One of the major arguments of the modern world is whether eating meat is healthy or not. Whereas many people have already been vegetarians for a long time, veganism which is an even more limited version of a plant-based diet has become popular only recently.
This article will be helpful for anyone who would like to switch to this diet, however, it will not reveal you any secrets about the health issues o not eating any animal products. This article will prepare you to the life which is waiting for you once you stop having such products no matter what is the reason for your choice, whether it is ethics, health or just willingness to try something new.
Prepare yourself for many questions
First of all, you should be aware that once you switch to a new diet, people will attack you with a great number of questions some of which might be pretty annoying. Of course, there will also be individuals willing to argue with you about the sensibility of such a diet. Unfortunately, you will not have answers to all of their questions which is absolutely normal since even the researchers studying this topic still cannot get to the same conclusion about this diet.
The best you can do in such a case is just to tell people in a calm way that this is your choice and you believe it is good for you. As simple as that.
It might be impossible be an ideal vegan
One of the major problems you should be prepared to face is a possibility of accidental consuming dishes which have the ingredients not allowed by your diet. Of course, you can always make a great research before ordering any food at a restaurant or just assume some ready-to-use product available in the supermarket is absolutely appropriate for vegans when it turns out there are eggs or milk proteins.
You should not feel guilt for it and get frustrated. In all likelihood, you will not even understand you have just consumed something forbidden.
You will not be hungry and you will not necessarily lose weight
You are certainly aware of a popular myth about vegans being constantly hungry. This is absolutely not the case. Actually, it is still easy to put on weight while living a vegan lifestyle.
Everything depends on the nutritional choices you had been making before becoming a vegan and your current nutritional choices. If your previous diet included animal products but was well-balanced, without extra fats and carbohydrates, your weight might have been well-balanced as well. Actually, while meat is a product difficult for digestion, at the same time it gives you a feeling of satiation for a longer time reducing your need for frequent snacks which are certainly responsible for excessive body weight in many cases.
At the same time, if your previous diet included animal-based products in the form of sausages, lasagne and sweetened yogurts as well as cream pies, the string chances are you will lose weight after transferring to veganism. Still, your vegan nutrition can also be different. An excessive amount of vegan deserts, fruits high in carbohydrates, starchy vegetables, bread and fried dishes can cause weight gain.
As you can see, if your primary aim for becoming a vegan is losing weight, you should not expect any miracles since the secret is still in having healthy food whether it is animal-based or plant-based.
You will have to cook even if you have never cooked before
If you are not ready to spend lots of time on cooking, veganism might not be a good idea for you. Of course, you might be able to afford daily meals at vegan restaurants and purchasing specialised vegan dishes ready for eating, however, you will be sure the dish is really vegan exclusively if you cook it yourself.
Needless to say, relying only on the range of vegan products offered by supermarkets and restaurants is dull because there are many more amazing dishes you can cook on your own. By the way, many ready-to-use vegan products available in supermarkets, especially the ones which are supposed to be substitutes to the dishes including animal products are not necessarily healthy. They can still be heavily processed and filled with sugars and unhealthy fats. In fact, one of the major ways of substituting diary products is adding starch to vegan deserts, yogurts and sour cream. For that reason, you will be sure your dishes are really healthy.
Undoubtedly, cooking yourself is always cheaper than going to restaurants and in the case of vegan dishes, the difference in the costs is even more obvious.
You will have to learn to plan your meals beforehand
Just like in the case of people who resigned from eating gluten, you will need to plan all of your snacks and meals beforehand as you might not have access to food you can it when you are outside home. On the one hand, it might not be thus simple. On the other hand, it will save you from spontaneous purchases which are neither good for your budget nor good for your health.