Eighteen-page ebook highlighting 11 things that need to be considered to successfully adopt a plant-based vegan diet.

1. 1

2. Information is accessible 24/7 and attention is priceless, it
makes me happy that you have opened this document. The
title would have been more scandalous if only I had mastered
this marketing game but it is what it is.
I wrote ‘Why a plant-based diet will not work for you’ because
I have been thinking about what makes some people more
successful at changing their habits, because I have also gone
through a transition myself and watched high profile
YouTubers telling their stories. I wanted what you are about to
read in the next pages to challenge your thinking, to make you
assess your daily actions and make you think about the sustainability of plant-based eating.
With some planning and elbow grease, these thoughts and learnings have taken shape as
this short e-book. I recognise my personal biases and perhaps that might have affected the
choice of concepts and examples discussed here. That’s why I’d like you to bear that in mind
too.
To make it easier for you, I linked everything in the document for further reading and
reflection.
If anything in this e-book resonates with you, I would be more than happy to hear from you.
Connect with me on LinkedIn, drop me an email or hit a follow on Instagram.
Best,
Vesta

3. CONTENTS
MANAGE YOUR THOUGHTS 3
Do you believe you can? 4
What do you think you are? 5
Choose your words wisely 6
CHOOSE FOOD WISELY 7
Eat enough 8
Choose whole foods 9
Know your foods - beyond “macros” 10
Don’t go a day without these foods 11
Surprise your taste buds 13
CREATE SUSTAINABLE HABITS 14
Make it easy for yourself 15
Focus on daily actions 16
Think long-term 17

4. 3
MANAGE YOUR THOUGHTS
Eating a diet that is different to the one you were used to counts as a behaviour change.
And you probably know that transitions in life are never easy. Franklin Roosevelt once said,
“A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor”. This has now become a phrase used and
overused on any motivational material, but, well, it seems that it still holds true.
So, apart from soaking the beans, stocking up on hummus and nut butter, having a snack
with you in case you cannot find anywhere that does vegan plant-based food, thoughts and
beliefs which you deal with all day long, in fact, influence you actions the most.
It’s not really about knowing what’s right and wrong, it’s about what you believe is right
and wrong because your actions align with your beliefs. And if there is something that
annoys you and makes you second guess your choice of plant-based diet, it can affect your
commitment. While the reasons of going vegan and/or plant-based were clear in the
beginning, sticking to plant-based eating is a question of your congruency – a reflection of
your thoughts and beliefs in your actions.
Ø Do you believe you can transition and commit to eating plant-based?
Ø What do you think you are – is the way you describe your identity congruent with
your goals?
Ø Do you use words that empower and affirm your decision and goals?

5. 4
Do you believe you can?
You could be like Charlotte who is positive about going plant-based, who knows that plant-
based diet is one of the healthiest diets in the world. Eating this way also helps the planet
and doesn’t hurt animals. Charlotte has the “gut feeling” of right-doing for all the right
reasons and is confident in the change. She also belongs to a group which supports cruelty
free diet and lifestyle. Charlotte treats this as a fun and exciting experience.
Emma, on the other hand, is a little less enthusiastic. She has read a lot about the benefits
of plant-based diet and knows that it would be the next step as she already considers herself
green and eco-friendly. Nevertheless, Emma does not have people around her who have
gone vegan or are vegan. Emma finds herself doubting her choice as it is hard to stay true
to her choice in social setting and she started double-guessing herself.
If you had to bet, who would you say continued eating plant-based even when challenges
hit her.
We are talking here about self-efficacy, a term popularised by Albert Bandura, refers to
situational confidence or your ability to feel in control and create the outcome you want.
Self-efficacy can be acquired and thus improve your ability to stick to a plant-based diet. A
behavioural scientist would suggest practicing positive self-talk, talking yourself into feeling
good about your ability to execute the behaviour.
And even if that seems like a solution to the problem, digging deeper might be necessary.
Ø Why do I believe that plant-based diet will be good for me?
Ø Can the actions I take really make a difference?
Ø What can I do to feel like plant-based diet is the right choice?

