The vegan diet has become very popular.
A Plant-based diet is rapiadliy becoming the fastest growing trends in fitness. So when people say you
need to eat to have meat, dairy and other animal products to build muscle, gain strength or compete in
a bodybuilding contest, they are so wrong!
When you go vegan, you suddenly won’t be able to eat a lot of the foods you used to enjoy, and you may not have any food options at some social spots (like the cinema or mall).
But if you want to succeed on a vegan diet, you must change your perspective and see the diet as a lifestyle (hence the word “Diet”).
While a diet comes with restrictions, but a lifestyle comes with benefits. When you eat vegan food you don’t need to worry about restricting certain nutrients from your diet.
You will get all the nutrients you need as long as your avoid animal products. This is really the only restriction.
Beginner’s Guide to a Plant-Based Diet
Once you make the switch to a plant based diet it will be easy follow and you will immediately start reaping it’s benefits.
So once you get the hang of it and are able to prepare and cook plenty of delicious vegan recipes as you continue on your journey to a healthy vegan lifestyles.
Cooking vegan dishes is so much easier and really doesn’t take much time as omnivore meals. Plus you will get to enjoy the real taste of veggies, unaltered by animal based products.
Eating vegan will also help you sleep better, have more energy, naturally cleanse your body, improve digestion, and reduce your environmental footprint.
Most importantly, you will be saving lives.In the long term, the benefits are greater, including lower risk of kidney and heart conditions, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers.
What does it mean to be vegan?
Vegan is a subset of vegetarianism. There are several different types. Some vegetarians still drink milk and/
or eat eggs. Not vegans. They are the strictest form and don’t make allowance for ANY animal products in their diet.
It is by far the most challenging form because people take a lot of things for granted. Eggs and milk,
for example, are common baking ingredients. So, substitutions need to be made if a vegan is going to be
able to eat baked goods
What makes food vegan or not?
In order for food to be strictly vegan, it needs to adhere to certain criteria. It is important to note that there are a lot of hidden ingredients in foods. It is especially important to watch out for these if you are going to strive for a vegan diet.
- Vegans don’t eat animal products or byproducts of animal products.
- True vegans also don’t eat fish.
- They also don’t consume things like milk and eggs.
- Don’t forget that bees are an animal so vegans also can’t eat honey, royal jelly, and bee pollen supplements.
- There are also plenty of hidden ingredients to look out for that tend to make their way into food including gelatin, lard, and whey.
If you are a new vegan, making all of these changes may seem overwhelming. But, after you’ve been eating and cooking the vegan way you’ll be an old pro.
Why go vegan?
There are many reasons why people want to make the switch to a vegan diet, and all are equally valid: to better protect animals, to reduce the impact on our planet – climate breakdown, nd wildlife decimation, deforestation, pollution, as well as to have improved health.
While they may be prompted to try vegan for one of these reasons, people often end up staying vegan for all of them.
At its heart, veganism is about compassion – for animals, our planet, ourselves and each other. So…why go vegan – isn’t that the very best reason why? Find out more reasons to go vegan below.
For the animals
Going vegan is one of the best things you can do to help stop animal cruelty. By refusing to participle in the vicimization of animals by going vegan, the demand for them is reduce.
As a result, fewer animals are bred into existence, otherwise these innocent animals will be killed and slaughtered for food. When people educate and become aware of animal cruelty they lose desire to eat meat and dairy again.
For the environment
Eating a vegan diet is one of the best way to reduce your environmental impact on earth. As more information is reveals about the impact eating animal products has on the environment, more and more people are refusing to keep meat and dairy off their plates.
For Health
With some of the world’s top athletes choosing a plant-powered diet to enhance their health, performance and recovery, it’s no wonder plenty of others are following suit.
Given how healthy how plant based foods are, it’s no surprise why elite vegan athletes are vegan including world champions, martial artists, and an Olympic weightlifter have a fully vegan lifestyle to thank for it.
Eating a whole food plant based vegan diet has a lot of health benefits such as improved health, better performance and recovery.
There are endless to eating plant based foods, such as lower cholesterol levels and blood and the reduce of of heart disease and diabetes.
Many vegan foods are rich in plant-based protein, which are free the harmful ill effects derived from anmal protein.
Vegan Myths
A lot of people are under the false notion that veganism is something that has just come into existence. What is true, however, is the fact that a lot of modern day research and studies has led to a sudden increase
in the number of people deciding to follow it. And with that, there has also been a rise in the number of myths around the lifestyle. There are many different myths about the vegan community that perpetuate society. Let’s have a quick look at these myths right before we debunk them completely.
