How to Have the Time and the Will Power to Change

A lot of people feel like having a plant-based diet would be a ton of extra work, or they don’t have time to change their eating habits. But I was thinking about it today, and you know it really isn’t as daunting as you might think.

Here are 4 reasons you have TIME to eat this way:

1. You’re already going to the grocery store anyway, right? So all you have to do is buy different things while you’re there. Almost zero extra time.
2. If you like to eat out a lot, and you’ve never been someone who cooks dinner every night, you can just make changes to where you eat and what you order. There are tons of options when you’re eating out that will make a world of difference for your health. See this post about your everyday Common Restaurants with Vegan Dishes and find out how much variety there really is still.
3. No one eats out for every single meal, do they? So if you have to cook something on occasion anyway, (even if it’s a frozen pizza) cook something plant-based instead of your usual familiar meal, and quadruple the recipe so you have some leftovers for the fridge and a second batch for the freezer while you’re at it and that will take almost the same amount of time.
4. When you’re at social gatherings, family events, or parties: Take advantage of the veggie trays, salads, nuts, and anything with beans, rice, or whole wheat – and pass on the white flour, sugar, oil, meat and dairy. I have found that a lot of the time, this is feasible.

If you’ve educated yourself about the dangers of meat & dairy and are ready to have a plant-based diet but don’t feel like you have the “WILL Power” to actually get started, let me tell you a little secret.

5 Ways to Dominate a “weak WILL”:

1. If it’s not available in your house, you never EVER have to rely on your “will power” because you don’t even have the option to eat it. So the first step is to GET IT OUT of your house. If you’ve watched Forks Over Knives, Food Inc., and Food Matters, I’m pretty confident you won’t have the urge to buy this stuff again, so not having it in your house is 100% prevention against “Giving In” to your weak will.
2. The secret to never buying the stuff again: Never go grocery shopping when you’re hungry. In fact, it’s best to go after a nice big dinner and maybe the spouse is home with the kids, so you can get the essentials and won’t crave any of the bad stuff. After a while, shopping gets so much easier, and even when I went in to a store wanting to buy movie treats, I came out with an avocado and some salsa! I just can’t bring myself to eat all that crap I used to eat, and it’s a beautiful thing.
3. If you throw the bad food away, just remember that you’re not losing any money unless you go out and pay for it again. You spent the money for this food in the past, and so it was already lost and you’re not losing current money. This should help you feel at ease throwing it in the garbage. If you can’t throw it away, give it away – To the Food Bank, to your family members who will never give it up anyway, to neighbors in need.
4. Find a buddy to do this lifestyle with you so you can talk about meals you’re making, and things that are hard. Having this lifestyle can feel isolating and difficult at times, so it will really help to have a fellow plant friend, even if it’s just a fellow blogger online. And start writing about your progress and how good you feel. It will validate your efforts and keep motivating you.
5. Learn more about the reasons people become vegan. The more I started discovering about this lifestyle and its benefits, the more motivated I became. The more you learn, the more passionate you are about never going back to the average American diet that is causing 2 of the top 3 causes of death in this country.

This is coming from someone who used to eat snickers and little Debbie snacks for lunch when I was single. I probably cooked my husband dinner a dozen times in a year. If I can do this lifestyle, ANYONE CAN.