7 [TIMELESS] Laws To Thrive On A Vegan Diet

In this article I’m going to show you exactly how you can thrive on a vegan diet. I’m going to share with you the 7 timeless laws for having more energy and getting in the best shape of your life powered solely by plants.

I’m going to share with you everything I’ve learned from being more than 6 years in the fitness industry, 6 years vegan, coaching 130 vegans in 18 countries and investing now nearly $40,000 dollars in my health & fitness education.

So if you just give me a couple minutes of your time, you can learn how to thrive on a vegan diet. So you not only have the ethical or environmental benefits of this lifestyle, but also the benefits for your health and performance.

So let’s jump right into it.

Law Number 1: You must eat enough calories.

Too many vegan diets fail because people think they can cheat the first law of thermodynamics. Sounds complicated but it’s simple: See if you eat less energy than your body needs to function properly, you will fail.

And this is quite tricky on a vegan diet, because plants have a smaller energy density, than animal foods have. Which is great for weight loss, but if weight loss is not your goal, you have to take this in consideration.

I remember giving a speech about vegan fitness in Bali, and I got a question from this guy that went vegan and just felt completely tired. We changed his situation with one key advice: Eat more calories.

Action step: Download a software like MyFitnessPal or Cronometer. Put in all the food that you’re eating for one day. Are you eating enough calories for your body weight and activity levels? If yes, good. If not, fix this.

Law Number 2: You must see food as fuel.

Oreos and French fries are vegan. Are these foods that will make you thrive? No.

See you must use the proper fuel for your body to function properly. Too many people see food solely as a source of entertainment, comfort or tool to beat boredom.

And so did I in the past. Sometimes I ate donuts for breakfast. When I bought food I had 2 considerations only: 1 is it cheap? And 2 does it taste good? Nothing else.

The result of that, I nearly got diabetes when I was in my late teens. Not really. But I was certainly on track.

Now, before I buy a food I think: 1 Is it fuel for my body? And 2 does it bring me closer to my goals?

The result of that I thrive on a vegan diet.

See the more you see food as fuel, the better you will thrive on this lifestyle.

Action step: Take a look at the vegan food that you’re eating on a daily basis. Is it entertainment or fuel? And what can you do so the food that you’re eating is more fuel and less entertainment?

Law Number 3: You must supplement.

Wooo. The s-word. Supplements.

Too many vegans feel like supplements are not required to function properly. They say things such as: “How can a diet be natural for us if we need to supplement?”

Well, you’re right. You wouldn’t need to supplement if you would live in natural times. If you could dial the clock back 50,000 years, live in the Equator sun, gather plants that have all the nutrients without being purposefully bred for taste, have water that is not sanitized by chloride and die by a spear thrust in your chest before you turn 30 by an attack of a hostile neighbouring tribe.

Then yes, you would not need to supplement.

But if your goal is longevity. If your goal is thriving on a vegan diet. If your goal is energy way beyond what is required for mere survival, then you must supplement.

Action step: You must supplement B12. This is necessary for almost anyone living on this planet but especially for vegans. Ideally, for optimum health you should also supplement Vit D3 – the sunlight vitamin – and omega 3, derived from algae.

Law Number 4: You must develop a holistic approach.

Your diet is one tool of many. If your goal is thriving then you must not focus on diet alone.

Too many vegans are eating properly, while they’re getting wasted on the weekends, sleep 4 hours a night and never see a gym from the inside. This is a recipe for disaster.

Yet this is what I did a few years ago. Not so much the wasted part but more the sleep part. Due to my work schedule I averaged 5-6 hours of sleep a night for years. Back then I was working fulltime as a manager of 5 fitness centres plus fulltime coaching vegans to get in the best shape of their life.

Now this doesn’t leave much room for sleep, doesn’t it. On top of that I thought sleep was for the weak – not a great mindset to have.

The result of that? Sometimes I fell asleep during meetings. Sometimes I was stressed out. And I certainly was not as productive as I am today. I was being penny wise and pound foolish.

Today, sleep is a priority. I average 7-8 hours of sleep a night and I thrive.

Action step: If your goal is thriving you must follow a holistic approach. Your sleep must be dialed in. Your alcohol or drug consumption of any kind should be minimized. You should drink 3-4 liters of water a day. And you should exercise at least 3-4 times a week, 1-2 times being cardio.

Law Number 5: You must listen to the few and not the many.

If you’re a new vegan and you enjoy watching youtube videos you’ll soon realize that ‘vegan youtube’ can be summed up in one word: Drama.

In the next few months very likely a quote on quote vegan youtuber that you love will suddenly eat fish. Or turn carnivore. Or drink his own p*ss.

So if you enjoy content that is not based on drama, because no one got that time for that stuff, you should subscribe to my youtube channel here.

But really, you must have few selected advisors that you trust. And you must ignore the vast majority of quote on quote influencers online. You must also nearly 100% of the things that you hear in the news about veganism. You must also ignore almost 100% of the well-meaning input of your family and friends – unless they’re experts in their field.

So instead of listening to the crowd, you must learn if you want to thrive on a vegan diet, how to listen to few, very smart people that have great results.

Action step: Realize that thriving on a vegan diet is less about the advice that you listen to and MORE about the advice that you do not listen to. Listen to the few and not the many.

Law Number 6: You must rely on habits and not on motivation.

If you’re reading this article right now it means you’re motivated. You’re driven to make a change.

– Or you’re just bored lying in your bed.

Well, both works for me.

But anyway, you must understand that on this journey to thriving, motivation gets you started and habits keep you going.

You will not always be motivated to make healthy decisions. In fact, sometimes you will be completely lazy.

In fact I’d consider myself the highest performing lazy person I know.

Why? Hell, because I’d love to sleep in every morning. I’d love to wake up at 11am, take a long, hot shower, go out for vegan waffles, come back lie on the couch, have a warm vanilla coffee, snuggle in my soft blanket and binge watch youtube videos or play video games.

The last thing I want to do in the morning is jump out at 5:30am and have a cold shower and go to work. Yet that’s exactly what I do.

Why:

1. Habits. It doesn’t take much willpower for me to wake up at 5:30am because I’ve been doing it for the last 318 days.
2. While I know that discipline sucks in the moment. It makes me feel awesome afterwards. It makes me feel fulfilled and it makes me feel in control.

Action step: Remember, you can either suffer the pain of discipline – which you then turn into habits – OR you can suffer the pain of regret.

Law Number 7: You must have belief.

Too many of vegans have given up to thrive on a vegan diet before they even started.

Why? Because they’ve failed so many times in the past that they now, unconsciously, believe that this is not possible for them.

This phenomena is called learned helplessness and it is a widespread phenomena.

I’m here to tell you that it is possible for you to thrive on a vegan diet. And if you can just take one advice from this article, then be it this one.

You must 100% belief in your ability to thrive on a vegan diet. Because if you do not, you will not even give it a shot. And if you do end up giving it a shot, you’ll do it half heartedly or engage in self-sabotaging behaviour.

Action step: Be honest with yourself. Do you believe that it’s possible for you to thrive on a vegan diet? If yes, awesome. You’re way ahead of everyone. If not, that’s normal. You should look into affirmations and ideally you should find a trusted advisor, that believes in you getting this done.