Happy New Year to you and your loved ones! I would like to be one of the first to wish you health and happiness in the new year. And whether you’re looking to try a vegan diet for January or maybe for the full year or longer, congratulations on making it to this article, and, accordingly, embarking on a new journey for your mind and body.
We encourage you and support you as you look to set new goals for 2023. We’re here to let you know that this is the right time, and you’ve come to the right place to find tips and advice for your new diet.
One thing we want to let you know about our blog is that this is a judgment-free zone. Whether you’re trying a vegan diet for a week or a lifetime, it’s totally normal that you may not always choose the healthiest meals each and every day, and that you may fall back into your old ways. You may even have slips along the way. That’s ok! We have all been there. I know I have. We’re here to support you on your journey, give you tips to avoid potential slips and to forgive yourself when they happen, and to be a sounding board as you develop your new way of living.
To start, here are some reasons why going vegan in the New Year is a good choice, and why you should be celebrating your new diet!
Congratulations on making it this far. If you’d like to ask any questions, feel free to message me in the comments section and I’d be happy to try to help.
Relevant Article: Tips for Keeping to a Healthy Vegan Diet
Here are my top reasons to go vegan in the new year:
1. Lose Weight
After Thanksgiving and ALL of those Holiday parties, I know I’m not alone in saying that I could use a month to shed some weight. And it’s a lot easier to do so without all of the saturated and other fats in dairy and meat, especially in heavy foods like red meat, milk, butter, and cheese. The experience is going to be different for different people, but I will say that when I first went vegan for a month with a few friends, we all saw significant results in terms of weight loss. It’s not the only way to lose weight, but I assure you it can get the job done.
As with any diet, going vegan is no silver bullet, and if losing weight is your primary goal, you’ll still have to keep that goal in mind and develop a targeted diet to do so. For tips to ensure that you develop a healthy and proper vegan diet, refer to 5 Ingredients To Incorporate Into A Healthy Vegan Meal which lays out the ingredients which will make up a healthy diet, while highlighting what traps to avoid.
2. Do your part to help the environment
It’s no secret that agriculture, and in particular the meat and dairy industry, are large, if not the largest, contributors to carbon emissions globally. Even if you’re not so into the outdoors, it’s hard to argue that keeping your town above water is a relatively urgent cause that you would probably support once water levels rose to the point where you had to take a canoe to get to work. This is one of many reasons people choose to go vegan, and is growing in importance as global warming wreaks havoc around the world.
Relevant Article: Composting in a Small Apartment
3. Feel better
The fats in dairy and meat can leave one feeling lethargic and heavy. Vegan diets that are vegetable-forward are higher in nutrition and better for one’s well-being. With a proper vegan diet, you’ll feel lighter and more energetic.
Additionally, vegan diets have less saturated fats. These fats inhibit the processing of beneficial nutrients such as calcium and probiotics. Even drinks such as tea which have been shown to significantly increase life expectancy and decrease incidents of dementia have shown their beneficial properties to be completely negated by the presence of dairy. Eliminating such products such as dairy from the diet can ensure better
4. Support animal welfare
This is such an easy one that it’s hard to argue with. Try watching any video of animals being slaughtered, and it may make you swear off meat entirely. We hope that most people are horrified by the harm caused to animals by the meat and dairy industries, but in case that’s not enough to motivate you to become vegan, some of the side effects caused by the feed and hormones injected in the animals may cause you some alarm.
5. Cleanse your body of toxins
Many studies and publications have shown that meats and dairy are full of harmful hormones and toxins, from HGH in chicken to heavy metals such as mercury in seafood to preservatives in cheese. While some sources of meat and dairy have been reported to cut down on these toxins, it is not possible to really eliminate all of these toxins as long as one maintains a meat-based diet. Even cleansing the body of these ingredients for a short period of time through a vegan diet can help to recharge and reset the mind and body such that one can understand their true potential without the presence of toxins.
6. Improve your health
I originally went vegetarian because of my love of animals. But what eventually made me go vegan? You ask why? To be honest, it wasn’t for any of the reasons above. It was because I had some blood work done, and it showed I had very high cholesterol. My doctor recommended I try a vegan diet for ONE MONTH. I did it, and the numbers were staggering! I have never had cholesterol problems since, and I have never gone back.
But don't just trust my experience, there have been scientific studies that showed decreased cholesterol in women who were eating vegan diets and other studies (1, 2) resulting in better cardiovascular health. Not only does going vegan help your heart, but it's research has also shown a favorable impact on degenerative diseases like metabolic syndrome (3), links to better gut microbiome with protective health benefits (4), and wards off hypertension and type-2 diabetes (5).
Motivational Reasons to Go Vegan
During my vegan month, I found so many good recipes that I didn’t even crave meat or dairy anymore, and I felt all of the above benefits, including losing a significant amount of weight (honestly without having to limit my diet in any way!) and feeling so energized. Try it for yourself, and see how you feel. If even for one month, you’ll see and feel the results if you do it the right way.
I totally get if one of the reasons above alone is not enough to make you want to convert your entire lifestyle, but combined, it’s hard to argue that it’s not worth just trying a vegan diet even for a short while! Let me know what you think in the comments.
Here are some vegan food ideas:
And if you are ready to jump in 5 ingredients to incorporate into a vegan diet and Simple Tips For Keeping To A Healthy Vegan Diet In The New Year will give you more inspiration on how to start your vegan journey. If you'd like a mindlessly automated easy way to go vegan you can start with one of the vegan meal deliveries to get you transitioned smoothly and have you discovering yummy vegan meals. We are a fan of Splendid Spoon and Thistle but you can decide for yourself by checking out our deep dive into the Best Vegan Meal Delivery post.
