My transition to a vegan diet started freshman year of college. I was fed up with my body not responding to diet cycles, and reducing calories, intense daily workouts, eating the same “healthy” diet but being overly focused on calories and not feeling or looking my best or feeling any of it was truly making me happy. I saw through social media and doing my own research that the vegan (and “plant based”) diet was on the rise for helping many people improve their health as well as helping the planet and animals. So, I decided to give it a chance. My diet then was already filled with veggies and fruits daily, so my transition wasn’t a huge shock to my body- but I definitely made “mistakes” at first and had to adjust multiple times in the last four years to really make this a sustainable and beneficial way of eating and living.  

My transition to a vegan diet wasn’t the end all be all to my mental and physical transformation, but it was a big factor into healing my relationship with food, self, and life all of which contributed to finally experiencing the true healthy life I am deserving of.  

As I look back on this journey, I can identify ways in which I could have spared myself money, time and effort doing things that weren’t beneficial to my health or the ethical aspect of veganism. So, I collected some of my top tips of do’s and don'ts to ease your transition.   

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01. PLANT BASED > VEGAN.  

A PLANT BASED DIET SHOULD BE THE FOUNDATION OF ANY DIET, INCLUDING VG/V.  

Making my diet plant based first before anything else is what truly made this lifestyle sustainable.  

Although similar by default, the plant-based diet is not the same as vegan or other food limiting methods of eating. The plant based diet is a diet that focuses on consuming whole, plant derived foods that are natural and minimally processed such as fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts and grains.  

The label of “plant based” doesn’t limit an individual to eliminate all animal products, but rather just limiting regular consumption of them as majority of the diet is filled with plants. Looking back on my transition to a vegan diet I wish that I knew to focus on a plant-based diet first and/or simultaneously as I reduced my meat consumption. I love that the aim of a plant-based diet is to ADD all that is wholesome, and plant derived rather than focusing on “eliminating” (animal products). As you focus on eating a diet rich in plants, the consumption of processed foods or animal products decreases in a natural and effortless way making the transition a lot easier and actually NOURISHING for your body. The reason why vegan diets often help people improve their health is not so much because they cut out the meat, it’s because in order to replace the animal derived foods they start adding in PLANTS, and plants is what our body really loves and craves. Plants are easy to digest, hydrating, so rich in nutrients and vitamins, and they should be the foundation of any diet, making up 90% of our diet and filling up our plates with color and life. A lot of things are accidentally vegan: refined white flour, breads, Oreos, table sugar, marshmallows, artificial anything. Just because it’s vegan... Doesn't mean it’s healthy! I learned this as I transitioned and started reading labels of what was in the “vegan” chicken strips I was eating just to get the protein I thought I needed...which brings me to my next two things I wish someone told me as I went vegan... 

 

02. DITCH (or let’s say...limit) THE FAKE MEAT AND CHEESE REPLACEMENTS.

Although they can be still less processed and better than real meat or cheese, many “fake” vegan replacements (fake chicken or beef products, cheese, cream cheese, meatballs etc..) tend to be processed and contain lots of ingredients, some of them being fillers and cheap soy proteins to create texture and flavors that are not good to be consumed regularly. When I was regularly consuming stuff like the beyond burgers and the Gardein chicken strips, and even tofu, I noticed that my skin, that is not very pro to acne, was breaking out more than normal. On top of stress and being overall over-worked at the time, my body wasn’t used to consuming processed things or soy-based products so frequently and the side effects where not worth the overly priced fake sh*t, and my digestion didn’t like it either. Everyone is different so the amount of processed vegan foods your body can handle may vary, but I suggest you limit them to how frequently you would eat a regular processed meal or less and focus on filling your plate with wholesome foods. Why be vegan but seek for the taste of meat anyways right?! PRO TIP: When choosing a fake meat or cheese product, read the labels to look for minimal ingredients (ex. Veggie burgers made with mostly vegetables > pea/soy protein based, cashew or other nut based “cheese” products > ones with different starches and “gum” fillers). In short, if it’s made with real food, it’s a go for me!  

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03. STOP STRESSING ABOUT PROTEIN.  

