Simple ways to transition to a vegetarian lifestyle

Vegetarianism is a rather significant change to bring into your life, and it’s important to remember that you need to be gentle with yourself. This is your journey, and you’re making this change to do what you believe is best for your health and your body.

The support of friends and family is always welcome, but as you start following any diet plan, remember that you’re not comparing yourself to someone who might have been part of this lifestyle for a few years or some fit influencer on social media. You’re comparing yourself to who you were the day before, and every little choice you make to improve your health is a win.

When it comes to building habits or meeting goals, it’s always better to take it one step at a time and give yourself the space to grow into this new aspect of your life. You don’t need to quit all meats, poultry, dairy, and eggs cold turkey. Depending on what your goal is, you can cut yourself off from the food groups gradually.

Don’t tell yourself that you need to make too many changes at once. Trying to cut out meat, sugar, cheese-lover pizzas and chocolate cake all in one fell swoop can increase your chances of giving up on the new path you’ve chosen for yourself.

It is also completely fine if you decide to start with only one day of vegetarian eating per week, and gradually build it into a daily habit. If you have a friend that also wants to go vegetarian, cook together and make meal plans. This change can feel like an upheaval at times, but it is to improve your life. Have a little fun on the way.

And this is a tip you’ve probably heard about any diet, but it applies here as well: meal planning is your friend. As you start on a diet, last-minute shopping can make it all too easy to end up going with what we’re craving instead of what is a part of our diet plan. Not only that, but if you share a kitchen with someone who isn’t vegetarian or follows a different sort of diet than yours—could be a significant other, family, or what-have-you—meal planning can help make sure you both eat the meals you want without disrupting either person’s dietary plans.

A good way to make the transition is to find veggie alternatives for some of your favorite foods. If you really love beef burgers, then try something like a black bean burger. It’s always good to experiment with different vegetables and dishes you might not have tried before to find out what you like.

There are other tips you can follow as a beginner, like making sure you know your protein sources or adding a little flair to your dishes with condiments, but before getting into the minutia of what you’ll be doing in the kitchen, it might be better to looking some recipes that you’ll enjoy as part of the vegetarian lifestyle.