I underestimated what it takes to be plant-based. Learn from my mistakes.
By: Shola Powell
Tags: Meat, Plant Based, Diet, Change, Food

The decision to reduce my meat intake was inspired by a combination of trying to find ways to save money and having vocal vegetarian coworkers. I’d read a little bit on the health benefits that could follow from eating less meat and knew the environmental benefits of a plant-based diet, so it seemed like a win-win situation.

Helping your heart and saving the planet seem like considerable gains for such a minor change, and I’m sure, like me, they have been enticing reasons to consider making some adjustments to your diet. If you have never really considered yourself to be a big meat-eater, this can seem like a somewhat easy task and I, for one, thought I could be plant-based in no time.

Well I was wrong.

It has been over two years and I am not yet living my best plant-based life. Many of my meals are still accompanied by meat, granted I have more awareness of this fact, and I feel that I have reached a plateau that is only slightly better than where I began my journey.

However, the good thing about a journey is that you can take as long as you like to get to your destination, and it seems that I am taking the scenic route. If you would like to take the less touristy way for your own journey, I suggest considering some questions that I neglected to ask.

Before all else, understand what you’re getting into and why

The term ‘plant-based’ has been thrown around for a while now in the food and nutrition industry, sustainability sector, and everywhere those two worlds meet. The folks at Harvard describe it as a focus on consuming food that is primarily from plant sources. It’s not necessarily vegetarianism, as one may decide to consume some animal products, but the idea is that most of your food is from a plant whether they are vegetables, grains, legumes, or nuts.

Thanks to (somewhat controversial) documentaries such as Forks Over Knives, What The Health, and The Game Changers, plant-based diets have become more popular, and vegan or vegetarian options are more mainstream.

Whether swayed by a documentary or a friend, choosing to go plant-based (or any other diet) is a personal choice and should be done in a way that best suits you. It is much easier to be consistent when you know the reason you want to be plant-based — be it for cows, cholesterol or your carbon footprint don’t lose sight of your why.

Now that you have your cause it’s time to ask yourself some questions.

1. How much meat do you actually eat?

Part of the lure that drew me to cutting down my meat consumption was that I thought I wasn’t a big consumer in the first place. The truth of the matter was that even though I didn’t eat a lot of red meat, I was still eating some form of meat very frequently. Chicken was a staple in my diet, and having it with a couple meals everyday was not unusual.

When deciding to cut down, be realistic about what your starting point is. If you eat some kind of meat with every meal, don’t expect to be able to go cold turkey (pardon the pun). Having a step by step plan to slowly reduce your meat intake for the first few months could actually save more time in the long run. My plan, or lack thereof, was less of a step by step to plant-based and more of a vision board: I knew that I wanted to eat less meat but hadn’t thought of the method, tools or timelines needed.

Consider your perception of what constitutes a meal and what role the meat plays in that. It took me while to even acknowledge that I felt meat was the main focus of any given meal. This perception slowed down my progress when making the shift to vegetarian meals as I often felt that they were not as enjoyable or as satiating, no matter how much I ate, as I was missing what I still considered to be the star of the show.

Once you know what your mindset is, it’s much easier to take a better and more manageable approach. Start small by only switching your weekday lunches to being veggie. If you have vegan or vegetarian friends and family, try scheduling a dinner with them regularly to try new plant-based foods.

2. Make sure you’re enjoying your food

Food should be enjoyed. Whether you’re cooking your own meals or having them prepared for you, when adjusting to a new way of eating try to make the process as positive as possible.

Reducing my meat intake made me realise that I can sometimes lack culinary creativity and easily get bored of having the same meal. With meat no longer as a centerpiece I struggled to make my food exciting or satisfying. Sometimes just using a direct alternative like veggie burgers or sausages hits the spot. Other times you might want expand your range and try recipes that doesn’t focus on one item and is accompanied by some sides. Perhaps you just really want a steak, but decide to go for a smaller ounce which you know has been sustainably and ethically farmed. Plant-based does not mean you are sentenced to never eat meat again, but gives you the space to be more intentional about the meat that you do eat and to enjoy it.

If you run out of ideas and need a respite ask a seasoned vegetarian their favorite meal, or try a new cookbook. If you’re a visual learner, try watching ‘what I eat in a day’ videos for inspiration and maybe pick up some new cooking techniques.

If you don’t enjoy your food, being plant-based becomes a much less sustainable lifestyle, so don’t forget to prioritise how things taste.

3. What are your long-term and short-term goals?

This last question may seem unnecessary, but as per the title of this article I’ve made my mistakes so that you could learn from them. Having the understanding that incorporating more plant-based foods into your life is not an instant process will definitely help in the long run.

Making a lifestyle change is all about managing expectations. Chances are you are not going to successfully abstain from a cheeseburger for the rest of your life overnight; and perhaps you don’t even want to. Instead, it’s better for your journey to be a mix of changes that you can make right away and ones that you can build up to.

I found changing from cow’s milk to oat milk to be the easiest switch. I’ve never been a big milk fan anyway and so it was a minor adjustment in my day-to-day life. Other goals were much bigger and needed to be broken down into more steps until they become an occasional indulgence rather than a foundational constant in my diet. If things take longer to change than you thought, that’s okay, Rome was not built in a day and you will not unlearn a lifetime of eating in a week.