How to stay vegan after Veganuary

If you took on Veganuary 2022 and are nailing it, give yourself a pat on the back! It can be a tough challenge to complete. So, now what? If you’re happy with what you’ve accomplished and are looking forward to breaking out the celebratory cheese, well that’s great and hopefully, we’ll see you again next year. However, if you feel that now you’ve tried veganism, you’re ready to carry it on further into the year or possibly forever, we’re here to help!

 

We’ve written down a few tips that will help you on your onward journey. They’re all from our own experience.

 

Make rough vegan meal plans

 

No, no, no, this doesn’t mean endless food prep on Sunday night. This just means making sure that you’re getting lots of variety each day and that you’re buying enough of the right groceries before it all becomes routine.  While you’re still getting used to it all, write down roughly what your meals (and snacks!) will be for the week and shop accordingly. This will avoid empty cupboards or loads of food waste.

 

You don’t have to justify yourself

 

If you’ve already completed a month of trying out a vegan diet, you may already have found yourself trying to come up with answers for the inevitable questions.

 

 

 

If you search around the internet, some vegan influencers have very well-thought-out answers for all of these questions and more. However, remember that you don’t owe anyone an explanation. If you can’t be bothered with answering questions all the time, we find that a polite “It feels like the right thing for me at this time” shuts down most lines of questioning. Most people won’t question a decision that feels right for you.

 

Join a community

 

Some of the best communities are local ones. If you’re on Facebook, do a search for your town or county, such as “Devon vegans” or "Birkenhead vegans”. This will help keep you motivated. Your local social media group will also be a really useful source of information when you want to find out about local shops and restaurants.

 

Research your supplements

 

It’s important that you keep healthy when you make any big changes to your diet. The best way to do this is to make sure that you vary your diet and include lots of different types of food. It’s also wise to consider supplements.  Please remember that we at Moo Free are not health professionals and the best place to get nutrition advice is from a qualified dietician. However, it’s widely accepted that those on a vegan diet need to ensure that they’re consuming enough B vitamins, calcium, iron and omega 3s. If you’re extending your veganism past Veganuary then you need to have a plan to make sure you get all these essential nutrients.

 

 

Go easy on the “healthy fats”

 

It can be tempting to go overboard when trying something new and trying to do it right. Healthy fats are much talked about in the vegan world but very easy to overdo. If you’re trying to make sure that you get enough omega 3s, good fats, fibre and certain vitamins then nuts, seeds and some oils can be invaluable sources. Go easy, OK? These items are all very high in fat and without careful monitoring, you can find yourself gradually gaining weight. Remember that a vegan diet is naturally quite high in carbs. Add too much fat to that and you’re looking at a new wardrobe!

 

Good luck!

 

Above all, be gentle with yourself. Remember that any lifestyle change can be challenging. If you “slip up” and give in to temptation, it’s certainly not the end of the world – just forget about it and carry on. We at Moo Free wish you all the best.