Many non-vegetarians are changing their eating habits and switching to vegan or vegetarian diets.
If you are one of those people looking to make that shift but don’t know where to start, this article will give you some tips on how you can make the transition happen.
Mental acceptance
If you have been raised as a non-vegetarian shifting to a new diet is not going to be that simple. There will be a lot of adjustments required and for that you need to be mentally conditioned. Right now your tastes are suited for meat flavours, which are not the same as vegetarian. So it is important that the reason for this change is genuine and comes from a strong place in your mind. This will give you the discipline to adhere to your new lifestyle.
Prepare a list of lifestyle changes
With a vegetarian diet, you will need to make several changes to your life. Depending on how personal this decision is to you, the changes will vary. You will need to make a list of vegetarian restaurants, supermarkets or stores where you can make your purchases, be more conscious about the origins of other food products and so on.
Inform family and friends
People in your social circle need to be kept in the loop about your dietary preferences. So whenever you get together for a meal, you do not have to compromise and can stick to your decision of eating vegetarian food. Your family or friends may have a lot of questions so be sure to go prepared for answers that are based on fact and conviction.
Replace your nutritional content appropriately
Your current non-vegetarian diet includes a list of products that supply a certain amount of nutrition to your body. You will now need to consume vegetarian food that match or exceed the supply of dietary requirements so that there is no sudden weight loss or effects on your immunity.
Buy vegetarian recipe books
You will be surprised at how much experimentation and flavour is possible with vegetarian food. Get yourself a cookbook and try out some recipes. It will make it easier to adapt to the new types of food you will eat. If you can cook just a handful of vegetarian dishes then you might get bored easily and switch back to non-vegetarian food.
Make the transition slowly
Do not stop eating meat, chicken and fish abruptly. This will have a counter effect, very similar to what a person goes through when they try to give up smoking or alcohol. Slowly but surely, decrease the amount of non-vegetarian content in your diet and migrate to vegetarian food. Over time you will find that it has become easier to make the switch this way.
Look for meat substitutes
There are various food products out there that are great meat substitutes. They have a flavour that is very similar to meats and chicken and makes the switch in diet easier. Soya bean is an example of one such food type.
Keep a check on portions
You will need to eat larger portions of vegetarian food to match up to the non-vegetarian portions you used to consume. Your body till needs the same amount of calories per day. Just make sure you’re getting 1200 calories or more.
Shifting to a vegetarian diet is a healthy decision but needs a lot of discipline and self-control to adhere to it. With these tips, you will definitely find yourself making a lot of success with the new diet.
