Veganism: Transition, Benefits, Challenges, Tips, Facts, and Myths

“Why in hell would you become vegan?”

It might be the first thing that pops up into your head when reading this title.

Disclaimer: This article does not intend to persuade you to adopt a new diet. On the contrary, it intends to share, from my experience, the transition process of becoming vegan, why I did change to a plant-based diet, the myths that were holding me up to do it, the facts that pushed me to finally embrace it, the difficulties I found along the way, and the benefits I obtained from this lifestyle.

Throughout my twenty-eight years living on earth, or to be honest, since I recall, I have been told countless times — by family, professors, friends, and trainers — the importance of eating meat, chicken, and fish to be healthy and perform well in general. These continuous pieces of advice from the people I love the most were also supported by the type of marketing seen below in Figure 1.

— Eat steak like a man! And be strong like a man! —

I had kept these premises with me until last year when my concern woke up thanks to being exposed to multiple contents about climate change, environmental sustainability, personal health improvement, and raw facts about the food industry and its negative impact on our planet. There was a revealing conclusion I extracted from all this content: all these world problems seem to have an action that would collaborate to make of this planet a better place to live, changing from an animal to a plant-based diet.

In the beginning, I was skeptical since I couldn’t conceive how something that had been taught to me since I was a kid might not be as necessary or good as I thought. Consequently, I did more research and I found numerous reasons why people are creating public awareness and transitioning to a plant-based diet. The top reasons people go vegan are: (1) to reduce animal suffering, followed by (2) to support environmental sustainability, and (3) to improve health. However, since I considered becoming vegan could create a conflict of interest between my health and the world’s well-being due to the strong premise that not eating animal protein under an athletic routine could have bad consequences. I decided to take a closer look at how to support environmental sustainability without changing my animal-based diet.

Once I had watched multiple documentaries about global warming and the disastrous consequences to be expected in the future if we keep behaving and eating as we are doing, I took some small actions such as being more rigorous with recycling, using less plastic bags when buying fruits/vegetables, taking shorter showers, closing the water tap when doing the dishes instead of letting the water run non-stop, between others. However, even though these documentaries were constantly repeating that one of the main causes of our hopeless future was the massive growth of the animal food industry and the pollution it generates, I decided to ignore it because, as previously mentioned, I perceived stop eating animals as a roadblock to my fitness performance. In other words, what did not allow me to try this change by myself was more of a selfish reason rather than a lack of willingness.

The careless attitude kept going for years, even after meeting people that followed a vegan diet, which shared their experience with me but that unfortunately, I didn’t take as a reference since exercising was not part of their daily routine. Until one of my good friends, which I consider to have a similar lifestyle as I do, mentioned that he had stopped eating meat for a couple of weeks. This was shocking for me, after discussing several hours about the topic he recommended me to watch a documentary named The Game Changers.

This documentary is a compilation of the benefits provided by a plant-based diet not only as an athlete but most importantly as a human being. A couple of days later after watching it, I decided to make the transition to a vegan diet, I challenged myself to try something new, something I had always been a skeptic of, something that for many years I had wrongly assumed about vegetarian/vegan people of being weak due to their “unhealthy” diet, which now ironically was about to become my lifestyle.

After several weeks of research about vegan nutrition implications, difficulties, recipes, and nutrients to keep an eye on, I believed to be ready to make the transition. Some people recommend doing a gradual shift, however, since I considered I already had a “healthy” diet I was eager to perceive a more notorious change in my performance if there was going to be one, of course. Thus, I planned to go from “all or nothing”, from a fridge full of animal protein and dairy products to a colorful fridge filled with plenty of vegetables, grains, and hummus.

Previous to starting this diet last November, I knew that Christmas was around the corner, which I recognized was going to represent an enormous challenge due to all the social events that take place during those dates and all the food that comes with it — mostly of animal precedence. Therefore, I decided to make a plan that allowed me to test three things: (1) how good or bad I was going to feel during six weeks under a fully vegan diet (2) how my body was going to react whenever I switched back to an animal diet during the holidays and (3) once the vacations were over, based on the benefits and challenges, which diet was I going to end up adopting.

These questions among others are intended to be answered on the following sections where I summarized the reasons why I did change my diet, the main benefits I have experienced during these six months, the challenges I have faced as well as the solutions I have applied to make this transition as natural as possible. Also, I mention the myths that were holding me up to adopt a plant-based diet, the facts that pushed me to finally do it, and the sources that contributed to making me embrace this lifestyle.

Why did I change from an animal to a plant-based diet?

• To contribute to environmental sustainability.
• To improve personal health.
• To stand against animal suffering.
• To have a personal opinion with fundamentals and not biased by points of view from both perspectives.

