5. BE STRONG AND STICK WITH IT

There are many pitfalls ahead of you, and we hope that if we warn you of them now you won't stray from your new diet.

Restaurants

You're going to have to get used to being very careful when you order food in restaurants. Some restaurants won't have anything at all you can eat, but most will have something which can be modified to your specifications. Make sure you tell your server exactly what you don't want in your food. Don't be shy!

Avoiding arguments

Don't let people bug you, and don't get drawn into stupid arguments. When people find out that you are a vegan, they will often seem to feel threatened or irritated and they will ask you for an exhaustive defense of your diet. It's not your responsibility to defend your diet. You can eat or not eat whatever the hell you want. If someone starts bothering you about it, just give a brief, simple account of your reasons for being a vegan, and leave it at that. If the person persists, change the subject.

Don't bug other people. When you're eating with other people and they're eating meat, don't be annoying or self-righteous. Vegans who do that set "the cause" back ten years every time they open their mouths. If you want to tell people about your diet, talk to them about it in a non-confrontational, non-gross manner, and they might come around to it in their own time. If you try to convert people with horror stories and moral admonitions, particularly when they're trying to eat, they won't listen to you and, quite rightly, they won't like you.

Get into a routine

Finally, you should get into a routine. You should experiment with new foods at first, just to see what you like, and there's never any harm in trying new recipes or foods. However, the food you eat should not dominate your life or take up too much of your time. Once you figure out some meals that you like, go ahead and eat them frequently. If your vegan diet is a constant hassle you'll be more likely to ditch it. Vegans eat the same thing for breakfast just about every day, just like most people do, and they have a number of tried and true favorites they eat for lunches and dinners. Once you get into a comfortable routine, sticking to your diet won't be a problem.

Whether you do it for your health, the animals, or the environment, being a vegan can be extremely rewarding and can make you feel much better about yourself. We hope the information we've provided will help you stick with it.