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Welcome to Day 4 of the 7 Day Plant Strong Jumpstart for a Lean, Fit, Healthy Body.

Over 7 days I’m sharing one easy to implement step a day to create a strong, healthy body while following a Vegan (#plantstrong!) lifestyle.

Accountability and support are our focus for today.

Time to enlist the help of those closest to you. Yes, it’s getting real when I ask you to share your goal with the 5 people closest to you. Time and time again studies have shown that for sustainability you need a support network. The people closest to you will either help or hinder you. To help they need to know what your intention is. So share it.

Accountability is a powerful tool for success. When you start a training program and tell no one about it – how much easier is it to have that little cheat, or to skip that training session?

For sure it involves stepping out of your comfort zone! However your comfort zone isn’t safe… in contrast, it’s boring-STUCK-status-quo.

Please tag me when you share your goal on social media and I’ll have your back! I’m @strongbodygreenplanet on Insta and strongbodygreenplanet or Kate Galli on Facebook.

If those you spend the most time with either feed your strengths or your weakness’s then maximise your time with people who have similar goals or who are already there and are a source of inspiration to you.

This is especially vital when we’re talking about adopting a #plantstrong, vegan lifestyle. 

Now I know you might only be trialling this 7 days to power into the New Year feeling fit and healthy and as such I might be getting a little excitable and a little ahead of myself! However that’s me! I am excitable and I’m relentlessly focused on helping to create a healthy, happy, compassionate vegan world. So – back to YOU – if you like the way you’re feeling these few days in to the 7 Day Plant Strong Jumpstart for a Lean, Fit, Healthy Body then I strongly recommend you consider seeking out support in the form of other people who have similar values to you.

Even consider getting active.

As one of my fav activists here in Sydney – Kai McBeth – said (I’m paraphrasing) “When you become vegan you give up something you wish was never a part of your life and when you become an activist you gain something you wish was always a part of your life.”

It’s so very true. I share this with you for two reasons:

First: If the food / convenience / potential social awkwardness part of adopting a #plantstrong, vegan lifestyle is not yet joyously easy, please know it will become easy. I genuinely believe that can be the case for everyone. Personally I’m a pretty good test case as pre 16 years old I’d regularly state “I could never be vegetarian!” I loved the taste of meat, eggs and dairy. I’m a fussy eater. I’m a lazy cook. I prefer to eat lower carb, higher protein to stay lean WITHOUT cardio. I like to eat HUGE meals and I’m an emotionally eater. Oh, and my eating needs to account for the Shiraz and vodka I love to consume. So, if it can be easy and JOYFUL for me I believe it can be for you too.

Second: Without doubt every vegan I ask about “the hardest thing about being vegan” tells me it’s the reaction of non-vegans. Especially loved ones. Which is why accountability and support are so vital and are our focus for today.

Humans are social, tribal creatures. We need community and love and connection. Adopting a vegan lifestyle often causes others to question their own choices and that can invite push back and conflict. Asking people to change their habits is like asking them to change their tribe. Equally when something is so clear to you it can be super painful, frustrating, infuriating that smart, (generally) compassionate people you love see things so very differently.

That is when you need contact with other people who just get it.

That’s not meant to sound judgemental. It’s just an honest assessment that when I have decided: “There’s no humane way to kill someone who does not want to die” and “There’s no difference between eating a pig and eating a dog.” Then there’s only so much time I can handle with people who want to ensure me the animals sacrifice their lives willingly and don’t feel pain and were born to be food and would not exist if we weren’t gracious enough to deem them delicious.

Here are a few considerations on the matter of seeking out accountability and support:

One: When talking to non-vegan loved ones consider asking them to be “vegan allies.” This is a concept coined by social psychologist Dr Melanie Joy and has been hugely helpful to me. In E552 it was my huge pleasure and honour to chat with Dr Melanie Joy about Carnism and Creating Effective Communication Between Vegans and Non-vegans.

Two: If you’re keen to get more active so far as propelling us towards a vegan world then try to find the activity that will nourish and support you. I love Anonymous for the Voiceless vegan street outreach because I get to have open, honest conversations with non-vegans and meet an amazing group of passionate and compassionate animal activists. AV is global with around 600 chapters so to find (or start) one near one just search AV and your city in Facebook.

Your options are limitless though, perhaps you’d prefer to get your cook on (!) by making vegan cupcakes for a University cupcake day? Or maybe you like the unity and vibe in street marches. Possibly you have the strength for baring witness at slaughterhouse vigils.

Maybe you’re more comfortable with online activism though if you’re joining groups on social media please know that like everything some groups and some people are amazing and supportive and some are agender-ed and rife with in-flighting. I tend to keep my little positive blinders on as much as possible as fighting with people who ultimately have the same end goal as you is such an insanely stupid waste time and energy.

For more ideas on how to get active I recommend my chat in E554 with Stephanie Feldstein and The Animal Lover’s Guide to Changing the World.

Three: I strong recommend being conscious of the information you’re filtering in to your mind and your life as you do progress with a #plantstrong, vegan lifestyle. (Yes, that’s excitable Kate again!)

It’s super easy for your social media feeds to get full of all the horrific things we do to animals and the environment. It can get overwhelming. I recommend also following people / pages that share the positives, the wins and even humorous posts. Set times to check social media and even a 24 hour digital detox weekly can also be valuable. If possible, I know the activists I’m friends with all rave about the joy they get when they have to opportunity to visit / volunteer at an animal sanctuary.

That’s it for today – see you tomorrow where I share one of the strategies that helps me manage my emotional eating!

If you liked “[Day 4] 7 Day Plant Strong Jumpstart for a Lean, Fit, Healthy Body” you’ll also like: How To Prevent Weight Gain Over Christmas and New Year (6 step survival blueprint).

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.