How to Become Vegan and Stick With It

The vegan lifestyle avoids exploiting animals. Typically, vegans don't eat or use animal products or byproducts. Deciding to become a vegan is a major lifestyle change and one that shouldn't be taken lightly. Once you decide to become vegan, there are things you can do to make the transition easier and increase the chances that you'll stick to it.

Instructions

• 1

  Research veganism. Make sure you know what's involved in being vegan and that you're making the decision for the right reasons. Vegans often choose the lifestyle because they're opposed to how animals are treated or exploited; others choose to be vegan for health reasons.

• 2

  Decide how strict a vegan you want to be. Certain vegans avoid all products that have harmed animals in any way, while others simply avoid eating animal products and byproducts. Decide how to incorporate the vegan lifestyle into your beliefs and daily routine.

• 3

  Start collecting vegan recipes. People often aren't able to stick to a vegan lifestyle because they can't find enough to eat that appeals to them. By collecting recipes that are vegan-friendly, you can ensure you always have a variety of delicious meals to choose from.

• 4

  Find a local store that carries vegan-friendly foods such as meat and dairy alternatives. Not all grocery stores have vegetarian and vegan foods --- you may have to find a specialty store for your shopping.

• 5

  Visit your local farmer's market. Local farmers often have seasonal vegetarian and vegan foods. Buying from local farmers helps the local economy and the environment by reducing the pollution from transporting foods to grocery stores.

• 6

  Eat substitutes for the foods you're cutting from your diet. When you cut meat from your diet in the vegan lifestyle, you need to find alternative proteins for your body. It's important that you still eat a balanced diet for your health.

• 7

  Keep a food diary. This helps you keep track of what you're eating to make sure you get all the nutrients your body needs.

• 8

  Make small changes. It's much easier to make major lifestyle changes by changing one thing at a time. If you try to change your entire diet all at once, you may feel overwhelmed and not stick to veganism.

• 9

  Take the vegan lifestyle one meal at a time. Making a big change is a process; you may have setbacks or times where you slip. Instead of giving up, stand by your values and compassion for animals and keep working toward the vegan lifestyle you want.