Benefits I have experienced

• A sense of well-being because of contributing to the world.
  By embracing veganism, I consider I am living aligned with my beliefs, which makes me experience a high sense of meaning and purpose that translates into happiness.
• Less fatigue and more energy in my daily routine.
  Studies have found that since the body doesn’t have to use as much energy for digesting plant-based food plus the absence of added sugars and carbs, which tend to slow you down, I no longer feel the need to drink coffee after having lunch since I don’t get sleepy anymore
• Longer physical endurance when working out.
  Research papers presented on The Game Changers explain that a plant-based diet can be highly beneficial in helping the muscles to recover faster due to the antioxidants found in food. Thus, the reason for feeling less fatigued when working out continuously day by day.
• Good night rest.
  Numerous research papers state that serotonin, tryptophan, and melatonin are found in many vegan foods, and these chemicals are probably the main cause of helping people sleep.
• Improve digestion.
  I have noticed a feeling of lightness after each meal due to plant-based food are digested in a shorter time compared to an animal-protein diet. This is simply because a diet high in fiber and a low amount of fat as vegan food helps move food through our intestines at a more rapid rate.
• Inspire Others.
  Since I have adopted a plant-based diet and commented on it to my friends along with its benefits, I seemed to have also inspired them to adjust their diet. Some of them have added more vegetables to it and some others have even become vegetarian/vegan.
  Nevertheless, the topic about veganism should not be pushed on everyone you meet, but if the opportunity arises, you can comment about it.

Challenges and solutions

The challenges I have experienced during six months have been fewer than expected and some of them where mostly faced at the beginning since I chose to make a drastic transition, which, as stated earlier, will depend on the person and his/her transition strategy.

• Eating with family/friends: This is one of the challenges that is constantly experienced when adopting a plant-based diet. It could happen that whether the place where your family is trying to go doesn’t have a vegan option or because your friends didn’t consider your diet when planning a bbq.
  Solution: Nowadays, most places have either vegan or vegetarian options so you don’t have to miss the valuable time that represents sharing with your family and friends. You can always check by either entering the restaurant’s website or calling. If unfortunately, the restaurant does not have vegan options you can always eat at your place and then join your friends.
• Hunger: This mostly happened at the beginning since I was not accustomed to eating so many grains and vegetables instead of meat, chicken or, fish. The reason why sometimes I felt hungry although I just had eaten a meal of the same size as I used to do when eating animal protein, is because vegetables and grains have lower calorie density than animal protein.
  Solution: To reach the total calories your body requests, you will have to increase the food quantity you eat. Therefore, don’t worry if your meals look bigger than before, just make sure to balance correctly the portions of proteins, carbs, and vegetables.
• Food Cravings: This is another of the challenges presented mostly at the beginning of the transition. This is common to experience since your body has been accustomed since to eat certain things since you were a child. Even though I did a drastic transition, which helped me to deal with my temptations since I didn’t have those products on my fridge, I recommend you to plan a strategy at your own pace.
  Solution: Many products have been “veganized”, which means that mimic the flavor or such products. This has helped me to fulfill the craving I have experienced for a specific food.
  For example, a vegan burger — known as beyond meat burger — that tastes almost like a normal burger.
• Food preparation: Been vegan will probably translate into more minutes in the kitchen per day. Sometimes this could be avoided by eating, from time to time, processed food that does not involve time preparation — for example, spinach burgers bought in the grocery store — However, generally, to have a well balanced it is better to not rely upon processed food but instead in grains, lentils, cooked vegetables, etc.
  Solution: Meal prepping will save you a lot of time daily. Besides meal prepping, I always have plenty of fruits and snacks — peanuts, hummus with carrots, rice cake with peanut butter — that can substitute a meal if you find yourself with a limited amount of time to cook.
• Cheat Meals: Like everything in life, there should be a balance and I will try to maintain it on my plant-based diet, which means that from time to time I won’t have a problem eating a non-vegan meal. Sometimes I will put my diet on a lower priority than sharing with my family or friends on a special event such as Christmas, holidays, and birthdays. However, eating a non-vegan meal can be a problem since this could upset your stomach causing headaches, gassiness, heartburn, or irritability.
  Solution: I have had a couple of cheat meals because of special occasions like Christmas, where sometimes my stomach has gotten more upset. Hence, I suggest to not be too drastic like eating a T-bone steak after many months of not eating meat. I also recommend being mentally prepared because sooner or later you will face a situation in which you have no option but to put your diet aside.

