My coaching and veganism philosophy

I recently re-read the thoughtful and informative book How to Create a Vegan World, by Tobias Leenaert, and realized that I had unknowingly adopted his philosophy to my own coaching work. While the entire book is worth a read, I thought potential clients or plant-based curious folks might be interested in learning more about my background and coaching approach.

In the book’s introduction, Leenaert breaks down his roadmap to “Veganville” as he calls it. My approach is remarkably similar to his, so I’ll lay it out here:

1. Focus on helping folks reduce consumption of animal products, rather than going “fully vegan”

   • This might be a controversial opinion in some circles, but I fully support this idea. We are much more likely to achieve our goals when we have a large number of people reducing their animal product consumption, rather than focusing on converting a small group of people to veganism. For me, a primary goal of this work is helping people understand how the food choices they make impact the climate. Animal agriculture is a large contributor to climate change, and our current food system is not supportive of personal, animal, food producer, and planetary wellbeing. The more people I can help to understand the power they have in their food choices, the better. Even if that means most of my clients are vowing to eat less meat or being vegan except for cheese (I understand how terrifying the thought of giving up cheese is for many people - and that’s ok! Be vegan except for cheese.).

2. Allow people to change for whatever reason they choose

   • This is fundamental to my coaching approach and understanding of how humans make lasting behavior change. You must find intrinsic motivation to set and achieve goals, and that’s part of what we do together during my coaching series. For me, my impact on the climate was the primary motivation for adopting a vegan lifestyle, but personal health was a close second. There are any number of reasons people may choose to change their behavior - whether it’s advice from a doctor after a health episode or learning about animal suffering in animal agriculture, or something in between. I am ready to help you find your motivation and set realistic goals to achieve lasting behavior change.

3. Foster an environment that facilitates changes

   • Critical to behavior change is making this process easier to navigate. Again, that’s part of what you’ll hire me to do! I am knowledgeable about plant-based eating and will give you recipes and tips that align with your schedule and cooking preferences. If you are afraid to eat more plants because you don’t know where to start, I’ll meet you where you are and help you build skills, knowledge, and confidence along the way.

4. Develop a more relaxed concept of veganism

   • Similar to point one, if you’re not ready to throw away every piece of leather you own and switch to hemp everything, along with learning about plant-based eating, that’s ok. I’ll admit that sometimes I don’t read a food label quite as carefully as I should (some ingredients are not easily identifiable as animal-based), and I’ve unknowingly eaten non-vegan items over the years. Does this mean I’m not committed to the intention behind the movement? Absolutely not. It means I’m human and won’t be perfect all of the time, and I certainly won’t expect that of you. 

Beyond these four principles, my coaching program is rooted in evidence-based public health behavior change theory. My coaching method is built on the Stages of Change model (you can read more about it here). Together, we will build your skills and belief that you can change to help you overcome challenges and stick with your goals. This model recognizes that change isn’t linear, and that’s part of being human. We’ll identify obstacles, set goals, and work through an action plan to help you overcome obstacles to achieve your goals.

Still not sure about committing to this process? Schedule a free 20 minute phone consultation with me to learn more and see if we might work well together.

https://www.lettuceeatgreen.com/services