6 Things You Should Know Before Going Vegan

If you’re unprepared, the change can be difficult. But a plant-based diet isn't impossible to manage.

For the last decade, the grassroots Veganuary initiative has encouraged people to try out a vegan diet for a month, whether it’s intended as the start of a permanent lifestyle change or just a little challenge to bolster your Meatless Monday cooking skills for the rest of the year. This month, hundreds of thousands of people around the world will give veganism a shot, if recent years are any indication. If you’re one of them, welcome to the fold!

Animal agriculture is one of the biggest man-made contributors to climate change, and a major dietary shift could help prevent some of the worst projections scientists have made for the planet’s future. Our animal-reliant global food systems are the single greatest factor behind biodiversity loss. And, of course, there’s the even more immediate issue of animal suffering. Most American consumers know their eggs are more likely to come from a block of battery cages than Old MacDonald’s sunny farm, that live baby chicks are ground up as a waste product and that animals thought to be capable of emotion and social connection, not unlike our own pets, can be subjected to horrific levels of pain and fear. Amid all this, we as individuals can still make a difference — simply by changing what’s on our plates.

But no matter how compelling your reasons, any major lifestyle change can be daunting. Going vegan, in particular, is often cast as risky — a diet that, even if you somehow stick to it, will just land you in the hospital for malnutrition. But to me, someone who’s been managing as a vegan for over a decade, this premise is laughable. If you’re underprepared, you’re probably not going to have a very easy time. But fortunately, that’s not who you are — you’re reading this article, after all. Here’s a little crash course, with tips from nutritionists and my own experience.

1. First, know that the vegan diet isn’t right for everyone.

“Following a vegan diet may be more challenging for someone who already requires other dietary restrictions,” said Alexa Bickhart, a registered dietitian at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. For example, Bickhart said, veganism might be ill-suited to celiac disease patients, who must strictly avoid gluten, or those with digestive issues who can’t tolerate high-fiber diets. Even people who just strongly dislike a number of plant foods might have trouble eating a balanced diet while vegan.