Should You Go Completely Meatless?

As you get further along in your plant-based journey, you might come to a point where 
you are deciding whether or not to go completely vegan, or just meatless. Flexitarians 
are often in this mix, as while they allow some animal products and don’t go completely 
vegan, most of their food does tend to be along the lines of a vegetarian or vegan.

Here are some things to consider if you are trying to decide whether or not to remove all 
meat (including poultry and fish) from your diet.


Plant-Based VS Vegan

Let’s start with the main differences between being plant-based and being vegan. A 
plant-based diet reduces animal consumption, but still allows it in small quantities, while 
a vegan diet is strictly animal-free, 100 percent of the time.

If you know you want to stop all animal products consumption, not just eating meat and 
fish, but also anything an animal makes, like milk or honey, then the vegan lifestyle is 
for you.

On the other hand, if you just want the health and environmental benefits of reducing 
your meat and dairy, then the plant-based diet might be a better option. 


Tips for Making Your Decision

Here are a few tips to decide whether you should go plant-based or vegan.

1. How often do you eat meat, dairy, honey, or eggs right now? If you like to eat the 
occasional eggs or dairy in your diet, even though you are mostly plant-based, then 
vegan might not be the best fit for you. However, if you find that the majority of your 
meals are already vegan, it could be an easy transition.

2. How comfortable are you with restrictions in your diet? If you decide to make a 
commitment to a completely meatless or vegan diet, then you will be having a lot of 
restrictions. While the benefits might outweigh what you can no longer eat, it is 
important to know yourself and how you personally handle restrictions. With a plant-
based diet, you are reducing meat and dairy, but you can still have it on occasion.

3. Do you have a history with eating disorders or disordered eating? This is a 
really important question to ask yourself, because a vegan diet is much more restrictive. 
It is not recommended for people with disordered eating behaviors, since the restrictions 
are so intense, you might experience a lot of emotional turmoil as a result. If you have 
an eating disorder or history with disordered eating, please seek professional help for 
recovery.


How and When to Reduce Animal Consumption

If you want to go plant-based, but not necessary be completely vegan, it is up to you to 
decide how you will reduce your animal consumption. Here are a few ideas:


Start with one type of meat. Maybe you want to reduce your meat, poultry, and fish 
consumption slowly. For example, maybe this week, you just stop eating red meat, so 
no more beef or pork, but still allow yourself to eat chicken or turkey.

Stop making eggs for breakfast. This is a super easy way to work on eating more 
plant-based foods. Just stop making breakfast with eggs, and instead have the 
numerous other options, like avocado toast, cereal, oatmeal, or smoothies.

Switch to dairy-free milk. Not ready to give up meat and eggs? Just start with your 
milk. Stop buying cow’s milk, and try out other dairy-free alternatives, like almond milk, 
soy milk, oat milk, or cashew milk. You might find that you don’t even miss regular milk. 
Hint: if you want it to taste as close to cow’s milk as possible, get the sweetened, vanilla 
flavor of almond milk.

Enjoy more meals without cheese. Another easy way to transition to more plant-
based foods is to stop adding cheese. For example, if you are making tacos, skip the 
chees and sour cream, and instead use guacamole as a topping.

Find veggie alternatives you love. Look for veggie alternatives of your favorite foods, 
whether that means a veggie burger, veggie chili, or sweet potato tacos.


The Verdict on Going Meatless

It is very possible to be plant-based and eat a mostly meatless diet, but still have dairy 
and eggs on occasion, which keeps you from going full vegan. In the end, the decision 
is up to you, but don’t feel like to go plant-based means the same thing as vegan; but it 
is actually quite different.


