How To Start a Vegan Diet (The Path Fraught With Foodholes)

Is your head filled with the right facts?

First off, let me congratulate you on your decision to become the healthiest, smartest and strongest you that you can be!  Second, I would like to remind you that while your choice of Veganism is laudable and inspiring, you are still human.  With that inescapable fact comes all of your fallibility and foibles; in other words, be prepared to get back on the horse when it bucks you off!  Not to worry, one day you will be calling that horse a nag and wondering why you had a tough time of it at the beginning.

Now that you have made the choice to be vegan, there are a few things I would advise holding in the forefront of your mind:

1. Be Forgiving.  I’m not thinking of anyone in particular; I’m thinking of everyone in particular!  Forgive those who ridicule us because they are only defending themselves. They know we are heading down the right path and they are not.  Forgive the supermarket for not catering to people like us; the big chains cannot handle small numbers. Don’t worry, that will change!  Forgive your family; they just don’t understand….yet.  Besides, you love them anyway and that’s not going to change.  First and foremost, forgive yourself!  Learning how to start a Vegan diet and  staying Vegan is one of the most challenging lifestyle skills you are ever going to add to your Healthy Toolbox so be forgiving!
2. Be persistent.  All good things come to those who work their butts off!  Consider this: it took you years to complete a full sentence.  Should you expect anything else when you are making a most drastic change in your life?  Anyone in a position of power will tell you they dedicated hours upon years to get where they are today!  Why not take a page out of their book and make it your own?  I could think of worse people to emulate.
3. Be Happy! The more enjoyable an activity is, the more time we spend doing it.  The more time we spend doing it, the better we become at it.  So put a new twist in your culinary skills, ask your kids to help you create a Vivacious Vegan Dressing or simply try some new type of fruit that shocks your taste buds in delight!

So far, all I’ve given you is a partial mindset.  But what is a mindset without specifics?  Personally, I would call that a pretty picture drawn in chalk. The first drop of rain is going to have you running for cover!  Let’s go shopping for an umbrella, shall we?  Below are some of the “Tricks of the Trade” I’ve picked up along the way.

Vegan Tips and Tricks

• The Vegan Lifestyle
  Control+Scroll to Enlarge

  Find your replacement meals; especially your comfort foods.  We grew up with these things and have enjoyed them in times of sorrow and stress.  That makes for strings of habit strong enough to tow a jumbo jet through molasses!  Go with the flow, just change the ingredients.

• Make your own spreads and dips.  Until you have a cleaner body some veggies may not look or taste very exciting at all; this is also another area you could ask the kids for help in.  You never know, you may just trick them into a healthier life! I’ve found coconut oil to be a godsend; it’s good for you in more ways than one. Avocados are another adaptable fruit that’s saved me on more than one occasion.
• Pack lunch, a snack or two, dinner and maybe some for a friend!  Having enough of your food on hand will pull you through some tough stuff.  I can also guarantee some of your friends are going to ask to try some; it never hurts to be prepared, right?
• If you’re stuck, hit up a grocery store.  Look, there’s one now!  I consider grocery stores, farmers markets, fruit stands and the like to be my, “Fast Food” of choice.
• Employ Jedi Mind Tricks.  When you get a craving why not try some visualization techniques? For example, picture yourself running that marathon you’ve always wanted to compete in. As you pass one of the food stations, all you can grab is an (Add vegan energy food here).  Not 5 minutes after your meal is consumed you feel the extra energy pour into your body like nitro into a drag racer and you watch as your competitors back gets closer.  As the finish line comes into view you stop and look around; where are all the other competitors?  That’s when it hits you; you left them in the dust!  This one takes practice but it works; ask any athlete.
• Cleanse.  You may be thinking, “Shouldn’t this one be first”?  While I do agree it is one of the most important things to take care of, I’m suggesting you wait for a bit.  You automatically start your cleansing journey as soon as you change your diet!  Wait until your lifestyle has some solidity and you are starting to feel the healthy changes in your body. Once your temple is on the right track you limit the chances of lying on the sofa in pain cursing your altruistic ideas.
• Wash your food.  This becomes more and more important the cleaner your system is.  The more toxins are expelled from your body, the better your taste buds are going to work!  This is a joy and a curse at the same time; who wants to taste agrochemicals?
• Advertise!!!  Wear The Word! You really do want people to know you are a proud member of the Vegan family.  Believe it or not, this is an awesome way to grow your support group.  There’s a high degree of probability some random stranger will tap you on the shoulder and ask you “Do you want any advice”?

Hopefully I’ve given you some much needed Vegan tips and tricks to make your transition easier and more enjoyable.  If you still have problems warring with your physiological demons, remember this:

“The path ahead of you is one chosen by less than 3% of Canadians.  Granted, a larger percentage are making choices which will lead them there in fits and starts or leaps and bounds.  Even though some people will wonder how and why you would  make this so-called, ‘Sacrifice’ eventually, whether it be tomorrow or a decade from now, they will be trying to find someone like you to hold them by the hand so they too can cross the road!”

More and more of us are banding together to find our way in life. We choose Veganism because it gives us the energy, the strength, the endurance and the feeling of rightness both in body and mind to accomplish the things of utmost importance in our lives.  Whatever those things may be, we want you to have these special abilities too!  Come and see what you can REALLY do!

Enjoy Great Success,

The Health Well

P.S. If you are not sure this path is for you I recommend checking out these people ‘‘ .   They have an infinite amount of knowledge about what helps and what hurts!

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2013