Three tips to help you switch to a vegan diet

Switching to a new form of nutrition or establishing new eating habits is usually not that easy - it actually doesn't matter which form of nutrition you switch to. But many people often have serious doubts, especially when switching to a vegan diet: Can I manage to avoid animal products? Where do I begin? Can I still eat out then? Am I getting full?

These are all legitimate questions that arise when you think about switching to a vegan diet. But “big” doesn’t necessarily mean “difficult.” Almost everyone around me who follows a vegan diet has said at some point in their life: “Vegan? I could NEVER!”. And when they started eating vegan - for whatever reason - all of these doubts quickly disappeared...

Today I would like to share three basic tips with you that will make it easier for you to switch to a vegan diet.

1. What is your “WHY”?

It's one thing to know How vegan diet works. It's a whole other thing to know Why you have decided on a vegan diet. Because if you stop at a fast food restaurant in the evening after a long day of work, hungry and exhausted, to order a pizza or a kebab, it won't help you to know the best way to eat vegan. In such a situation, you have to remember why you ever decided to give up such delicious things like cheese or meat. Your WHY is your strongest tool and one of the most important when it comes to implementing and “following through” a vegan diet. So ask yourself: Why do I want to eat vegan? Listen deep within yourself.

Your motivation is even stronger when it really comes from within you and not from outside. Because everything we want to achieve (be it losing weight, writing a book or changing our diet) is most likely to become tangible and reality when our motives are intrinsic. When we ourselves know WHY and WHAT FOR we do something, instead of just doing something because others would like us to do it, because everyone is doing it or because we are looking for recognition.

Examples of your WHY

You may want to follow a vegan diet because cow's milk is intended for calves, not humans. Or because you no longer want to support the conditions under which animals such as cows, chickens or pigs have to spend their lives and how cruelly they are then killed - just so that tasty protein can be found on our plates. Maybe your motivation for eating vegan is to do something good for the climate and the environment. To secure the lives of your children and grandchildren and to work with nature instead of against it. It may also be that your motivation is to eat a healthy, plant-based diet in order to benefit from the numerous health benefits of a vegan diet, such as preventing degenerative diseases.

In summary : Become aware of your WHY. When you eat vegan, you no longer contribute to the torture and killing of innocent animals. You reduce global water consumption and CO2 emissions and protect the rainforest. You help the environment and protect yourself from diseases...

2. Discover your options!

The idea that you can't eat “anything anymore” on a vegan diet is unfortunately widespread. The good news is that this is absolutely not true. Of course, if you switch from a diet heavily influenced by animal products to a vegan diet, you will initially lose many familiar foods. If you switch from vegetarian to vegan, there are fewer things you have to do without.
Fortunately, due to the growing popularity of the vegan diet, there are more and more diverse sources that you can use. More and more restaurants, cafés and supermarkets are increasingly offering vegan products and dishes. Bookstores are bursting with vegan cookbooks. There are also a lot of Instagram and YouTube accounts as well as blogs that provide you with endless vegan recipes, ideas and suggestions. You can already find some on our blog Articles and recipes on the topic of veganism .

Substitute products such as soy slices or vegan wheat-based schnitzels are not always great, but they are a great alternative to an animal diet, especially at the beginning.

Another good news is this: almost any of your favorite recipes can be veganized without much effort! For example, you can use vegan butter, easily make an egg substitute out of linseed and water, or use yeast flakes to create a delicious “cheese” sauce. Don't let your worries about not being able to eat your favorite foods stop you.

I am sure that you will soon be enchanted by the colorful variety of vegan cuisine. And as a nice side effect, many new vegans are connecting more with natural foods and automatically eating healthier. You no longer mourn the taste of meat or milk  .

3. Have fun!

This point is very important to me. Changes are often initially associated with uncertainty and excessive demands. This is completely normal, and no one expects you to become the ideal world-saving vegan overnight. Wherever you start, take it one step at a time. After all, change takes time. But your knowledge and skills will increase much faster than you think. Soon, what you are still struggling with today will become easier for you.

Although a vegan diet is a vegan diet, it is still versatile and complex. Each of us lives a different life under different circumstances. It's great of you if, for example, for the sake of the environment, you would like to only eat fresh, local, unprocessed and organically grown food from tomorrow onwards. But it's totally legitimate and understandable to say that you might be better off taking it slow. Not everything can be implemented and done straight away, and as I said: changes take time. So please don’t put yourself under pressure when switching to a vegan diet!

It's not just your diet that will change. You will most likely also feel changes in your head and body. Most people who switch notice after just a short time that they feel more energetic, lighter and all around more balanced. That alone makes it worth adopting a vegan diet, right?

But, as I said: When switching to a vegan diet, you are on your own individual path and the most important thing should be that you have fun doing it. And if things get difficult at times, remember your why and don't put so much pressure on yourself. Approach it with the joy of discovery of a small child!

With that in mind: have fun and enjoy your meal  .