How to Win at Veganuary

December 16, 2024

We’ve all seen it happen – over the last several years, Veganuary has become more and more popular. And going vegan for January, when done correctly, can be a great way of resetting your body and creating healthy habits for the new year.

But, how do you go about it? Unless you’re a pro-vegan knee deep in that plant-based life, it can be tricky to know what to do – and what not to. So, being the wonderful people we are here at VITHIT, we thought we’d help you out. In this blog, you’ll find loads of helpful tips and knowhow so you can totally win at Veganuary…

So, what is Veganuary?

Before we get into the nitty gritty details, what is Veganuary – and why should you care?

Well, let’s take a brief trip back in time (okay, so only a decade or so ago). With humble beginnings back in 2014, Veganuary was created as a challenge to encourage people to try out a vegan, or plant-based, diet in the totally achievable timeframe of a month.

And the rest, as they say, is history. Veganuary as a phenomenon has steadily increased in popularity, and owing to the clever portmanteau of ‘vegan’ and ‘January’, going vegan for January has pretty much become synonymous with the start of the year.

But what does it mean to actually take part in Veganuary? Well, as the name suggests, people who do give it a go commit to a vegan diet for the whole month. This means cutting out any foods derived from animals, and usually extends to avoiding any animal products outside of food too; like cosmetics or clothing.

Veganuary is also often viewed as a way in which people can reset and bring back healthy eating habits – and, we don’t know about you, but this is especially needed after a month of indulgence over December and the festive season.

Pro tip: cutting out sugar after Christmas doesn’t mean you have to go to bland-town. A cheeky VITHIT Effervescent will max out your tastebuds while giving you all the hydration you could shake a stick at.

Why take part in Veganuary?

People will have a lot of reasons for taking part in Veganuary, including:

Trying new recipes and diversifying the foods they eat.
Needing to make dietary changes due to medical advice.
Wanting to challenge themselves with a New Year’s resolution.
Exploring more sustainable shopping and eating practices.

Whatever your reasons, Veganuary is a chance to try something new and mix up your daily routine – what’s not to love?!

Tips for a super successful Veganuary

Just going right into a vegan lifestyle straight off is a lot. So, for those of you that are interested in going vegan this January, the VITHIT team have come up with a number of tips and things to note to make sure you’re getting the best results.

Watch your nutrition

Despite what you’ve heard, or been told, a vegan or plant-based diet may not always be the healthiest – especially if you’re relying on tons of processed foods to stick to being plant-based. To fully master Veganuary, you need to make sure you’re eating a rainbow of fresh foods to maximise the nutritional value of your meals.

And, aside from the potential pitfalls of ultra-processed foods, there are some nutrients that you’re probably used to getting through animal-derived products (like eggs, dairy, and meat).

So, we’re going to get a little serious here. With going vegan for January, you’ll need to pay attention to some of these key nutrients to make sure you’re getting enough to meet the needs of your body. To make it easier for you, we’ve included a list of these nutrients to be mindful of below:

1. Iron

Iron is a hugely important nutrient which plays a critical role in production of your red blood cells and hemoglobin (which is the part that carries oxygen in your blood)1. Iron is often found in foods like red meat – which is obviously not an option in a plant-based diet.

Instead, when you’re swapping out meat from your diet, make sure that you are consuming iron-rich ingredients like leafy green vegetables, lentils and tofu, and dried fruits.

If this is getting tricky, one useful tip is to consider including a multivitamin that contains iron into your Veganuary planning – especially if you’re a newbie to the whole plant-based thing. You should also make sure you’re getting enough vitamin C during Veganuary. Aside from the obvious benefits on its own as an antioxidant2, vitamin C plays a role in the absorption of iron, so incorporating a glass of orange juice can help you increase the amount of iron you are absorbing from your food.

Pro Tip: try to avoid drinking coffee and tea straight after a meal during Veganuary (and beyond), as these can reduce the amount of iron you are absorbing. The NHS recommends leaving at least two hours between drinking tea or coffee and eating iron-rich foods3.

2. Vitamin B12

Without going into the uber-specific scientific details, vitamin B12 plays an important role in maintaining a healthy nervous system and red blood cells4. Therefore, failure to consume enough vitamin B12 can lead to a deficiency in, and in some cases damage to, the neurological system.

But why are we telling you this? Well, most of the dietary sources of vitamin B12 come from animal-derived foods like fish, red meat and poultry, and eggs. If you are going vegan for January, it’s essential that you’re mindful that you’re consuming enough vitamin B12 to meet the needs of your body.

Pro Tip: if you’re unsure, incorporating a vitamin B12 supplement and looking out for foods that have been fortified or enriched with vitamin B12 are some simple ways for you to make sure you’re getting enough as part of your Veganuary diet.

If you’re feeling curious about this nutrient in particular, make sure to check out our Veganuary guide to Are You Getting Enough Vitamin B12?

