Beyoncé's Vegan Era, Before It Was a Wellness Trend

Long before plant based eating showed up on every wellness influencer’s feed, Beyoncé was already deep into it. Years before oat milk lattes and vegan meal kits became a lifestyle brand of their own, she was quietly testing out a version of the trend that most of the internet had not caught onto yet.

It started with a challenge, turned into a headline making transformation, and eventually became something she would circle back to again and again. The full story behind it is more layered than a simple before and after.

The 22 Days That Started It All

In 2013, Beyoncé and Jay-Z took on a fully plant based eating plan built by her longtime trainer Marco Borges. The 22 day nutrition program cut out meat, dairy, gluten, and eggs entirely, replacing them with nutrient dense vegan meals and snacks.

Borges built the plan around the idea that eating this way could boost energy, support heart health, and speed up metabolism. It later grew into an actual business, a vegan meal delivery service the couple co-founded together.

Kale Salads and a Fox Fur Coat

The early days of the challenge were not exactly seamless. Just three days in, Beyoncé was spotted heading to lunch wearing an expensive fur coat while sticking to kale salads and curried lentils on the food side of things.

It became one of those small, human details that made the whole challenge feel less like a polished campaign and more like an actual attempt at change. The food discipline was real, even if the wardrobe had not fully caught up yet.

The Coachella Reset

Years later, in 2018, Beyoncé returned to plant based eating to prepare for her headlining Coachella performance. She gave herself forty four days on a vegan diet, cutting out meat, fish, dairy, carbs, alcohol, and sugar all at once.

That level of discipline became part of the performance’s origin story almost as much as the choreography did. Fans later learned just how demanding that stretch of eating actually was once the Homecoming documentary gave a behind the scenes look at the process.

The Label She Has Always Pushed Back On

Despite years of vegan headlines, Beyoncé has been clear that the label never fully applied to her. She has said she is not actually vegan, describing her day to day approach as plant based with plenty of fish and vegetables mixed in.

Her trainer has explained that her real routine looks more like a vegan breakfast every morning, skipping meat on Mondays, and saving one indulgent meal for herself on Sundays. It is less about strict rules and more about a rhythm she keeps returning to whenever she needs to reset.

That in and out relationship with veganism is really the throughline of the whole story. Beyoncé was not chasing a trend when she first tried it, she just happened to be early enough that the rest of the wellness world eventually caught up to her.