so you want to go vegan?

first things first, it's important to know as much as you can and the fastest and easiest way to learn the fundamentals is through two documentaries that are available on netflix and youtube (or you can find them easily for downloading):
food choices (if the section about ethics and animal cruelty upsets you then just stop watching, that's the last part of the documentary)
what the health

the following one is about environmental impact
cowspiracy

my advice is to add good stuff before you remove problem foods. the main food we should be eating is beans / legumes and grains. those are the "big meal" foods, but throughout the day you should consume as much variety of fruits, vegetables and nuts as possible. don't focus on macronutrients, things like sugars and proteins and carbs and fats, because when those are consumed in whole foods (as opposed to processed foods) the proportions will be correct and the proportions are what's really important. there's a really useful phone app (iphone and android) with a checklist called dr greger's daily dozen - very helpful to see if you've gotten everything you need.

try to ignore all the fad diet advice
* cooking food is good, steaming and microwaving are the best ways to preserve the nutrients.
* GMO is not a bad thing
* gluten-free is only necessary if you're a celiac sufferer, if you're not then it's actually good for you
* salt and sugars and fats are fine, you don't need lots of protein, and you do need lots of fibre
* organic and "free range" labels are a scam. just go with what's cheap and looks / tastes good.

try to find healthy comfort foods that you enjoy. there're tons of vegan alternative recipes to your favourite foods but there's a lot of wonderful vegan food that's not trying to be what it's not. also, when you consume a lot less animal products your taste tends to change and you'll discover a lot of things you didn't enjoy before will suddenly become delicious!

this last piece of advice is important regardless of what you eat: we all need to take b12 supplements, and vitamin d supplements. they're two things that most people are very deficient in and that your body needs for a lot of different functions. b12 sublingual tablets are the best absorbed, preferably 1000 units a two or three times a week, and you should be taking between 2000-4000 units of vitamin d daily (the recommended 400 units is the minimum amount to prevent rickets, not to be healthy)

now i realize i've just dropped a LOT of information, it might seem overwhelming. please comment with any questions or concerns you might have, and remember: making your diet better is better than not making your diet better, you don't need to be perfect to make a significant impact on your health or the environment. your first step should be to find one new thing that you like that does less harm, and then take it from there.

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oh! and one last thing - this shouldn't be a problem if you change your diet slowly, but most people don't get nearly enough fibre and when they finally do their digestive systems take advantage and "flush"... more fibre is always good, but bumping up your intake dramatically will have a laxative effect. it's a healthy effect, but not very comfortable. i recommend a gradual increase.