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What do you think you are?
Do you identify as a health conscious; environmentally conscious or animal right activist?
None of the above?
Another thing a behaviour change specialist would tell you is that the way you see
yourself, your identity, is shaped by your beliefs (and vice versa) and leads to certain
actions.
Identifying biased beliefs about yourself in the light of this dietary change, can be very eye-
opening.
I read once the quote below and it clicked:
“If you’re looking to make a change, then I say stop worrying about results and start
worrying about your identity. Become the type of person who can achieve the things you
want to achieve. Build the habit now. The results can come later.”
- James Clear
The question still stands: what do you think you are?
If your identity shapes your actions, so it makes sense to first build your identity or acquire
it by doing what a person who is the way you want to be does.
Am I a plant-based eater who cares about the environment?
Am I a plant-based eater who cares about the animals?
Am I a plant-based eater who wants to be healthy?
Am I a plant-curious and open to learn more?
Speaking of plant-based eating, these are a few identities that I could think of and it’s likely
that your identity statement would sound something like that too.

7. 6
Choose your words wisely
According to academics interested in behaviour change, a behavioural scientist would ask
you to affirm or reaffirm statements indicating your commitment to adopt a new behaviour.
They would ask you to make statements starting with "I will".
For example, to eat plant-based based meals you’d need to have a plan of how you’d do
that. You could say:
Ø I will plan my weekly shop and meals in advance.
Ø I will prepare my meals in advance.
Ø I will make sure to to have a snack in my bag just in case.
These are valid examples of actions in making sure you are on track with your decision to
eat plant-based.
Now, let’s see how the above would sound if we changed “I will” to “I am”.
Ø I am planning my weekly shop and meals in advance.
Ø I am preparing my meals in advance,
Ø I am putting a piece of fruit in my bag in case there are no snacks available.
Which statements sound more real?
Which statements sound like you are already executing your new behaviour?
Which statements sound like you are committed to your new behaviour?
The latter three?
I thought so.
If you have read any self-help books, you must have heard that thinking in the present tense
about the behaviour you want to start will likely make you stick to it. You are not just
changing the tense, you’re changing your mindset.

8. 7
CHOOSE FOOD WISELY
We only scratched the surface of how important are your thoughts and beliefs since it’s a
topic in itself I’d encourage you read more on that if you are serious about the diet change.
However, because throughout our lives we have been fed information such as “You need
meat to get your protein”, “You need milk and dairy to get your calcium”, “You can only get
iron from red meat”, it is no surprise that it can be slightly overwhelming to start plant-
based eating.
From nutritional point of view, there are a few things that you could/should do to avoid
feeling unwell.
Now, let’s jump to the action (FUN) part!
Ø Eat enough
Ø Choose whole-foods
Ø Know your foods – beyond “macros”
Ø Don’t go a day without the Daily Dozen
Ø Surprise your taste buds

9. 8
Eat enough
The rookie mistake every plant-based eater makes is not eating enough. This happens
because the fibre that plant-foods are rich in makes you satiated quickly. Even though we
need fibre (adequate intake of 25g/day, to be precise*), meeting our energy needs is more
important to be well.
To understand how much food you need to eat on plant-based diet is necessary to know
what energy density is.
The concept was developed in the 1980s when Rolan Weinsier and his group did a weight-
loss experiment. During 5 days participants were asked to eat to fullness either diet high in
energy density or low in energy density. The participants eating low-energy-dense foods felt
full and consumed less food. Low-energy-dense foods take longer to eat and that could be
an important factor in the success of the diet. This study then led to a number of different
investigations about food energy density and intake.
Plant foods have lower-energy density than foods of animal origin - you need more food to
meet your energy needs if you mostly eat plant-based.
On a plant-based diet, fruits and vegetables, pulses, legumes and whole grains are low
energy density foods while nuts, seeds and oils are high energy density.
Animal products (cheese, eggs and meat) also have high energy density and, therefore,
removing them from your diet can create a dramatic deficit in your energy intake.
Deficit is great if weight loss is your goal. However, even if you want to lose weight, you
want to do it in a healthy way, no?
The elimination of animal products results in lower energy intake if you do not replace it
with calories from other sources. The calories on a plant-based diet come from wholegrains
and pulses as well as nuts and seeds, so do make sure to eat enough of them.
How do you do that?
Ø Track the food you eat for a week – make Cronometer your best bud!
Ø Check in with yourself after every meal – do you feel satiated? How long can you go
without food until feeling hungry again? Are you grazing all the time?
*Most world-wide health organisations agree on the intake of 25g/day as adequate to
promote regular bowel movement. Even though the health benefits of fibre intake go
beyond just bowel movement.

