You do you.

That’s what I always say to friends who love to eat meat and dairy if they bring up that I’ve quit animal products, but they haven’t.

I have my lifestyle choices and they have theirs and to me, that’s TOTALLY OK.

(Some vegans might not like me very much for that comment, so I apologize for that. But hear me out and then decide if you still don’t like it…)

I try to not bring veganism unless my loved ones do, just because sometimes people would rather not hear it and NONE of us are perfect.

We are all guilty in our own little ways.

To have no negative impact on your health you would have to live with no naughty yummy food (pizza!), no alcohol, no late nights. You would need to grow all of your own food and create your own energy from the sun beams. Yes, sure, you would feel as healthy as an Olympic athlete feeling 100% a glowing beacon of health walking for the opening ceremony, but to live like this every single day long-term, is it a life?

To minimise your environmental impact, you wouldn’t be able to leave the house for your carbon travel footprint.

It’s just TOO DIFFICULT.

But what’s an ‘acceptable’ way to live your live minimally from an health, environmental and animal welfare standpoint?

Where should the guilt start? We’ll come back to this later.

Where is the line for us to work to and find the balance between life’s pleasures versus not being a human carbon bomb while making ourselves sick?

I have absolutely no idea. I just try my best.

I’ve cut out all animal products from my diet four years ago (I’m mid-30s now). I try not buy products that are made from animals or tested on animals. I carry a re-usable water bottle with me everywhere I go and when I shop I take my reusable bags. I do travel around seeing places, that’s where I’m guilty right now.

So I try to pass no judgement as we all try in own ways.

Some I know have swapped cows milk for nut milk, some have hugely cut back on red meat. One friend told me last week she had included more vegetables and slightly less meat in an effort to cut back, all are awesome!

People can definitely be vegan in varying degrees.

These are fantastic steps in the right direction.

If everyone can incorporate more plant-based vegan foods over animal products, together we can make a huge difference for our own health, the environment and animal welfare.

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With the vegan diet now going mainstream in many cities, living adhering to vegan lifestyle principles is becoming more the norm. Eateries are selling more vegan meals and shops are selling vegan clothes and shoes.

With the trend looking set to continue and grow on a global scale, people are happy to be on different places on the spectrum of adopting a vegan diet and lifestyle.

Any kind of change or lifestyle which aims to reduce the use of animal products or animal testing can only be a good thing.

You can be one type of vegan long-term or you can move between the different degrees on the spectrum. There’s no hard and fast rules to which is right for you.

That’s what I mean by you do you.

It’s time to clear up what different ways you can be vegan.

Way #1. Whole Foods Plant-Based Vegan Diet

This is where someone eats a diet only made up of whole foods that are vegan. It’s food as it comes, out of the ground, without being processed. It excludes all animal products such as meat, dairy and eggs.

It’s made up of fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, nuts and seeds.

There are now several studies which prove that this is the healthiest type of diet a human eat. It lowers the risk of cancer and diseases. A plant-based male will live seven years longer than a male who eats a predominately animal products based diet.

This is the diet I try and eat so I’m the biggest advocate of this particular diet on the list. I truly believe that if we all ate more plant-based foods, this would solve many wider issues including packed hospitals, the climate crises and issues with animal welfare.

Way #2. Strictly Vegan Life

These strictest of strict vegans come under the ‘hard-core’ vegans category.

You can’t get any more vegan than this.

Mostly in it for ethical reasons, this is not just about food, it’s a lifestyle choice. Some may see it as an ‘extreme’ choice, to which vegans would say that killing animals and wrecking the planet for indulgence is an extreme choice. But ultimately strict vegans totally live by their beliefs.

If you’re a ‘hard-core’ vegan, then you eat zero animal products and ensure that every product you buy, whether it be a beauty product or an item of clothing has no animal products such as leather, real fur or angora. You would also steer clear of beauty, skin or hair care products that have been tested on animals.

It can be tough day-to-day. Your fashion choices are dictated by what is actually determined as vegan. Up until 2019, China had this crazy law whereby beauty products had to be tested on animals to be sold there, this meant a high percentage of the most popular products were previously tested on animals.

Way #3. Raw Vegan Diet

A raw food vegan is someone who eats a raw food plant-based vegan diet. Raw vegans believe that food is more nutritious if it’s in its natural state.

It excludes all foods containing animal products, processed foods or foods heated at high temperatures.

But where do raw vegans get their protein from?

Mostly nuts, seeds and protein rich vegetables such as peas and spinach. Raw vegans LOVE their leafy greens. A raw vegan diet is also rich in sprouted grains and legumes.

Raw vegans also favor juices, blending, soaking and sprouting.

It’s key to plan a raw food diet well and eat a varied diet to ensure getting all of the essential vitamins and minerals. Some on a raw food diet also take supplements to ensure all boxes are being ticked.

Way #4. Part-Time Vegan Diet or Flexitarian Diet

Meghan Markle has previously said that she eats only vegan in the week, and saves meat and dairy for the weekends.

