Going Vegan for the New Year

My New Year’s resolution for 2014 is to give up meat and dairy products. I’m going to try being a vegan for one year. I’ll monitor how this change in diet impacts my physical and mental health. If I still feel it is a good idea at the end of the 12-months, I’ll continue with it.

Why Do I Want to be a Vegan?

I’m attracted to the vegan diet for ethical as well as health reasons. I just don’t feel comfortable with eating animals – especially if it is possible for me to live a healthy life without doing so. I see this as a personal decision. I’ve no interest in preaching to other people about the ‘rights and wrongs’ of eating meat – I’m not doing this to feel morally superior. I do intend to add some posts on here about my experiences with this diet, but I’ll focus more on the health aspects rather than the ethics.

I am expecting this change to a vegan diet to have a positive impact on my mental and physical health. Some of the improvements I’m anticipating include:

• Increase in my energy levels (this has been my experience with the vegetarian diet)
• I expect to lose weight steadily over the next year without any real effort
• Improved mental clarity and better concentration
• Improvements to my mood
• I expect a decrease in my risk for developing certain diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and certain cancers
• I suffer from frequent but mild abdominal discomfort that could be due to lactose intolerance (self-diagnosis). I’m hoping that the vegan diet will help with this.

Adapting to the Vegan Diet

I’ve managed to stick to a vegetarian diet in the past – the longest I’ve gone is about four years. I already eat a few vegan dishes, and I’ve used soy milk for coffee and cereal before. So far the transition to a vegan diet has been smooth – I already feel a bit better for it.