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In the final of this 4 part Failure To Success series my message is: Do it for YOU at the right time for you.

Back before my big butt serenades, before I turned gym floor humiliation into a fine art and prior to the biz from hell… when I was very much still that painfully shy young chick, dad and I used to go on skiing holidays. 

Warm weather loving mum, had decided staying at home was far more enjoyable than the frenzied-Friday-afternoon-mad-rush to drive up to stay with friends in Ohakune (N.Z.) for a weekend of a sport she found supremely unfun. So some quality dad and daughter time ensued.

Dad took it upon himself to turn the car into a self confidence boosting machine and would play non-stop self help and motivational CASSETTES the entire 3 hour trip. Ok, I exaggerate – there was a certain stretch of road where John Denver’s ‘Rocky Mountain High’ blared. I have no idea if the love for self help and motivational study I now have has anything to do with dad’s car of confidence, however I do remember being supremely uninterested at the time.

How often have you given something your best because it was what someone else thought you needed?

As a young teenager I was likely at my least receptive, however I was equally unwilling to throw my heart and energy into the gym a number of years later when again, dad suggested: “It’d be good for you Kate.”

Do it for YOU at the right time for you.

In my own good time I discovered what a healthy addiction the gym can be.

Exercising regularly and eating great food became a part of my lifestyle not because I felt I had to do either. It was more that I got an awareness of the person I wanted to be. The actions to take are really quite simple when you’re clear on the person you want to be. When you’re doing it for you, devoid of any external pressure or expectation, you make the choice once and just do it.

If that choice you’re looking to make right now is to adopt a more plant based lifestyle I’ve been giving a lot of thought recently to: The Best First Steps When Adopting A More Plant Based Lifestyle and What I Wish I Knew Before I Went Plant Based.

I’m referring more to the actions to take rather than the deeper behind the scenes mindset alignments that I often focus on and that I dig in with in my 30 Day Plant Strong Jumpstart. Or the delicious meals that I share in my Easy Vegan Plan.

I want to share the 10 most important of those actions with you in todays show. However they really are primarily of value to you if you want to try plant based. So if you’re a happy, healthy carnivore – all good – however the rest of today likely might not be to your taste.

These are 10 specific actions that I’m recommending to 2 of my dear clients who have recently decided (to my shock and HUGE excitement!) to adopt a more plant based lifestyle:

One: Rather Than One Main Event, (the meat or fish) focus on building your meals around fibrous veg, plant based protein and good fat. 

Further to this, your plant based protein will come from multiple sources in one meal (not just one hunk of animal protein).

Two: Prioritize One Ingredient Whole Foods. 

Try some foods / meals you might not have loved as a kid as your taste buds and cooking ability changes. Meat/Dairy substitutes can be useful however don’t make them ‘the main event.’

Three: Buy Quality Produce and give it the same cooking, seasoning, marinating respect you gave meat.

I’ll link to a post in the show notes by The Kitchn on 5 Ways To Treat Vegetables As Meat:

Four: Don’t Be Disheartened By A Recipe Flop! 

You’ve had plenty of bad meat meals over the years right? It’ll take time to learn what works best for you.

Five: You Might Have To Eat Larger Meals To Be Satisfied.

Animal products generally have a high caloric density so the quantity you can / will need to eat when it’s purely plant based will go up. I see this as a very happy side effect! Further more, do not be scared of good fats: nuts, seeds, avocado, quality oils… once you cut the poor quality fat out of your life you’ll be able to enjoy A LOT more good quality fat.

Six: Find Creative Alternatives For Those Meals You Used To Love As A Meat Eater. 

Instagram is my favourite inspiration here. There is literally a vegan version of everything. Up your insta-inspiration game by experimenting with switches that make your meat-make-over meals lower carb and higher protein. Some of my go to lower carb switches are:

• Swap burger buns for portobello caps and sliderbread for sweet potato rounds.
• Swap nacho chips for kale crisps.
• Swap taco shells for cos lettuce leaves.
• Swap rice for cauli-rice and pasta for zoodles.
• Swap cannelloni sheets for rolled lengths of grilled eggplant.

Seven: Find Plant Based Protein Pimps To Add To Any Meal. 

Aside from nuts and nut butters how about:

• Hemp seeds. 1 tablespoon contains 3gmof protein AND 1000 mg omega 3’s.
• Pumpkin seeds.1 tablespoon contains 3gm of protein AND 2 mg iron.
• Nutritional yeast. 1 heaped tablespoon contains 3gm of protein AND up to your daily requirement of B12.
• Spirulina. 1/2 a teaspoon contains 1gm protein AND 1.33mg iron
• Dulse. 1 teaspoon contains 1gm protein AND 1.65 iron

Eight: When Eating Out Scan The Menu For Easy Additions To Your Meal. 

It’s helpful to know what’s on offer and see if a side of for example: avocado or roast pumpkin or pecans can be added to your potentially light weight meal. Know that the more often you politely ask for vegan options the more swiftly decent, delicious, satisfying plant based options will become a part of the regular menu.

Nine: The More Certain YOU Are Of Your Choices The More Accepting Your Loved Ones Will Be. 

They follow your lead. When you’re determined yet non-judgemental they’ll give up on trying to tempt you back to “real food” and may even (in their own time) become more receptive to adopting a more plant based lifestyle themselves.

Ten: Everything Counts. 

Move at your own pace. Know there is not such thing as failure or a “bad vegan” AND do it for YOU at the right time for you.

That’s it for this week in Healthification. Huge appreciate to YOU for sharing this week with me.

The Healthification podcast is proudly bought to you by my FREE ‘Easy Vegan’ plan. It took me 25 years to transition from a meat eater to a happy, healthy, non-judgemental Vegan! You can do it in 7 short days with my simplified ‘easy vegan’ plan!  Get the fit, strong, and healthy plant based body you deserve…while avoiding ALL the mistakes I made along the way!

Learn more here:

Till next time, remember Creating a body and life you love is Freedom. (If this ex-carb queen, NON-genetically gifted, naturally uncoordinated VEGAN-chick can do it – so can YOU!!!)

If you liked Failure To Success: Do it for YOU at the right time for you, you’ll also like: Your Ego And Self Sabotage

If you’re yet to share the Healthification love – just click here to zip over to iTunes and leave an honest rating and review. It’d help me out big time. With gratitude, Kate.