Wondering how to go plant-based? Well this guide is for you!
Transitioning to a whole food plant-based lifestyle can seem very difficult and intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. For my family and I, we quit cold turkey, literally overnight. Of course, I would not recommend doing this if you don’t have to as it makes the process much harder. However, there are steps you can take to successfully transition and take advantage of all the benefits. Here is your guide to going plant-based.
Start Slowly
In order to transition into a WFPB diet, you have to go slow. For the majority of people, if you do not start slow, you will fail. Completely changing you diet to something that requires you to remove some of the foods that were apart of every meal can be difficult. After one week you may think it is super easy but the second week is always the hardest as you often run out of ideas of what to eat. Start slow, take your time, and make it your lifestyle NOT just a diet.
- Plant-Based Berry Crisp
- Coconut Almond Clusters
- Pumpkin Spice Date Balls
- Tahini Cauliflower Grain Bowl
- Nutr Review – Make Your Own Nut Milk!
Cut Out All Processed Food
The first step towards a healthier diet is to remove all processed foods. This is an exception to transitioning slowly. You should immediately remove process foods as they are doing your body more harm than good. The majority of these food items contain chemicals, preservatives, and other harmful ingredients that are linked to certain diseases as well as causing cancer. The slow your body down, affect the way you feel, and prevent you from losing weight.
Cut Out All Sodas, Energy Drinks, and Sugar Loaded Drinks
Sure, these drinks may be labeled ‘sugar free’ or ‘zero calories’, but that in no way means that they are good for you. Much like with food, companies label these drinks like this as a ploy to get you to buy them. However, in order to make the drink sugar free or zero calories, they have to add other chemicals. These chemicals are foreign to your body, therefore it does not know how to process them. This in turn causes your body to malfunction and you metabolism to slow down.
The occasional soda never hurt anyone, but it depends on their definition of occasional. If you defined occasional as once a day, 365 days a year, it becomes not so occasional. Occasional should mean having a soda on a special occasion or once in a while. Drinking sugary sodas or energy drinks everyday increases your blood pressure and sends your heart racing due to the high levels of caffeine and sugar. If you depend on these energy drink or caffeinated beverages to help with energy levels, know that eating a whole-food, plant-based diet greatly increases your energy levels naturally. This means that you will no longer have a need for a chemical loaded energy drink.
Meatless Mondays
If you don’t consume a lot of processed foods or drinks or have cut them out, the next step would be to slowly start removing animal products from your diet. This is where meatless Mondays comes into play. Start by removing all meat and animal products from your meals on Monday. Once you feel comfortable doing this, start removing meat and other animal based products from you meals throughout the week. This allows you to find meals you like that are plant-based and it won’t come as a total shock when you completely remove it from your diet.
The first animal products that should be removed from your diet completely should be red meat and processed meats. These are the most carcinogenic and harmful to your health. Then follow that with going completely vegetarian, and then completely plant-based. Putting in some effort by just going vegetarian is better than still consuming meat though you should always aim at having a diet full of nutrient dense fruit, vegetables, grains, beans, legumes and nuts.
Don’t Be Afraid to Try New Things
This type of lifestyle is new to very many people. Most aren’t even aware of the things they are putting into their bodies or feeding their children. You cannot be afraid to try new things when it comes to your health. Going plant-based brings about many new foods and recipes that you may have never tried before. It isn’t until you try these different things, (like quinoa, nutritional yeast, and tahini, to name a few), that you find some of the most delicious and nutrient dense dishes.
Get Creative
Along with trying news things, going plant-based means that you are going to have to get creative. More than likely you can still make your favorite dishes, though you are just going to have to get creative and find what works best. Some of our favorite meals that we have created since going plant-based, have been something we thought of and then figured out how to make.
Stay Positive!
You cannot go into this with a negative outlook. If you truly care about and want to improve your health, you will have to work for it. It may not always be easy and you will get frustrated, but you have to stay positive. Knowing that you are fueling your body, preventing diseases, and doing good for yourself is so worth it. Before you know it, it will become our lifestyle and it will no longer be difficult figuring out what to eat. You will feel rewarded seeing the results and thriving. Remember, you eat to live, don’t live to eat.
If you have any questions don’t be afraid to reach out! I hope to help you on your health journey and will be more than happy to answer any questions.
