"Meat Substitutes" ------------------ It's important to realise that not all vegan food is healthy. One trap many fall in to is buying meat substitutes like fake meat burgers, sausages, not chicken pieces etc. these are often high in saturated fats and just another form of ultra processed food. It's fine to have the occasional beyond meat burger, but think of it as you wouldn't have a cow burger every day so probably best not to have a beyond meat burger every day either. Healthier soy based alternatives like Tofu, Temphe and Seitan may be a better fit for you, they are nutritional, no saturated fats and high in protein, if you're worried about soy and oestrogen then check out the myths page...but in short if soy increased breast size plastic surgeons would be out of business, multiple studies have shown a diet rich in soy increases testosterone levels in men and reduces cancer risk. Fibre ----- I've put together a separate page about it but will summarise here. When you switch from a carnivorous or veterinarian diet to a plant based diet your fibre intake will increase significantly due to eating more greens, beans, legumes, vegetables and grains. Monitor your fibre intake to start with using something like MyFitnessPal or MyNetDiary trying to stay around the minimum recommended levels of 30g over the next few weeks (just for reference use the app to check what you were getting before!) as your gut micro-biome adjusts start to be less restrictive and introduce more high fibre plants, beans and grains. I've spoken to too many people who have digestion "issues" due to going from a low fibre diet to a high fibre diet overnight, they wrongly associate this with a Vegan diet being bad rather than having a bad gut micro-biome and consequently after Veganuary go back to eating meat as they "can't do it". Enthusiasm ---------- People may not always be as enthusiastic about following a plant based diet as you are and that's ok. Just remind yourself of your reasons for wanting to try it and how you're making a difference for good within yourself and the environment no matter how miniscule it may appear on the surface. This is your journey not theirs. Remember that the "results" you see may be invisible, you will probably noice losing the puppy fat initially but other benefits may not be as apparent for example, not developing heart disease, not developing diabetes, joint pain reducing, walkingup stairs without being out of breath at the top, no gut issues. Don't beat yourself up if you make a "mistake" or accidentally consume something with animal product in it (they will sneak milk powder in to anything these days; due to farming subsidies to produce diary despite demand declining). Remember for next time and move on. If you want a little support but don't have anyone in your vicinity to talk to consider lurking on a subreddit like r/veganuk or r/PlantBasedDiet there is also veganprofile.com (however I'm not a member so cannot comment on how supportive it is, but it might be lovely). The standard adage applies...the internet is a cesspool of hate so pick and choose where you participate. Too much too soon ----------------- It can be tempting to try to do everything all at once, my recommendation would be don't. Take things gradually, here's an example: Month 1 Start to phase out cheese over the next 6 months. The reason this is first and has a long time frame is because cheese is addictive, not in a anecdotal kind of way, in a scientific way. It triggers the same neuron receptors as a class A drug. Month 2 Swap from cow milk to a different type of milk, I personally prefer Soya Milk that has B12 and Calcium, but you may prefer something else. Try different ones until you find what you like (to save you time ASDA brand soya, oat and almond milks are universally terrible). Once you have found one you like then try the different bands and see which hits the spot. You may find you prefer different types of milk for different things e.g. I prefer soya in tea, a 50:50 almond/soya blend in latte and almond milk on my porridge. Month 3 Replace red meat dishes in your meal plans with a vegetarian alternative. Most people, regardless of if they eat animals or not have low iron as our bodies struggle to absorb it. Animals get their iron from leafy greens and supplemented feed; if you're not already taking a multivitamin it would be a good place to start. Iron is absorbed best when paired with vitamin C, calcium however prevents absorption which is why may animal eaters still have low iron levels as it comes packaged with calcium in the form of meat. Leafy greens on the other have iron and vitamin c all in one neat little salad. Anecdotally some people swear by using a cast iron pan for cooking. Month 4 Along side your remaining animal dishes (I'm assuming chicken and fish by this point) introduce more plant based meals using tofu, seitan, temphe, beans, chickpeas, grains and legumes. Fake meats are always an option but try not to rely too heavily on them as many are ultra processed foods. Month 5 Reduce your meat intake a little more as you increase your plant based meals, by the end of this month you could aim to reduce your animal based meals to once a week. Month 6 By this point you may have removed animal based dishes from your meal rotation entirely and have kicked the cheese addiction. No more big changes this month continue as you are and let your gut micro-biome adjust to the wealth of new things you're eating. Have a look at the 30 plants a week challenge and see how you're doing, you'll probably be amazed at how quickly you're reaching 30! Month 7 Eggs are probably the last animal product you have left now. Depending on what you use the egg for there are some substitutes. In baking for binding you can use; a "flax-egg", apple sauce, mashed banana, sweet potato (and many more) for rising; white vinegar and bicarb, chickpea water (aquafaba) or any tinned bean water and store brought egg substitutes. Month 8 Eating things out of packets? This would be a good time to check through the ingredients to see if they have any animal product in and start replacing the ones that do, this can be pretty painless for example my nemesis is bourbon biscuits I found aldi's brand have cow milk in them, where as the other big supermarkets do not. Remember nature is full of snacks maybe try snacking on nuts (if not allergic!), roasted chickpeas/beans, hummus and veg, fruit or dried fruit. It's worth remembering that your taste-buds have now started to change (thanks micro-biome) so try things you didn't used to like, for me it was dark chocolate (this normally does not contain dairy but check the packet, lidls big bar does not, and neither do the cheapest own brand versions). Month 9 If you're easily surpassing the 30 plants a week challenge then great work your body thanks you! If you're not quite hitting that target start looking at moving to whole grains for example swap white rice for brown, pasta to wholewheat, white bread to brown. Instead of rice have a side of quinoa boiled up with a stock cube, put a handful of buckwheat or pearl barley in your stew, use red lentils in your soup, add avocado to your lunch, snack on nuts or add berries to your breakfast. Think of a few small changes you can make to get you there. Month 10 I'd say you're pretty much there. It's always worth tracking and monitoring your intake using a free tracker app, not religiously (unless you want to) but just to check your nutrients. As an animal eater you probably never did this (I know I didn't, aside from to count calories) but following a plant based diet you'll end up being much more aware of what you're eating and less likely to be deficient in a certain area than before. If you are concerned, whilst I'm not a dietician and can't offer any medical advice you'll find my thoughts on deficiencies and how to avoid them on my myths page. The Kevs and Karens of the World -------------------------------- One thing you will learn quickly is everyone becomes a nutritionalist when they find out you're vegan. It doesn't matter how unhealthy, unfit, over-weight or morbidly obese they are they will have an opinion; completely unable to see the irony in the nonsense they spout. Over time you become used to the ignorance and 9/10 if you smile, nod and make sympathetic noises they will move on. Some however are absolutely determined to find a "gotcha" moment. Without meaning to stereotype these are usual straight, white, middle-aged men or your Karen from finance types...which in many ways are one and the same. For the 1/10 who continue to push, it is important that you realise that you can never change their mind as you can't argue with stupid. These are the types of people who have decided to take a cholesterol pill to manage their health rather than change their diet, bemoan being lactose intolerant but proceed to shovel a truckle of cheese in their face...and so on. You won't shoot them down because whilst you're correcting their b.s. they're not listening to you they're instead thinking of their next line of attack...my advice is just say "you're absolutely correct I'd never thought of it that way, can you point me in the direction of some nutritional research about benefits of a carnivorous diet and I'll look in to it".