Do vegans maintain on more calories?

2

Replies

  • itsbasschick
    itsbasschick Posts: 1,584 Member
    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: 7,492 Member
    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
    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: 6,412 Member
    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
    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
    I don't see how that could be true....
  • VeganRaptor
    VeganRaptor Posts: 164 Member
    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
    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
    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
    It seemed to be true because to eat 2500 calories of veg was so much work plus all that chewing.
  • KateTii
    KateTii Posts: 886 Member
    1kg of feathers is the same as 1kg of lead
    1000 calories of broccoli is the same as 1000 calories of steak

    Volume might not be the same, but a kilo is a kilo and a calorie is a calorie.
  • KetoneKaren
    KetoneKaren Posts: 6,412 Member
    Thermic effect = body uses more energy to process a protein gram than a carbohydrate gram to its useful end product.
  • tinyfruitprincess
    tinyfruitprincess Posts: 15 Member
    edited May 2016
    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.

    How many obese people do you know that became fat from eating fruits and vegetables ((:
    If you're a healthy vegan, you can eat more to get proper nutrition. Another reason I and other vegans maintain easily is because it's impossible to overstuff yourself ( like I clearly stated, a weight gain amount of calories ) eating such fiber rich foods. Obviously like I said before.. You'll gain weight if you're eating 3,500 calories worth of plain potatoes, duh. But it's physically impossible to do so meaning you won't overstuff yourself and won't gain weight. If you really think eating fruits and vegetables makes you gain weight, then yikes. ((: Did you even read what I said?
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    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.

    How many obese people do you know that became fat from eating fruits and vegetables ((:
    If you're a healthy vegan, you can and have to eat more.. Another reason I and other vegans maintain easily is because it's impossible to overstuff yourself ( like I clearly stated, a weight gain amount of calories ) eating such fiber rich foods. Obviously like I said before.. You'll gain weight if you're eating 3,500 calories worth of plain potatoes, duh. But it's physically impossible to do so meaning you won't overstuff over yourself and won't gain weight. If you really think eating fruits and vegetables makes you gain weight, then yikes. ((: Did you even read what I said?

    Of course I read what you said :smile: Admittedly i zeroed in on that one sentence.. I was thinking along the lines of, what if my TDEE was 1800, and I ate 2000-2500 calories of vegan fare, I would think I'd gain weight because I'm eating over my maintenance calories.
  • tinyfruitprincess
    tinyfruitprincess Posts: 15 Member
    edited May 2016
    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.

    How many obese people do you know that became fat from eating fruits and vegetables ((:
    If you're a healthy vegan, you can and have to eat more.. Another reason I and other vegans maintain easily is because it's impossible to overstuff yourself ( like I clearly stated, a weight gain amount of calories ) eating such fiber rich foods. Obviously like I said before.. You'll gain weight if you're eating 3,500 calories worth of plain potatoes, duh. But it's physically impossible to do so meaning you won't overstuff over yourself and won't gain weight. If you really think eating fruits and vegetables makes you gain weight, then yikes. ((: Did you even read what I said?

    Of course I read what you said :smile: Admittedly i zeroed in on that one sentence.. I was thinking along the lines of, what if my TDEE was 1800, and I ate 2000-2500 calories of vegan fare, I would think I'd gain weight because I'm eating over my maintenance calories.

    What I'm trying to say is that it's harder to gain weight on a vegan diet if you're eating fruits and veggies/nuts and beans/grains due to the fiber content which means it'll would be hard to actually go over your calorie amount. It really depends on WHERE the calories are coming from too because again.. It's way harder to eat a 700 calorie banana fruit filled smoothie bowl then vegan chocolate cake. Like you wouldn't be able to finish all the smoothie bowl due to fiber and all that meaning the person would stop & not go over there calorie budget by much meaning they don't gain weight. I hope I'm making sense?
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    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.

    How many obese people do you know that became fat from eating fruits and vegetables ((:
    If you're a healthy vegan, you can and have to eat more.. Another reason I and other vegans maintain easily is because it's impossible to overstuff yourself ( like I clearly stated, a weight gain amount of calories ) eating such fiber rich foods. Obviously like I said before.. You'll gain weight if you're eating 3,500 calories worth of plain potatoes, duh. But it's physically impossible to do so meaning you won't overstuff over yourself and won't gain weight. If you really think eating fruits and vegetables makes you gain weight, then yikes. ((: Did you even read what I said?

    Of course I read what you said :smile: Admittedly i zeroed in on that one sentence.. I was thinking along the lines of, what if my TDEE was 1800, and I ate 2000-2500 calories of vegan fare, I would think I'd gain weight because I'm eating over my maintenance calories.

    What I'm trying to say is that it's harder to gain weight on a vegan diet if you're eating fruits and veggies/nuts and beans/grains due to the fiber content which means it'll would be hard to actually go over your calorie amount. It really depends on WHERE the calories are coming from too because again.. It's way harder to eat a 700 calorie banana fruit filled smoothie bowl then vegan chocolate cake. Like you wouldn't be able to finish all the smoothie bowl due to fiber and all that meaning the person would stop & not go over there calorie budget by much meaning they don't gain weight. I hope I'm making sense?

