1. Eat the same amount of food as before

This happens to be one of the most common mistakes people make. Lets say you used to eat a piece of meat with vegetables for dinner. If you try eating the same portion of just vegetables and expect to feel full you’ll be devouring the fridge by the end of the night including the meat you tried giving up that day. Plant based food is much lower in calories and less dense than meat and dairy products therefore a greater amount must be consumed in order to feel full. Having a massive salad in front of you might seem weird at first, but at least you’ll feel full!

2. Use it as a fad-diet to loose weight

This goes hand in hand with the previous mistake. It is commonly known that eating a plant based diet will lead to weight loss when combined with moderate exercise, but many people go about it the wrong way. The limitation is taken to the point of where even their fruit and veggie intake is restricted on top of already eliminating meat and dairy. This is extremely problematic because you are depriving your body of the necessary vitamins and minerals.
Make sure to keep track at first of the amount you’re eating to ensure that your daily requirement of nutrients are met.

3. Believing everything vegan is healthy

Surprised? Don’t be. Many people begin by stocking up on processed veggie burgers and other veggie based processed foods. The problem is that they’re all processed. Yes, you’ll be abstaining from meat and dairy products, but you won’t be getting the proper nutrients that you would be getting from whole non processed food. Do not solely rely on these products. The whole point is to feed your body with nutrition from whole food not to feed it more chemicals that are just combined in a fancier way to create a “healthy” alternative.

4. Not doing your research

In theory it sounds easy – eliminate meat and dairy and just eat a lot of other food. There are several ways to get your essential nutrients through a variety of plant based food assuming you are eating the necessary quantities.  The only thing that you can not get from a plant based diet is B12 which is vital for neurological functioning. This means that you must either seek out food that is fortified with B12 or take a supplement. Other supplements may also be necessary if you find that you’re unable to intake the necessary daily amount of nutrients from your food.

5. Listen to your body

Changing your eating habits is hard and it takes our bodies about 3 weeks to fully adjust. At first you may be getting several different cravings and all you want to do is dig into a burger. Many people associate that if  you’re craving a burger then that means your body wants it and is being deprived, so we give in and decide that this way of eating isn’t for us. When your body craves a particular food that means you’re low in a particular type of nutrient.
If you’ve been eating salads all week, switch it up. Listening to what our body needs is the only way to achieve balance within ourselves through any diet we choose.