From vegoutmag.com
By Jordan Cooper
After twelve years of watching new vegans stumble through the same pitfalls, I'm finally sharing the patterns I see on repeat
I went vegan in 2012, back when people still thought it meant eating only salad and somehow getting weaker by the day.
Since then, I've watched hundreds of friends, family members, and random people at parties try to make the switch. Some stick with it, some don't, but almost everyone makes the same handful of mistakes in those first few months.
Here's the thing: going vegan doesn't have to be hard. But we make it hard by overthinking some parts and completely ignoring others. After more than a decade of observing this pattern, I can spot these mistakes from a mile away. Let me save you some trouble.
1. Thinking you need to replace everything immediately
New vegans often panic-buy every plant-based substitute they can find.
Vegan cheese, vegan mayo, vegan chicken nuggets, vegan ice cream. The grocery bill hits $300 and suddenly this whole thing feels unsustainable.
Look, substitutes are great. I love them. But you don't need seventeen different products on day one.
Start with whole foods you already know: pasta with marinara, stir-fried vegetables with rice, bean burritos. Add specialty items gradually as you figure out what you actually miss.
Your wallet and your overwhelmed brain will thank you. Plus, you'll avoid buying a bunch of products you end up hating anyway.
2. Not eating enough food, period
Plants are generally less calorie-dense than animal products. A giant salad might look like a meal, but it's probably only 200 calories. Then you're starving two hours later, convinced veganism is the problem.
You need to eat more volume. Add nuts, seeds, avocado, olive oil, whole grains. Don't be afraid of carbs. That fear is leftover diet culture nonsense that has nothing to do with veganism.
I see people trying to veganize their keto diet or whatever restrictive thing they were doing before.
Just eat. Eat potatoes. Eat bread. Eat pasta. You can fine-tune later once you're not constantly hungry.
3. Forgetting that protein exists in plants
Everyone becomes a nutrition expert the second you mention going vegan. Suddenly, your uncle who eats gas station hot dogs, is concerned about your protein intake.
Here's the truth: protein is in almost everything. Beans, lentils, tofu, tempeh, seitan, quinoa, nuts, seeds, even vegetables have protein. You'd have to actively try to become protein deficient while eating enough calories.
Track your food for a week if you're worried. Most people discover they're easily hitting their protein goals without even trying. The myth that vegans can't get protein is just that: a myth that won't die.
4. Skipping the B12 supplement
Okay, this one's actually important. B12 doesn't naturally occur in plant foods in reliable amounts. It comes from bacteria, and our modern sanitized food system means we need to supplement.
This isn't a vegan problem, by the way. Lots of meat-eaters are B12-deficient too. But since you're not getting it from animal products anymore, you need to take it seriously.
Just buy a B12 supplement. They're cheap, available everywhere, and you can take them once a week if you get the right dose. Some plant milks are fortified, too. Easy fix, big impact on how you feel.
5. Making it your entire personality overnight
I get it. You just learned about factory farming or watched that documentary. You're fired up and want everyone to know. But becoming the vegan who only talks about veganism is a fast track to social isolation.
People are more influenced by watching you thrive than by hearing you lecture. Show them how good your food looks. Bring amazing vegan dishes to gatherings. Answer questions when asked, but don't make every conversation about animal agriculture.
You'll be way more effective as an example than as a walking PETA billboard. Plus, you'll keep your friends.
6. Assuming all vegan food is automatically healthy
Oreos are vegan. So are Doritos, Sour Patch Kids, and most french fries. You can absolutely eat a terrible diet as a vegan if you want to.
Going vegan for health reasons is great, but the label alone doesn't guarantee nutrition. That vegan cookie still has the same sugar and oil as a regular cookie. It's better for animals and the planet, sure, but it's not suddenly a health food.
Eat your vegetables. Build meals around whole foods. Treat the processed stuff like what it is: convenient and tasty, but not the foundation of your diet. Balance exists here too.
7. Not learning to cook at least five solid meals
If you're relying entirely on restaurants and pre-made meals, you're going to struggle. Vegan options are getting better everywhere, but they're still limited in a lot of places.
You need a rotation of five to seven meals you can make without thinking. Doesn't have to be fancy. Pasta with vegetables. Curry with chickpeas. Tacos with seasoned beans. Stir-fry with tofu. Simple stuff that tastes good and fills you up.
Once you have that foundation, everything else gets easier. You're not dependent on finding the one vegan option on a menu or spending $15 on a sad salad.
8. Giving up after one bad meal or restaurant experience
You're going to order something that sounds vegan and discover it has butter. You're going to make a recipe that tastes like cardboard. You're going to go to a restaurant with friends where the only option is iceberg lettuce with vinegar.
These moments don't mean veganism doesn't work. They mean you hit a bump. Every vegan has stories like this. The difference is whether you let one disappointing meal derail the whole thing.
Laugh it off, learn from it, move on. Order pizza without cheese next time. Try a different recipe. Suggest a different restaurant. It gets easier as you learn the patterns.
9. Comparing your journey to someone else's
Social media makes it look like every vegan is meal-prepping gorgeous Buddha bowls and making their own cashew cheese from scratch. Meanwhile, you're eating peanut butter straight from the jar for dinner.
Stop comparing. Some people love cooking and have the time for it. Others are busy and rely on convenience foods. Both approaches are fine. Both people are equally vegan.
Your version of veganism doesn't need to look like anyone else's. Find what works for your life, your budget, your schedule, and your taste preferences. That's the version that'll actually stick.
10. Trying to be perfect instead of consistent
Beginners often think they need to be 100% perfect immediately. They beat themselves up over accidentally eating something with milk powder or wearing old leather shoes they already owned.
Perfection is impossible and trying to achieve it just makes people quit. What matters is the overall direction you're moving. Eating vegan most of the time has way more impact than eating vegan perfectly for two weeks and then giving up entirely.
Give yourself grace. This is a learning process. You're going to make mistakes, and that's completely normal. Progress over perfection, always.
Final thoughts
The vegans who stick with it long-term aren't the ones who did everything perfectly from day one. They're the ones who gave themselves room to figure it out, made mistakes, adjusted, and kept going.
After twelve years, I barely think about it anymore. It's just how I eat, as automatic as anything else. But I remember those first few months of confusion and overwhelm. If I could go back and tell myself anything, it'd be to relax and trust the process.
You don't need to have it all figured out right now. You just need to keep moving forward. Make it easy on yourself, focus on what you can control, and remember why you started. The rest falls into place eventually.
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