Make meatless monday a routine
It's never too late to start something great. Making small but significant changes to your diet and lifestyle can yield powerful results. Going meat-free just one day per week is simply better for your health and better for the environment. But how do you create a meat-free routine? Here's where to start.
Realize your "why"
Having a mission and a purpose for changing the way you eat, will give you motivation to start, and endurance to follow through. Begin by assessing your health. Unless you're already sick, how much effort do you put into preserving your body and preventing disease?
- According to a 2016 study in the Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, people who eat plant-based have a 15% lower incidence of all types of cancer, 34% lower risk of female-specific cancer and 22% lower risk of colorectal cancer.
- According to The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association, a diet focused on extra leafy green vegetables, fiber, fruits and berries is associated with a 53% reduced incidence of Alzheimer's disease, particularly in those predisposed.
- Several studies show that a plant-based diet increases the body’s metabolism, causing the body to burn calories up to 16% faster than the body would on a meat-based diet for at least the first 3 hours after meals.
- Nobel Prize winner Elizabeth Blackburn found that a vegan diet changed more than 500 genes in just 3 months. It activated genes that prevented disease and deactivated genes that caused various cancers and other illnesses.[i]
- Meat production uses 33% of the Earth's entire land surface.
- Producing a 1/4 lb. burger uses enough water to fill 11 bathtubs.
- Global meat production creates more greenhouse gas than the entire transportation sector.
Is meat really a sacrifice if you're drastically improving your body and the planet? For more eye-opening data, visit MeatlessMonday.com.
Come up with a plan
First, decide on a day to begin your new routine. Statistically, Mondays are most promising. While 27% of people report that Monday is the day they experience the most stress, 58% of people have a positive view of Monday, seeing it as an opportunity for a “fresh start” and a day to “get my act together.”[2] Also, life-threatening events such as heart attacks and strokes, happen more frequently on Mondays, as people transition back to the structured routine of the week.[3]
Now, what will you actually eat? Have fun experimenting with plant-based recipes and spending more time in the produce section of the grocery store, to appreciate all the seasonal fruits and greens.
If you're not much of a chef, Veestro offers delicious meal plans to make meal prep as easy as heating in a microwave. If vegetarian and vegan meals make you think salad and tofu, explore Veestro's a la carte menu to find transitional favorites like Pizza Napoletana and Country Fried Chick'n. Changing the world may be easier than you thought.
Learn more about 7 Tips for Eating Less Meat.
Sources:
- A Vegan Diet (Hugely) Helpful Against Cancer. Huffington Post (2013).
- FGI Research (2014). Online panel of 1,000 respondents.
- Johns Hopkins Center for a Liveable Future (2010). Healthy Monday: Two literature reviews.
