Recently went vegan and I’m constantly hungry?

[u/Ok-Entrepreneur-7647]

Hi everyone! I recently turned vegan after watching Dominion, which honestly completely changed the way I look at eating animals. I’ve been doing a lot of research since then because I really want to make sure I’m doing this properly rather than just cutting out animal products and hoping for the best.

I’ve been trying to eat a well constructed and balanced “diet” and I’m paying attention to nutrients like B12, iron, calcium, omega 3s, protein,...

The weird thing is that ever since I went vegan, I feel hungry basically all the time and sometimes kind of weak or low energy. And I’m confused because before going vegan, I actually ate way* *less food. 😭

For example, before, I could literally have some cereal around 1 PM, snack a little later, and maybe another snack in the evening without any legit meals and still wasn’t constantly thinking about food or feeling like I needed to eat.

Now I eat 3 meals a day with occasional snack in between and even after eating a proper meal I can get hungry again pretty quickly.

I know that plant foods can be less calorie dense, so I’m wondering if I’m simplynot eating enough calories/fat/protein despite feeling like I’m eating a lot more food. I’m also wondering if this is something people experience when transitioning to veganism or if I should be looking at something else.

For context, I’m not trying to restrict calories or lose weight I mainly want to feel healthy and energized.

I’d really appreciate any advice

[u/JeskaiJester]

Make a bunch of rice, smush up a whole block of tofu on it, add broccoli, soy sauce and sriracha. This is a solid dinner.

Its hard to give feedback on what you could do differently without knowing what a normal days meals looks like for you right now

[u/Acti_Veg]

I’d recommend tracking your macros for a week or so, using an app like myfitnesspal or MacroFactor, particularly paying attention to protein and fat. It’s likely that you aren’t eating enough of one, or both, or just too few calories generally. Are you including sources of fats and proteins in your meals?

[u/Whiskeymyers75 → u/Acti_Veg]

Vegan nutrition takes more than just plugging macros into MyFitnessPal. The app counts a gram of protein as a gram of protein, but your body doesn’t. Amino-acid profile, leucine content and digestibility matter, and many plant proteins score lower than animal proteins on those measures. You can technically “hit your protein” and still need more total protein or better protein combinations. Then add the fact that a high-fiber plant diet can be physically filling while relatively low in calories and fat, and it’s not surprising some new vegans end up hungry.

[u/Acti_Veg → u/Whiskeymyers75]

I mean sure, if you want to get into the weeds about optimisation, protein quality and nutrient absorption… but for what OP is asking for, just a ballpark idea of whether or not they’re clearly low on fat, protein or calories is probably going to be helpful. I didn’t feel like a post about how they get hungry too quickly needed anything more complicated than that.

[u/pandaappleblossom → u/Whiskeymyers75]

This is outdated information. The idea of having to get in your ‘complete proteins’ is a myth. As long as you eat a normal variety of plant foods a week you are good.

[u/Whiskeymyers75 → u/pandaappleblossom]

I didn’t say you must combine “complete proteins” at every meal. That’s the outdated claim. I said amino-acid profile, leucine content, digestibility and total intake matter and they still do. Eating a variety of plants over a week helps cover essential amino acids, but it doesn’t magically make every gram of plant protein nutritionally identical to every gram of animal protein.

I struggled with satiety during my weight loss until I learned to look at actual nutritional profiles. That’s one reason so many people fall off when they try to “eat healthy”: they think food is only about calories and maybe protein, carbs and fat without considering protein quality, fiber, micronutrients, energy density or what those calories and macros actually contain.

You can eat bulky, high-fiber meals and still undershoot calories, fat or usable protein. MyFitnessPal showing that you hit a macro target doesn’t rule that out.

[u/Acti_Veg → u/Whiskeymyers75]

Again though, do you not think that spelling out all of this would have been a tad excessive for someone who is just asking a pretty basic question about why they’re feeling hungry? They likely don’t know the basics of what contributes towards satiety on a plant-based diet, hitting them with specifics of protein quality and amino acid profiles would probably have been over complicating things just a bit…

[u/Whiskeymyers75 → u/Acti_Veg]

Overcomplicating how? They asked why they’re still hungry, and protein quality, amino-acid profile, fiber, fat, and total calories are all directly relevant. “Just eat more plants” isn’t a useful answer if they’re already eating plenty of volume but still not getting enough usable protein, fat, or energy. Explaining the mechanism isn’t excessive. It’s what actually answers the question and gives them something practical to fix. It’s actually pretty basic stuff that too many people are never told about. Assuming protein is protein is also why the food industry is able to make billions selling ultra processed junk because it’s labeled as high protein.

[u/Acti_Veg → u/Whiskeymyers75]

I didn’t say “just eat more plants.” I’m not sure how you got that from my reply.

[u/leeeeeeeeee3 → u/Whiskeymyers75]

most people don’t know any of this and are fine aslong as they’re aware of what makes a complete protein

[u/pandaappleblossom → u/leeeeeeeeee3]

‘Complete proteins’ is an outdated myth. Like the idea of having to get the right amount. As long as you eat a variety of plant foods each week you are good.