10. 9
Choose whole foods
By whole foods I mean as minimally processed as possible. I mean it’s great that nowadays
we have fruits that have been freeze dried and you can grab a pack of raspberries at your
convenience without worrying about them being squished in your bag but it doesn’t feel
right when you can have fresh ones in season or choose frozen. That way staying closer to
the real shape, texture and sensation of the raspberries.
One of the lecturers of the “Food as Medicine” online course by Monash University, put it
really well with an example of muesli :
“…Will a bowl of muesli have the same beneficial effect as if we had for instance, a muffin
made with flour? And the answer is no. Because the muffin is going to likely contain much
less beta-glucan than a bowl of oats. But obviously changing the food matrix and how it’s
provided to you is going to alter how much of the beta-glucan that you are getting and
also how available it is.”
You could argue with me that muesli is also a processed food – that the oat grains have
been put through grinding, rolling and roasting to produce steel cut and rolled oats that
we find in the shop. Although these processes have stripped off a lot of fibre from the
grain, yet oats have been prepared for human consumption in that way, therefore, it can
still be considered a whole-grain whole-food which you’d want to include in your diet.
Same thing applies to an orange fruit and orange juice. It’s likely that you can drink more
oranges that you can eat and that’s because of the change in food matrix. Speaking of
juice, 150ml counts as a portion of fruit. If you have ever checked a small bottle of a fruit
juice, you’d see that the bottle contains more than a portion with more free sugars than
you need or want.

11. 10
Know your foods - beyond “macros”
Macros or macronutrients are nutrients that are available in foods in large quantities. While
micronutrients refer to vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients that are also found in plant
foods but in smaller quantities.
Preoccupation with “macros” has spread from the fitness community to the general
population. Protein has become the centre of attention. Carbs, from sugar to pasta, and
fats, from dairy products to palm to coconut oil, have been demonised depending which
diet philosophy camp you are supporting – low carb high fat or high carb low fat.
If we are treating a plant-based diet as a weight loss diet or at least a diet that helps you to
lead a healthy lifestyle, let me tell you that you might not need to count carbs, fats or protein
– as long as you are eating enough to meet your needs.
Maybe it’s time to shift the old paradigm?
I have come across a paper explaining the Food Triangle, a framework of eating plant-foods
based on energy density principle.
The framework suggests that you maintain balance by combining foods with low-energy yet
high in micronutrient density (leafy greens, cruciferous vegetables, stems and bulbs, and
mushrooms*) and more energy dense alternatives including fruits, whole grains, legumes,
starchy vegetables, nuts and seeds.
You don’t need to be a food scientist to understand this principle or count “macros” all your
life. It just isn’t sustainable but I hear there are people who have done it for a long time and
know the nutrient content in a certain amount of food. Good for them, but there is another
way.
It is a process of trial and error and I don’t completely rule out calculation of macronutrient
needs, I am suggesting that if it’s used as a tool to assess where you are and where you
should be to have enough energy to live your life and feel good in your body – it is a perfectly
legitimate thing to do.
Ultimately, food is there to enjoy.

12. 11
Don’t go a day without these foods
Having a checklist makes things easier, doesn’t it?
Have you read “How Not to Die”? If you haven’t, you SHOULD.
The book gives an overview of what modern diet and lifestyle has to do with the so called
non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, obesity, heart disease, cancer among others.
It also talks about the evidence-based diet in prevention of these diseases.
The list has 12 essential items which all have beneficial properties to your health. The last
item on the list even though not a food is a part of a healthy lifestyle, so worthwhile checking
it off too.
Downloading the app makes things more interactive. One thing about the Daily Dozen is
that the suggested serving sizes are in grams. But who wants to weigh everything every time
you cook?
So, I converted the suggested serving sizes to household measures to make life a bit easier
for you.
Now, this list should only be a guide as your energy intake and thus number of servings of
the suggested food groups are dependent on your activity level among other things.

