Start doing meatless Mondays

Going cold turkey may work for some people, but not everyone. Taking it slowly can be really beneficial because you can see how not eating meat makes you feel without fully committing to it. Doing one day out of the week is better than nothing, and if you stop eating it all together you are more likely not stick with it.

Immediately stop eating dairy

There is a study that proves there is something in cheese that makes it addicting. So, there is no point in “slowing cutting it out,” because that just won’t happen. With this, you gotta do it cold turkey. I know that when I was changing my diet to become fully vegan, I kept going back to cheese and telling myself, “after this piece I’ll be done” *Five slices of cheese later.* You just have to tell yourself you will stop eating it, and then eventually you will stop craving it. Trust me, more than two years later and I don’t even really think about cheese.

Always bring your own food

Even if it is just a vegan granola bar. The worst is when you show up to a social event with your friends and they are all eating pizza or burgers, and there is nothing you can eat. In those types of situations it is easy to slip up and have a slice of cheese pizza, just because that’s what everyone else is eating. So, if you bring your own food you won’t go hungry and people are less likely to ask if you want a burger or pizza because they see you are already eating something.

Take advantage of the alternatives

Once you make the switch to becoming fully plant-based, you may find yourself only eating vegetables. This is really common, so having meat and cheese alternatives can be really helpful. You can make a grilled cheese using vegan cheese or a burger with a veggie patty. That way these meals will be familiar to you, so they will be easy to make. Also, being able to bring veggie burgers to a barbecue makes it so you don’t feel left out when everyone around you is eating burgers. No one has to know that yours is made out of vegetables.

Befriend other vegans

This is really important. Having people around you who are also vegan makes it easier to stay on track, because you don’t want to disappoint your friends. Having friends who eat the same things as you also means you guys can all go eat vegan food together. Sometimes it is hard to find someone who wants to try an all vegan restaurant, because that is just not the type of food that they eat. So, having friends that you know will try an all vegan barbecue place is really nice, you will never not have someone to go with.