There are a few things that can be ‘difficult’ when switching to a vegan diet – I call this Vegan Opposition.
Giving up the meat, cheese, and dairy itself can be challenging. Learning how to cook healthy foods can also be a bit tricky. And just getting your taste buds USED to eating things like beans, greens, and starches everyday can seem harder than understanding an IRS Long Form.
But you will overcome all of these obstacles. Easily.
There is one thing though, that unless you are well prepared for, will have you back in the drive-thru faster than you can say KFC. And that one thing is…
YOUR FAMILY & FRIENDS.
VEGAN IS WEIRD
You see, being Vegan is weird. It’s just not natural. Ask anyone.
We were born to eat meat. You are going to make yourself sick eating all those greens. Your body needs protein, and calcium, and fats. Here, read this book, watch this video, lookup this website….
You WILL hear all of this, and more.
Because they KNOW. They saw it on TV.
Chances are, you will also have at least one family member or friend who is on a low-carb diet.
Ever since Robert Atkins introduced his diet promising you could lose tons of weight by eating all the bacon you wanted – low carb diets have been the in thing.
And now we have the Paleo Dieters – who push grass-fed meats and free-range chickens. Add in the Gluten Free people who can’t eat grains and now the only things left for people to eat are meats, fruits and veggies (heavy on the meats).
Oh – but we can’t have fruits either – too much sugar. Causes diabetes you know.
Protein, protein, protein, not to mention fat, fat, fat.
Healthy? Absolutely not. Will they believe you if you tell them? Not a chance.
Because there is one thing that I have learned and continue to see over and over, and that is this:
People love to hear good news about their bad habits – Dr. John McDougall
YouTube Says It All
I was sitting here this morning watching TED Talk Videos on YouTube. There are many I would recommend, all promoting a whole foods, plant-based diet. Talks by Dr Neil Barnard, Dr. John McDougall, Dr. Dean Ornish, and Dr Caldwell Esselstyn’s son Rip Esselstyn, author of the Engine 2 Diet.
The videos were amazing, of course, so full of good information.
And I might add that these are all medical doctors (except Rip), some of who have been promoting this lifestyle for over 40 years with amazing results from their clients. They have all conducted their own trials, and published their amazing results in the medical journals.
They have reversed diabetes, MS, angina pains, certain types of cancer, and even erectile dysfunction – all just by switching their patients to a low-fat vegan diet.
The data is there – and it’s all indisputable. A healthy vegan diet will prevent, if not reverse, most chronic diseases we see here in America today!
And yet when you read the YouTube comments…… you see things like this:
- Can’t believe some of the s*** they put on TED now!
- What a retard. Not a shed of scientific evidence was presented .
- Total BS !!! Quick Path to a Diabetic Life!!
- I just don’t believe this lecture, he needs to show references.
- Paleo-diet is the way to go. Get a rifle and hunt your own meat.
- Who would take diet advice from this man??
- I don’t understand WHY people listen to this guy about nutrition. He is a fireman NOT a nutritionists.
I absolutely LOVE that last comment.
They were talking about Rip Esselstyn – who used to be a fireman in Austin, TX where he converted his entire firehouse to a vegan diet. This basically saved the life of one of his buddies who was dangerously close to having a heart attack.
Why should people listen to him if he’s not a nutritionist? Look at the pic below. Rip is the guy on the left, does he look healthy to you?
The guy on the right, Jimmy Moore, isn’t a nutritionist either but people DO listen to him. He has a HUGE following on his blog AND several best-selling books on low-carb dieting. Why do you think people listen to him?
He tells people they can get thin and healthy eating lots of meat. Grains are bad – fats are good.
Like I said – people love to hear good news about their bad habits.
Given the choice, who would YOU listen to?
Overcoming Vegan Opposition
So the point is – you WILL face opposition when switching to a vegan diet.
You’ll get an earful from well-meaning family and friends. You’ll read all kinds of comments on YouTube and other media channels. You’ll see different debates on the local news and talk shows. You will eventually think that maybe this vegan thing wasn’t such a good idea after all. I mean they all can’t be wrong – can they?
Yes, sadly they can.
Any diet that emphasizes meat and cholesterol will eventually clog up your arteries, raise your blood-pressure and increase your chances of insulin resistance. Once this happens, you are usually heading down the road towards heart-disease and diabetes.
Drugs and procedures do very little to stop or reverse these diseases. But study after study has shown that a whole foods, plant-based diet can.
Myself, other bloggers like me, doctors, nutritionists, authors – are all trying to get the message out. We’re trying to get people to understand that they can lose those unwanted pounds effortlessly. They can reverse their symptoms without invasive surgery. They don’t have to be pill-takers for life. They don’t have to be another statistic.
But many simply will not listen, and they will try and convince you that YOU are the one who is wrong and at risk for being that ‘unhealthy vegan’.
So What Do You Do?
You walk away and continue to get thin and healthy.
Find support in other places, like a good friend who joins you, or one of the many plant-based forums on the internet. Surround yourself with like-minded people. And educate yourself. There are many good documentaries out there, like Forks Over Knives. Read the books. Study the articles. Learn all you can to remove any doubt you may have.
You still won’t win any arguments. I know – I’ve tried many times.
BUT – the best argument you CAN give them is when they see you all slim and glowing with health, looking 20 years younger, while they continue to look old, sick, and fat.
THEN…….they’ll listen. Maybe.
The Image is a popular Low-Carb Meal from KFC called the Double Down. It’s basically a bacon and cheese sandwich with 2 fried chicken breasts as the bun. Source: Flickr/Michael Saechang
