me it doesn’t sound like fun and it might just be too much of a change for you to actually stick to it)
You can also get educated on why people go vegan. You can begin doing this by watching some documentaries on Netflix and researching other articles and forums online. One of the things that really helped put things into perspective for me was this video right here. (this might be a little blunt, and this guy can be a little controversial to some people but just take it with an open heart <3)
3. Veganize some of your staples
What I mean by this, is basically to think about some of the things you enjoy eating on a daily basis and find ways online to veganize those things!
If your mind goes blank and you can’t think of what are those things that you enjoy eating, do some research and make a list of meals that you can resort to when you are not sure what to cook.
One thing that was big for me, was obviously learning how to cook in a vegan way. I knew how to cook but not how to cook without meat. So if you are not too big into cooking, you can resort to some of the amazing blogs on the internet. Some of my favorites to go to are:
Plant Based RD (Catherine is also a registered dietitian so there’s some good ass info in there)
Pick up Limes (Also an RD!)
To name a few. I KNOW that if I go there I can always find something delicious to eat.
4. Just fckn eat
This point kind of goes back to point 2 and how you are going to hear a lot of shit on the internet. You’re gonna hear about, High-Carb/Low-Fat and Raw Till 4, Whole Foods Plant-Based, and all sorts of stuff.
From my research and experience, the best diet you can consume is a whole-foods plant-based diet which consists of eating meals with ingredients in their least processed form so like beans, whole grains, vegetables & fruit, and nuts & seeds.
But my point is that you just need to eat. And make sure you are eating enough. You’re gonna be reading and learning about a lot of different but you just need to eat. Don’t just eat vegetables and smoothies.
Eat rice, eat fries, bread, ice cream, noodles, eat it all. You can still enjoy food and enjoy your fucking life if you are vegan. You don’t need to do some extreme vegan diet because you are learning or because some stranger on the internet told you that’s the only way to be vegan.
Eat what you want and don’t overthink it too much. As long as it’s vegan, it’s fair game!
5. Forgive Yourself
Be patient with yourself during this journey and take it one day at a time. I told myself I would go vegan in May of 2018. And I did. Basically overnight. Am I ever going to say I never ate an animal product after that?
Hell no!
I used to work at a daycare and there were many times when the lunch would be grilled cheese god help me bread and melted cheese was my kryptonite. While my body was still purging itself from its cheese addiction(it’s a real thing, look it up) I had one or two bites of grilled cheese! Did I feel good afterward? No, not exactly but I understood that it was ok if it happened since I was putting my body through such a huge change and taking on a fully new habit.
Did I eat sushi in June of 2018 exactly one month after I said I was going vegan? YES, I DID! I never did it again after that time because I remembered my why.
Have I accidentally eaten things that were not vegan because of cheeky ingredient labels, simply not knowing about the ingredients, or because someone that served me the food was uneducated? Absolutely!
And all of these things are A-OK because they are bound to happen and the best thing you can do is to learn from your mistakes and try again the next time.
Give yourself the forgiveness that you deserve and remember why you are doing what you’re doing. Again, it’s about following a vegan lifestyle as far as is possible and practicable.
If you choose to embark on this journey, you got a friend in me! Let me know if you need any help or have any questions!
Going vegan was one of the best things I have ever done and I hope you can also learn how beautiful it can be. (If you want to learn more about my vegan journey, lmk!)
I hope you have an amazing start to your week!
Hugs,
Maria <3
P.S: For the love, try tofu if you haven’t yet.