The great vegan debate has everyone's head spinning these days. Many people are thinking about converting to this style of eating but struggle with relishing the thought of giving up bacon or delicious feta. Yes, there's no question eating vegan can be incredibly healthy but there are also challenges with it. Let's explore.

One of the challenges with being a vegetarian is if you're not careful, you can eat a lot of dairy and carbs to make up for the meat you're not consuming. This is dangerous and can lead to a lot of weight gain, and defeat the entire purpose of eating vegetarian. This same bad habit can creep into a newly converted vegan daily habits. 

Many people stop from becoming vegan because  they could never imagine giving up butter or cheese or bacon. We say, lead a vegan lifestyle if you desire and still eat one of those things. Change has to begin somewhere. There's nothing wrong with integrating some of the eating pillars of a vegan lifestyle along with other things you enjoy for a healthy balance. Not everything has to be all or nothing. 

Tips to start your Vegan lifestyle:

1. Build good habits from the get-go: As you're starting out on a vegan diet, be sure to instill good habits where you're eating a lot of vegetables and other staples of a vegan lifestyle. 

2. Educate yourself as you start out on being vegan. Be sure to understand the cornerstone pillars of this way of eating and living. It's quite difficult from mainstream society although better options are available. But the key is to be aware of the challenges you may face in this transition. 

3. Buy a great cookbook or two! Educate yourself on the expert vegan chefs and get their cookbook. Get in the habit of cooking (which vegan does require a lot of the time) right from the beginning. 

4. Have a plan: Planning ahead is what leading a different food lifestyle is all about. Guarantee at the next birthday office part, there's no option for vegan. Have snacks on hand so you don't feel left out in social situation or be prepared to avoid overeating or eating off the vegan path.