VEGAN BEGINNER MISTAKES | how to make going vegan easy
Hi I'm Nisha, and today I'm sharing mytop 5 tips for how to make going vegan
easy and vegan beginner mistakes to avoid.
Before I get into these tips I want toget a few things out of the way. 1) I'm
not a perfect vegan because there is nosuch thing as a perfect vegan. Like most
people I'm just trying to do my best, mybest to live a life that fits with my
values and to inspire other people toeat more delicious vegan food. So these
strategies aren't going to be a magicalsolution to becoming a perfect vegan but
they will help you if you aretransitioning from a meat-eating or
vegetarian diet to a vegan diet. And 2)I'm not trying to force veganism on
anybody. While I love being able toinspire people to become vegan, I
certainly don't try to impose mylifestyle on anybody else, including my
own family members. So if you're notvegan, don't worry about it I'm not
trying to pressure you to become vegan,but I do think that this video will be
helpful for you if you're trying to eatless meat or to eat more vegetables. And
if you're curious about why I becamevegan and some of the benefits as well
as challenges that I experienced, you canfind a video on My Vegan Story in the
description box below. Alrightall of that is out of the way now, so
let's get right into tip number 1.
When you start a new lifestyle, whetherit's diet, exercise regime or a new
business, it's tempting to hit the groundrunning and expect perfection overnight.
Trust me, as a Type A ultraperfectionist, this is something I
constantly struggle with. But expectingperfection when you become vegan will
only set you up for failure. That'sbecause you're human,
and humans make mistakes. For instanceyou'll forget to tell your restaurant
server that you're vegan and they'llcook your vegetables in butter instead
of olive oil. Or you'll develop an insanecraving for dairy cheese during the
first few weeks and literally not knowwhat to do with yourself. Or you'll buy
some crackers at the grocery storewithout looking at the label only to
realize later that they have animalproducts even after you feature them in
a YouTube video on vegan products.Trustme I've done all of those things and
more. The good news is you can bounce back
from these mistakes and still stay ontrack with your new vegan lifestyle if
you forgive yourself and don't go toohard on yourself.
if you want to stay committed to a veganlifestyle over the long run you have to
stop expecting perfection and giveyourself a little breathing room because
you deserve it. Mistakes will happen just like they
happen at school or at work or in yourrelationships, and similarly you'll learn
from them and you'll move on. Forinstance, I now know to read labels more
carefully at the grocery store before Ibuy products and feature them in vegan
videos on YouTube. And you'll graduallylearn to recognize which foods are
naturally vegan versus which foods aresurprisingly not. You'll learn which
restaurants can accommodate yourlifestyle and which can't. And finally
you'll learn to deal with those cravingsfor non vegan foods and how to
substitute them with deliciousplant-based foods.
When you become vegan you might expectthat you'll lose weight immediately. After
all you're not eating meat or dairyanymore and you're eating a lot more
vegetables, so shouldn't you lose weightinstantly and have clear skin, shinier
hair, and more energy? You may very wellexperience weight loss and more energy
as soon as you become vegan, but you may very well not. That's because everyone's
body is different, and as with any newdietary change, it can take some time for
your body to adjust to and adapt to newfoods. Just like your body goes through a
withdrawal phase when you suddenly quitcoffee, you might experience a similar
withdrawal phase and experience cravingsfor animal foods when you first become
vegan. Or you might not be used to eatingso many vegetables and you might get a
little gassy during those first fewweeks. Or you might experience more
frequent hunger because you're not surehow to properly nourish your body. Plus
whether you lose weight or feel moreenergized will depend on a lot of other
external factors, including your waterweight, your hormonal makeup, your
genetics, your metabolism, etc. But if youdo stick to a whole foods plant-based
diet, where the majority of your diet is
comprised of vegetables, fruits, wholegrains, legumes, seeds, and nuts, you will
probably lose a little weight, experiencemore energy, have better skin, all of that
good stuff. But if you don't lose those five pounds
or have clearer skin in the first few days,don't get discouraged because it takes a
little time for your body to adapt. Forinstance within the first two months I
noticed that my cholesterol had droppedover 20 points and then within the first
year and a half, my cholesterol haddropped 50 points. And the same with my
IBS and chronic migraines. I used tosuffer a lot from those and it's not
like I became vegan and the symptomsjust magically disappeared overnight, but
gradually over time I noticed that mysymptoms were a lot better. So if you're
transitioning to veganism, don't expect a180 overnight, but give it a little time,
a little patience, and a littleforgiveness as I mentioned in the first
tip, and you will notice the results.