It’s a way of cutting down on the amount of animal products consumed in total. There’s also a growing trend for ‘Meatless Mondays.’ This is obviously where you give up eating meat on Mondays.

Recently Oprah Winfrey has been persuading fans to adopt the ‘One Plant-Based Meal A Day’ movement, after interviewing climate change activist Suzy Cameron. Suzy in her book, The OMD Plan, points out that if you change your diet to include just one single plant-based meal then this will save tens of thousands of gallons of water each year. “I think this is a good way to lean into it where you don’t have to give up everything you’ve been eating your whole life in one day.”

Some also go vegan just when they travel to foreign countries. This is because in some countries you can’t be sure of strict rules around the supply chain and where your animal has come from to get to your plate.

Veganuary is another movement whereby people only eat plant-based vegan foods in the month of January. They report that after the month 62% said they intend to stick with the diet after the month.

By going part-time vegan you can still reap benefits. It will still reduce you risk of cancer and diseases, lower blood pressure and your risk of diabetes.

For those who find the idea of making the full switch to a vegan diet overwhelming, this could be the answer. It’s for those not ready to make a full-time commitment. It’s still positive change and if flexitarianism is adopted widely, this really could hold the key to reversing the climate crises too.

Way #5. Weight-Loss Vegan

Many doctors and health physicians are now recommending their patients to eat plant-based foods as a way of dropping excess weight. The benefits speak for themselves, with less inflammation in the gut and more fiber than animal products, it’s easy to feel fuller for longer on plant-based whole foods.

Plant-based foods are documented as being preventative in disease but also as a cure.

Many believe that nutrition is medicine and eating plants will reduce the number of medications to treat a variety of chronic diseases, lower body weight, decrease the risk of cancer and reduce the likelihood of heart disease.

Dr T. Colin Campbell, PhD, a talking head on many vegan documentaries says “Everything in food works together to create health or disease.” He also coined the term ‘Whole Foods Plant-Based’ that we all live by now.

Eating vegan can be a fantastic way to lose weight as it’s not about eating less. It’s about eating more. More REAL natural foods. More nutrients and more healthful foods.

Way #6. ‘Almost Vegan’ Or ‘Virtually Vegan’

This term annoys some as they say you’re either a vegan or you’re not.

I understand the term as it’s pretty tough when you’re eating out sometimes or at a work or loved ones event and some ingredients may contain traces of dairy. Normally they would never eat meat, but traces of dairy may slip in.

Usually, they would never buy animal products for the house or cook with them. It’s about the rare days or moments you’re ‘caught out’ with no other vegan option at the ready.

Effectively they are doing everything they can to eat vegan or plant-based foods, but they also feel like they need to not starve all day/night if that’s the alternative.

Way #7. Junk Food Vegans

I spoke about raw food vegans so it’s only fair to speak about junk food vegans.

This type of vegan is probably in it for the animals over health reasons.

Their diet consists mostly of processed foods over whole foods plant based.

It’s possible to get vegan pizzas, burgers, candy, ice-cream and much more. Oreos are vegan. Some cheat days I guess I could be called this.

Way #8. Gluten-Free Vegan

Are you a coeliac but want to go vegan?

It’s entirely possible to cook and eat foods that are both gluten free and vegan.

Gluten free substitutes are readily available in rice, buckwheat, quinoa and oats. Not sure what meals you can make? There’s also an infinite amount of gluten free vegan recipes online if you use that google machine.

Way #9. Fruitarian Plant-Based Vegan Diet

Don’t do this at home kids. I’m not a doctor but this one is kooky AF.

It’s vegans who only eat fruit, nuts and seeds that fell spontaneously from a tree. Hmmmm.

All nutritionists will tell you that the key to eating a healthy vegan is to eat whole foods, but also to eat a varied diet.

I’ll leave you to decide.

Way #10. A Level 5 Vegan Lifestyle

A Level 5 Vegan is a joke name for a strict vegan who rarely compromises.

It comes from our beloved Lisa Simpson dedicating herself to veganism. Paul McCartney stared in an episode of The Simpsons, Lisa was an eight year old cartoon vegan character for the rest of the season. In a later episode “Lisa The Tree Hugger” the show coined the term “Level 5 Vegan” as someone who never eats anything that casts a shadow, lol.

The term is meant in jest, it’s old but still going.

The Bottom Line

More and more are going vegan the whole hog, but in addition to that, there is a huge movement towards the flexitarian diet.

Back to earlier when I mentioned the guilt. I think the issue can lie in that if people think they can’t do something at 100% then they shouldn’t do it at all. Nothing could be further from the truth.

It’s not about feeling like you’re living a super restricted life.

It doesn’t have to be all or nothing with food.

It just needs to be all or something.

A note on supplements – whether you’re eating all all vegan diet or one with animal products, it’s recommended to take a vitamin B12 supplement. B12 is stripped out of vegan and animal based foods alike so we all need to take it.

From going totally vegan, through to flexitarian, all changes are progress and moving in the right direction.

I’m happy for that and it’s exciting even to see one more person decide to eat less animal products!

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