What to Expect When You Change to a Vegan Diet - The Vegan Taste (2024)

Are you considering a change to a vegan diet? Awesome! The reasons to make such a lifestyle shift can be as unique as each individual, but they usually include an underlying commitment to health or the environment. Have you wondered what you can expect when you become a vegan? Let’s discuss the real truth of what it means to your body when you eliminate animal products from your diet.

Initial Expectations

At the start of a change to a vegan diet, you could experience a variety of differences to your body. These may include being hungrier, getting gassier, a change in your skin or body odor, weight loss or gain, better or worse sleep, headaches, tiredness, or having more energy. As you can see, it can go many ways! Changes, of course, depend on what you were eating previously and how your body responds to the different types of fuel it’s getting on a plant-based diet. Your journey is yours, although it will likely draw on the experience of others.

Common Results of a Change to a Vegan Diet

No matter who you are, when you change to a vegan diet, you will likely see some differences in your body. Most of those are positive, but some can be more challenging. Here are some of the most consistent experiences people have with the switch.

You’re going to get gassy.

One of the hallmarks of a plant-based diet is an increase in fiber. Remember that you’re eating plants, which include more grains, vegetables, and fruits, all of which are loaded with fiber. In fact, a study showed that vegans eat about 41 grams of fiber a day, the most of any of the major ways of eating.

Naturally, fiber is an excellent addition to your diet, but if your body isn’t used to that much of it, it’s going to take a bit to transition. And that means you’ll be gassier and probably have to poop more. Getting on a regular schedule is ideal for your body, so stick with it!

You could lose weight—and be hungry.

When you eliminate certain foods from your diet, it can take time to find great alternatives. Cutting out meat, dairy, and cheese, which can be higher in calories than plants, may mean that you’re eating fewer calories on a daily basis. It might also leave you feeling you have fewer snack options, another reason you won’t eat as much. That reduced calorie intake often leads to initial weight loss or being hungrier.

On the other hand, if you change to a vegan diet that is loaded with processed foods and simple carbohydrates, that may result in gaining weight. That approach to being plant based is a much less healthy option (and processed foods aren’t good for anyone), so it’s best to stick to whole-food choices.

Your gut health will improve.

Your gut is full of microbes, and several leading gastroenterologists encourage a plant-based diet to create a healthier microbiome. One excellent book that explains how all this works is The Gut-Immune Connection by Emeran Mayer, MD. According to Dr. Mayer, by making the change to a vegan diet, you’ll boost your immune response, and that’s a huge benefit. While your gut microbiome is changing, expect more gas (and maybe tummy aches), but it will pass, and it’s all worth it in the end.

You may need to change your supplements.

Many of us take daily vitamins and minerals in an attempt to get all the nutrients our bodies need. When you eat a whole-foods, plant-based diet, you’ll get most of what your body needs from your food. But there’s an exception: B12. Vegans must supplement their diets with this gem; a lack of vitamin B12 can result in neurological issues, metabolic problems, and in severe cases, death. It can only be found in animal products, so if you’re not eating animals, you must take B12. Other supplements to consider when you change to a vegan diet include calcium, iron, and omega.

The More You Know…

Making any changes in your diet can result in changes to your body, inside and out. The same is true when you change to a vegan diet. The Vegan Taste helps you enjoy delicious plant-based fare delivered direct to your door. All you do is heat and enjoy. And if you have questions about the transition, we can help you with that too!

Check out what Chef Jason has on this week’s menu and place your order!

What to Expect When You Change to a Vegan Diet - The Vegan Taste (2024)

FAQs

What happens when you switch to a vegan diet? ›

According to Dr. Mayer, by making the change to a vegan diet, you'll boost your immune response, and that's a huge benefit. While your gut microbiome is changing, expect more gas (and maybe tummy aches), but it will pass, and it's all worth it in the end.

How long does it take for the body to adjust to a vegan diet? ›

It may take less time for your body to adjust if you make the switch gradually, but it could also take longer. Your body may have a hard time adjusting if you try to make the change overnight, but you should be able to settle into your new diet within two weeks.

