Vegan Diet Plan

Congratulations! Embarking on a vegan diet plan is, in my opinion, where the 'fun' really starts in terms of seeing positive changes in your health.

I had lived with being overweight for most of my childhood, teens, and early 20s. When I started learning about healthy eating, and made the decision to commit to making good dietary choices, I was finally able to take control of the way I looked and felt. But when I learned about a plant-based vegan diet, and decided to experiment with it for a few months... that is when I really started to see dramatic changes in my body.

The idea of a vegan diet may initially scare some people, as they might associate it with giving up so much of the food they love. Indeed, the use of animal products in our modern diets is quite widespread, but I strongly believe that it is possible to phase some of these foods out of our eating without feeling deprived. A frequent question I get from friends and family is "so, what can you eat?." If you are considering a similar vegan diet plan, then you might be asking yourself this too. Don't worry, you'll soon discover an abundance of delicious, nutritionally powerful foods that are available to you. In fact, you might even like the fact that you are pushed outside your comfort zone, and that you will discover great options that you were never previously aware of.

1.Eat plenty of fresh fruits throughout the day. If you are not already doing this, then it might initially seem like an additional hassle to buy fresh fruit and remember to eat it. Come up with a way to work it into your routine and you'll see how much better you feel once it becomes a habit. For example I aim for at least 1 apple, 1 banana, and 1 orange, per day. I eat one piece of fruit upon waking, one as a mid day snack, and one before or after dinner.

2. Structure your meals around protein rich foods. Check out my explanation on protein sources, intrinsic to your vegan diet plan. Otherwise, you're caloric intake will probably be too low, and your diet will not be sustainable. Although some people now claim that it is possible to base a diet on nothing but fruits (fruititarian) I am not yet convinced, and will not recommend it.

3. Eat whole grains, not their refined equivalents. I know that some people might resist this, I did too at first. The switch from white bread to whole wheat or from white rice to brown rice does mean a slight shift in flavor. I wholeheartedly believe that this is just an acquired taste that you can soon learn to enjoy, so bear with it for a few weeks and try it out. These should be the energy backbone of your vegan diet plan. The benefits of whole grains are too numerous to list, they are excellent sources of dietary fiber, complex carbohydrates, and even protein. As an added benefit, you will feel more full while actually eating less.

4. When in doubt eat more veggies. You will rarely go wrong by incorporating more vegetables into your vegan diet plan. With most vegetables, you are more likely to fill up before you could possibly overeat, since they are not calorie dense(with a few notable exceptions, i.e. potatoes). Anything green is great. Learn to love broccoli (it took a while for me) and you should be golden. If you'd rather buy frozen vegetables than fresh ones, you're not sacrificing too much in terms of nutrients. The standard mix (peas, corn, carrots, green beans) and frozen broccoli, are usually incorporated into every dinner I eat. However, leafy greens, in my opinion, really should be eaten raw. Fresh, raw spinach tastes great...seriously (make sure to rinse it first).