13. 12

14. 13
Surprise your taste buds
However much I like experimenting in the kitchen, most of the time I choose to go for
something easy but nutritious.
In my search of eating food that is quick to prepare, yet healthy and nutritionally balanced,
I eventually found a way of getting it right!
Making the tastiest stews in autumn and winter and delicious salads in spring and summer
from now on will be easy if you follow a few fundamental steps and then leave some space
for adventure.
So, here goes:
Ø Choose a grain/grain product to pair with the meal.
Wheat, barley, spelt, rye, quinoa, good old basmati rice are a few to choose from.
Can you tell the difference in their textures and tastes?
Ø Pick 2-4 different vegetables.
One-pot stews in autumn and winter are the best because you only need one pot to
make it work and you can pack them full of nutritious produce!
Ø Beans, I mean, don’t forget the beans.
Red lentils, green lentils, chickpeas, butter beans, black eyed peas… I’ve just named
my favourites but the list could be much longer. A stew with chickpeas will not taste
the same as a butter bean stew but that ‘s where it becomes interesting!
Ø Nuts & seeds.
Extra crunch and creaminess (if used blended) goes hand in hand with added protein
and fibre.
Ø Spice things up!
The concoctions of turmeric, cumin, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg not forgetting the
black pepper are only a few of the spices which used in variable quantities can
change the experience of the meal. I mean the times when a sprinkle accidentally
becomes what looks like a tablespoon size portion has happened to everyone, no?

15. 14
CREATE SUSTAINABLE HABITS
Creating a new habit is an achievement in itself.
Creating a sustainable habit is a level-up from creating a new habit.
I am talking here about creating something that is your default behaviour. That even when
something else changes you don’t stop X.
You choose to spend some time planning you weekly shop and meals even if your week has
been hectic and it’s the least thing you want to do.
You make wise choices even if the cleverly manipulated supermarket environment wants to
get you things that are not in line with your goals.
You continue with what you know works best for you even if the whole world seems to know
better.
So, make it easy for yourself. Create your environment so it helps you, not hinders you.
Focus on daily actions but think long-term.
That is all it takes to live and be well.

16. 15
Make it easy for yourself
Doing X becomes easy, when X become habitual and it doesn’t require a great deal of effort
anymore.
That’s the power of habit.
Building a habit is not the same as breaking one but can be equally as hard.
For example:
You want to eat a fruit for your mid-morning snack but there is some
chocolate/cake/brownies left in the staff kitchen at work, which you are tempted to have.
If you have a water bottle/glass next to your computer, you could place the fruit there.
You already drink water – a glass is a visual cue and you see the fruit right in front of you.
You downloaded the app to track your food intake and signed up for a challenge and eating
more fruit?
Great! Ticking a box is satisfying, gets your brain centres firing and dopamine released.
Aren’t you proud of yourself?
Wasn’t it easy?
Simply pairing your new behaviour with something you already do and
rewarding yourself for it can work so well without knowing all the ins
and outs of the behaviour change.

17. 16
Focus on daily actions
To achieve a goal, you have to take action. That’s it.
Noooo…
The goal has to be SMART (S=Specific, M=Measureable, A=Achievable, R=Relevant, T=Time-
based).
Yes, but no.
The SMART goals are also outcome goals. They do work in a sense that you know where you
want to end up, what is your target, what result you wan to achieve. Setting only outcome
goals will not work. They must be paired with performance goals: how are you going to get
where you want to be?
Once you know what you are aiming for, let’s figure out HOW to get there.
Earlier I mentioned the difference between “I will” and “I am” – future and present tense
based goal planning - which could be used here too. Writing in present tense make the goals
sound firmer, as if you are already executing them.
Let’s work through an example.
Let’s say your outcome goal is to eat plant-based vegan meals for lunch and dinner at least
5 days a week.
In order to do so, you need to take action to achieve that goal. So, you plan your
performance goals which could look like this:
1. I plan my weekly lunch and dinner meals every Saturday.
2. I check what I have in the fridge and cupboard and put it down on the shopping
list.
3. I go with my list to the supermarket on Sunday morning to do the weekly shop.
4. I prepare 3 lunch and 3 dinner meals on Sunday afternoon and Wednesday
evening.
5. I portion out my meals to eat in the next few days.
It might look like it’s unnecessary to go to that much detail but the more specific you get,
the easier it is to make it happen.
And, so, performing these actions every week is basically what is going to get you eat plant-
based vegan meals, save some money, feel better and be proud of yourself!

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Think long-term
It’s up to you to decide what you want to do to live the life of health & happiness.
The future is unwritten.