If you want to achieve a goal or stickto a new lifestyle,
studies show that you're more likely tosucceed if you have a plan as to when,
where, and how you'll execute on yourgoals. The same applies for when you
first become vegan. Especially in thebeginning, you're more likely to stick to
your new lifestyle if you plan thingsout - plan when you'll go to the grocery
store, what you'll buy at the grocerystore, when you'll do your meal prep, what
you'll make for each meal throughout theweek, what you'll bake if you have a
sudden craving for dessert, and so on. Forinstance if you failed to meal prep on
Sunday night you'll probably go to workor school the next day without a clue as
to what you'll eat and when 12o'clock rolls around, you'll have to make
a game-time decision about what to eat, how much to eat, where to eat, including
thinking about the fact that you mightnot have any vegan options in your area.
The more decisions your brain has tomake, the more likely it is to feel
fatigued. This is referred to as "decisionfatigue" in psychology and when your
brain suffers from decision fatigue, itsmost likely to just default to the
easiest decision (i.e., go to the cafeterialike you normally do and get a turkey
sandwich or go to the vending machineand buy a bag of potato chips). Planning
ahead not only prevents decision fatiguefrom setting in. It also means that
you're more likely to stick to a healthyvegan diet. When you plan out your meals
and cook them at home, you have controlover what goes into your food so you're
more likely to eat more whole foods andless processed foods than if you were to
just dine out and eat whatever isavailable. Plus cooking your meals at
home and preparing snacks means thatyou'll always have something on hand
when a craving strikes or wheneveryou're hungry and that makes it less
likely that you'll default to old habitslike eating non vegan food.
And unless you live in a majormetropolitan area with tons of vegan
food options, you're probably going to haveto do a decent amount of cooking in
order to stick to your vegan diet. Sostart getting comfortable in the kitchen.
If you're looking for vegan meals thatare quick easy and don't require that
much cooking, I have lots of ideas on myYouTube channel so be sure to check out
some of those videos after this one. Andif you're looking for someone decadent
vegan recipes that will satisfy yourcomfort food cravings, I have quite a bit
of those on my blog as well, and I'velinked to that in the description box below.
Speaking of cooking, if you want to stickto a vegan diet particularly a whole
foods plant-based vegan diet, you'll needto restock your kitchen when you become
vegan.W hen you initially go vegan, you'llbe presented with a challenge - what do
you do with all of the food in yourhouse that's not vegan. One option is to
simply toss it all in the trash. Ofcourse that's not really a realistic
solution for many people. For one, with asmany billions of pounds of food that is
wasted each year, you might not feelcomfortable throwing away so much food.
Plus you might live with other people, including family members or roommates who
aren't vegan and might not take kindly toyou just throwing away all their food. So
how do you live in a non vegan world asa new vegan? Well if you have control
over certain foods in your house thatare not vegan, you can just gather them
up, put them in a bag and donate them toa homeless shelter or a food pantry. Of
course in an ideal vegan world, nobody'seating animal products, even those in
need, but we don't exactly live in anideal world, so if you can donate old
food that's not used, definitely do thatinstead of throwing it away. And if
there's non vegan food in your housethat you don't have control over (i.e., food
that belongs to someone else that youlive with), think about your relationship
to that food before you make a decision.If it's a food that no longer has any
appeal for you, great. Just continueliving your life and don't worry about
it. For me that was meat and fish. I had been
vegetarian for a few months beforebecoming vegan so I really didn't care
about the cans of tuna in my pantry thatmy partner still used. But if there are
foods in your house that still tempt youduring the early days, ask your family
members or roommates to support youduring your transition to veganism by
either limiting their purchase of thosekinds of foods while you get over the
initial difficult period. Or ask them tostore those products out of your sight
and out of your reach. And it's not alldifficult work - don't forget the fun part.
You get to restock your entire pantrykitchen, fridge, freezer,
you name it. And if you love food as much as I do, that's a really exciting process. And
it's 2018 so there are tons of deliciousvegan options at most grocery stores,
including vegan cheesese, ice creams,sauces. Just don't forget all the other
whole foods as well like lentils andvegetables. If you're wondering what
kinds of foods to stock in your newvegan kitchen, I have a series on my blog
called my Vegan Pantry Essentials, whichyou can find in the description box
below. And I also have a video on what Ikeep in my vegan freezer, which you can
find right here.
