Stating why you are vegan will help you get through the tough times during the transition and help you staying vegan. It will give you something to reference to, and remind you why you began this in the first place. There are hundreds of reasons why someone would want to become vegan, but the most common are animal rights, personal health and environmental benefit.
Animal rights is the most common reason that people have for becoming vegan. It usually starts by watching a PETA video or reading one of their many pamphlets about the horrors of factory farms and dairy production . PETA and other animal rights organizations say that the best way help animals is to remove them from your diet and lifestyle. Being vegan stops around 40 animal slaughters a year.
A vegan diet contains minimal cholesterol and is very low in saturated fat compared to the Standard American Diet. Many people have been able to control or eliminate their diabetes by becoming vegan. Consuming a diet that is based on vegetables is very heart healthy and is an easy way to lose weight naturally. From my own experience, I have lost 60 pounds over the last four years, and have never felt better in my entire life than I do at the moment . My favorite part of vegan weight loss is that I lost the weight naturally and slowly so that it will never come back. There is no “fad diet” return of the pounds to have to deal with.
By not eating animals, you are reducing the demand for livestock bred for food. A pound of wheat only uses a fraction of the water that it takes to yield a pound of cow flesh. If that wheat is organically grown, it minimally pollutes as well. While a vegan diet does not require food to be organic, one will find that most vegan food is organic or has an organic alternative. These organic alternatives can usually be found at any health food store.
Figure out where you stand with these reasons and jot down why you are, or want to be, vegan. Defining it now will help you battle urges and difficulties down the road. Without defining your reason for being vegan, you are navigating your journey without a compass. Knowing what makes you tick and what you are passionate about will solidify your reasoning for becoming vegan and allow you to tackle any challenges that may come your way. No one said that this would be easy, but by following the steps noted here you are greatly increasing your chances of success. Success for you also means success for the animals, your health, and the environment. That will feel like a heavy burden on your shoulders, but if we all work together we can make this place a little better place to live.
The first few weeks/months of veganism are a challenge . Keep in mind that it’s not difficult, it’s different from what your are used to . As soon as you get used to reading labels, asking questions and doing some homeworkit becomes second nature.
It is quicker to go through the drive-thru of your local fast food joint than it is to buy fresh ingredients and prepare them at home. Cooking at home is an event! You have the chance to gather your family around and enjoy what you have prepared. It provides a great deal of satisfaction when you turn a few raw ingredients into a delicious , healthy meal. A meal is a excuse to invite friends or family over, a time to stop and reflect on the day, and a time to laugh and have fun.
Reading labels may seem like a difficult task at first. Having to skim through all of those scientific words and try to figure out if they’re animal or not can be a pain. There are two things you may realize after doing this for a while – 1) You start eating more “natural” foods. These foods tend to have less total ingredients in them, saving you reading time on the aisle. And 2) Your eyes become a radar for animal ingredients. Instead of trying to figure out each and every ingredient, your brain will be trained to pick up on the non vegan ones. This will, again, save a ton of time. Practice makes perfect, and if you slip up a few times the Vegan Police won’t come knocking on your door. Knowing what goes into your food is the crux to stay vegan.
If you aren’t sure , ask! There is a Russian proverb that says, “There is no shame in not knowing; the shame lies in not finding out.” If you don’t know what something is made of, or if it is made with shady practices, ASK! If you are eating at a restaurant and aren’t sure about something on their menu, ASK! If you can’t tell if that belt you really want is synthetic or leather, ASK! Is this beer filtered with bone char, FIND OUT! Do some research beforehand. I think you see where this is going. Remember, the shame lies in not finding out.
This is a basic primer to overcoming one of the difficulties of staying vegan. I could devote an entire book just to this subject. Just keep in mind that knowledge is power and no one is going to look down on you for a few slip-ups. It’s happened to us too!
RSS FEED
