As you transition into veganism, your body craves the food you are trying to leave behind. Dairy and meat are hard items to give up. It took me about two years to fully commit into a plant-based diet. I have figured out two ways to ensure you will stay on the righteous path of veganism. These two strategies have worked exceptionally for me.

Remember Why You Went Vegan

You’ve been staring at an excel spreadsheet for four hours. It’s finally lunch time. You know you have to eat that salad. It’s good for you. It’s good for the world. It’s good for innocent animals. But something happens at 12:00pm. The voice in your head tells you to ignore all things rational and go for that cheese burger one last time. We have all been there where we succumbed to this inner meat-lobbyist.

A powerful method of silencing your inner lobbyist is by remembering why you do what you do. Have a graphic video on standby. My sympathy is most high when I see what happens to pigs and cows in slaughterhouses. Watch a PETA video detailing the horrors that these animals go through. If you are craving a poultry dish, watch what happens to chickens. The same way picturing your mother-in-law nude is a libido killer, a PETA video can be a meat-craving annihilator.

As the famous saying goes, “facts don’t care about your feelings”. Have your top vegan facts handy to remind you why you’ve taken on the plant-based lifestyle. As an example, suppose you are really in the mood for an omelette. It’s funny how most non-vegans find eggs to be the most politically correct food item out there. Non-vegans can kind of understand why you don’t eat pigs and cows, but eggs? It seems so harmless. I hope they are about to read the following statement. Here is why eggs are just as bad as anything else. Remember the following if you are dying for a scrambled egg:

Having facts like these handy will dissuade you from ever going back to any animal product.

Meditate

I never once took a meditation course. I have never read any meditation books. I simply read one short paragraph on a random blog that was not even about the topic of meditation. The blogger did briefly discuss the most basic form of meditation. It went something like this.

Do exactly as mentioned above when your body starts telling you that you must eat bacon or drink milk or go for that slice of cheese. This has always worked for me. I naturally have an addictive personality and never believed the meditation hype. When I just stopped moving and started breathing while living in the moment, my impulses stop dictating my habits. This stuff works. Try it out now for 5 minutes.

Be Aware

Your desire to break your vegan streak is nothing more than a irrational manic-like reaction. As long as you are aware of your impulses and understand the moment in which you are in when faced with this bodily challenge, you will have the upper-hand against your inner meat-lobbyist.

It is important to have self-awareness. When you are in the know that you are thinking with your stomach instead of your mind, control is easy. The moment you forget about the sentient beings you spare by eating kale instead of ice cream, the battle is over. Stay in a constant state of reality about the horrors of the animal agriculture industry. By doing so you will surely have enough will-power to say no the depravity found in your local butcher shop.