I’ve recently bought into the healthy hype surrounding veganism. A vegan is a person who does not eat or use any animal products whatsoever. I’ve learned that the path to veganism is filled with many obstacles, such as breaking out of my old eating habits to learning new ones, exercising more, and trying things out of the norm.

My vegan transformation is motivated by health concerns. I am 22 and my family has motivated me to make this decision now in hopes of a healthy, promising future. If I continue in the same direction as I have been with unhealthy eating, it may be a lot harder to change my lifestyle when I’m older and this may result in missing out on my family’s life.

I quickly learned that a successful transition is dependent upon determination and commitment. I had to perform and verify difficult research while acquainting myself with vegan products. I then focused on learning how to cook like a vegan by exploring the different options available in books and blogs.

Patience is essential. I had to give my body time to adjust because it was going through a change that it wasn’t used to. This included familiarizing myself with healthy meals I’m not accustomed to. Slowly but surely I have been able to eliminate meat, dairy products and any animal products that I used to consume.

In the process of conversion, eliminating animal products from my everyday diet has been the most difficult. Training my body to eat products I’ve never eaten may be difficult now, but with more practice it’ll be all worth it. The more I practice veganism, the faster my body will become accustomed to the new change and it won’t be as difficult as it was when I first started.

Michelle Strong, a nutritionist residing in San Diego, has concerns about vegan diets because she believes vegans don’t consume as much protein as their body requires. She also mentioned that if you weigh roughly 140 pounds, you would need to consume 50 grams of protein a day. Although this may be true, I haven’t consumed any meat for a month and I feel better than ever.

I feel more energetic and I exercise multiple times a week. Converting to veganism may be difficult with meal prepping and disciplining your body while dodging temptations, but many individuals follow through in hope of a healthier living. Although it’s been hard, I wanted to try this because I love a challenge and wanted to experience a life I’ve been holding off on.

Many are opposed to veganism and believe it may not work. According to Care2.com, a medical website that is strongly against veganism, humans need meat because it contributes protein, minerals, vitamins and fat, and these nutrients are important for their beneficial effects on your well-being. The website also states their opinion of veganism being too expensive.

Personally, I have found the conversion to be largely inexpensive. Although people say it’s expensive to eat healthy, many fail to realize that the amount of money you spend on groceries at the beginning of the week to meal prep is just about the same amount of money one spends eating out throughout the week.

Eating more vegetables and fruits has became a lot easier through this transition and is one of the beginning steps to eating only plant-based foods. Through this conversion, I’ve turned to vegan products like tofu, vegetables, fruits, vegan cheese, almond milk, and more alternatives that have become a regular part of my diet.

At the beginning of my process, I thought it would be a lot harder to convert. In reality, it wasn’t too bad with the help of the online articles from The Vegan Society website, which also offers support groups.

While my conversion just started a few days ago, my interest in veganism has grown. I will continue to expand my curiosity and strive for a healthier living for both my family and myself. This includes trying new vegan products and staying committed throughout the process of a healthier living.