I used to eat whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. I changed to the Whole Food Plant-Based (WFPB) diet for health reasons and it has proven to be worth it. I lost 55 lbs. by chaning to this diet. You can read that story here.
Starting this diet was not very easy for me. Everything I have ever known how to cook had meat or dairy in it, and almost everything required an ingredient with preservatives and additives. I was changing everything I knew.
I was overwhelmed.
I started out cold turkey. I dropped everything I knew and started fresh all at once. This is not the easiest way of doing things, but if you feel like you need an immediate change, I would absolutely suggest it. You should notice a difference in the way you feel within a couple of weeks, and huge improvements within a couple of months.
My suggestion for those of you planning on changing everything all at once, is to go and find some cookbooks and websites to help you get started.
- My favorite is the Forks Over Knives website. They have lots of resources to help get you started and tons of recipes!
- I also like The China Study cookbooks.
For those of you looking to start slow, my biggest suggestion would be to start by cutting one thing at a time. Maybe you start with removing red meat for a little while, then chicken, then milk and then cheese. I think cheese was the hardest thing for me to give up.
My family has not completely switched over, they still eat most foods, but less often and in smaller quantities. Most nights I cook, so they get what I make. I also try to keep most junk food out of the house because it is hard for me to stay away from certain foods even after almost 2 years of eating this way.
I keep some cheese in my fridge, but I don’t keep meat or milk in my house anymore.
Keep the tempting junk foods out of the house
I also try to keep most junk food out of my house, it can be hard to resist a JoJo from Trader Joes when it is sitting there begging for you to eat it. It’s just not worth having the temptation.
It is so important to just get those temptations out of the house. Start replacing your highly processed treats with homemade ones. Then replace your super sugary treats with more healthy ones. Sometimes a gradual transition can be a lot easier than making all of the changes at once.
While you are decreasing your meat and dairy intake, start adding more plants to your everyday meals. Eat more whole grains and salads. Learn how to make a bean loaf or sloppy joes with lentils.
The replacement meals are really yummy, just don’t expect them to be the same as it would be with meat.
I love veggie pot pie and homemade pizza. When I make pizza at home I am able to customize it to fit everyone’s needs. I make one with cheese on top for the kids, and one that I split with my husband, I put veggies and sauce on the whole pizza and cheese on his half.
This is not an easy change.
Don’t be hard on yourself if you aren’t perfect at it. It will take time to get used to cooking without oil (I am not completely oil free) and all of those old staples like chicken and eggs. I felt like I struggled to find recipes without eggs, and then I learned how to use substitutes like flax meal or even bananas.
It gets easier as you learn how to sub out ingredients.
Hang in there, you can do this!
This transition is a lot easier if everyone in your home is doing it with you, but it is definitely still do-able with other people around. Hang in there, I don’t know anyone who’s whole family is on board and doing it 100% with them. Each family has a different level of involvement.
It took a good year for me to be able to easily turn my head when one of my old favorites was at the table. It can still be tricky with sweets. Holidays were really hard the first year, I allowed myself a little taste of everything the first year, but it has gotten easier to walk away from those foods as time has gone on.
The quicker you jump in, the quicker you learn — the learning curve is steep but well worth it.
I really do love eating this way. I feel good and I feel like my taste buds have improved while eating this way. I can taste all of the different flavors in food rather than just one thing.
I remember having a french fry a few months after changing my diet, and I could actually taste the peanuts from the oil they were fried in. I had never been able to distinguish that taste in the past. It was pretty cool to notice how much my taste had improved.
Good luck on your journey and let me know if you need any help or suggestions along the way!
Here are a couple of favorite recipes that I’ve posted here on Medium:
— Tamara