    Ok gotcha :smile:
  • timothynward
    timothynward Posts: 3 Member
    It's the same - but if we are eating whole unprocessed foods we can get away with eating a larger volumes. The calories are the same, though.

    I'm 6ft, 163lbs, 32 years old and seem to maintain at around 2,000 if I'm not working out. It's so specific to the person though
  • JoshuaMcAllister
    JoshuaMcAllister Posts: 500 Member
    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.

    How many obese people do you know that became fat from eating fruits and vegetables ((:
    If you're a healthy vegan, you can and have to eat more.. Another reason I and other vegans maintain easily is because it's impossible to overstuff yourself ( like I clearly stated, a weight gain amount of calories ) eating such fiber rich foods. Obviously like I said before.. You'll gain weight if you're eating 3,500 calories worth of plain potatoes, duh. But it's physically impossible to do so meaning you won't overstuff over yourself and won't gain weight. If you really think eating fruits and vegetables makes you gain weight, then yikes. ((: Did you even read what I said?

    Of course I read what you said :smile: Admittedly i zeroed in on that one sentence.. I was thinking along the lines of, what if my TDEE was 1800, and I ate 2000-2500 calories of vegan fare, I would think I'd gain weight because I'm eating over my maintenance calories.

    What I'm trying to say is that it's harder to gain weight on a vegan diet if you're eating fruits and veggies/nuts and beans/grains due to the fiber content which means it'll would be hard to actually go over your calorie amount. It really depends on WHERE the calories are coming from too because again.. It's way harder to eat a 700 calorie banana fruit filled smoothie bowl then vegan chocolate cake. Like you wouldn't be able to finish all the smoothie bowl due to fiber and all that meaning the person would stop & not go over there calorie budget by much meaning they don't gain weight. I hope I'm making sense?

    Ok gotcha :smile:

    Is that an admission of defeat? I was enjoying this :D
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    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.

    How many obese people do you know that became fat from eating fruits and vegetables ((:
    If you're a healthy vegan, you can and have to eat more.. Another reason I and other vegans maintain easily is because it's impossible to overstuff yourself ( like I clearly stated, a weight gain amount of calories ) eating such fiber rich foods. Obviously like I said before.. You'll gain weight if you're eating 3,500 calories worth of plain potatoes, duh. But it's physically impossible to do so meaning you won't overstuff over yourself and won't gain weight. If you really think eating fruits and vegetables makes you gain weight, then yikes. ((: Did you even read what I said?

    Of course I read what you said :smile: Admittedly i zeroed in on that one sentence.. I was thinking along the lines of, what if my TDEE was 1800, and I ate 2000-2500 calories of vegan fare, I would think I'd gain weight because I'm eating over my maintenance calories.

    What I'm trying to say is that it's harder to gain weight on a vegan diet if you're eating fruits and veggies/nuts and beans/grains due to the fiber content which means it'll would be hard to actually go over your calorie amount. It really depends on WHERE the calories are coming from too because again.. It's way harder to eat a 700 calorie banana fruit filled smoothie bowl then vegan chocolate cake. Like you wouldn't be able to finish all the smoothie bowl due to fiber and all that meaning the person would stop & not go over there calorie budget by much meaning they don't gain weight. I hope I'm making sense?

    Ok gotcha :smile:

    Is that an admission of defeat? I was enjoying this :D

    NEVER :tongue:
  • yogicarl
    yogicarl Posts: 1,260 Member
    It seems every thread on MFP end up with the conclusion CICO; simple. I dont know why anyone bothers posting any more or why I bother reading when I could be doing other far more interesting things - bye!
  • Jennikitten
    Jennikitten Posts: 142 Member
    edited May 2016
    The number of calories I need to maintain hasn't changed since going vegan but what has changed is my ability to keep within those calories (as a beef burger carries a lot more calories than a mushroom burger for eg).

    I can probably maintain on about 2,500kcal a day (not sure as I am not in maintenance yet) but that is due to my activity levels (I walk lots, cycle to and from work every day and exercise 4-5 times a week) and my height (5ft9).

    There is no cheating when I comes to weight, if it was that easy everyone would be vegan by now!!
  • JoshuaMcAllister
    JoshuaMcAllister Posts: 500 Member
    yogicarl wrote: »
    It seems every thread on MFP end up with the conclusion CICO; simple. I dont know why anyone bothers posting any more or why I bother reading when I could be doing other far more interesting things - bye!

    bye!
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,985 Member
    You should follow my lifestyle! I eat lots of bread, am fairly low on protein and usually eat about 30-50gr of fat per day, and I'm not vegan or vegetarian. MFP gives me about 1500 to maintain, in fact before sport it's more like 1800. Anyone wants to buy my secret? Please request my email for paypal transfer. Muahaha >:)
  • yogicarl
    yogicarl Posts: 1,260 Member
    I've heard you can get by on crisp sandwiches so long as the spread is vegan and the crisps are organic.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    edited May 2016
    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.

