How to Start Eating a Plant-Based Diet
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What is a Plant-Based Diet?
When I encourage a plant-based diet, I encourage a whole food plant-based diet. This is an eating pattern where you eat mostly, if not only, whole plant foods. Whole plant foods include things like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts/seeds, starchy beans/soy, and herbs/spices. Plant-based diets minimize or eliminate meat/fish, dairy, and eggs. Just because the word diet is used does not mean this is a weight loss plan. Though people who switch from the standard american diet often do lose some weight when switching to a plant-based diet, this is likely because these foods are higher fiber, lower fat, and take up a lot of space in the stomach for the amount of calories they provide.
Would I Benefit from EAting A Plant-Based Diet?
I encourage this style of eating for everyone for a few reasons. Eating plants in their whole food form provides higher fiber, higher antioxidants, and often lower calories making it easier to stay in calorie balance (considering weight control is a concern for over half of the US population). When eating this way for health it’s best to choose whole foods the majority of the time - for example Oreo cookies are technically plant-based but they are not going to improve your physical health.
Some people also choose to eat plant-based because this style of eating is better for the environment (it takes fewer resources and creates fewer green house gases to eat plant-based than to eat meat/dairy), and other choose to eat plant-based for animal welfare (animals experience pain, suffering, and/or death when we choose to consume them or things they produce such as milk and eggs).
How do I start EAting Plant-Based?
I encourage people to eat as plant-based as is realistic for them. This may look like one meatless day per week, eating completely plant-based, or anywhere in between. The more plant-based the better generally, though some individuals may have exceptions.
Start by adding foods.
If your focus is only on removing meat and dairy often you’re left with a meal or snack that does not feel filling. Start small and focus on foods to add to your meals before focusing on foods to remove. This may look like cooking up some seasoned beans along with meat on taco night, or mixing some crumbled tofu into an egg salad recipe. As you find plant-based protein options you enjoy, you can gradually lower or eliminate intake of meat and dairy. Aim for meals with a plant-based protein (see below), whole grains or starchy vegetables (like potatoes or corn), non-starchy vegetables, and some fruit if desired. Focusing on what to add is so much more fun than focusing on what to remove!
Add fiber slowly.
A major complaint of people who switch to eating fully plant-based overnight is that they experience gas and bloating. Often a whole food plant-based diet is significantly higher in fiber than the standard american diet (sometimes 4-5 times higher!). It takes about 4-5 days for the microbes in your gut to adjust to new foods and fiber sources. If you gradually increase fiber over a few weeks this allows those microbes to adjust to your new diet gradually and often lessens gas and bloating. If you want to go straight into eating high fiber fully plant-based overnight you can, just expect the gas and bloating to last about 2-4 weeks.
Be mindful of calories.
Often when people switch to plant-based foods they under-eat because they simply don’t know what foods to choose or they find these high fiber plant foods fill them up faster. You may find that adding extra snacks, ensuring you have a protein source with meals and snacks, and/or choosing high fat plant-foods like nuts and seeds can help. We can always talk one on one if you are feeling extra tired or hungry on a plant-based diet.
Have variety with proteins.
Now this isn’t related to protein pairing or combining which was an older way of thinking. This is more related to if you are trying to eat 20-30 grams of protein at a meal, and your only protein source is beans, that would be A LOT of beans to eat at once and it probably won’t be very enjoyable. I encourage those eating plant-based to have at least 2-3 sources of protein per meal. This may look like whole grains toast (8-10 grams protein), with 2 tbsp peanut butter (7-8 grams protein), a glass of soy milk (8-10 grams protein) with some fruit (really no protein) for breakfast. The total for this meal is 20-30 grams but is much more enjoyable than just eating one of those protein sources.
Common plant-based protein sources include: beans, peas, lentils, soy (soy milk, tempeh, tofu, edamame), nuts and seeds (or nut and seed butters), whole grains (variable by the grain so look at the label), nutritional yeast, and plant-based “meat” options (I encourage plant-based “meats” as an indulgence a few times per month if desired rather than an every day choice since they are not often made from whole foods).
Have a plan for special occasions and social events.
Some people choose to eat meat on special occasions, which is certainly an option. For those who prefer to eat fully plant-based be sure you have a plan for these events. This may look like bringing a plant-based option for pot-luck events (I encourage one that can serve as an entire meal if it needs to), requesting a vegan meal at weddings if it is an option, or eating a meal before the event knowing that there may only be a few plant-based snacks/sides available.
For all day events consider shelf stable plant-based options: nuts/seeds, dry roasted edamame, whole grain crackers, dried or fresh fruit, shelf stable vegetables (usually any vegetable that isn’t cut/peeled), peanut butter sandwich, and plant-based protein bars (not whole food usually but good for these days).
Try using some of these recommendations and see what works well for you. Remember you don’t have to be perfect, just do the best you can and eat more plants! If you have a difficult time making the changes you want to make, consider a nutrition coaching session with me! Schedule a free 15 minute consultation here.
This post is for educational and entertainment purposes and is not intended to give medical advice. Please see your personal healthcare provider or book a one-on-one dietitian visit with me for personalized medical advice.