Myth #1: You can’t get enough protein from a plant based diet
“You’re a vegan? Where do you get your protein from?”. Get ready to be asked that a lot!
The single biggest myth there is about veganism; a lot of people are under the assumption that plant-based foods aren’t rich in protein.
20 to 40 percentage of the calories in beans, broccoli, and spinach come from protein, rivaling the percentages of calories from protein in most types of meat. One cup of uncooked spinach has around 7 grams of protein.
Nut butter has 8 grams of protein per two tablespoons, quinoa has around 9 grams of protein per cup cooked, and one cup of cooked lentils packs a whopping 18 grams of protein!
And this may come as a surprise to a lot of you, but research has shown that both vegans and traditional eaters are usually getting too much protein in their diets.
Myth #2: If you can’t eat meat, then you can’t build muscle
Myth #2: If you can’t eat meat, then you can’t build muscle
Remember I said protein is the building block of muscle? And we just clarified that plant-based foods are protein rich as well.
So, there you have it. Hemp powder and dairy-deprived protein sources pack incredible volumes of protein. So if you still feel you aren’t getting the necessary macros from whole foods, the foods listed above are perfect supplements
Myth #3: If you don’t eat dairy, you won’t get enough calcium
It might suprise you that, dairy is not the only source of calcium there is.
Yes, you don’t need to eat or drink dairy products to get the recommended amount of calcium.
Good sources of calcium for vegans include: fortified soya milk and juice, soybeans, soynuts, broccoli, collards, kale, mustard greens, and
calcium-set tofu and okra.
Besides, clinical research has shown you can absorb the same amount of calcium from fortified soy milk as you can from cows milk, if not more.
Myth #4: A plant based diet is not healthy
If fruits, vegetables, non-GMO products, no MSG, and a lack of meat and dairy are somehow unhealthy, then you’ve got me here.
However, I highly doubt a diet that comes recommended by oncologists for certain cancer patients is unhealthy. I’m not going to convince you that a non-vegan diet is ‘unhealthy’.
\However, with such a large demand for meat and dairy, today, what we consume is over-processed foods, grain-fed animal meats, and even over-pasteurized dairy products. A plant-based lifestyle affords the body more opportunities to acquire micro-and-macronutrients, while flushing out these toxins that have been deposited over time.
What Can I eat?
Your plant based diet should only consist of foods that come from the
following sources. Mainly you will include foods such as:
- Grains: Oatmeal, Quinoa, Brown Rice
- Legumes: Beans, lentils, chickpeas
- Fruits and Veg: All kinds, including small amounts of nuts and seeds
- Processed foods (small amounts only): Whole grain bread, whole grain pasta, Soya, Tofu, plant based protein powder.
FOODS CONTAINING PROTEIN
Plant-based Protein Foods
As a vegan, you can get your protein
from food such as:
- Lentils, Tofu
- Edamame (Soy), Quinoa, Green
- peas, Oatmeal, Pumpkin Seeds, Chia
- Seeds, Tempeh, Spinach, Black Peas
- Broccoli, Asparagus, Spirulina, Almonds, Chickpeas, Peanut Butter
Plant-based food that contain carbohyrates
You can get your carbs from Oatmeal, Brown Rice, Sweet Potato, Pumpkin, Barley, Legumes,
- Pumpkin Seeds, Barley, Buckwheat, Chickpeas, Black Peas
- Fresh Beets, Asparagus, Spirulina, Butternut Squash, Quinoa
- Beans and Lentils.
Plant-based Foods that contain fats
- Almonds, Hazelnuts, Hemp
- Seeds, Poppy Seeds, Pumpkin
- Seeds, Pistachio Nuts, Sunflower Seeds, Chia seeds, Cashew
- Seeds, Pecan nuts, Brazil nuts
- Pine Nuts, Butters are healthy sources of fats
Here is a sample 7 vegan diet plan
Is eating Vegan Long-term?
By committing to the Vegan Diet, you will benefit from improved health, energy, and weight loss. The long-term health of vegans appears to be generally good, and for some diseases and medical conditions it is better than that of comparable omnivores.
Once you find the right balance and make it a daily habit by eating plenty of vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds and legumes etc it will be easier for you to your success in the long term.
Ready to begin?
How to start with all this information? Sometimes it’s hard to begin a new diet on your own. We recommend taking a Vegan Challenge for 1 Month.
Four weeks is sufficient time to see results and get a flavor of being on a Keto Diet without putting too much strain on your lifestyle. You can spend the time, and money to purchase and plan individually, or we can take care of it for you with our 1 Month Vegan Challenge. We’ve gathered trusted facts, recipes, and meal plans for you. Good luck!