3. Omega-3 fatty acids

Omega-3 fatty acids can usually be obtained through the consumption of oily fish, and play an important role in the health of your heart, cell membranes, and plenty more. Bottom line is, they’re pretty important.

So, for those of you going vegan for January (and beyond), you need to make sure you’re getting enough of this essential nutrient. Fortunately, plant-based sources of omega 3 fatty acids include flaxseed oil, rapeseed oil and walnuts. Some foods may also be fortified with additional omega-3, so you can choose to include these in your diet.

Pro tip: to look after your heart health, it’s also important to reduce your intake of salt and foods that are high in saturated fat.

4. Calcium and Vitamin D

Just like vitamin C and iron, calcium and vitamin D actually work together.

Calcium plays an important role in maintaining healthy skin, bones and teeth; whilst vitamin D regulates the amount of calcium and phosphate in the body5. For most people, calcium comes from dairy sources like milk, yoghurt, and cheese. To make up for this during Veganuary, you should look out for valuable calcium sources like leafy green vegetables, fortified foods such as breads and cereals, and fortified plant-based milks.

Vitamin D can be found in supplements, fortified foods such as cereals and spreads, and from exposure to sunlight (which might admittedly be tricky in January if you’re in the UK, but even a quick half hour at lunchtime could help6).

Have fun with it

What may have started as a challenge doesn’t have to stay that way. January can be dreary enough, so why not have some fun with your Veganuary to start the new year as you mean to go on?

It may sound trite, but seriously, one of the best pieces of advice we have for winning Veganuary is to make it enjoyable! Don’t look at it as a restriction, or focus on all the things you can’t have – because that’s a surefire way to make it suck. Instead, look at Veganuary as an opportunity to try new things, and include different cuisines from around the world into your day-to-day life.

Get creative

Building on this, Veganuary is the perfect opportunity to get creative and try new things. For example, use Veganuary as a chance to try dishes from different countries with flavour profiles you’ve never experienced before. What’s the worst that could happen? If your meal doesn’t quite work out, or you don’t like it, at least you’ve learnt something!

Pro tip: get friends and family involved. Doing Veganuary as a group means more ideas, more help, and more support – it’s a win, win, win for everyone.

Take all the shortcuts you need

It’s official. We’re giving you permission to be a bit sneaky when it comes to planning your Veganuary menus – otherwise the month will feel way harder than it needs to be.

Whether you’re new to plant-based or vegan lifestyles, or have a passing familiarity, it can be super daunting to jump right into prepping new foods. So, how about you cut yourself some slack and focus on the things you can do? You don’t need to suddenly wake up and know how to cook everything like a pro. Instead, you should try some of our favourite shortcuts:

Buy pre-chopped fruits and veggies, or pre-packed nuts or vegan trail mix so you can have some easy snacks for when the hunger (or hanger) hits.
Experiment with turning your favourite dishes vegan since you’ll already know how to do most of the prep work.
Check out vegan cookbooks or cooking channels for loads of inspo and easy-to-follow recipes.
Choose healthy, vegan drinks for one less thing to think about – like, say, a deliciously refreshing VITHIT Classic? Just saying…

Halfway is better than no way

A fully-fledged, all-in Veganuary isn’t for everyone – and that’s ok! We’re not here to tell on you to anyone.

Instead, why not try to do what you can and make a commitment that suits you and your lifestyle? After all, something is better than nothing. So, if you really struggle with maintaining a well-rounded vegan diet plan for every meal, you could try:

Committing to certain vegan meals within the day – like having fully vegan dinners or lunches for the month.
Making the switch to alternative/vegan dairy sources throughout the month.
Choosing the vegan option on a menu whenever you go out.
Picking one or two days each week to go fully plant-based.

Whatever you decide, you should choose a plan you can live with and is sustainable for the whole month to feel the most benefit. After all, there’s nothing stopping you from continuing these habits for the rest of the year if you find you like them…

Health yourself this Veganuary

Going vegan for January shouldn’t be something you dread, or something to be scared of. Look at it positively, and just think of all the tasty treats you can discover.

In fact, did you know that all of our VITHIT drinks are actually vegan? Yes, really. We know, it’s hard being this amazing, but someone has to be.

Picking up some VITHIT this Veganuary just makes sense. For starters, they’re absolutely packed full of your recommended daily intake of vitamins like B12, vitamin C, folic acid and loads more! Combine that with some delicious, low calorie juices and teas, and you get the perfect accompaniment to your daily routine in a handy bottle – or get fizzy with our Sparkling Juices.

So when trying out Veganuary this January don’t forget that you can drink as much VITHIT as you like! And, if you’re curious beans like us, you can learn something new at the VITHIT blog…

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Disclaimer: Remember each individual has different dietary requirements. Before starting a new diet, or making big changes to your existing diet, it's important to always talk to your doctor or dietitian for some expert advice that’s personal for you.

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