3 Things No One Told Me About Going Vegan

Always expect the unexpected.

1. That I would enjoy my food even more!

Yes, that’s right, I actually get more pleasure eating a plant-based diet than I did when I was eating the random kind of diet that most people have.

But why and how? Well, like many others who change to a plant-based diet, I made the mistake of trying to do it all at once. Jumping in at the deep end you might say. I went to the supermarket and randomly filled my shopping trolly with oats, nuts, beans, rice and some other items that I knew didn’t include parts of animals or their secretions. When I got home I realized that I didn’t have a clue about how to cook them, what to cook or how to make them taste delicious. But time, patience and enthusiasm came to my rescue. Bit by bit I learned what I should be eating, how to prepare it and, most importantly, how to make it taste absolutely delicious.

No one ever told me that plant-based food could taste so good. I seriously believed that I would have to sacrifice taste for the good of my health, the animals and the planet. I’m amazed at how the opposite has happened. And it’s not only the food that I cook myself. When my wife and I go out for a meal a plant-based restaurant, we always find things on the menu that we have never eaten before.

Instead of all the boring stuff that I used to eat over and over again when I was on the normal western diet, now when we order it’s always an adventure. The reason for this is that making plants taste even more delicious than meat and dairy takes creativity and dedication. The goal of all the vegan restaurants that I’ve been to is to create food that’s so delicious the people keep coming back for more whether they are vegan, plant-based or on a normal diet.

Truly, If I’d have known that a plant-based diet could taste this good, be this healthy and make me feel so good about myself, I would have started years ago. It’s a pity that I didn’t know then what I do now.

2. That I would have less stress, feel calmer, be more balanced and more connected.

When I moved to a plant-based diet, people told me that I would lose weight, have more energy, better digestion, unstoppable hunger and even better skin.

While I did notice improvements in some of these, especially the digestion and complexion ones, the main change for me was the feeling of being calm.

It’s hard for me to explain, really. You see I’ve always been a very energetic kind of person, rushing around, finding it difficult to concentrate and staying focused. So it came as a surprise to me that I found myself slowing down a little. Suddenly, I was able to concentrate more and I’ve since been able to write a book and create a comprehensive online course on going vegan. I would have found these things very difficult to do before I switched my diet.

On top of that, and this is absolutely incredible for a middle-aged guy from Sheffield, I even took up yoga. While I love the stretching it’s the meditation and breathing that appeals to me most about practicing yoga. I’ve since found out that the purpose of yoga is actually the ability to meditate and reach a sense of calmness. I’ve also found out that to practice yoga in it’s true sense, you have to be vegetarian or vegan.

And this makes sense, doesn’t it?. I mean when you think about all the suffering that animal agriculture inflicts on helpless beings and the fear and terror that they experience at the moment of death, it’s hardly surprising that we are becoming ever more anxious both at an individual and societal level.

When we eat meat and dairy, we ingest that suffering. I know you might be thinking that I’m talking out of the top of my head and this is just woo woo and a load of old tosh. But before you disregard what I’m saying, ask yourself this. Why are more and more people suffering from anxiety? Why did the whole world panic when COVID 19 hit? I sincerely believe that what we eat affects not only our bodies but also our minds and our whole being.

If you suffer from anxiety, why not move to a plant-based diet and see what happens?

3. That I would learn to question everything.

Before I made the decision to take up a plant-based diet, I thought I knew a lot about the food that I was eating.

After all, from being a small child everyone, from my parents, the community, the teachers at school and even the programs on television had told me that no only was milk, meat, fish and dairy healthy. But that they were also essential to optimum health. I’d been told over and over again that protein was incredibly important and that it was only obtainable in meat. That calcium was essential for bone health and that basically, without meat and dairy I would waste away.

Imagine my surprise, then, when I started to uncover the truth about meat and dairy. And at the moment, I’m only talking about the health or otherwise of these products. To say I was shocked is an understatement.

I simply did not believe it. So I dug and dug and learned more and more on the topic. Eventually, I had to admit to myself that I had been lied to about food. Worse still, I began to realize that the food that I was eating was actually making me and my family ill.

Then I began to understand the suffering of the animals. How could we do this to innocent beings? The ways in which we treat animals is truly horrific, but it is hidden from us so that we keep purchasing the conveniently packaged fare at the supermarket.

When I went plant-based I was forced to question what I had done in the past. If my beliefs about something so fundamental as food could be so wrong, so ignorant and so naive, what other beliefs did I hold that were equally as flawed?

All of this means that today I question everything. I don’t take things at face value and I certainly don’t automatically believe anything that I hear on TV. Apart from maybe the weather, the date and the sports results.

I encourage you to take the step and move to a plant-based diet. You’ll be amazed and, just like me, you’ll end up questioning much more than you do today.

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