It is 2016. It is YOUR year. You will work out regularly. You will get your finances in order. You will go through your junk drawer. And you WILL eat healthy.

You browse Instagram and see that everyone else in the world has their lives together way more than you do. They casually snap photos of everything from their perfectly appointed kitchen (no dishes in the sink) to their bare feet on a beach during a well-earned vacation. They’ve probably read The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up and they’ve actually done what minimalist guru Marie Kondo tells them to do.

They meditate.

With all of the things you are supposed to be mastering (and aren’t), it can feel overwhelming to even begin to make inroads on all of the changes you want to make in your life, all of the personal growth you seek.

Put down your phone, go for a walk and take a deep breath.

Do not throw in the towel, rebel and run for the McDonald’s and the mall!

The key, which you already know, is: baby steps.

Let’s start at diet. If you have been thinking about eating vegan for your health for a while now but cannot even imagine adding it to your list of self-improvement to-dos, don’t worry, this one is a piece of (vegan) cake.

Seem hard to believe? The secret is this: your choices are limited. Veganism decides your meals for you.

When you are trying to eat a more healthful diet, you can look at all of the items on the shelves and the menus and think, “Where do I begin?” But when you restrict your diet to a plant-based one, the items typically in an American diet are immediately cut in… half? A third? A quarter?!

Best part: most of those items are the packaged crap you should be avoiding anyway.

Sure, you can eat only white pasta, chips and Oreos. Such a diet can technically be vegan. But with a little healthful common sense (eat your veggies, fruit, beans, etc.) the vegan diet can help guide you on your path to wellness. For one thing, you certainly won’t be picking up a pizza from Dominos anymore. That’s a win right there.

With the restriction of a vegan diet comes surprising liberation. People can be overwhelmed by choices to the point of inaction. Not you!

Sounds like you’ll have a bunch of free time to get everything else in your life in order, right? At the very least, your meal posts will definitely make you look like you’ve got it together.

Baby steps.

Originally published on Plenty Vegan.