Do vegans maintain on more calories?
chaarlotte289
Posts: 84 Member
It seems as though vegans maintain on more calories 2500+ than those who eat dairy/meat products and focus more on protein a pose to carbs. What are your thoughts on this? Do you believe this is true, not true, or too many variables that could contribute?
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No. It's not true. Your maintenance calories are not dependant on the types of food you eat, but rather on height, weight, age, sex and activity level.8
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What on earth would give you that idea?
They are simply more active, its got nothing to do with being vegan or not.5 -
chaarlotte289 wrote: »It seems as though vegans maintain on more calories 2500+ than those who eat dairy/meat products and focus more on protein a pose to carbs. What are your thoughts on this? Do you believe this is true, not true, or too many variables that could contribute?
If anything, the opposite could *******possibly******* be true. (note all the asterisks hedging)
I'd bet a balanced diet that limits refined grains is the key.
ps: opposed.2 -
No.2
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I can't think of a reason why vegans would maintain on more calories..
Where did you come up with this theory OP?1 -
A lot of vegan bloggers and writers claim to maintain eating 2,500-3,000 calories a day. They could be overestimating, but even at 2,200-2,700... That's still higher than I'd dream of eating.1
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correlation =/= causation
Vegans (at least all of the ones I know) lead a very different lifestyle from the majority of the population, and not just in terms of diet. Spurious comparison.2 -
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Vegans maintaining on higher calories is akin to some low carbers claiming they can lose more weight eating more calories. The culprit? Perceived hunger. When you feel satisfied with the foods you are eating and are not hungry, you tend to overestimate the calories you are eating because they "feel" like a lot. Some vegans, especially raw vegans, feel like they are eating a lot of food (and they are, because most vegetables and fruits have a low calorie density).
The same mechanism was shown to exist in people who are naturally thin. They feel like they are eating no less than their overweight friends, when in reality they tend to forget the days they are barely eating.
Just try it out for yourself, pay attention to your intake on days when your appetite is on either side of extremes. On some days 1200 calories feels like a feast and I could swear I had more to eat that day, on other days 2000 calories are not enough and I could swear I didn't eat that much. Accurate logging is what keeps me honest because you can't trust your perceived food intake.19 -
Stanley1903 wrote: »A lot of vegan bloggers and writers claim to maintain eating 2,500-3,000 calories a day. They could be overestimating, but even at 2,200-2,700... That's still higher than I'd dream of eating.
Freelee??
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Overestimation, deception, or delusion. The only thing I can imagine could be the grain of truth in this, is that plants, and raw food, uses more calories to digest, and that not all of the calories in raw/plant food are digested. It will not affect CI, though, and it will never account for a difference of 20-30% ingested calories, not ever.0
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kommodevaran wrote: »Overestimation, deception, or delusion. The only thing I can imagine could be the grain of truth in this, is that plants, and raw food, uses more calories to digest, and that not all of the calories in raw/plant food are digested. It will not affect CI, though, and it will never account for a difference of 20-30% ingested calories, not ever.
This is what I have also heard too, but no idea if it's true or not. The only way to prove it would be a study in which participants were fed vegan for a few weeks and then included animal-based foods for a few weeks and then back on to vegan. I don't know whether a study such as this has been attempted.
I do know that I can eat gargantuan volumes of food, much more than when I included more animal-based foods (I just have an egg every couple of weeks and one small serving of fish a week), but assumed that was to do with calorie density of the food rather than something more fundamental with food metabolism going on.
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amusedmonkey wrote: »Vegans maintaining on higher calories is akin to some low carbers claiming they can lose more weight eating more calories. The culprit? Perceived hunger. When you feel satisfied with the foods you are eating and are not hungry, you tend to overestimate the calories you are eating because they "feel" like a lot. Some vegans, especially raw vegans, feel like they are eating a lot of food (and they are, because most vegetables and fruits have a low calorie density).
The same mechanism was shown to exist in people who are naturally thin. They feel like they are eating no less than their overweight friends, when in reality they tend to forget the days they are barely eating.
Just try it out for yourself, pay attention to your intake on days when your appetite is on either side of extremes. On some days 1200 calories feels like a feast and I could swear I had more to eat that day, on other days 2000 calories are not enough and I could swear I didn't eat that much. Accurate logging is what keeps me honest because you can't trust your perceived food intake.
My dad's entire side of the family are all naturally thin people. But when I think about their plates and what was on them, or how much they didn't like to always finish their meals, well, I can see the real reason they were thin.
Besides that they were all hyper people with nervous movements, never sitting for long and busy doing things around the house all the time. Its just a natural part of how they were.
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I have noticed all those vegan bloggers claim to maintain on 3000 though1
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No, I think that it's just that a lot of vegans eat less calorie dense foods, so they feel like they are eating more - more food, yes. More calories, no. They may feel more like they have to make an effort to get enough calories in. It's harder to get enough fat, protein without thinking about it when you aren't eating animal products. Still easily possible, but it's more of a conscious effort.1
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Noreenmarie1234 wrote: »I have noticed all those vegan bloggers claim to maintain on 3000 though
a lot of them also road bike like 50 hours a day, I think it's because they lead extremely active lives as well and fuel that exercise.2 -
Stanley1903 wrote: »A lot of vegan bloggers and writers claim to maintain eating 2,500-3,000 calories a day. They could be overestimating, but even at 2,200-2,700... That's still higher than I'd dream of eating.