What happens to your body when you first go vegan? ›

Within the first few days of plant-based eating, you may feel more energized and alert. The protein in meat is tougher for humans to break down than plant protein is, making it a challenge to digest, which can cause sluggishness.

Do your taste buds change when you go vegan? ›

Further, an October 2022 study of 123 people published in Physiology & Behavior found that eating a vegan diet could change your taste perceptions. Vegans in the study found salty and sweet flavors to be more intense than their omnivorous counterparts did.

Does your body detox when you go vegan? ›

It's not so much that your body detoxes when you go vegan, more that you stop putting foods into your body that can throw it out of balance, cause inflammation, oxidative stress and ultimately disease.

Why do I feel sick after switching to a plant-based diet? ›

For example, a rapid switch with no gradual transition period can result in feelings of being sick, bloating, stomach cramps, headaches and sleeping issues [5]. People often experience this when they first try a vegan diet, because their bodies may already be lacking iron.

What is the 7 days of being vegan? ›

How does it work? No meat, poultry, seafood, dairy or eggs for 7 days (any 7 straight days). Announce to your friends, family, followers that you're doing the challenge.

How long does it take for a vegan diet to clean arteries? ›

In a landmark study, he put a group of patients on a low-fat vegetarian diet and prescribed moderate exercise. Within a year, the plaques that had been growing in their hearts for decades actually started to dissolve. Patients' chest pains disappeared, and their cholesterol levels dropped.

Do you lose weight switching to vegan? ›

It also concludes that the quality of such a diet makes a difference when it comes to how much weight is lost. Participants who followed a vegan diet lost an average of 5.9 kilograms (13 pounds), irrespective of diet quality.

What happens to your face when you go vegan? ›

Improves moisture levels in the skin

Animal products are high in saturated fats, leading to dryness and flakiness. On the other hand, veganism helps promote moisture retention in the skin. This is because vegan foods are typically rich in healthy unsaturated fats, which help keep the skin plump and hydrated.

What i noticed when I went vegan? ›

The Pros and Cons of Going Vegan

Let's look at the pros first: * It vastly reduced the amount of fats and sugars I was taking on. * My body became leaner and more vasculated. * Going vegan produced less food waste including a lot less packaging.

Do you age slower on vegan diet? ›

The reality is that you won't look like you're 25 forever – no matter how “clean” or “healthy” or your diet might be. While there are a variety of health benefits associated with following a vegan diet, eating a vegan diet won't make you age faster or slower in and of itself.

What happens if you go vegan for a month? ›

Eliminating animal products removes cholesterol from the diet, which could reduce your risk of heart disease. What's more, a vegan diet tends to be lower in sodium than some other types of diets because most fruits and vegetables are low in sodium.

Does going vegan make you happier? ›

It's a given that following a compassionate lifestyle that avoids harming animals will give you a clearer conscience, and studies show that vegans may actually be happier than meat-eaters. In fact, vegans and vegetarians had better scores on depression tests and mood profiles than those who ate fish and meat. 4.

Is being vegan worth it? ›

Health benefits, when done right

Research has shown that a vegan diet can help do the following: Promote weight loss. Reduce your risk of heart disease by lowering cholesterol levels. Lower your chances of getting certain types of cancer, such as colon cancer.

Does changing to a vegan diet side effects? ›

Low vitamin B12 intake is a significant problem in vegan diets due to the exclusion of vitamin B12-rich foods such as meat, poultry, and eggs. A lack of vitamin B12 has been linked to neurologic and hematologic problems [19].

What happens to your body when you start a plant-based diet? ›

Plants are high in fiber.

Eating a plant-based diet improves the health of your gut so you are better able to absorb the nutrients from food that support your immune system and reduce inflammation. Fiber can lower cholesterol and stabilize blood sugar and it's great for good bowel management.

What happens to my body if I don't eat meat? ›

And people who don't eat meat, called vegetarians, generally eat fewer calories and less fat. They also tend to weigh less. And they have a lower risk of heart disease than nonvegetarians do. Research shows that people who eat red meat are at a higher risk of death from heart disease, stroke or diabetes.

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