It’s Easy Being Vegan Step-by-Step
Step 20: Shop with CompassionStop buying clothing and accessories made from animals. This could also be done step-by-step:
Note: The leather industry is not a by-product of the food industry. It’s an industry in it’s own right.
Go Vegan Step-By-Step, Part 3In this series on going vegan, we are learning about change. So far in covering the Transtheoretical Model of Change, we have discussed pre-contemplation (ignorance) and contemplation (waking up). The next step in this change theory is:
Preparation: After contemplating a behavior for any period of time, the person is now preparing to make a change in the near future. The action(s) the person is willing to take may be big or small steps. Preparation can include buying supplies, mentally preparing, etc. I believe the mental preparation is an essential component to your success.
For example at the age of 36, I began preparing to become a vegan. I set a deadline and gave myself two months to prepare. I researched the lifestyle, read books, talked to people and ate one last steak. Yes, I did. (By the way, I don’t regret this because I did what I needed to do to fully embrace this lifestyle. Anyone that knows me will tell you I’m committed 100 percent.)
What do you need to do?
Go Vegan Step-By-Step, Part 2Last time we determined, change is hard. Understanding how we change may help you make the changes you want to make, like going vegan for instance. Using the Transtheoretical Model of Change, the first step to change is pre-contemplation. You don’t even know a there might be an issue. You’re in the dark, clueless. Next up is contemplation.
Contemplation: The individual is aware that a particular behavior is problematic and begins to consider the consequences of his/her actions.
Example: At age 17, I learned about animal cruelty issues and immediately removed some animal products from my life (all meat except fish and some products tested on animals). However, I continued to contemplate how my actions affected animals without any additional changes. I contemplated for 19 years.
What’s next after awareness? Stay tuned for part 3.
Did you miss part 1? Read it here.
Sandy with Rambo
Name: Sandy De Lisle
Age: I like to keep people guessing. They always guess me to be younger than I am — which I attribute to my vegan diet!
Where do you live? Deerfield, IL
How long have you been vegan? 25 years (with three healthy pregnancies!)
Wake up: 4:30 a.m.
Breakfast: Cheerios with vanilla soymilk and blueberries, oatmeal or chocolate chip pancakes (Sometimes I eat all three things in one sitting!).
Morning activities/work: Walk or run with my two dogs, pack lunches for the kids and write.
Lunch: Most likely something containing avocados or broccoli.
Afternoon activities/work: More dog walking and more writing.
Dinner: Most likely something with avocado and broccoli.
After dinner activities (more work?): Helping my kids with homework, watching HGTV and more writing.
Lights out: 10 p.m.
Current Project(s): I have several books that were recently released: The Teenage Boy’s Playbook on Sex and Relationships: From Rookie to MVP with 20 Simple Rules and Dibs Chicago: The Winter Phenomenon of Parking Spot Saving. It is my goal to combine my passion for writing with my passion for animals and write a book on the topic of veganism or animal welfare in 2013.
Favorite animal or vegan book? By far, my favorite animal book is Behind the Dolphin Smile by Ric O’Barry.
Favorite animal or vegan movie? Forks Over Knives
What’s the best part of being vegan? Knowing I’m doing the most I can to prevent animal cruelty (and being fit without a lot of effort).
What do you want people to know about living vegan? For those who aren’t vegan: It is incredibly easy to be vegan (right, Christine!). For those who are vegan: Eat healthfully and donate your vegan blood. Nothing quiets dissenters quicker than when I tell them I donate blood every 8 weeks. Proof that vegans aren’t automatically anemic.
Website/Blog: Sandy De Lisle, Writer and Educator
A few weeks ago on Facebook, I asked “Who thinks it’s easy being vegan?” Here are some of the responses. Turns out a lot of people agree that it’s easy being vegan!
I was pescatarian and went vegan by accident. So, yeah, it’s very easy.
Easy as can be! I used to be a total meat and potatoes person. After viewing Forks over Knives, I changed my diet the next day. I just veganize all the dishes I used to eat. I don’t miss a thing.
Being vegan easy? Well, easier. Easier than worrying about who is on my plate; easier than worrying about higher risks of obesity, heart disease, stroke, numerous cancers; easier than violating my Buddhist precepts of not killing and to not taking what is not given; easier than feeling guilt about the animals I eat being the source of the 51% of humanities GHCs from carniculture; easier than feeling guilty about feeding crops into ‘my’ cow, which could have been fed to people; easier than knowing how ‘my’ turkey, cow, chicken, pig, fish lived and died; easier knowing that what I do wrecks the environment less that what an omnivore does. The hard parts: reading every label, being a ‘pain’ to friends, family, employers and restaurants, having to learn to cook (buts it’s cheaper and better and more fun than another frozen vegan lump from the store, or a third day of the same ethnic leftovers from a restaurant), wanting a steak or pizza and I know there are pretty decent fakes. Remembering why I’m vegan makes the hard parts easier.
This guy! It was hard for like the first month because I didn’t realize how much I actually COULD eat, but the next three years have been simple.
So much easier than it was 20 years ago, but it was always easy enough compared to the guilt I felt about spending my first 18 years non-veg and then a couple more just vegetarian.
Way easier than I thought it would be — mainly because it feels natural and coherent.
Not particularly to be honest. But it’s easier on the animals and easier on the conscience so that’s why I continue.
For me it’s not hard to not eat animals. What I found hard in the beginning was knowing what to eat and having to learn to cook different meals. I don’t really like to cook and find cooking for one takes time. As time went by I did research and found amazing sites on line, like yours, and found great recipe ideas and tips on how to be vegan. Now I am finding it easier. Still learning how to plan meals for the week and shop properly for the stuff I need that week and not over spending on stuff I think I might use, then end up throwing it out! I make a lot of soup and freeze some so I will always have something on hand. So the answer is yes and no! Very easy to not eat meat, not so easy at first figuring out the rest!
Vegan is so easy! It’s being gluten free that is a challenge.
So what do you think? Is it easy? What are your challenges? Use the comment section below and give us the details.
©2007-2013 It's Easy Being Vegan™ by Christine Cook
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