Do vegans maintain on more calories?

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  • celadontea
    celadontea Posts: 335 Member
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    The vegan bloggers that I see who claim to maintain on 3k+ are doing athletic endurance workouts daily such as running or bike riding.
  • Gamliela
    Gamliela Posts: 2,468 Member
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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.
  • LifeNewandImproved
    LifeNewandImproved Posts: 125 Member
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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.

    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.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    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).
  • rontafoya
    rontafoya Posts: 365 Member
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    BS
  • HeidiMightyRawr
    HeidiMightyRawr Posts: 3,343 Member
    edited May 2016
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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.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    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.
  • HeidiMightyRawr
    HeidiMightyRawr Posts: 3,343 Member
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    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.
  • ahoy_m8
    ahoy_m8 Posts: 3,053 Member
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    vinegar_husbands wrote: »
    No.

    Was vegan for seven years. Maintenance calories are still the same.

    Love your avatar in light of this comment.
  • itsbasschick
    itsbasschick Posts: 1,584 Member
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    i was vegan for several years before i went back to being a lacto-ovo vegetarian. didn't make any difference to my weight at all. i didn't change my lifestyle in any way and ate the same amount of calories - just with different foods.

    btw, i know - and have known for years - several overweight vegans.
  • Noreenmarie1234
    Noreenmarie1234 Posts: 7,493 Member
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    I meant 3000 with exercise. I maintain 2500 with exercise 4x a week and am not vegan, so i bet you guys are right it is likely they are more active. I bet i could maintain on that if i worked out every day for longer.
  • RosieRose7673
    RosieRose7673 Posts: 438 Member
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    janejellyroll wrote: »
    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.

    Agreed. I can maintain on ~2500. I'm 5'5 and 130. I do lift and do a good amount of running. Then I get a ton of walking daily (I live in a big city and its much easier to walk than drive anywhere). I suspect if I stopped walking as much and gave up running, I'd have to eat significantly less.

    Btw... I'm not vegan. I love lots of bacon and cheese! :smile:
  • KetoneKaren
    KetoneKaren Posts: 6,411 Member
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    vinegar_husbands wrote: »
    No.

    Was vegan for seven years. Maintenance calories are still the same.

    Agree with ahoy_m8! Great Avatar! LOL!
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    RosieRose7673 wrote: »
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    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.

    Agreed. I can maintain on ~2500. I'm 5'5 and 130. I do lift and do a good amount of running. Then I get a ton of walking daily (I live in a big city and its much easier to walk than drive anywhere). I suspect if I stopped walking as much and gave up running, I'd have to eat significantly less.

    Btw... I'm not vegan. I love lots of bacon and cheese! :smile:

    This is pretty much me. I run, do resistance training, and walk a lot. I'm 108 pounds and I maintain on around 2,000 calories a day. I am vegan, but I don't think that would be any different if I wasn't.

    Active people get more calories. It doesn't surprise me at all that there are some active people eating 2,500-3,000 calories a day. That they attribute it to veganism is just silly though. And any less active people who try eating that many calories of vegan food are going to get a surprise . . . I gained all my excess weight as a vegan. It was because I ate way more than I burned.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
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    I don't see how that could be true....
  • VeganRaptor
    VeganRaptor Posts: 164 Member
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    Don't listen to Freelee xD

    Vegans need the same calories as everyone else, it does seem to be easier to eat the right amount intuitively though.
    Also the foods are easier to digest so you hold less food weight and your stomach is flatter. It's very freeing :)
  • tinyfruitprincess
    tinyfruitprincess Posts: 15 Member
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    Yes! At least for me, when I ate animal products I couldn't even eat 1,500 calories without gaining weight, now I can eat 1,500+ and maintain. It's awesome. It's due to eating more fruit's and vegetables, grains and plant proteins. Obviously you won't gain or become obese from fruit's and vegetables unless you're constantly eating load's and load's of calories ( like 3,500 or more ) It really depends on your situation though ( age, metabolism, if you have any conditions like a thyroid problem )
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    tinyfruitprincess wrote: »
    Yes! At least for me, when I ate animal products I couldn't even eat 1,500 calories without gaining weight, now I can eat 1,500+ and maintain. It's awesome. It's due to eating more fruit's and vegetables, grains and plant proteins. Obviously you won't gain or become obese from fruit's and vegetables unless you're constantly eating load's and load's of calories ( like 3,500 or more ) It really depends on your situation though ( age, metabolism, if you have any conditions like a thyroid problem )

    Oh how I wish the 'bolded' was true.

  • Gamliela
    Gamliela Posts: 2,468 Member
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    It seemed to be true because to eat 2500 calories of veg was so much work plus all that chewing.

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