Trying to eat less meat, go vegetarian, or go vegan? Here are 8 tips to make the habit stick.

A record 629,000 people registered for vegan this year — the challenge of eating vegan in January (pronounced vee-gan-you-airy in case you need a hand).

Meat consumption is still increasing, but nearly a quarter of Americans say they are at least reducing it to curb the acceleration of climate change due to health, animal welfare, or meat production.

However, Veganuary is now in the rear-view mirror, and like many, much of the excitement for a new start in the new year may have diminished and the determination to stick to its determination may have diminished. Or it may have completely evaporated. ..

There isn’t a lack of information on how to start losing meat and how to become a vegetarian or vegan, but there isn’t much guidance on how to maintain it. And most of the time, it’s not — 84% of people who go vegetarian or vegan go back to eating meat, according to a 2014 survey conducted by the animal advocacy nonprofit Faunalytics.

“It’s a statistic that has shaken a lot of people pretty hard,” JoAnderson, a psychologist and faunalytics research director, told me.

But it gave researchers a better picture of reality, and a lot of data about what makes people disappear, so many good things were born. The reasons are boredom of dietary options, unhealthy feelings, the feeling that being a vegetarian “pushed them into the crowd”, and maintaining a purely meat-free diet is too difficult. It extends to belief.

But since 2014, the world has changed a lot. Plant-based options are much more abundant, and meat-free diets are more mainstream than ever. There was also a widespread conversation about reducing meat rather than not eating it. This can help avoid the “purity” problem experienced by some vegetarians.

Photos via Mark Kerison / Getty Images

Researchers have also improved their understanding of what helps people maintain lean or meatless habits. In 2019 and 2020, Anderson of Faunalytics and her colleagues conducted a new study, surveying 222 people who embarked on a vegetarian or vegan diet for six months.

They found that nearly three-quarters of participants seeking to become vegetarians or vegans took weeks or months to make their diet easier. Just over half ate a small amount of animal food after 6 months. For me, the point here is that practicing patience and accepting imperfections is okay and probably helpful in getting a lean diet to work for you. And for the majority of us, aiming for less meat, rather than no meat, is more achievable and sustainable.

I talked to Anderson for Meat / Les. In Vox’s five-part newsletter, I explained how to reduce meat. This includes practical tips for eating more plant-based foods and tips for thinking about the implications of food choices. Anderson shared eight tips when it came to sticking to it.

Define the reason

According to Anderson, having a strong internal motivation is the key to adopting new habits and, more importantly, to establishing them.

“Find something in yourself about why you become a vegetarian or reduce animals Or health — and linking it to your identity helps with long-term success, ”says Anderson. External motives, such as trying to please a friend or partner, may be effective in the short term, but may not work in the long term.

Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals Media

“Dedicated people tend to succeed,” Anderson said.

This finding comes from her new research and shows that more than 90% of people on a vegetarian or vegan journey with a strong commitment have been doing it for at least 6 months. I did.

Choose specific and achievable goals, especially if you are reducing

The line between vegetarianism and complete vegetarianism is clear, but not so much in “reductionism.” Just eat less meat. How few? What kind of meat do you still eat, and which one do you not eat? Do you cut meat for a particular day or meal?

With clear boundaries such as “vegan before 6 pm”, “vegetarianism on weekdays”, “meatless Monday”, etc. Achievable for you,It is important.

“In contrast to the dreamy Big Pie in the Sky approach, setting goals to match goals that can be reasonably achieved in the long run is far more likely to succeed. It will be higher, “Anderson told me. “And you can come back six months or a year later and say,’This is really working. We’re going one step further.'” It’s better than trying something huge and giving up. “

And the key to determining what is achievable is to think about what you want or don’t want to change, at least for now. For example, if you want to be a vegetarian, but don’t want to stop eating bacon, for example, you can be a vegetarian except for bacon.

It may sound strange, but you will have almost the same impact on animals and the environment as a vegetarian, and will probably last longer than if you were to become a vegetarian entirely. ..

Find social support

Take advantage of social connections, whether it means that friends and family do it with you, or simply explain to friends and family why it is important for them to support your choice. That helps maintain new habits.

It’s also good to meet other people who care about this issue. You can find them by volunteering for animal welfare and environmental groups, or by looking for a group of vegetarians on Meetup. There is also Challenge 22, an organization that promotes a robust online community such as Reddit’s r / vegetarian and r / vegan recipes, as well as a new vegan online community and provides participants with access to nutritionists and mentors.

