20 pledges for 2020: My first year following a plant based diet has taught me many things

On 1st January 2020, I pledged to turn vegan for the year.

I did it for mainly selfish reasons, I won’t lie. I was starting to look a little bit unrecognisable to myself in the mirror, my weight had ballooned up to an all-time high of 95kg and, generally, I just wasn’t feeling too good about myself. 

Veganism, or a plant-based diet, was something I had toyed with for a couple of years and so when it was put to the editorial team here at The Independent to pledge to do something combat the climate crisis one person at a time, I thought this is the perfect opportunity.

It wasn’t really the big thing everyone was saying it would be, I enjoy cooking at home so I adapted to it pretty quickly, following different recipes and getting creative in the kitchen meant that I didn’t struggle too much.

The weight started to fall, and it started to fall off quickly. Turning to a plant-based diet is a shock to your body, even if you’re not exercising, your body loses the weight quickly as you’re not feeding it as much heavy food as you once were,  I went from 95kg to 81kg in just a couple of months - but it eventually stops.

I was only exercising once or twice a week, I tried some gym classes and even going on my own but I just couldn’t keep it up, I’ve never been a gym head. So I took up running instead, heading to Southwark Park for a weekly parkrun.

Then lockdown hit. I lived with three friends at the time, so in terms of entertainment at home, I was fine. But we couldn’t leave the house to go and do what we usually do - drink, eat out and play football. All there was to do was go food shopping and head out for exercise or a walk for an hour or so each day. So that’s what I did.

I’ve always found it hard to motivate myself to exercise on my own, I’m much better when I’m playing a sport and enjoying it, not really realising I’m actually exercising. But lockdown was the perfect time for it, whether it was a 15, 20 or 30-minute run - I knew I had to take this opportunity to get in a routine. And I did, for a while, we all did. Then lockdown fatigue hit and I won’t bore you with the same story that almost every one of us has experienced this year. It’s just about routine and trying to stick to it as best you can.

When I wrote my first couple of columns on this journey, I was calling it a vegan diet. I was criticised for this, as rightly, many pointed out that it was just a plant-based one. So I explored this further, looking into what else I can do to pledge myself to the vegan life. More than just what you eat and drink in a day.

From oral hygiene to tattoos with the right type of ink, there are so many things to think about how you can be less wasteful and do better. I make conscious decisions on everything now, the more reading you do - and the more you watch David Attenborough documentaries - you realise that in order for the world to keep turning and the ecosystem we live in to thrive, you need to be open to changing your lifestyle.

So what comes next? 

I just don’t see myself going back to meat, at any point really. I feel much better not eating it, more energetic and really… I just don’t need it. I think I will take a more flexitarian - I know, another buzzword - approach to things, making better choices when it comes to all aspects of my life, and hopefully show that one person really can make a difference.