There are many people who agree with the principles of the vegan movement but struggle to go vegan because they find it difficult. In this post, I’ll explore some of the main barriers to becoming vegan or plant-based, and how you can overcome them, the easy way.
Reasons to go vegan
Before we begin, if you’re considering going vegan, it’s vital that you understand why you want to do it. Changing overnight isn’t easy, so you need to have a clear understanding of your own mind of what you hope to achieve. This will spur you on when things get tough.
The main three reasons why people go vegan are:
- For the animals – Vegans don’t want to cause any animal suffering
- For the environment – Vegan diets have lower carbon, water and ecological footprints
- For their health – It can be a healthy way to lose excess body fat
Many people have one main reason, and then discover more about the other positive effects of veganism as they continue their journey.
Why people struggle to go vegan
Going vegan can be very difficult, particularly for those people who adopt this diet very suddenly and with little preparation. If you wake up one morning and decide to be vegan, you’ll find yourself in a house full of obviously non-vegan food like cheese, as well as food that you have no idea whether you can eat or not, like cereal and biscuits.
Suddenly, the majority of food that you usually eat will be off-limits, and you won’t know what to replace it with.
The same problem can occur when eating out. Even if you’ve been sticking to the lifestyle at home, you may struggle the first time you go to a restaurant. Scanning the menu to see that only one or two items are marked as vegan, you may be tempted to order your old favourites.
When you add into this the fact that veganism isn’t just about food, and that you must avoid animal products in cosmetics and household cleaning products, it can seem overwhelming.
How to go vegan the easy way
With proper planning, you can go vegan much more easily. If you want to do it, don’t do it today, or tomorrow. Instead, set a date of at least a month from now for when you will switch. Until then, there are some things that you need to do.
Organise your kitchen
If you live alone, you’ll want to gradually use up all of the meat, fish, eggs and dairy that’s in your house so that you know that when you change, you can eat anything that’s in the kitchen. If you live with others who aren’t vegan, I’d suggest separating the food so that you can easily see what’s suitable for you.
Learn to cook new things
While you could replace all the meat with meat alternatives and all of the cheese with vegan cheese, that’s not always healthy and it can be very expensive. Instead, you should learn to cook new dishes using the fresh ingredients that you might usually ignore in the supermarket.
An easy way to do this is to subscribe to a vegan meal delivery service. You can order a weekly recipe box that contains all the ingredients and instructions you need to learn to cook easy plant-based meals.
Some meal deliveries are already cooked for you, so all you need to do is pop it in the oven or microwave. These are good to have on hand in your freezer for emergencies.
Educate yourself
Going vegan will become easier over time as you learn to read labels quickly and know which ingredients are made from animals and which aren’t. For example, if something has a vegetarian label, all you have to look for is ingredients that are in bold as these are allergens so any egg or milk will be easy to spot.
Take it one step at a time
Going vegan is much easier if you focus on the food, to begin with. This is where you can have the biggest impact. Many beers and wines are not vegan, as well as other things which you may enjoy such as tobacco.
Continue to wear non-vegan things that you already own like leather shoes, perfumes and make-up. They’ve already been produced so no good would come from throwing them away. This will also give you time to come across good alternatives.
The bottom line
If you find going vegan to be hard at first, that’s normal. When transitioning to this lifestyle, the slower you go, the easier it will be.
If you make a mistake, don’t beat yourself up about it. Even people who have been vegan for years will accidentally consume animal products, often without realising.
Just focus on why you want to make this change, and you’ll get there in time.
This post was written by Jenni Fielding, founder of ChooseVeganism.org
