Last updated on March 12th, 2019 at 08:08 am
Written by female personal trainer, London based, Justina Triasovaite.
Are you thinking of changing your diet? Have you ever thought of going Vegan? Many people are becoming more conscious of what they consume. Now more than ever, people are adopting diets that reflect their moral and ethical viewpoint. The top of the list for many of those who switch their eating habits is the vegan diet.
A vegan diet is based on eating a wide variety of plant-based foods and completely ditching foods that come from animals. There are many reasons for becoming vegan; health and sustainability top the list for many people.
It is important, when deciding to dramatically change your diet, that you do the research and prepare yourself for the way your new eating habits will affect your body and your lifestyle. Below are some tips and snippets of important information that should aid your vegan journey!
Whether you adopt a vegan diet because you want to lose weight or because you object to eating animal-based food products the change will involve paying attention to your nutrition. Becoming a vegan can have significant health benefits and help you lose weight. By eating less high-calorie foods and adopting high-fibre alternatives research has indicated that this can be a good long-term strategy to lose weight.
However, plenty of unhealthy food is vegan friendly. So, as with other diets you must be vigilant and disciplined if your goal is to lose weight.
Being vegan means ditching meat and eggs and finding alternative sources of protein. You will naturally also begin to eat more nuts, grains, pulses and a wider variety of vegetables.
Someone who is used to eating meat everyday will probably find it difficult, at first, to break that habit. Meat is often the central ingredient in many lunchtime and dinner meals. It might be jarring to see this staple ingredient removed. But thankfully there are many tasty alternatives to meat that will ensure your meal plan for the week is varied and exciting.
Here are a few examples of meals that a typical vegan might eat on a weekly basis.
They are plenty of available recipes and a wide variety of vegan cookbooks are now available that have been designed by top chefs. Going vegan is often a huge inspiration to people who want to become better at cooking at home. When you are aware of every ingredient and every calorie that goes in to your body you will naturally become a more informed chef and often a healthier person.
Anyone can become a vegan. A vegan diet is suitable for people of many different body types and conditions. However, it is important if, for example, you are anaemic that you take extra care to construct a diet that allows you to get enough iron.
As mentioned above there are various reasons for becoming vegan. Some people will choose a vegan diet because they believe it is a good way to become healthier and lose weight. Others will abstain from meat and animal derived foods for ethical reasons and might oppose the treatment of animals in the meat industry. These two reasons can be called Dietary and Ethical veganism.
Some people become vegans for environmental reasons. Environmental vegans are opposed to the impact the meat industry is having on the world. They would say that the industrial farming of animals on a mass scale is harming the world and effecting the sustainability of life on earth.
Below are some points for and against veganism that might help you to decide whether this is the dietary path for you.
If you’ve adopted a vegan diet you will probably have stopped eating as much saturated fat. The result of this is obviously positive. Consuming less saturated fat will help you to lose weight and contribute to lowering your blood pressure. The lower fat content of a vegan diet from the lack of meat and dairy products is great for people who are adopting veganism to lose weight.
Becoming vegan will also increase the number of antioxidants in your body. This will increase the ability of your body to protect its cells from air pollutants and radiation.
In the long term, adopting a vegan diet has also been shown to lessen your environmental impact on the world. So, whether your reasons are dietary or ethical, there are multiple benefits to becoming vegan.
However, you should be aware that if your vegan diet is not properly managed it can be detrimental to your health. If you stop getting your protein from meat and also stop eating dairy products without finding suitable vegan-friendly replacements your body will suffer.
A vegan diet can also mean you miss out on certain important nutrients such as vitamin B-12, calcium and foliate. Not consuming these nutrients can result in serious issues such as a loss of muscle and bone density. You can also experience digestion problems by relying on alternative protein sources such as pulses and legumes.
Some of the problems with switching to veganism can be attributed to a transition period. Do not despair if the first few weeks are rough, and you find the dietary routines tough to maintain. Many have shown that the vegan diet can be an exciting and healthy long-term option!
Going Vegan for Good
Hopefully the tips above have given you some information that will allow you to make an informed decision about your diet. There is a tonne of wacky diets out there that also have their advocates, so it is important to stay informed.
I would recommend consulting your doctor or a personal trainer before you make any dramatic changes. The tips above should have given you a good indication of what a vegan diet can do for you. Ultimately you have to decide whether adopting a vegan diet aligns with your health goals or your ethical and environmental stance.
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