Many of the people making that claim are incredibly active. Many active people would require 2,500-3,000 to maintain.1 -
Why would they?
Volume wise, maybe they get to eat more, but that is because vegetables are low in calories and you can eat a lot of them vs: meat which is more calorie dense per serving.1 -
Noreenmarie1234 wrote: »I have noticed all those vegan bloggers claim to maintain on 3000 though
3 choices:- they are lying on purpose
- they are lying by accident
- they are ridiculously active
Physics still applies to vegans.6 -
The vegan bloggers that I see who claim to maintain on 3k+ are doing athletic endurance workouts daily such as running or bike riding.2
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BAHHHHAAAAH! I wish it were true... I really dooo! I love my veggies.
I got fuller on veg and olive oil than on anything else,but still, add in a lot of fruit and bread and the weight gain is the same whether its meats or beets, sigh.1 -
kommodevaran wrote: »Overestimation, deception, or delusion. The only thing I can imagine could be the grain of truth in this, is that plants, and raw food, uses more calories to digest, and that not all of the calories in raw/plant food are digested. It will not affect CI, though, and it will never account for a difference of 20-30% ingested calories, not ever.
I have been vegan for a couple years and this is my personal conclusion. I would never go vegan if my only or even main reason was to be able to do so with 'more calories' because the other hardships that come along with it are soooo not worth that. If you're doing it for ethical reasons first, and maintenance reasons second, then sure give it a try.0 -
chaarlotte289 wrote: »It seems as though vegans maintain on more calories 2500+ than those who eat dairy/meat products and focus more on protein a pose to carbs. What are your thoughts on this? Do you believe this is true, not true, or too many variables that could contribute?
What everyone has said about it being activity, a mistake based on food volume, or deception for the bloggers making the claims.
What do you mean by focusing more on protein vs. carbs? Aren't most of the vegan food bloggers the 80-10-10 types? Also, it would be hard to be higher protein than carb if vegan. However, I would expect protein would require more of a focus to get enough (although my experience with vegan food bloggers is they claim we way overestimate how much we need and that it's no effort to get enough from veg).1 -
BS0
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No, I don't think they do.
I've seen a fair few vegan channels on YouTube etc and a lot of them certainly eat a decent amount, often promoting 2500+ calories and they are lean. Do I think that it's suddenly more than the general population who eats that amount? No. I've got a few reasons why I think what I do;
1) It is much harder to get the calories required in through a vegan diet. I've had days with no meat or dairy and it is difficult. A lot of plant based foods are quite low calorie, you need to eat more to get the same caloric intake. I can imagine if they don't track it might be very easy to undereat some days. It's for this reason also that I think a lot of the general population (ie: meat eaters) underestimate their consumption. 10% error on higher calorie foods = greater error overall. Little things here and there all add up when they have meat/dairy, with the exception of things like chicken/turkey. How many people, aside from those here, actually track what they eat? A lot of vegans even promote the idea of not tracking, of eating plentifully and when you desire.
2) Sodium content. Higher sodium will lead to extra water retention, you can appear bigger. The vegan diets/lifestyles I've seen and the foods I've eaten make it a lot harder to go overboard on sodium. Less bloating, you weigh less, look leaner. It's not fat, it's just water.
3) Lifestyle / activity in general. Vegan lifestyles are often promoted for health as well as ethics/the environment and if you see a few vegan vloggers, you'll notice a lot of them are very active...cycling, running, lifting. Again in comparison to the general population and a standard diet that includes plenty of meat & dairy. More activity = greater caloric requirements, more energy expenditure, more food to eat.
Most people with the same level of activity (excluding any actual genetic conditions, and water weight etc) will maintain the same weight. They may look different due to body composition / macro variances but the weight will stay the same. I truely believe calories in / calories out are what matter most for pure weight loss or gain.2 -
Noreenmarie1234 wrote: »I have noticed all those vegan bloggers claim to maintain on 3000 though
How active are they?
Also, a claim is just a claim...it doesn't mean it's actually factual.1 -
Stanley1903 wrote: »A lot of vegan bloggers and writers claim to maintain eating 2,500-3,000 calories a day. They could be overestimating, but even at 2,200-2,700... That's still higher than I'd dream of eating.
I can lose on 2400, regardless of whether I eat meat/dairy or not. It's an individual thing and while it may seem high to several people, it's not for everyone. It's just so many people are fed the idea that we need to be on 1200 to lose, which is not true.Christine_72 wrote: »Freelee??
It's more than just Freelee, she's just the most well known one. A lot of vegans who are in it for the longterm (usually ethical reasons, not just a fad diet) promote eating well and an abundance of calories.
As others have mentioned, they lead a different lifestyle to most people in general and tend to exercise a lot.1 -
vinegar_husbands wrote: »No.
Was vegan for seven years. Maintenance calories are still the same.
Love your avatar in light of this comment.1
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