Tips and recommendations

• Find your “WHY?”: This the most important step since it consists of defining the real reason why you are adopting a diet completely different from what you have been used to. This reason will help you to stick to your goal and stand with your values whenever you struggle with any of the challenges previously mentioned.
• Research and preparation: Investigating and planning are what is going to facilitate and ensure the appropriate transition to a plant-based diet. From this research, you should collect data such as food rich in nutrients, vitamins to consume, and recipes to have a balanced diet and multiple dish options to not get bored with plain salads.
• Watch your calories: Eating vegan does not necessarily translate into eating healthy. For example, if you eat pasta at lunch and eat peanut butter every day, it doesn’t mean that you have a balanced and healthy diet. Therefore, I recommend counting the calories and amount of carbs you are ingesting per day since this could be the reason why you could be gaining weight while adapting to this diet.
• Blood Test: This is always recommended regardless of the diet you adopt. Nevertheless, you might want to ensure with medical evidence that your body is performing well before and during a plant-based diet. This test can identify high risks of developing diabetes due to eating nutrient-poor, high-sugar fast food vegan.

These are some of the most relevant myths and facts that I found along with research papers, documentaries, books, and articles.
There are dozens of myths and facts but these are the ones that were well-proven and that triggered more emotional impact on me.

Myths

Scientifically Proven

• Muscular energy comes from animal protein.
• Vegetarians are incapable of prolonged exercise.
• We have to have animal protein to get big and strong.
• Only vegans need supplements.
• Vitamin B12 comes from animals because they produce it.
• Vegan diets are not healthy.

Personally proven

• A plant-based diet has a financial impact when doing groceries.
• There is a lack of recipe options.
• Vegan food is not tasty.
• Being vegan while traveling is impossible.

Facts

Animals

- Massive fishing estimates that for every pound of fish captured, there are 5 pounds of un-targeted animals.
- It is predicted by scientists that by 2048 there are going to be fishless oceans.

Environmental

- Cattle farming contaminates a lot of CH4 (methane) which is breathed out by the cows after eating grass. A molecule of methane is equal to 23 molecules of CO2. In conclusion, avoiding meat would help enormously.

- Animal agriculture produces 65% of the world’s nitrous oxide, a gas with a global warming potential 296 times greater than CO2 per pound. Yet we only hear about fossil fuel.

- Raising animals for food is responsible for 30% of water consumption which occupies 45% of the earths land that translates into the 91% amazon destruction to raise livestock.

- Organizations don’t want to address this issue because they don’t want to affect their funding, which is ironically from oil and farm companies. In the end, these organizations are companies.

- Grass-fed beef vs Grain-fed beef: it takes 23 months for a grass-fed animal to get killed whereas a grain-fed takes 15 months, which traduces into 8 months more of water, waster, land use, feed. So in terms of a carbon footprint is more unsustainable than factory farming.

- One-third of the land of the world is becoming desert due to livestock grazing

Personal health

- Quality of protein: protein are strings of amino acids and there are some amino acids our bodies are not capable of producing, which are the essential amino acids and means that we have to get them through food. Every plant contains all the essential amino acids.

- Animal meat causes inflammation, a single burger increases measures of inflammation by 70%.

- Constant animal protein consumption causes inflammation on arteries which reduces blood flow, meaning that in muscles and joints it can increase soreness and delay recovery.
On the contrary, in a plant-based diet, you will receive anti-oxidants that perform as an anti-inflammation to optimize blood supply.

- Humans do not have any specialized genetic, anatomical, or physiological adaptations to meat consumption, by contrast, we have many adaptations to plant consumption. For example, we have longer digestive tracts than carnivores do. This allows humans to digest plants and fibers that require longer processing time.

- Our main energy source is glucose for our brain and meet is not a very source of glucose. And the most efficient way to get glucose is to eat carbohydrates.

-The studies on testosterone levels have shown that there is no difference between a man on an animal or a plant-based diet food.

- Cortisol, better known as the stress hormone, is linked to reduce muscle mass and increase body fat. People that switch from animal to plant-based experience a decrease of 27% of cortisol levels.

Conclusion

Six months have passed since I have adopted a plant-based diet, which more than a diet I consider it a lifestyle since it goes beyond just eating vegetables and grains. For those who are wondering whether or not I will remain vegan, the answer is for now “Hell yeah”. Part of this transition was to experience the benefits and disadvantages of adopting a new diet that so far has only brought me good things that I am eager to keep experience on my daily basis.
I believe life is about trial and error and if there is an area where one can benefit from, why not try it? In this case, I perceived the opportunity to obtain numerous benefits and took the chance to experience them or fail on the attempt.

To conclude, adopting a plant-based diet has changed my life. Besides the health benefits I have experienced, more importantly, it has given me a powerful meaning in life based on the feeling that I am contributing to the world, society, and myself. I believe finding meaning in life is something we should all strive for, regardless if it is by adopting a plant-based diet, helping the people in need, or any other way you find to give something back. It is in this meaning in life where one feels fulfilled and proud of the benefits of those actions.

Sources of information

Book:

• Tools of titans.

Documentaries:

• Before the flood.
• Cowspiracy.
• What the health.
• The Game Changers.
• Earthlings.

Podcasts:

How to Vegan.

Instagram Accounts:

• Julianhierro
• vegansvillage
• recipesforvegan
• eatmoreplants.no
• vegan_veganfood