Maybe you've decided to start a vegan diet because you've heard plant-based foods can promote better health. Or you hope giving up meat will kick-start weight loss. (There's something to that notion; one study of 40,000 adults by Oxford University researchers found that meat-eaters had the highest BMIs and vegans had the lowest.) Or perhaps ethical concerns have led you to embrace veganism.

Whatever your reason, expect people in your social circle to notice and ask questions. "People are very sensitive about their diets, especially when you challenge what they have always believed," says plant-based dietitian Julieanna Hever, RD.

"The best way to minimize conflict is to emphasize that you are going vegan for your own reasons and that it seems to work for you. In other words, make it about you, so nobody feels they need to defend their choices."

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