4 Selfish Reasons to go Vegan
Forget saving the planet. Forget compassion for animals. The truth is, none of that was my motivation behind trying a plant-based diet in the first place. No, I was completely self-absorbed. I wanted to know what a plant-based diet could do for ME. Screw the rest of the world.
So I gave vegetarian a try in January of 2009, and six months later I ended up vegan. I found that those diets worked great for me. Here’s why you should get selfish and try them, too.
1. Practice self-discipline
I believe in building positive habits. The more you practice something, the more ingrained it becomes. Before you know it, it’s second nature. You can’t accomplish much in life without self-discipline, and self-discipline is something I get to practice every meal and snack time thanks to veganism. I know all that practice has helped me in other areas of my life. I’ve become very good at forming new habits and sticking to plans I make for myself.
Of course, you can practice self-discipline at meal times without being vegan. Maybe you cut out gluten, or you use the Weight Watchers point system, or you don’t eat anything with primary colors. While not every restrictive diet will be good for your health, it will help you build some self-discipline muscles.
2. Less choice, more happy
If you’re vegan, you’ll undoubtedly have less menu items to choose from when you go to a typical restaurant. I see this as a good thing. Less choice leads to less indecision and less regret. Before I was vegan, I would often spend ten minutes scouring a menu, then order the chicken dish while wondering if maybe I should have ordered the meatballs or the fried shrimp instead. But these days I usually only have a handful of options to choose from on the menu, so I can order faster and not worry so much about the opportunity cost.
See, more isn’t always better. Smart people call this type of thing the paradox of choice, noting that folks are usually happier when they have less to choose from. That could be you!
3. Focus better, think clearer
The main thing that attracted me to plant-based diets initially were the reported mental benefits I heard from various people who had already made the switch. Sure enough, I also found that I could think more clearly and focus better once I cut animal products out of my diet.
One explanation I’ve heard for this is that animal products require a lot of energy for your body to digest, energy that could otherwise be used for mental functions. Foods like fruit and vegetables are digested much faster and more easily. I believe this ties in with modern cancer treatments, which increasingly involve putting the patient on a plant-based diet so the body has more energy available to fight the disease.
Please note that I have no scientific evidence to back this up, so take my words here with a grain of salt. All I know for sure is that I’ve experienced these mental benefits after switching to a plant-based diet, and many others report the same. Try it yourself and see if it works for you.
4. Embrace change
“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but rather the one most adaptable to change.” – someone not named Charles Darwin
Routines and habits are important, but it’s equally important to try new things regularly and push yourself out of your comfort zone. That’s how we learn and grow. I believe my experiments with plant-based diets were among the best learning and growth experiences of my life. I learned a lot about food and the food industry, discovered the truth behind a lot of veg myths, and met some great new people. More importantly, I got to know myself a hell of a lot better. Change and adversity will do that.
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Beyond those four, there are lots of other positive things veganism can do for you. For example, you’ll undoubtedly become a better cook, your skin and overall health will improve (as long as you’re not just eating vegan junk food), and you’ll find it easy to fight the flab (how many fat vegans do you know?).
So get selfish. Be good to yourself and try a plant-based diet for 30 days, see how it makes you feel. I’d advise against going straight from omnivore to vegan though. Take the vegetarian bridge to avoid overwhelm.
Good luck!
(Want to learn more about going veg? I wrote a lengthy piece about my experience here.)
Awesome article, Niall.
I know the first paragraph was written for effect, but even so I think it’s worth pointing out how fulfilling it can be to do something worthwhile for the planet while at the same time helping yourself. (I definitely experienced this when going vegan myself about 5 years back.)
I am actually embarking on my own experiment to help the planet and myself called, modestly enough, 30 Days to Save the World (starting today!), and some of the action steps involved in the experiment will definitely concern changes in diet.
As for veganism, while I don’t remember if it’s actually improved my clarity and thinking abilities, given that I made the change so far back and have been vegetarian for 10 years now, I can absolutely attest to items 1, 2, and 4 in your list–what a positive impact something like your diet can have on one’s life!
Thanks for spreading the word about eating cruelty-free, and I look forward to reading more of your articles now that I’m back from vacation.
All the best,
Haidn
Thanks, Haidn. I’m with you on that fulfillment bit. However, none of the “save the world” stuff resonated with me until I was a few months into my vegetarian diet. It’s kind of eerie how it starts to make sense after a while; not an easy thing to explain to carnivores. It’s like the Matrix: you have to experience it for yourself.
I like the sound of your experiment. I’m right there with you on Day 1. I booted TV out of my life a while ago and I haven’t missed it one bit.
Gotta agree with you again–it wasn’t until after I’d started the diet that I found myself resonating with some of the more moral/ethical reasons to be eating the way I was.
I’m glad to have you participating in the challenge! Keep me posted with your experience–I’ll be doing the same.
Best,
Haidn
Going vegan has been a great experiment for me these past couple of years. I reshaped my body to look better (removed 40-50 lbs of unwanted fat) and felt pretty good in the process.
I wrote about my experience here: http://thirtytwothousanddays.com/blog/2010/03/following-a-vegan-diet-improves-your-health-and-the-environment/
I can definitely relate to the points that you listed – especially #2
. The reduction in “choice” was painful at first, but once I realized that 99% of places had at least *one* thing that I liked on the menu (sometimes via a modification or special request), then things were golden.
While variety is sometimes enjoyable and pleasurable, a phone book sized menu can just be overwhelming. (Are you listening, Cheesecake Factory…?) I don’t think it’s an accident that restaurants like Chipotle, with super-simple menus, are doing quite well.
Thanks, Jack. I just read through the blog post you linked to. You really went in-depth and covered all the bases there. Nice work.