    How many obese people do you know that became fat from eating fruits and vegetables ((:
    If you're a healthy vegan, you can eat more to get proper nutrition. Another reason I and other vegans maintain easily is because it's impossible to overstuff yourself ( like I clearly stated, a weight gain amount of calories ) eating such fiber rich foods. Obviously like I said before.. You'll gain weight if you're eating 3,500 calories worth of plain potatoes, duh. But it's physically impossible to do so meaning you won't overstuff yourself and won't gain weight. If you really think eating fruits and vegetables makes you gain weight, then yikes. ((: Did you even read what I said?

    Please don't over-generalize. It isn't helpful. I've been vegan for ten years, I average 50+ grams of fiber per day and I can still eat more than I need to maintain my weight if I don't work at it (calorie count). It is possible to eat more than you need on plant foods.
  • irenehb
    irenehb Posts: 236 Member
    edited May 2016

    [/quote]

    How many obese people do you know that became fat from eating fruits and vegetables ((:
    If you're a healthy vegan, you can eat more to get proper nutrition. Another reason I and other vegans maintain easily is because it's impossible to overstuff yourself ( like I clearly stated, a weight gain amount of calories ) eating such fiber rich foods. Obviously like I said before.. You'll gain weight if you're eating 3,500 calories worth of plain potatoes, duh. But it's<b>physically impossible</b> to do so meaning you won't overstuff yourself and won't gain weight. If you really think eating fruits and vegetables makes you gain weight, then yikes. ((: Did you even read what I said? [/quote]

    It may be more difficult to overeat but it certainly is possible.

    One word for you CHIPS. I can eat a LOT of them to tip me over my TDEE if I wasn't mindful.

    And though I am not vegan I have been a vegetarian for 23 years and been obese for about 16 of those years and chips were probably the thing that contributed the most to my weight.

    Sorry messed up quote.
  • HarmoniousExpression
    HarmoniousExpression Posts: 6 Member
    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.

    How many obese people do you know that became fat from eating fruits and vegetables ((:
    If you're a healthy vegan, you can and have to eat more.. Another reason I and other vegans maintain easily is because it's impossible to overstuff yourself ( like I clearly stated, a weight gain amount of calories ) eating such fiber rich foods. Obviously like I said before.. You'll gain weight if you're eating 3,500 calories worth of plain potatoes, duh. But it's physically impossible to do so meaning you won't overstuff over yourself and won't gain weight. If you really think eating fruits and vegetables makes you gain weight, then yikes. ((: Did you even read what I said?

    Of course I read what you said :smile: Admittedly i zeroed in on that one sentence.. I was thinking along the lines of, what if my TDEE was 1800, and I ate 2000-2500 calories of vegan fare, I would think I'd gain weight because I'm eating over my maintenance calories.

    What I'm trying to say is that it's harder to gain weight on a vegan diet if you're eating fruits and veggies/nuts and beans/grains due to the fiber content which means it'll would be hard to actually go over your calorie amount. It really depends on WHERE the calories are coming from too because again.. It's way harder to eat a 700 calorie banana fruit filled smoothie bowl then vegan chocolate cake. Like you wouldn't be able to finish all the smoothie bowl due to fiber and all that meaning the person would stop & not go over there calorie budget by much meaning they don't gain weight. I hope I'm making sense?

    Indeed, I rarely ever meet my calorie "allowance" on a vegan lifestyle. I aim for at least 1500-1800 because I will burn 200-600 depending on the workout I choose that day. I find that if I can eat hearty, energizing foods and do the above minimum, I have plenty of energy, and still loose weight. I was/am recovering from an unhealthy vegetarian lifestyle. I love raw foods, and had found it very difficult to meet calories in the past solely on RAW foods with limitations on fruits, and starches (because of course those wI'll make you gain weight. Said the non vegetarian experts). At my worst I found myself filling up with garbage calories, just to meet it. I was lucky if I would get close to 1000, plus working out. I was basically on starving mode all the time. Not on purpose though, just following "expert" advice from the wrong advisors for me. And when I did meet a higher calorie, it was due to poor choices.

    Learning how to and what works for me on a vegan lifestyle has been decently "smooth". Only been doing it for close to a month. Still learning and trying what works best for me no matter what any "expert" says.
  • rankinsect
    rankinsect Posts: 2,238 Member
    If anything, I found increasing the amount of meat I eat to really help me keep my calories under control and keep my weight down. The kinds of foods I overate when morbidly obese were mainly things that would be vegan or at least lacto-ovo vegetarian. I upped my consumption of lean meat since it's a good way to get protein and it is super filling.

    The only animal product I really reduced was milk, and I still drink a lot of it, just less than before. Now I drink three to five glasses per day instead of seven to ten.
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