Some people find transitioning to a vegan diet is easy, they cut out the animal products and don't look back. For others the idea of never eating cheese again brings them out in a cold sweat. Other won't give up the leather shoes.
One important thing to remember about being vegan is that it's not about never letting any animal product come into contact with your body in any way ever again. In the world, as it is today, that is almost impossible. The whole point of veganism is to live in a way that is least harmful, to animals, to the environment, to the planet. It's not about denying yourself, going without or punishing yourself. It's about making good and informed choices.
Going Vegan the Easy Way
No one has to go 100% vegan overnight, you could try for a month, see how you go, you can phase animal products out, or just cut back on them one item at a time. There's no right or wrong way and below is a list of 8 ideas that you can try to make transitioning to a vegan, or plant based diet easier:
Remove the idea of failure - don't ever feel that you have failed or let yourself down if you eat more meat/eggs/dairy than you set out to
Have meat free days - instead of going 100% all in, try having vegans days, pick a day or two and make those vegan days b planning it ahead of time
Have one vegan meal a day - another easier way to ease yourself in
Only eat vegan at home - it's easier to control the food in your own home, eating out may be more problematic. Planning vegan meals at home can take the stress out of trying to hit a target of no animal products at all. It can also make eating with other easier if you don't have to be the odd vegan out
Make swaps instead of cutting foods out - dairy-free milk/meat alternatives/vegan chewy sweets/vegan chocolate and more... there's a vegan version of pretty much everything and a lot of it tastes not just similar to the animal based version, but good in it's own right.
Don't feel that you have to move straight to tofu, lentils and quinoa - you don't have to eat those things at all if you don't want to. Processed vegan food is still better for the environment and your health than animal based products
Don't forget your supplements - Vitamin D, everyone needs that, just make sure that yours is vegan. B12, these are cheap and can be found in a lot of supermarkets for about £2. Omegas, you don't have to supplement with these as long as you are getting enough in your diet from foods like linseed (flaxseed) or sunflower seeds. If you do want to supplement, be sure to use a vegan algae based capsule.
Don't be afraid to try new things - some of my favourite foods have been discovered by having to try something different when options were limited.
The most important point is to remove any idea of failure. As long as you're not doing nothing you're doing something, every journey starts with the first step, just keep going. No one is perfect, so just focus on doing your best.
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