4 Smart Strategies to go Whole Food Plant-Based (WFPB)
It’s the beginning of the new year, and many people have taken up new year's resolutions. If you or someone you know want to successfully go plant-based here are 4 methods to make the change.
Method 1: Eliminating Animal Food Groups (Easiest)
For many people, going WFPB is a process which occurs over the course of multiple months or even years. This method can be thought of as climbing a large mountain. The process may take a long time with many campsites in between.
Step 1: Eliminate Red Meat
Red meat includes beef, pork, veal, lamb, mutton, goat, and horse. Choose to eliminate red meat from your diet. Consider following this new diet which does not include red meat for some time such as a month or two. This time may be chosen to be slightly shorter or longer for each individual. It’s important to follow the new diet until you no longer have the urge to eat red meat and until you can permanently sustain the change.
Step 2: Eliminate Remaining Land Animals
Eliminate the remaining land animals like chicken, duck, and turkey. Consider following this new diet which does not include land animals for some time such as a month or two. This time may be chosen to be slightly shorter or longer for each individual. It’s important to follow the new diet until you no longer have the urge to eat land animals and until you can permanently sustain the change.
Step 3: Eliminate Aquatic Animals
Now eliminate all aquatic animals which include fish, lobsters, crabs, clams, mussels, shrimp, squid, and octopus. Once you have made the switch, continue this way for another month or two or until you can perpetually sustain the diet.
Step 4: Eliminate Eggs and Dairy
Almost There! By eliminating eggs and dairy products like cheese, yogurt, ice cream, and milk, you will have become plant-based. Simply continue this diet for an additional month or two and until you know you will not go back to eating animal products.
Step 5: Eliminate or Minimize Junk Food
Now it’s time to transition from plant-based to whole food plant-based. To do so eliminate or minimize junk food like potato chips, cookies, crackers, and french fries. Junk food is defined to be highly processed and refined. Highly processed foods will usually have artificial or concentrated chemicals to increase the shelf life of the food while destroying health. Refined foods are obtained by concentrating naturally occurring substances. As an example, the sugar derived from beets is junk food, but beets are not, because whole beets are complete foods made by nature. In a similar way, olives are examples of whole foods, but olive oil is not.
You’ve done it! Congratulate yourself on this accomplishment. You can now continue this diet for the rest of your life knowing that you’ve significantly reduced the risk of mortality, heart disease, and other diseases.
Method 2: Reduce animal products by Day of the Week (Easy)
In this method, we take back one day of the week at a time. This method will have 7 steps, where each step adds a certain day. We have provided one possible order in which to add WFPB days of the week. However, you can change it to best suit your needs. Each day of the week has a recipe link, so you don’t have to feel overwhelmed.
Step 1: Sunday
Eliminating animal products from your diet may be easier on Sundays than any other day of the week because you may be able to control your life more and be less busy. Begin by eating WFPB every Sunday. After you have adjusted to the diet and are able to continue it, move on to adding another day of the week.
WFPB Recipes with 5 Ingredients or Less
Step 2: Thursday
We’ve chosen to add Thursday next because this gives you a break of at least two days between WFPB days.
Step 3: Tuesday
Once you are able to carry out this new diet successfully move on to another step. Now, we add Tuesday and have advanced to only a one-day gap between two WFPB days.
Step 4: Friday
Pat yourself on your back! Now by adding Friday, the majority of your week has become WFPB!
Step 5: Monday
Begin eating WFPB on Mondays as well. Now you’ve reached new heights and are able to string together three days of the week, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.
Step 6: Wednesday
You’re almost there! Add Wednesday to your list of WFPB days, so that the only day remaining is Saturday. All your weekdays are now WFPB!
Recipes from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
Step 7: Saturday
Finish off the plan by adding Saturday and becoming WFPB every day of the week. You’ve reached the summit of a whole food plant-based way of eating. In the beginning, it may have seemed challenging, but you’ve come a long way. Now continue this healthy lifestyle.
Method 3: Converting Morning, Afternoon, and Evening (Moderate)
This method is also a smooth transition. In this method, we do not eliminate certain animal food groups or take back a day of the week at a time. We decide to eat WFPB at certain meals during the day.
Step 1: Eat WFPB Snacks (Moderate)
The easiest way to begin is by deciding to make all your snacks WFPB. Examples can be found by searching through our Recipes page and these snacks. Fresh or dried fruits can also make for wonderful snacks. Once you have established a routine continue it until it becomes a permanent habit. Then it’s time to move forward on your plan.
Step 2: Add WFPB Breakfasts
Choose to eat whole food plant-based breakfasts as well as snacks. Doing so will give your day a positive start. Follow this routine until you can move on to the next step confidently. Some great breakfast recipes can be found on Dr. McDougall’s website, at Forks Over Knives, or on the Recipes page.
Step 3: Add WFPB Lunches
You’re about halfway there. Keep it up and continue going strong through midday! Add WFPB lunches to the existing snacks and breakfasts. There are a plethora of recipes for lunch available on the Recipes page and at these main dishes. Stick with this phase until you are able to permanently sustain this diet before moving on.
Step 4: Add WFPB Dinners
Finish off by making all meals WFPB. This is the last step in going whole food plant-based. Some recipes classified by cuisine can be found at Veganuary. Congratulate yourself for having made it this far. This diet will prevent many autoimmune diseases such as lupus, some types of multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis and help you perform better at whatever you do.
Method 4: Overnight Change (Ambitious*)
Going plant-based overnight means deciding to eliminate all animal products from your diet and doing so over a very short period of time. This method is by far the most ambitious method of all methods to go WFPB. The method is more challenging because the chances of relapsing to older eating habits and the possibility of giving up may be higher. However, for some people, doing it all in one go is much preferable than slowly transitioning. If you are one of these types, then this method is for you!
*Disclaimer - This method may be more challenging if you are living with others
Step 1: Preparation
Before becoming whole food plant-based, it is important to prepare by doing some research on new ways of eating, preparation for cooking, and finding the right recipes. You may also have to prepare for eating out. Here are some websites to help you conduct your research.
Step 2: Clean up Existing Food
The second step is to clean out your refrigerator, food pantry, dining table, and entire home of all foods that contain animal products. You can either give away the food or dispose of it.
Step 3: Buying New Food
Buy only WFPB foods at the grocery store. The best way to control your diet is by not buying unhealthy foods at the store itself. A plant-based grocery shopping guide can be found from the Center for Nutrition Studies.
Wrapping it all up!
The four methods above are methods that have been used successfully in the past. Decide which method suits your personality the best. Many people prefer a gradual change while others prefer to change their diet all at once. Don’t be hard on yourself, if you eat some chips here and there or eat a burger that contains cheese. Even in the earlier stages if you slip up keep going! Every calorie from animal products that is replaced by a whole food plant-based calorie is a step in the right direction.
According to a 2014 research paper in the the The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, “a Food Pattern that positively weighs vegetable-derived foods and negatively weighs animal-derived foods can be conceptualized as a progressive and gentle approach to vegetarianism (i.e., a “provegetarian” Food Pattern) that incorporates a range of progressively increasing proportions of plant-derived foods and concomitant reductions in animal-derived foods.” [1]
The data in the figure above show that as the adherence to the strict vegetarian food pattern increases, the mortality rate decreases. Every step of the way there are benefits associated with increasing the proportion of plant products in one’s diet. [1]
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Sources:
[1] https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/100/suppl_1/320S/4576429