The struggle is real! Deciding to switch from the Standard American Diet (S.A.D.) to a Whole Food Plant-Based (WFPB) diet is often the easy part. The hard part is actually making the switch happen. Here’s why it’s hard to switch to a plant-based lifestyle.
The inaugural issue of the True North Newsletter published in 2003 describes the book The Pleasure Trap written by Doctors Douglas Lisle and Alan Goldhamer and offers insight as to why it’s hard to switch to a plant-based lifestyle.
“Dr. Douglas Lisle, who has spent the last two decades researching and studying this evolutionary syndrome, explains that all of us inherit innate incentives from our ancient ancestors that he terms The Motivational Triad: the pursuit of pleasure; the avoidance of pain; and the conservation of energy. Unfortunately, in present day America’s convenience-centric, excess-oriented culture where fast food, recreational drugs, and sedentary shopping have become the norm, these basic instincts that once successfully insured the survival and reproduction of man many millennia ago, no longer serve us well.
In fact, it’s our unknowing enslavement to this internal, biological force embedded in the collective memory of our species that is undermining our health and happiness today. The authors point out that all of us, because of The Motivational Triad, are wired for self-sabotage until we get a firm handle on how these primitive drives specifically betray us in our daily lives, and then learn how to transcend their grip.
For example, instead of eating whole natural foods that admittedly require more effort to buy and prepare, most of us, explain Doctors Lisle and Goldhamer “conserve our energy” by “pursuing the pleasures” of the easily accessible “insta-fare” that promises loads of sugar, fat, and refined carbohydrates.
Contrary to popular belief, overeating has nothing to do with a lack of willpower or low self-esteem, insist the authors. The typical American diet, so replete with processed foods, actually fools the senses, leaving people vulnerable to over-consumption”.
This helps to explain why it’s hard to switch to a plant-based lifestyle. Another factor that makes it hard to switch is the need to change your behavior.
We need to change the emotional part of behavior that influences our motivation, will-power or follow-through to eat differently.
Behavior Change is Hard Work!
It’s useful to ask yourself why you are thinking about changing your behavior. It’s personal for each of us.
Questions to ask yourself:
What would you like to see different about your current diet?
What would you like to change about your health?
Why do you need to change?
If you don’t change, what do you think will happen?
What would you like your life to be like in one year? Even short term-six weeks?
Do you feel confident that you can change?
If not, what would it take to make you feel more confident?
Take stock of where you are in the process of change.
Dr. Lisle reminds us that to achieve your goal of optimal health you may need to “let go” of something old to be able to adopt something new.
There are 2 major forces that oppose our success when it comes to healthy living. The Pleasure Trap which presents enticing stimuli that we just can’t let go of is one. The other is competing demands ie. get thin but want a treat.
Forces that Enable or Prevent Success:
We’re designed by nature to project ourselves into the future with our imagination. These are usually fixed by taking cues from others and seeing their success. Additionally we’re designed by nature to obtain success and that’s the positive success force behind people.
We all have success force but we need to watch out for the success obstacles.
The pleasure trap- we’re wired to look for things that are more gratifying and more successful (success force). Your imagination is constantly working to try to make you better.
Pick a goal that makes you more likely to succeed meaning one that you:
- Care about
- Know you can achieve
- Think might bring you closer to community you care about
Tips for Behavior Change:
Practical tips:
Set up your environment for healthy eating behaviors by making it:
- Convenient- keep bad choices out of the house
- Normative- Expectation that healthy is normal
- Attractive- put effort in presentation for example; put fruit in a bowl, don’t place packages on the table, rather in serving dishes etc.
Dr. Lisle reminds us that “behavior change is a difficult journey, one that each of us must walk alone. Yet it is ultimately the most rewarding path to choose”.
Confusion and Mixed Messages 
As if the idea of the pleasure trap and behavior change aren’t reason enough to explain why it’s hard to switch to a plant-based lifestyle there are several other reasons as well. The reasons include the fact that according to Dr. Thomas Campbell (co-author of The China Study) today’s popular media fuels interest about nutrition and the foods we eat. There are many mixed messages leaving more questions than answers.
We’re certainly confused about nutrition issues- i.e. are eggs good for you?, what about carbohydrates?, etc.
Growing up we all received a variety of messages about nutrition that have influenced and formed our eating practices today. Many of these messages contributed to the adoption of the Standard American Diet which doesn’t offer optimal health. This makes it hard to switch to a plant-based lifestyle. It’s due to the mixed messages and confusion around what actually is good nutrition and a healthy way of eating.
We’re often confused as to what’s the best way of eating and we’re bucking typically years of poor eating habits. These habits contribute to chronic disease such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease and cancer. This confusion coupled with bad habits can be challenging to overcome.
Addiction
Given the rise in obesity rates, many people are saddled with food addictions. Even if food addiction isn’t an issue for you, it’s very possible that you are addicted to cheese. Yep, according to Dr. Neal Barnard, President of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and author of The Cheese Trap explains that the dairy protein called casein has opiate molecules built in to it. So it’s plausable to think that you’re addicted to cheese!
Admittedly the opiate molecules built into casein is small but it’s the volume of casein that is ingested that makes the difference. In fact, the average American eats more than 33 pounds of cheese a year. Wowza! That’s a lot of cheese (and casein). Barnard calls it “dairy crack.” Cheese causes weight gain and risks to serious diseases.
All of these factors can make it hard to switch to a plant-based lifestyle but it doesn’t mean it can’t be done.
Steps to Making a Change
Often when we make a decision to change something about our lifestyle it involves a myriad of emotions and practical choices that need to be made repeatedly. The same holds true for making the decision to step away from the Standard American Diet.
As stated earlier, it can be easy to make the decision to adopt a plant-based lifestyle but more challenging to enact it.
Most people who’ve made the transition to the plant-based lifestyle will tell you the challenges that they faced when they began their journey. These same people who’ve successfully made the switch will also tell you how it was worth the challenges that they faced.
Personal Path
For me, making the decision was certainly the easy part as I was (and still am) motivated by the desire to live a healthier lifestyle and to age well in order to be around for my family.
Making the switch wasn’t as simple as making the decision.
I had to learn how to cook in a whole new way and that meant a lot of trial and error. Frankly, there were more errors in the early goings but there were also enough wins to sustain the errors. The wins included weight loss, more energy, lower cholesterol levels, better sleep, enhanced taste buds (flavors were/are heightened) better gut health and glowing skin.
Navigating the new lifestyle took a bit to master, there were a few slip ups where I “fell off the wagon” because I thought that since I had lost weight I could “cheat” and eat a few things like I had done in the past. I even took to eating more processed vegan food only to gain ten pounds tripping the need to become recommitted to eating a whole food plant-based diet. All this to say I know why it’s hard to switch to a plant-based lifestyle but I didn’t let anything stop me as it truly has been worth it in order to live a healthier life. I’ve never felt better and I look forward to aging well and sharing life with my family and friends for a long time to come.
What’s been the biggest challenge for you as you transition to the whole food plant-based lifestyle? Leave your comments below.
Keep up the good fight-you’re worth it!
P.S. If you’ve already begun your plant-based journey and are looking for a place to learn and gain some support and encouragement, join our free private Facebook group called Judy’s Newbies. This group will help you to learn to take charge of your health and stay the course with the whole food plant-based lifestyle.