— Char Nolan

So, um, you know, this is a, a a lot of people will go, uh, completely vegan during January, um, and it's kind of one of those things for health. Um, uh, along with joining gyms, a lot of people will go vegan for the whole month. And probably one of the best tips that I can give people is, um, don't, uh, you know, don't get too upset and don't, uh, worry about, um, making mistakes right away. Uh, when somebody is first going vegan, they might not realize that certain things aren't vegan, even if they're trying. Um, so probably one thing I would recommend to people right away is read labels on anything that you're buying that's processed. Uh, if it's in the produce area, you don't have to worry about it, but if it's something that's in the grocery aisle, definitely read every label to be able to make sure that there aren't any, um, animal products in them. And, uh, usually it'll, you know, have those list of allergens in there. And, um, you know, milk, uh, dairy, eggs, all those things are usually listed in those, but definitely go through the list. If the list is really, really long, it's probably too processed. So, um, you might wanna leave that, um, at the grocery store. But also at the same time, you know, some people that are first going vegan might need some of those processed ingredients to be able to help make that transformation. And so I might tell people that are first starting out to go vegan is to be able be able to make that transition at the beginning to do things like the beyond meats or the vegan cheese shreds or stuff like that to be able to help you make that first step there into that transition, but then by the end of the month, try to transition away from that a little bit more, um, and go more towards a whole food plant-based diet. Um, but so probably big tips are, one is to read every label of everything that you're going to be eating. Um, if you're going to restaurants, you know, ask, uh, a lot of questions, um, it's okay. They're used to getting a lot of questions about things. Um, and then also, uh, you know, take it easy on yourself. It's great to make the transition, but don't beat yourself up if you've made a little mistake over the over the month. Um, and that's probably a good place to kind of start. Um, if you're just starting out to do this for a monthly project, one of the great things I love about people that are doing, um, you know, going vegan in January is what you're doing is making a lifestyle change. And you can actually continue that after January, um, much easier than if you were just going cold Turkey, like on January 1st. It was really, really hard to be able to make that change, or it might've been for a lot of people. Um, but by February 1st, if you go back and you just eat like a cheeseburger and fries or something like that, you're gonna, it's gonna feel very different to you, um, than it did right before that. So, kind of think about that in the same way where even if you don't want to be plant-based a hundred percent in February, try to keep a good amount of plant-based meals in your repertoire to be able to keep on that health kick and keep that, uh, that lifestyle change that you've made, um, to be able to make that transition for your life. It's a, it's a wonderful process, um, and it's not easy for everybody. I understand that. So, um, some people need to take it in baby steps and that's totally fine.