Stepping into a Whole Food Plant Based Lifestyle: Reflections from a Behavioral Scientist’s Journey

With my training and career focused on health psychology and health behavior change, I’ve always been interested in health-oriented articles and research and applying the learnings in my daily life. I’ve always considered myself as health-conscious and have been a go-to person for family and friends with questions about healthy foods and recipes. You can imagine that I jumped at the chance to help create and grow a culinary medicine program. The opportunity to work alongside our amazing team, including culinary medicine trained physicians, registered dietitians and chefs has been amazing. And while I thought I knew a lot about healthy eating patterns, I must admit that there was a lot I didn’t know!

Thinking back a few years, my family’s diet had been rooted in the Standard American Diet (SAD). We may have been on the healthier continuum, but I allowed social norms to fool me into thinking that our approach around everything in moderation was healthy or at least healthy enough. Digging into the concepts around food as medicine and the unequivocal science around whole food plant-based (WFPB) eating for health optimization and disease arrest, has been life changing, both professionally and personally. While it didn’t happen overnight, my family and I have adopted a WFPB diet, with the caveat that our boys (twins who are 8 and our 11-year old) are predominately, but not exclusively WFPB.

As I reflect on our change over the last few years, I am struck by how much we utilized classic and evidence-based strategies of change. In graduate school, I had the honor and phenomenal opportunity to study alongside Dr. James Prochaska, a clinical psychologist who revolutionized how we understand and approach behavior change. From years of observations and learnings from counseling patients overcoming addictive behaviors, Dr. Prochaska distilled the most researched, respected, and applied theory of behavior change: The Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change (also known as the Stages of Change). Dr. Prochaska identified key principles and strategies of change that are now used to facilitate and guide health behavior treatment and intervention. As I reflect on our journey to adopt a WFPB diet, I can identify several change strategies we employed, often unconsciously. I hope that my reflections can help others, more consciously, apply them in their curiosity around and steps toward a more plant forward diet.

Learn More & Be Inspired: While knowledge alone is not sufficient for successful change, being armed with information is a critical first step. I have had the privilege of observing and participating in countless culinary medicine classes, yet still always leave a class with a new nugget of education and helpful tips. In addition to our classes and following #Boost Your Health for facts and recipes, there are many other reputable sources for science, information and tips around plant-forward eating. Some of my favorites are Dr. Greger’s NutritionFacts.org, ForksOverKnives.com, and Dr.Esselstyn.com, The Oh She Glows cookbooks have been my go-to resources for family friendly recipes. Another noteworthy source of information and inspiration are a variety of documentaries. My favorite by far is Game Changers. It is the only documentary that my boys have watched with full attention the entire time. Do you have anyone in your life who questions how they can be strong, athletic, and get enough protein without meat? Game Changers may just be the answer!  

Start Small and Scale Up: Our change was incremental and required patience. Our summer barbeque and pizza menu reflect this incremental change perfectly.

Summer 2018, we stopped grilling hot dogs and rarely grilled burgers. We began to add lots of vegetables to pizza when we ordered it or made it at home.

Summer 2019, we didn’t grill any red meat but occasionally grilled chicken, especially if we were having guests over, and we began to make and order pizza with less cheese.

Summer 2020, we grill all kinds of veggies including zucchini, eggplant and portabella mushrooms drizzled with flavored balsamic vinegars. We make pizza at home without cheese. In fact, our self-discovered hummus pizza (red pepper hummus, tomato sauce and nutritional yeast) topped with every vegetable imaginable is one of our favorite go to meals. It is fantastic warm or cold, so it makes for a great meal for trips.

Make a Commitment: During our transition, watching Game Changers, in December 2019, was a turning point. As a family, we vowed to eat a WFPB diet. When the time is right, that commitment is critical. It removes the options (temptations) of ordering take-out that isn’t WFPB and it removes usual quick, go to comfort or fast meals and processed snacks. But don’t worry -  we found new comfort and fast meals that are WFPB!

Find Substitutes and Alternatives: It took some time and experimentation with recipes, but we found substitutes that not only work but that we really like. Protein is always top of mind for folks considering WFPB. During the last year, I have referred often to a list of top vegan protein sources. We sprinkle flax, hemp, chia, and sunflower seeds on our salads, soups, and sweet potatoes. We aren’t left deprived of protein or feeling hungry, I promise!

