Veganism isn't just a change in your diet. It is a change in your entire lifestyle. The choices you make while shopping , eating and travelling . All these things define you as a vegan and also as a person. It reflects down to your beliefs, your priorities and if you are a person who believes in instant gratification or long - term results.
When I was younger, I was a crazy chicken lover. I wish I could eat it for all my meals every single day. And today when I tell my friends that I have become vegan, they are completely shocked at the drastic transformation and change of beliefs. I never thought that such a day would come. However, I feel proud of my choices and the will power to achieve it.
If I can do it, I am sure you can too.
Before we begin by how to become a vegan - it is equally important to define what is veganism and what are some vegan foods?
People are considered to be vegan when they do not believe in harming the animal or extracting any product from it. So, if you are a vegetarian and you believe that killing animals is unethical , you should also consider the fact that keeping animals caged for life, keeping them tied to a pole in areas of less than two square feet is also unethical.
Thus, giving up any thing derived from animal , or eating animals will make you a vegan. This would mean avoiding all sorts of meat, sausages, frozen fish , milk, yogurt, cheese, butter and other products which involve dairy. However, vegans also tend to avoid the use of leather , fur, silk, wool etc. because these are extracted from animals. The processes to extract these from living beings is not at all healthy. The animals are given minimal to eat to just cover costs and are kept in large farms stuck together - permitting only minimal movement.
Photo by Robert Bye on Unsplash
My journey to veganism wasn't so straight forward, however I did eventually get there. And every day I strive to do even better and make the right choices. So, here are the steps which will help you make a successful journey to veganism .
Step 1: Define why you want to be a vegan?
Some do it for the environment, some may want to become more fit and build more muscle, some feel harming animals or using them in anyway is unethical, while others may just want to improve their diet and make it more natural . So, I started because I felt that the only way to live sustainably in the future is by making better choices and being a vegan (given how livestock agriculture is the leading cause of global warming).
Whatever the reason may be , it is imperative that you define your motivation. So, that every time you may feel like quitting , who remember why you did in the first place.
Step 2: Make a list of food items you eat which are not a part of the vegan list
So, you need to become aware of the things you are eating which don't exactly fall into the vegan diet list. For instance, if your breakfast consist of bowl of cereal with milk then write it down. If you eat meat on weekends for dinner, or eggs as snacks, then write it down.
So think of all the things you eat in a week, and write out the items out of it which are not vegan .
My daily breakfast routine was cornflakes and milk, or an omelette. So, I wrote it all down.
This step is important, read next and you will know why.
Step 3: Substitute them with items you can eat
If you don't follow Step 2, then it will be hard for you to determine what to eat or not. And you will have to question yourself every time. So, now all the items in your list of Step 2 need to have a substitute.
If you ate cereal and milk, can you rather eat cereal and soy/almond milk instead? Rather than eating a steak or omelette , can you eat baked potatoes , cutlets or pancakes? Can you replace that glass of milk every night with a glass of juice? Substituting a cup of coffee with chamomile green tea every night would be good right?
This way whatever your daily habits are , you need to replace them with vegan options. So, every time you don't have to keep wondering what to eat or drink. You are already clear about your options and you have the ingredients at home or by your office desk.
Step 4 : Go slow- Rome wasn't built in a day
Just because you decided to become vegan , doesn't mean you have to do everything on Day 1. You don't need to throw out your new leather strap watch that you just bought last month. You don't need to give up your daily cup of coffee from today.
The decision to become vegan is in itself a very hard one, most people quit it before even trying. So give yourself a pat on the back for that!
What you can rather do is take it one step a time. Go 70%, vegan, then 80, 90 and eventually 100% vegan. You can start by quitting a few things initially. If you are a meat eater, your task for the next 2 weeks would be just to quit meat. Till then may be you continue eating other things like chocolates or cakes which you relish so much. If you don't eat meat, you can quit milk and dairy for the first 2 weeks and see how that goes.
Then, after 2 weeks you realize that you have the will power to go without it, and looking at other people eating pizzas or chicken wings, doesn't tempt you anymore, you can take your next leap. And quit one more thing additionally.
