Making the decision to become a Vegan is one of the healthiest – and hardest – diet choices out there. Our culture is so centered around food, it’s become our evening entertainment. To make the decision to cut out 80% of what other Americans eat all day, every day is tough! You have to start with changing your attitude. Stop thinking about all the meats and dairy products you’re going to miss. You will not stick to it otherwise. 1. Don’t Go There For right now, don’t go out to eat. You are making huge changes in your diet. There are so many animal-based products hidden in restaurant food, unless you’ve you’re your homework on the place you’re going to, you will likely have to interrogate the waiter about it. Being around other people that are eating things you can’t could be frustrating or tempting. Eventually, you’ll be stronger, to overcome these hurdles. For right now, just prepare all your food at home. 2. An Ounce of Preparation Do your research. Go to the library and check out a few Vegan cookbooks til you find the ones that work for you and then go buy them. Subscribe to some online Vegan recipe blogs, check out some of my recipes! Bottom line is read some recipes, find ones that include vegetables and flavors you enjoy and do your grocery shopping BEFORE you actually start. Fill your fridge, your pantry, your snack drawer with the right foods. 3. Quit Faking It Stop pretending you’re eating meat and dairy by buying ‘Vegan’ substitutes. Those fake products are not only terrible tasting, they are about as bad for you as the real thing. Soy that has been flavored and salted and colored and ground up and packed down and painted with grill marks to look like a burger has just as much sodium, and more chemicals than ground beef. Vegan ‘butter’ has a weird texture and tastes nothing like butter. ‘Milk’ product, soy, almond and coconut are options but remember they are water-based and do not have the vitamins and minerals that cow and goat’s milk have. It may be hard to see it right now, but not so long from now, you are going to have boundless energy, the bloating and upset tummy you used to get all the time will be gone, you’ll see pounds come off, and you will wonder what took you so long to drop meat and dairy from your diet. Just remember to be graceful in your changes, and kind to those around you who haven’t. I just gave you 3 great tips on how to get used to being a Vegan. Got any tips or experiences to share?