Before making any significant change in your diet, it is a good idea to speak to a doctor or registered dietitian. They can provide advice on meal plans, vitamin supplements, or lifestyle changes. These may be tailored to your particular level of fitness and health. If you know exactly what you’re going to eat when you begin your new diet, you’ll be less likely to stray. Write down a menu of what you are planning to eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and dessert every day.  For example, for breakfast, you might eat oatmeal with a little bit of almond milk poured over it. For lunch, you might plan to eat a salad with tomatoes, onions, and olives. For dinner, you might write that you are having vegetable curry.  If you know you are going out one night, pick your meal in advance from your written menu. Whole foods are raw items that haven't been cooked yet. These include apples, bananas, spinach, and celery. Avoid buying prepackaged, processed foods, like chips, frozen meals, and sauces, as much as possible.  You do not need to stop buying meat immediately. Avoid buying meat on a whim, however. Buy only the foods needed for your weekly meal plan. Make a grocery list ahead of time and don't stray from it. Meatless Mondays are a popular way to begin a plant based diet. You can choose any day of the week, however. Whichever day you pick, do not eat any meat on that day. If you eventually want to go vegan, don't eat any animal products that day. Making small changes in your diet will help you be more successful in the long run. You can start by eating fruit for a snack or by excluding animal products from your breakfast. Once this is a habit, move on to your next goal.  When going out to eat, try to choose vegetarian options over ones with meat in them. For example, you could get a salad, eggplant parmesan, or a veggie burger. Instead of eating ice cream for dessert every night, you might start to eat fruit or a piece of dark chocolate instead. Don’t give up the things you love at the beginning. If you’re not ready to give up bacon, for example, try a simpler swap instead.
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One-sentence summary -- Visit your doctor or dietitian to make sure a plant-based diet is right for you. Create a 7-day meal plan. Buy whole foods when you go to the store. Start by going meatless 1 day of the week. Make changes 1 at a time.


If your cooked salmon has a foul odor, throw it away immediately.  A strong, sour smell is a clear indication that your leftover meal has gone bad. If the salmon does not have a mild, appetizing smell, do not eat it. A clear sign that leftover cooked salmon has gone bad is a slimy consistency. If your salmon has lost its thick, flaky texture, it is not worth eating. Throw it away if it has any sliminess to it. Cooked salmon should be thrown away if it sits out at room temperature for longer than two hours after cooking. Bacteria will begin to grow if the fish is not refrigerated before that point. Always take note of the time you cook salmon, or the time that you order it at a restaurant, and the time you are able to put it into the fridge. Three days after it is cooked, throw out leftover salmon regardless of whether it appears to be spoiled. If you are unsure about the condition of your salmon after two days, dispose of it. The chance of bacterial growth and illness is not worth the risk.
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One-sentence summary -- Check for a foul, sour odor. Check for a slimy texture. Avoid leaving cooked salmon at room temperature for more than two hours. Throw away leftovers that are more than two or three days old.


A good way to find a trusted stylist is to ask family and friends for recommendations. You should avoid just walking into a salon and seeing the first person who’s available; that stylist may not have any appointments because they’re either not very good or they’re still very inexperienced.  If a friend, family member, or coworker recently had their hair done in a way that you love, ask them who they went to. They may even get a referral discount for sending you to a certain salon. If you can't find anybody to give you recommendations, look at reviews online for local salons. If you’re unhappy with your current haircut, or are seeing a stylist for the first time, book a consultation appointment prior to your haircut. This can be right before the haircut time, and gives you time to discuss with your stylist either why you’re unhappy with your haircut or what you’re looking for in a new haircut. The stylist will be able to tell you about cuts that look best with your hair type and facial features, and what you can expect about styling commitments based on the type of cut that you want. The best way to avoid miscommunication with your stylist about what you want is to provide a visual of the cut you’re looking for. Search beauty magazines or online for haircuts that you like, and choose your favorite to bring to the salon.  A good stylist will tell you based on the picture how the cut may look different on you than it does on the person in the picture, based on facial features and hair types.  Having this conversation will help to avoid any surprises if the cut doesn’t look exactly the same on you as it did on the person in the picture. If you don’t normally put a lot of time and effort into styling, tell your stylist this so that they don’t give you a cut that requires a lot of styling to look good. Based on your description or picture, the stylist can tell you if that exact cut is a good idea for you, or if a slight variation would be better. If styling time and effort isn’t an issue for you, you have more options for the cut you want. Be sure to get exact instructions from the stylist about styling steps as they are styling your hair after the cut.
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One-sentence summary --
Shop for a stylist by asking for recommendations. Have a consultation with the stylist before they get started. Bring a magazine or internet picture with you. Communicate with your stylist about how you normally wear your hair.