{"id":46798,"date":"2016-01-12T11:15:39","date_gmt":"2016-01-12T16:15:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/?p=46798"},"modified":"2016-07-14T16:06:57","modified_gmt":"2016-07-14T20:06:57","slug":"veganuary-vegan-diet-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/health\/veganuary-vegan-diet-plan\/","title":{"rendered":"Veganuary: Should You Try a Part-Time Vegan Diet?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Veganuary:
Photo by Skitter Photo<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Could you give up burgers, bacon and even butter for 30 days? Or, how about just before 6 p.m.? As January marches on, you\u2019ve inevitably noticed a few people pledging their commitment to \u2018Veganuary\u2019 (yup, that\u2019s going vegan for the month of January) \u2014\u00a0or maybe just to #MeatlessMondays<\/a> \u2014\u00a0all over your feeds.<\/p>\n

Though exact numbers aren\u2019t available, vegan meal delivery service Purple Carrot<\/a> says they\u2019ve also seen a large increase in orders in January, too. And with its science-backed health\u00a0and weight loss benefits<\/a>, the vegan diet, once considered extreme, has become more entrenched in the mainstream. But is it worth it if you\u2019re only going vegan for 30 days \u2014\u00a0or just for part of the day or week?<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> 3 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Going Vegan<\/a><\/p>\n

What\u2019s the Deal with Part-Time Veganism?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re vegan in January and eat like crap for other 11 months that\u2019s not enough.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The body benefits of being a full-fledged vegan are hard to ignore. \u201cFrom a health perspective, most people when they eat more plants and less junk lose weight,\u201d says Mark Bittman, co-founder and Chief Innovation Officer at Purple Carrot. \u201cMost will see their blood sugar, blood cholesterol and blood pressure go in the right direction and according to the data, they could also reduce their risk of death and cancer.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a part-time vegan (he goes meat-free before 6 p.m.), Bittman says he\u2019s seen these benefits in his own life \u2014\u00a0and has written about them in his popular book, VB6: Eat Vegan Before 6:00 to Lose Weight and Restore Your Health for Good<\/a><\/em>. \u201cWhatever it takes to get people to eat more plants makes sense,\u201d the former New York Times<\/em> columnist and cookbook author<\/a> says.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> The Pegan Diet: Should You Try This Paleo-Vegan Hybrid?<\/a><\/p>\n

But before you start planning your February 1 cheeseburger bender, experts say eating vegan only leads to better health if you do it right \u2014 and keep it up. \u201cI would say you should see it as part of a larger trend towards part-time veganism,\u201d Bittman says. \u201cIf you\u2019re vegan in January and eat like crap for other 11 months that\u2019s not enough. But if you learn you could eat better more often that\u2019s a really great thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

What\u2019s more, there\u2019s a wide world of vegan junk food (hello, Oreos!) waiting for you on store shelves. \u201cJust because it is plant-based, does not make a vegan diet automatically healthy,\u201d says Vandana Sheth, RDN, CDE, spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. \u201cIn fact, you could enjoy a vegan diet loaded with many processed, high-calorie, high-fat, high-sodium options.\u201d<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> Is a Vegan Diet the Best Way to Lose Weight?<\/a><\/p>\n

Whether you\u2019re going vegan for a month, before 6 p.m., or just want to give it a try for a day, here are some tips to help you along the way.<\/p>\n

3 Ways to Make the Most of Veganuary<\/strong><\/h3>\n

1. Make substitutions.
\n<\/strong>Before you resign yourself to salad after boring salad, educate yourself on how to substitute your favorite sources of protein for similarly satiating options. \u201cIt’s not just a matter of what you are avoiding,\u201d Sheth, a life-long vegetarian says. \u201cThe focus should be on what you can add to ensure nutritional quality.\u201d She recommends swapping out chicken and beef for beans, lentils, tofu, nuts and seeds. (Try some of these recipes<\/a> for your next Meatless Monday!)<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> 14 Best Proteins for Meatless Meals<\/a><\/p>\n

2. Portion your plate.
\n<\/strong>Piling veggies on your dish might seem like the way to go, but there\u2019s a science to constructing the ideal vegan meal. Sheth recommends filling half your plate with colorful veggies and fruits, one-quarter with whole grains like brown rice or quinoa, and the rest with a plant-based protein like beans or lentils. You can even pour yourself a glass of non-dairy milk to make sure you\u2019re getting some calcium, vitamin D and B12<\/a> in your system, she says. \u201cVegans need to make a conscious effort to eat the right quantity and combinations of food to get the nutrients they need to stay healthy,\u201d she notes.<\/p>\n

3. Don\u2019t be too hard on yourself.
\n<\/strong>If you\u2019re just testing the waters of veganism, don\u2019t sweat it over small slip-ups. \u201cIf you\u2019re a part-time vegan and want milk, it\u2019s not the end of the world,\u201d Bittman says. \u201c…It\u2019s just a matter of maintaining thoughtfulness and awareness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ready to give it a go? Visit Veganuary.com<\/a> to pledge yourself to\u00a0a meat-free month.\u00a0For more information on vegan meal deliveries from Purple Carrot, click here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Is going vegan part-time legit? Here\u2019s the inside scoop on the trend that\u2019s taking over your newsfeed, and why you might want to try a vegan diet (even if only before 6 p.m.!). <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":53,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,7,18],"tags":[291,41,51,71,341,352,284,95],"class_list":["post-46798","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-diet-nutrition","category-health","category-weight-loss","tag-clean-eating","tag-diets","tag-food-choices","tag-nutrition","tag-tax1living-well","tag-tax2weight-loss","tag-vegan","tag-vegetarian"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46798","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/53"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46798"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46798\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46798"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46798"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46798"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}