The obsession with protein consumption, especially in America, is real. According to ACSM, the Harvard medical school publishing, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, and every other reliable source, the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for the average active individual is a modest 0.8 grams per KILOGRAM of body weight, with a recommended range of 10-25% of calories coming from protein daily (0.8-1.2grams per kilogram of body weight). For example, an individual who weighs 150lbs or 68kgs (150/2.2 = 68 kilograms), only needs to consume about 54grams of protein daily to avoid deficiency, which is only about 200 calories and very achievable as a ”bare minimum” that is enough to maintain muscle mass and get other benefits of protein. Research has shown that consuming above 25% of calories from protein daily (this percentage varies slightly depending on the individual’s activity level, sex, age) is unnecessarily excessive for most individuals and can comport more damage than benefits. In fact, overconsumption of protein is linked to high cholesterol, hormone imbalances, and kidney disease because any protein that is consumed in excess by the body does not get used and gets excreted through urine (which stressed the kidneys). So no, you will not gain more muscle by overfeeding on protein. As of 2020, the average American consumes more than 100 grams of protein daily which is twice as much as the recommended amount. When I went vegan, I was tracking my intake and still trying to consume protein above 100grams per day because that’s what my intake was when eating an omnivore diet and I was afraid of losing muscle or having to rely more on carbs and fat for calories. That goal was not only unnecessary but stressful and not healthy because I was consuming too much of the protein replacements and not enough of grains, legumes and veggies that contain natural protein as well. Now my protein is about 1.0g/kg of my body weight (a moderate intake of that recommended range) and my diet is a majority of carbs and moderate fats all coming from plants. I get my protein naturally from a cup of beans, spirulina and other plant protein powders in a smoothie, veggies that contain protein (broccoli, brussels sprouts, mung/green beans, bell peppers) and grains like quinoa, brown rice etc.. The myth that vegans do not get enough protein is just a myth. I recommend you track your intake if you are worried you are not eating enough OVERALL, but as far as protein I can assure you that you will not turn into a string bean and lose all your muscles from eating plants.   

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04. ADJUST YOUR PORTIONS, WATCH YOUR CALORIES AND FIBER.  

A mentioned above, the most important thing when transitioning to vegan is not that you still try to eat as much protein as possible but make it vegan friendly- it is to eat enough overall to nourish your body properly through a good balance of macronutrients (carbs, proteins, fats) and micronutrients (vitamins, minerals) when transitioning to vegan I had to adjust my portion sizes and learn to eat meals that were larger in volumes, or just eat more frequently throughout the day. This made me feel bloated at first as my fiber intake also increased a lot from fruits and veggies and made me think I was eating too much. That was not the case! It's normal that when you make any changes to your diet your body may need a little time to adjust. The average person consumes less than half of the recommended minimum fiber intake of 25-3grams per day. When going vegan + plant-based fiber increases (I eat around 50g per day with no negative effects now) a common initial reaction is bloating. This goes away over time and there’s things you can do to minimize the reaction like making sure you are eating simpler meals that don’t have a ton of ingredients, applying food combining principles to your diet (this changed my life so if you want a blog on it or anything, I will love to do it!), avoiding drinking liquids with your meals, giving your body enough time to digest (2-3 hrs.) between meals and drinking tea and enough water daily to keep everything running smoothly in the digestive system.  

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05. EASE INTO IT, DO YOUR RESEARCH, DITCH THE LABEL. 

My fifth tip that I really wish I told myself as I transitioned was to not give a f*ck about the critics against my lifestyle choice, and to not feel the need to be the “perfect vegan” boxing myself into that label!! It is so important that when making this lifestyle choice you do it for YOU and for what you believe in. Listen to your body and If you need to start with being vegan for only 2 days out of the week or vegan but eat dairy when it’s your birthday or fish when you’re on vacation DO YOU! Any change is better than no change.

YOUR DIET SHOULD SUPPORT YOUR LIFE, NOT TAKE AWAY FROM IT.  

Vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, plant based... All these diets have almost become a trend in today’s society, and while I'm glad they are because it’s brings attention to the practice and pushes people to nourish their body (plus the benefits it has to our planet and animals), I wish that as I transitioned I looked more into the history of vegan and plant-based diets that many cultures have used for centuries for health, longevity, and fulfilling life. These diets also have cultures that grow way back where the method to the madness really lies. Regions such as India, Africa, Europe had no choice but to use the resources they had to nourish themselves, mostly plants and whole foods. Many religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and others chose and still believe in limiting consumption of animal products for a more spiritually awakened life. Even with minimal access to food compared to what we have today (the fact that I can buy a watermelon in PA in the middle of winter should speak for itself LOL) cultures throughout history ate amazing plant rich diets and believed this kept them healthy and full of energy to move, build and withstand the seasons.  

As I looked more into methods of healing through holistic and plant-based practices, there is no doubt in my mind that plants hold so much more power than our society thinks. Able to prevent and cure diseases (diabetes, vitamin deficiencies, obesity, cancer etc..) that have only increased since we’ve pulled away from prioritizing a wholesome plant-based diet.  

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I hope this blog serves you well and your transition to a plant based and/or vegan diet. I love to support you in your journey and share the all the fun that comes with it. You can find me on social media or email me below, or shoot me a message through the contact page. Let's flourish together. 

xoxo, FLO.

IG: Flo_ghigo

Email: flaminia.ghigo@gmail.com