This is a guest post written by my Partner, D’Marie.

I have been a vegetarian for a long time, approaching twenty years now. I have been a full on vegan for three or four and wheat free for two.  This has been a long process, not an overnight change.

Even the initial decision to become a vegetarian, back when I was in college, was a gradual one.  I decided to slowly weed out different types of meat from my diet so that I could, one day, become a full vegetarian. At that point I couldn’t imagine becoming vegan.  And, because the idea of leaving behind meat was such a scary one, I was even slow on that count.  I remember explaining to friends that I was allowing myself to eat red meat only two days a week at first and poultry the rest of the week.

The idea presented in the following TED talk by Graham Hill is very similar.  Instead of thinking of vegetarian or vegan diets as a binary choice — all or nothing — find a way to make it about moderation and slowly changing habits.

Hill has since released a digital book Weekday Vegetarian: Finally, a Palatable Solution (Kindle Single), that outlines the plan and includes recipes and tips.

If all you can do is cut your meat intake by 70%, then that’s an amazing impact on your own health as well as the environment.

If you, like me, find yourself realizing at some point that you’re just done with meat, then maybe you can start to transition from dairy, eggs, and honey and become a vegan next.

Either way, you’ll be on your way to a healthy, happier, more compassionate way of living.