If you decide to become vegan becauseyou want to lose weight and weight loss
is your sole primary motivation, thenyou're probably not going to stick to
your vegan diet for very long. You'lllose some weight and then like with any
diet, you'll probably revert to oldeating habits at some point, and possibly
regain the weight. I'm not saying thateating a vegan diet just for weight loss
is necessarily bad. Eating moreplant-based foods is definitely a good
thing, regardless of your motivation. Butif you want to stick to veganism and
have it as a sustainable life choice foryou in the long run, it helps to have
another primary motivation besidesweight loss. Having a more fundamental
reason for becoming vegan shifts theequation from a diet to a lifestyle. Your
fundamental reason might be ethical ormoral because you don't want to cause
harm to animals or support factoryfarming. Your motivation might be
environmental because you don't want tocontribute more to global warming. Or
your motivation might be health-focused - you want to live a longer life, a
healthier life without chronic illness,and you want more energy. Or your
motivation might be a combination of allof those reasons. The important point is
that if you're able to tie your decisionto going vegan to a fundamental part of
your identity and to your values as aperson, you're more likely to view veganism
as a long-term lifestyle choice ratherthan a temporary diet. You're more
likely to feel good about your decisionand to feel happy instead of feeling
like veganism is a burden. So before youbecome vegan, really think about why you
want to become vegan. Of course weight loss can be one of your
motivations or end goals, but you're morelikely to succeed and to stick to your
new lifestyle if one of your motivations is tied to your identity. If
you're curious about why I became vegan,I've linked to some of the documentaries
and books that inspired me to becomevegan. I want to thank you so much for
watching this video. I really enjoyedputting it together so I hope you found
something valuable in it and that you'llshare it with your family and friends. If
you have any suggestions for a futurevideo topics, let me know in the comments
below, and I'll talk to you guys later. Bye!
Going vegan can be difficult and even stressful, but it doesn’t have to be! I’m sharing my top five tips for how to make going vegan easy + some vegan beginner mistakes to avoid. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ORDER MY NEW COOKBOOK: The Vegan Instant Pot Cookbook: Wholesome, Indulgent Plant-Based Recipes! ORDER ON AMAZON: https://amzn.to/2EeFYx0! MORE COOKBOOK INFO: https://www.rainbowplantlife.com/blog/vegan-instant-pot-cookbook I'M EXCITED TO MEET SOME OF YOU! I'm doing a few cookbook tour events this summer and I hope you'll join me! I'll update this space as more info becomes available and more dates are added. https://www.rainbowplantlife.com/cookbook-events For orders outside of North America: search on the Amazon page in your home country OR visit the Book Depository: http://bit.ly/my-cookbook-international *90+ delicious vegan recipes made in the Instant Pot* *With tons of gluten-free, soy-free, nut-free, and refined-sugar-free options ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RESOURCES FOR VEGAN BEGINNERS *My Vegan Story: http://bit.ly/why-im-vegan *Vegan Pantry Essentials, Part I: http://bit.ly/veganpantry-part1 Vegan Pantry Essentials, Part II: http://bit.ly/veganpantry-part2 Vegan Pantry Essentials, Part III: http://bit.ly/veganpantry-part3 DOCUMENTARIES & BOOKS *Cowspiracy: http://www.cowspiracy.com/ *Earthlings: http://www.nationearth.com/ *Forks over Knives: https://www.forksoverknives.com/the-film/ *Food Inc: http://www.takepart.com/foodinc/index.html *Live and Let Live: https://www.netflix.com/title/80113787 *Vegucated: http://www.getvegucated.com/ *Eating Animals, Jonathan Safran Foer: http://bit.ly/eating-animals *Slaughterhouse, Gail Eisnitz: http://bit.ly/slaughterhouse-book *The China Study, Campbell & Campbell: https://amzn.to/2LpPYVg ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Film & photography equipment used in this video: https://www.rainbowplantlife.com/photography-gear SUBSCRIBE for new videos every week! http://bit.ly/rainbowplantlife-subscribe Learn more about veganism, healthy eating, food photography, social media, and happiness. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WANT MORE DELICIOUS VEGAN RECIPES & INSPIRATION? http://instagram.com/rainbowplantlife http://rainbowplantlife.com