Becoming vegan or adopting a plant based lifestyle has become more prevalent within the last ten years. People are becoming conscious and more concerned with: what they are putting into their bodies, animal rights and how the environment is being effected by meat production. When you look at your favorite social media influencers or content creators who are not eating meat it seems attractive with all the colorful meals that they make but it can be hard to relate if you don’t know where to start. If you have been thinking about giving up meat and animal products there are ways you can start transitioning while you still eat meat.

A year ago I began my IF (intermittent fasting) journey, which you can read more about on My Experience With Intermittent Fasting. Prior to this, I was already incorporating other things into my to diet to basically sub out dairy. I discovered almond milk about 8 years ago and have never gone back to drinking cow’s milk. This has been such a great alternative for me. I personally didn’t see the reason for drinking another animal’s milk and my stomach thanks me for it too. If you don’t like the taste of almond milk there are many other plant based milks on the market like oat, cashew and rice milk just to name a few.

A good way to start a plant based lifestyle would be by switching to non-dairy condiments and desserts. Aside from milk, butter, mayonnaise, cheese, salad dressings and ice cream are other dairy products that people typically eat. These items can easily be changed to non-dairy if you want to start eating more plant based. Plant based does not mean it will taste nasty. Some non-dairy items taste as equally good with little difference in taste. There are now so many options that you can test out to see what meets your needs.

Eating less meat and dairy will help you become more plant based. You may have heard of “meatless Monday” which is self explanatory, no meat on Mondays. This may not seem like much but it’s definitely a start. If you are someone that eats meat everyday or during every meal, challenge yourself to go without it. If you eat meat during every meal, try to go one meal a day without it. If you eat meat once a day or less, try seeing how long you can go without meat. Go at your own pace.

Before I go further I do want to note that I am plant based/pescatarian. This is still fairly new for me but it’s been something that I’ve wanted to do for quite some time. I’ve admired vegan/plant based Youtubers for years but didn’t start taking it serious until I watched a few food documentaries which changed my whole perspective. Our bodies are used to eating the way we’ve been feeding them and it’s tough to get your mind to change and want to try something new or different.

Before starting anything you should do your research. In order to effectively do something you need to understand why you’re doing it. Eating plant based is no different. After I watched documentaries, learned about bad ingredients that are used in foods and looked up alternatives I knew for myself that what I was conditioned to eat and believe when it comes to food no longer made sense. People hear vegan or plant based and immediately say that they can’t go without meat, but why not? There’s no reason or motivation for them to give it up. We have to learn before we can do.

Aside from food items you can become more plant based by switching everyday household products. Soaps, detergents and skin products all have great plant based brands. I believe that once you start being proactive with switching out things for plant based options you will want to do more or believe that you can do more to create better lifestyle habits.

Becoming vegan or plant based is not an easy thing for everyone to do. There are disparities when it comes to food. Some people live in food deserts where there is no access to fresh produce and groceries within a certain radius. Many health food stores are in upscale areas which can be hard for some to travel to if they do not have access to transportation. Costs are also a factor because there is a stigma that eating healthy is expensive. Some items are pricey but there are many that are at reasonable costs. Whatever your circumstances are try to do what you can.

The most important thing when it comes to a plant based lifestyle is making sure you are eating more fruits and vegetables and limiting your processed food intake. Eliminating meats, dairy and animal products will happen at your own pace but regardless you should try to eat more whole foods whenever you are able. There is so much evidence in the benefits of eating this way and I hope it gets to a point where we all are questioning what goes into our bodies. I will definitely be discussing other health related topics soon so stay tuned. I am curious to know what your relationship is with meat and animal products. Have you too thought about going vegan or plant based before?