One gap we had to fill was our weekend routine of a big breakfast. We used to make scrambled or fried eggs or omelets nearly every weekend. I loved eggs and couldn’t imagine giving them up. I can honestly say that I haven’t had an egg in eight months and I do not miss them at all! Our go to now is a delicious Southwest Tofu Scramble Recipe. Until eight months ago, I had never cooked tofu. With a couple of inexpensive tofu presses and some guidance from the culinary medicine team, this has become a quick and delicious favorite for our family. The nutrient power of the spices and ingredients is exponentially greater than our former veggie omelet. Plus, the recipe makes enough for leftovers for a few days.

Lean into Support: I’d say that in 2019 we were about 75% of the way to an exclusive WFPB lifestyle. The full commitment and support of my husband and our family helped us move much closer to 100%. Support can come in all types and sizes. With social media and smart technology, physical proximity is no longer essential. Find someone who will support your change and may even be inclined to make changes too.

Count the Benefits: The benefits of a WFPB lifestyle are experienced quickly such as more energy, better sleep, feeling lighter, weight loss, and feeling good about successful change. Even more importantly are the health benefits. Sometimes those are invisible, but they are real. In the case of my husband who had insulin-dependent diabetes, complete reversal of his insulin need and a shocking plummet of his A1C were clearly visible and huge reinforcement of the benefits of WFPB eating for our health.

Plan Ahead for Challenging Situations: There are going to be challenging situations: parties, holidays, overnight guests and traveling. The most important thing is to prepare ahead so you aren’t caught off guard or left to make difficult decisions on the spot. Pre-COVID, when we traveled out of state, Google helped us locate many eateries with plenty of WFPB options. When we are invited to a gathering, we are sure to bring a WFPB dish to share with others. Almost always, our dishes are devoured and receive rave reviews. This summer, for the first time, we camped. We cooked ahead and packed a cooler with WFPB options to last for three days. It takes some planning, but you can maintain WFPB eating on the go!

Recognize Your Impact: The benefits of WFPB eating extends well beyond yourself. While we didn’t transition to WFPB eating exclusively for sustainability reasons, it has become increasingly important to us that we are contributing less burden on our environment by abstaining from eating dairy, meat and fish.

Additionally, the trickle-down impact that our change has had on the behavior and health of close family and friends has been incredibly heart-warming. My father has been overweight and has had high cholesterol for as long as I can remember. He was always “trying to be good,” and in retirement even began to go to the gym seven days a week. Even so, he never experienced a change in his biometrics.  He spent the 2019 Christmas holiday with us and left committed to making specific changes such as no more diet soda and red meat, way less chicken and fish, lots more beans, some nuts, and increased vegetables and berries. Three months later, for the first time ever, his weight dropped, and his cholesterol plummeted! His primary care physician was in shock and simply advised my dad to keep up whatever he was doing. The benefits of WFPB are contagious!

Don’t Expect Perfection: People often mistake a WFPB lifestyle as meaning that never once does one morsel of non WFPB food cross your lips. While for some, that may be the case, typically that sort of approach is doomed for failure. I am not advocating for moderation, but an occasional “treat” outside of WFPB is to be expected. Our definition of “treat” has changed. The amazing thing about WFPB eating is the quick change in taste buds. Treats that we think we want, we often have no interest in after the first bite. Our cravings now are for deliciously seasoned WFPB dishes. And yes, there are sweet treats that can be made with ingredients like dates and cocoa. No deprivation is necessary!

Celebrate Success: WFPB eating is part of our lifestyle. It isn’t something we contemplate with each meal or bite. But, we do acknowledge the significant change we have made and sustained. When friends express surprise that we haven’t given “this” up yet, we celebrate the success of my husband’s insulin reversal and our overall improved health, well-being and weight loss. I also celebrate the impact our family’s example is having on our loved ones. Their incremental changes and health improvements are inspiring for us to keep moving forward and never look back.

I hope some of the examples from our journey inspire others to learn more about the why and how of incorporating more plants and whole foods in your diet. In the spirit and science of Dr. Prochaska and the Transtheoretical Model, our culinary medicine programs meet individuals at their readiness to change. We integrate the principles of behavioral science into the education, skill development, coaching and support that all our programs offer. If you’re curious to learn more, I invite you to take a first step by joining our upcoming virtual  Introduction to Plant-Based Cooking Class. All stages of readiness are welcome! Or sign-up for our digital mailing list to learn about our future offerings.