Try a wide range of new foods and have realistic expectations

Reducing your meat intake or becoming a vegetarian will probably encourage you to try many new dishes and foods.Some of them may like you — — Some are not so many. So open your mind and experiment.

Manjuna Skilan via Getty Images / AFP

And experiment with a realistic mind. Today’s plant-based meats, eggs, and dairy products are better than ever, but they are not a perfect replica of animal-based foods. Sign up for Vox’s Meat / Lesse-course for a list of the best meat and dairy alternatives, tips on how to cook tofu and other vegetable proteins, and how to find a vegetarian restaurant in your area. please.

Learn the basics of plant-based nutrition

This tip comes from me — according to the American Dietetic Association, a well-planned vegan and vegetarian diet is healthy and nutritionally appropriate and can contribute to the prevention and treatment of certain illnesses. But let’s be clear. A plant-based diet does not cure cancer, give perfectly radiant skin, or always make you feel great, as some of the more fringe corners of the vegan internet suggest.

And, as Faunalytics discovered in a 2014 study, some people just don’t feel healthy on a vegetarian diet. It may mean that a plant-based diet is not feasible for everyone, or it may mean that those people have benefited from eating more nutritious foods. not. (After all, potato chips and oreo are vegan, but that’s not good for you.)

When becoming a vegan, the first question a friend or family member asks is “where to get protein?” Americans are crazy about protein, and one in seven is reported to be on a high-protein, low-carb diet. However, there are many protein-rich plant-based foods such as beans, tofu, tempeh, peanut butter, plant-based meat products, nuts, and soy milk. In addition, most people far exceed the recommended daily dose of protein.

Unless you’re an Olympic weightlifter, you really don’t have to worry about getting enough protein. “For vegetarians and vegans, getting the right number of calories from different whole foods will give you enough protein,” said Nancy Gaive, a registered dietitian at the Cleveland Clinic’s Diabetes Nutrition Center. That is. And even if you are an Olympic weightlifter, it is possible to compete at that level as a vegetarian or vegan (and other Olympic sports as well).

If you become a vegan, be careful to supplement with vitamin B12 and get enough iron. We supplement vitamins and eat lots of iron-rich plant-based foods such as lentils, beans, soy products, and nuts. Seeds, dark greens, and oats.

However, if you’re a vegetarian, or just trying to reduce your meat intake, these nutrients don’t need to worry too much, but learning the details doesn’t hurt. I recommend this series of vegan nutrition primers from registered nutritionist Ginny Mesina.

Plan challenges and setbacks

According to a small survey (200 participants), 77% maintained their New Year’s aspirations for a week, but only 19% for two years.

One way to avoid that fate is to plan challenges and setbacks in advance. Will it be your mother-in-law you insist on trying chicken wings at the bar with her meatloaf you take you, or perhaps with her friends? (Or these may be welcome exceptions.)

“Everyone has different challenges,” says Anderson. “Thinking about them in advance and planning for them-what your reaction will be at that time-is really helpful.” Predetermining means that a response is planned, so You don’t necessarily have to think of it as a failure.

Anderson recommends using an “quit” app like Quitzilla to reconstruct your thoughts. “Can be customized [the app] For any habit you want to break (such as consumption of animal products), and-an important part-when you get frustrated, you have a reset button that you press and it immediately restarts the timer, so you make a mistake Never have the feeling of equality Stop. “

Comfortably

Change is difficult. If you’re having trouble sticking to your plan, guilt doesn’t help, but you can change it.

Anderson should try the following reframing techniques if he feels guilty or if his inner voice is ashamed of his failure. Control to eat that pepperoni.How would you answer if you asked That? Take whatever you say to that stranger — hopefully a strong verbal defense! — And put it back in your inner voice. “

You are more than someone with New Year’s aspirations. You are a weight loser now.

“Identity is an important part of action,” Anderson says. “Despite the subtleties of wording, there is a world of psychological differences between eating less meat and becoming a weight loss person. Labels have their strengths and weaknesses, but label yourself When applied carefully, it helps to enhance the behavior you want to maintain by reminding you that this behavior is not a one-off, but a central part of the present. “

Anderson says, “It feels good to be part of a group that we think is good,” so the label can make us feel good about ourselves. Of course, taking group membership seriously has its dark side. Prejudice within a group — if we support people like us and have a prejudice against people like us.

It is important that vegetarians, environmentalists, and other enthusiastic good people continue to curb their instincts, as they can get a bad lap against prejudice within the group.

Need more resources on plant-based diets?Apply Meat / lessVox 5-part e-course.