My First Dive into Becoming Vegan

I have been pescatarian for almost two years now, and I have always planed on turning vegan one day. But one thing I learned from my experience, is that if I had changed my eating habits and my lifestyle radically from one day to another, I wouldn’t have lasted. Another thing I realized, is that it was important for me to understand the reason behind every decision I took. Whenever I found it difficult to resist eating meat, I would start reading articles and getting as informed as possible about the matter. I decided to follow the same approach this time.

I started by making a first list of what I thought would be the difficulties and advantages I might encounter.

Identifying my Week Spots

First of all, when it comes to food, I have tendency to stick to a very stable routine; once I like a snack or a meal, which is both healthy and tasty, I usually don’t try replacing it with anything new. Also, like many others, my day doesn’t start without my latte, prepared with 1 cup of skimmed milk. And finally, I am known for being a sweet tooth; unfortunately, I am a sugar addict, and cannot end a meal without eating something sweet; this is probably my biggest sin when it comes to food. During this journey, I am going to need to be more flexible and open to the idea of change. How hard can it be?

Another major step into becoming vegan, involves stopping the consumption of products that have been animal-tested. This is a radical change I find difficult, because I would need to get rid of my cosmetic goods, which include shampoos, makeup, and face creams, and replace them with new ones that are cruelty-free. This is a step I am not comfortable in taking yet, since it is against my nature to throw away things, and as a student I do not have a budget for that. I therefore decided to make this shift transitional, even though it won’t be achieved in two weeks. After all, I need to follow the right steps if I want this change to be long lasting. For the moment, I am keeping my products, and every time I am out of something, I will replace it with a new one that hasn’t been animal tested. I also made a list of cruelty-free cosmetics brands that I have extracted from PETA’s website.

Defining my advantages

For starters, I am not a “cheese person”. In other words, dairy products are not directly part of my eating habits. I do however consume products that contain milk as an ingredient. And secondly, Milan has vegan options. It may not be the most vegan-friendly city, but a certain awareness to the matter is circulating; supermarkets have vegan options, and vegan restaurants are available. And finally, it is a change I consider worth making, to myself, and to our future.