This way you can go step by step and by the end of 45 days, without even realizing, you would have already become a complete vegan. You can also start learning how to cook some amazing vegan dishes and be an inspiration to your friends and family!
When I was younger, I was a crazy chicken lover. I wish I could eat it for all my meals every single day. And today when I tell my friends that I have become vegan, they are completely shocked at the drastic transformation and change of beliefs. I never thought that such a day would come. However, I feel proud of my choices and the will power to achieve it.
If I can do it, I am sure you can too.
Before we begin by how to become a vegan - it is equally important to define what is veganism and what are some vegan foods?
People are considered to be vegan when they do not believe in harming the animal or extracting any product from it. So, if you are a vegetarian and you believe that killing animals is unethical , you should also consider the fact that keeping animals caged for life, keeping them tied to a pole in areas of less than two square feet is also unethical.
Thus, giving up any thing derived from animal , or eating animals will make you a vegan. This would mean avoiding all sorts of meat, sausages, frozen fish , milk, yogurt, cheese, butter and other products which involve dairy. However, vegans also tend to avoid the use of leather , fur, silk, wool etc. because these are extracted from animals. The processes to extract these from living beings is not at all healthy. The animals are given minimal to eat to just cover costs and are kept in large farms stuck together - permitting only minimal movement.
My journey to veganism wasn't so straight forward, however I did eventually get there. And every day I strive to do even better and make the right choices. So, here are the steps which will help you make a successful journey to veganism .
Step 1: Define why you want to be a vegan?
Some do it for the environment, some may want to become more fit and build more muscle, some feel harming animals or using them in anyway is unethical, while others may just want to improve their diet and make it more natural . So, I started because I felt that the only way to live sustainably in the future is by making better choices and being a vegan (given how livestock agriculture is the leading cause of global warming).
Whatever the reason may be , it is imperative that you define your motivation. So, that every time you may feel like quitting , who remember why you did in the first place.
Step 2: Make a list of food items you eat which are not a part of the vegan list
So, you need to become aware of the things you are eating which don't exactly fall into the vegan diet list. For instance, if your breakfast consist of bowl of cereal with milk then write it down. If you eat meat on weekends for dinner, or eggs as snacks, then write it down.
So think of all the things you eat in a week, and write out the items out of it which are not vegan .
My daily breakfast routine was cornflakes and milk, or an omelette. So, I wrote it all down.
This step is important, read next and you will know why.
Step 3: Substitute them with items you can eat
If you don't follow Step 2, then it will be hard for you to determine what to eat or not. And you will have to question yourself every time. So, now all the items in your list of Step 2 need to have a substitute.
If you ate cereal and milk, can you rather eat cereal and soy/almond milk instead? Rather than eating a steak or omelette , can you eat baked potatoes , cutlets or pancakes? Can you replace that glass of milk every night with a glass of juice? Substituting a cup of coffee with chamomile green tea every night would be good right?
This way whatever your daily habits are , you need to replace them with vegan options. So, every time you don't have to keep wondering what to eat or drink. You are already clear about your options and you have the ingredients at home or by your office desk.
Step 4 : Go slow- Rome wasn't built in a day
Just because you decided to become vegan , doesn't mean you have to do everything on Day 1. You don't need to throw out your new leather strap watch that you just bought last month. You don't need to give up your daily cup of coffee from today.
The decision to become vegan is in itself a very hard one, most people quit it before even trying. So give yourself a pat on the back for that!
What you can rather do is take it one step a time. Go 70%, vegan, then 80, 90 and eventually 100% vegan. You can start by quitting a few things initially. If you are a meat eater, your task for the next 2 weeks would be just to quit meat. Till then may be you continue eating other things like chocolates or cakes which you relish so much. If you don't eat meat, you can quit milk and dairy for the first 2 weeks and see how that goes.
Then, after 2 weeks you realize that you have the will power to go without it, and looking at other people eating pizzas or chicken wings, doesn't tempt you anymore, you can take your next leap. And quit one more thing additionally.
This way you can go step by step and by the end of 45 days, without even realizing, you would have already become a complete vegan. You can also start learning how to cook some amazing vegan dishes and be an inspiration to your friends and family!
Nice
ReplyDelete