In his book The Power of Habit, Charles Duhigg describes keystone habits as minor changes that spill over into other areas of life. For example, developing a habit of consistently waking up at 7:00am may cause us to start getting to bed before 11pm. With better sleep hygiene, we might find ourselves with more energy throughout the day to be more productive and make better decisions. We might even start to exercise, and make more conscious food choices. By committing to one habit, we can create a virtuous cycle that improves other areas of our lives.
Similarly, John Clear wrote about how well-designed, tiny changes can have tremendous implications for our health, athletic performance, productivity, and finances in one of my favorite books, Atomic Habits.
Committing to a vegan lifestyle by avoiding animal products has been a keystone habit for me. It’s the best decision I’ve made for my life, and started with a small change in my habits. Besides the myriad health benefits, going vegan made me more conscious of my decisions and how they affect others lives of others. Here’s how it happened.
I wanted to play sports all the time as a kid, and I didn’t care what the game was. I loved the feeling of moving through space and making a basket, making a catch, getting a hit, or scoring a goal. It felt like magic. I moved and something amazing happened. My affinity for sports stuck with me through high school and into college. I wasn’t a good enough athlete to compete at that level, so I found the next best options: playing on the “scout team” for the women’s basketball team, playing club baseball, and interning with the strength and conditioning coach.
Being around such talented athletes and working with a successful coach introduced me to the world of sports performance by getting experience in what happens behind the scenes, such as stretching, weight lifting, and nutrition. I fell in love with the process, and decided to get a personal training certification through the American Council on Exercise (ACE). In the study materials, I read that the cited research did not suggest vegan and vegetarian exhibit decreased performance compared to those consuming an omnivorous diet. This piece of information from a reputable source was contrary to everything I had been told growing up.
In middle school, I received my first bits of fitness advice: eat steak, drink whole milk. This was fantastic news. I loved steak and whole milk. When confronted with information about the strong, healthy vegetarians and vegans I pitied in the past, I had to learn more, and hopefully disprove it.
The deeper I dug, the more evidence I found that vegans and vegetarians do not suffer from malnutrition or poor athletic performance. On the contrary, I found more research suggesting that people adopting such diets, especially vegans, enjoy significantly lower rates of heart disease, high cholesterol, diabetes, and erectile disfunction. I was incredulous, and hooked.
With skepticism, I started adding more vegetables to each of my meals. At the time, I was eating omelettes with sausage for breakfast, chicken or steak with rice and veggies for lunch, and a savory dinner like chicken parmigiana or grilled salmon and a salad. I started to feel better, lose some weight, and enjoy fewer acne breakouts. The most noticeable change, however, was that I was able to concentrate (okay, stay awake) through a 90-minute macroeconomics class.
So I made small changes to my diet, reading nutrition journals, and figuring out how to make healthy-yet-tasty vegan meals. With the help of a cookbook from my cousin, and chefs and nutritionists on YouTube, I found it easy enough to get through the day with enjoyable meals that made me feel good.
What sounded like a sacrifice at the beginning transformed into a minor change that provided tremendous payoffs to my health and well-being. It made me contemplate other areas in my life where I could make similar progress. I started meditating, reading more, drinking less alcohol and caffeine, and getting more sleep. I became more empathetic as I learned more about how livestock animals are born, how they live, and how they die. It made me more conscious of my life, and the lives of others. I found myself listening more, and enjoying the company of others more than I used to.
You don’t have to go vegan to realize positive changes in life. That was the biggest keystone habit for me. However, I invite you to incorporate some more fruits and vegetables throughout your day, and see how you feel. My free and unsolicited advice is to try things out by making small, manageable changes, and enjoy the process.