Six Body Changes You Can Expect After 30 Days of Plant-Based Living
For more than ten years, veganism has been a popular lifestyle option, and its rising appeal may be attributed to several factors, including environmental and animal rights concerns. Being vegan also has the benefit of keeping you healthy, since research shows that eating a plant-based diet lowers your risk of obesity, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes.
There are several advantages to being vegan, even if it does require effort and preparation, especially if you follow the healthful route and avoid junk food and frozen meals. Consume this instead of that! I talked with several people who made the move to a plant-based diet, and these are the ways that it affected their lives and energy levels.
1. Less Health Issues
Despite being married to a vegan for 20 years, Jerry Levine, Chief Evangelist & General Counsel at renowned LegalTech business ContractPodAi, only decided to follow his wife’s and doctor’s advice.
“You have three choices: go vegan, start exercising, or die at 40,” my doctor stated when I questioned her about being vegan because I had an impending physical. I concluded that adopting a vegan diet was far preferable to working out or dying.
Levine saw a significant change in his health after giving up animal products.
“I have significantly more energy than I did before going vegan,” he stated. “I was borderline (if not actually) obese, with diagnosed sleep apnea,” he said. “I was on many medications that a 35-year-old shouldn’t be on—cholesterol, statins, blood pressure, etc.”
Levine said, “I felt like I was fifteen years younger after switching to veganism since I could stay up later, didn’t need to sleep for longer periods, and didn’t wake up every morning feeling fatigued. Although it took some time, the results were immediate—cutting less on milk, eating meat, and eating higher-quality meals all helped.”
2. Improved Skin
Virginia Stockwell, a Kajabi expert and business coach, decided to go vegan after seeing the movie Forks Over Knives to adopt a healthy eating style and cleanse her body of pollutants.
“At first, I noticed my actinic keratosis cleared up and I became thinner,” she recalled. “Looking back at photos, I did not appear too thin, though as a personal chef at the time, I was aware of the nutritional value of foods, something not all vegans have the privilege of being educated on.”
“As a result,” she said, “my energy levels were normal, but my weightlifting pastime got a bit more challenging. I couldn’t lift as much weight as I could before being vegetarian.”
3. Doesn’t Need a Pick Me Up
Many people feel lethargic during the day, especially in the middle of the afternoon, but Tiffany Gregory, co-founder of the site Layermatic about 3D printing, no longer requires a pick-me-up to get through the day after she turned vegan.
“I think it’s because plant-based meals naturally push you to eat more nutrient-dense foods,” she stated. “I eat meals with beans, lentils, spinach, quinoa, and sweet potatoes, which are much more balanced than the meals I used to eat.”
Gregory finds that eating vegan also makes her feel lighter afterward.
“I don’t get that heavy, tired feeling I used to have after big meals,” she stated. “That change alone has made a huge difference in how I feel during the day.” “I also noticed that my workouts have gotten better,” she continued. “I feel less exhausted afterward, recover more quickly, and have greater energy.”
4. Eating Enough Protein is Key
For environmental considerations, Jordan Anthony, Ahara’s Certified Nutritionist, decided to follow a plant-based diet. “Modern factory farming, especially of beef, is just so hard on the environment that I couldn’t morally continue to support it,” she stated.
Although obtaining adequate protein might be difficult, she takes soy, almonds, and seeds as supplements.
Anthony said, “I find that my energy levels last well throughout the day as long as I make protein a priority. I’ll be sluggish and perhaps a little melancholy if I’ve been relying too much on fat and carbohydrates.”
5. Never Have a Food Coma
After working at an elephant sanctuary in Thailand and witnessing the mistreatment of animals, Diana Edelman, the creator of Vegans, Baby, decided to give up meat. “Within my first week of living there and seeing pigs being taken to slaughter, I gave up meat and never looked back,” she stated.
Since being vegan in 2012, Edelman claims to have more energy.
“I never feel like I’m going to go into a food coma anymore or feel heavy after eating,” she said. “I also have more energy throughout the day, and of notice is the absence of that post-eating haze.”
Edelman also saw a change in her skin and hasn’t had any problems since cutting out dairy.
“My entire life I struggled with acne, took meds, tried everything, and all I needed to do was stop eating cheese!” She said, “I’ve also felt more energized and in tune with my body than I ever did when I was eating meat and other animal products.”
6. Feels Great
Harrison Tarr is a nutrition consultant and personal trainer with NASM certification who has been vegan for seven years. Tarr switched to a plant-based diet in an attempt to prevent chronic ailments, and he is doing fantastic.
“I don’t think the vegan diet affected my energy levels one way or the other, but the strict adherence to a whole-food, plant-based diet is fantastic,” he stated. “I feel vibrant and invigorated. I have plenty of energy when I work out, whether it is for strength training, cardio, or grappling. It truly improves my emotional and physical well-being.”
“Be sure to take the required supplements!” he advised. Taking at least B12 and D3 is crucial. I also take iodine supplements because I eat little to no salt.
7. Tips for Going Vegan
If you’re considering a plant-based diet, there are ways to ease into it so it’s not so overwhelming.
- Try Impossible Burger. According to Edelman, “The best tip for people looking to go plant-based or try the diet is to swap the basics out. Trade meat burgers for veggie ones or a juicy Impossible Burger. Grab a non-dairy pint of Ben & Jerry’s instead of one with milk.”
- Carry snacks. “When attending a social event, it’s common to have nothing on a buffet that fits your lifestyle,” Stockwell said.
- Spend time in the kitchen. “I would highly recommend setting aside time to cook and learning to enjoy the process. find a few easy-to-make go-to recipes so you have something to fall back on,” Tarr said.
- Do your research. “Read books and watch documentaries and find articles online about this way of eating,” Tarr advised. “I like Dr. Fuhrman’s book Eat for Life and the documentary Game Changers was fascinating.”
- Create healthy habits. “When you’re going vegan, you need to create the habits,” Levine said. “It’s hard and I slipped up a couple of times (I did love bagels & lox), but that was okay! You need to be your biggest supporter to succeed.”
And if you enjoyed this article, don’t miss these 100 Unhealthiest Foods on the Planet.