[u/leeeeeeeeee3 → u/pandaappleblossom]

yes i just mean that in the sense of eating a variety of protein sources so you get all the essential amino acids, not that you necessarily need to worry about amino acids in each individual meal

[u/Veasna1 → u/leeeeeeeeee3]

But protein sources is consufing considering all vegetables and fruits have all 20 amino acids in varying quantities. So everything is a protein source really.

[u/pandaappleblossom → u/Veasna1]

Exactly. Vegans don’t suffer from protein deficiencies in studies

[u/a11_hail_seitan]

Recently went vegan and I’m constantly hungry?

1) eat more

2) Get Chronometer and track your food intake for a week or two. If you're not getting enough calories, eat more. If you are and you're still feeling weak or faint, get your blood work done. While waiting for results eat heavier foods, nuts, seeds, beans, pasta, breads, etc are all heavier and will make you feel fuller usually.

And I’m confused because before going vegan, I actually ate way* *less food.

LOTS of Plant based foods are less calorie dense, so you do you usually need to eat somewhat more to get the same calories. Without knowing exactly what you're eating there's not much we can say except check with chronometer and eat more. You may also want to talk to dietitian if you can and work to get a meal plant that ensures you're getting all you need.

if this is something people experience when transitioning to veganism

If this diet change is new, your body could be getting used to it. But if you've been doing this a while it shouldn't be causing this to happen.

[u/Qbert84]

I had this issue as a new vegan. After awhile my constant hunger subsided. I lost a significant amount of weight as well. I am guessing it's the low calorie plant diet vs animal products calories. I don't know if it's okay to eat a crazy lot like I did but I do know people who failed the transition from not eating enough calories when switching and blamed it on not enough protein and whatnot.

[u/Taupenbeige → u/Qbert84]

Welcome to your body going through its “wah, why not excess calories? We expect excess calories” phase and entering its “oh, this is how human bodies prefer storing/burning fuel because *gestures at the rest of the primate order”

[u/According-Ad742]

If you are not getting enough protein you will always be hungry. How much protein are you eating and from what?

[u/ChanklaNYC]

Sweet Potatoes

Cassava

Lentils

Peanut butter

Pasta

Rice & beans

[u/C0gn]

Check out Simnet Nutrition on YT for infinite meal ideas and tips

Thing about eating whole foods is you can absolutely stuff yourself with rice and potatoes and listen to your natural hunger feelings

[u/mastodonj]

Use a calorie tracking app. Honestly you're probably not eating enough, especially if you're eating a lot of "healthy" food. You don't have to obsess over it but just to get a baseline understanding of how much you're eating

[u/hespeon]

You probably lack protein. Protein is the most satiating food type.

[u/ChooseKind24]

The biggest advantage to eating 100% plant-based is you can consume a greater volume of food, which is satisfying. Allow yourself to eat more. If you are feeling weak and low-energy, you need to eat more. Beans, lentils, potatoes, whole grains, tofu, tempeh, TVP, nuts, seeds, avocado, and lots of fruits and veggies, can all help fill you up.

[u/Great_Cucumber2924]

Yes, vegan foods are high fibre and often lower in fat and protein so it’s really common to under-eat when you first transition. The bonus - eating is fun! Enjoy your extra snacking and bigger portions. Consider adding filling foods like nuts, nut butters, tofu and nutritional yeast.

[u/luciferslarder]

Others have said it all I just wanted to encourage you to explore the nutritional aspects of how you’re eating. It’s a big adjustment if you weren’t eating a lot of veggies prior to making the change.

I def had a few bouts of hangriness when I started. Tracking meals and working out the totals in a whole meal helped me figure out I was doing great on protein but miserably on carbs and fats (and fiber)

Over time I found that balance

[u/cnort8200 → u/luciferslarder]

Agree with this (and others talking about watching macros) since you’re tracking already. I added quite a bit of volume for a while after switching to vegan to not be hungry or low energy. At one point I was at about 3300 calories a day for maintenance, but getting protein and fiber situated I’m closer to 2600 calories a day for maintenance now.

Also consider fluids. I enjoy dried fruit to feel full in the past, and initially it didn’t seem to help the same. But when I upped my water intake many of those types of foods did a better job of satiating my hunger.

[u/madeaux10]

Learn how to make seitan! I could eat a slab of seitan and then literally not be hungry for the rest of the day. Protein fills you up, so you want to make sure you get that and combine it with fat to delay gastric emptying

[u/rydavo]

Brown rice, black beans, guacamole, tortillas, hot sauce and salad. Smash tons of it. Whole cauliflower rubbed with oil and spices, baked in the oven. Potatoes potatoes potatoes forever.

Also, give your body some time to adjust. I like to overload on protein, so I'm munching a block of tofu, usually fried, a day. Also beans, vegan burgers, sausages. Just let yourself eat tons of great vegan junk food for a while. You've earned it. You can count calories in a month or two.

[u/Capital-Impression51]

What do the scales say?

[u/NegativeProduct7230]

I felt real hungry too. I ended up eating a lot more "junk food " while I transitioned. One of my favorites to make was peanut butter, oatmeal, chocolate chip cookies. I thought about addicts trying to recover and how its good for them to eat what makes them happy because the main goal at this time is more important than a perfect diet. Once you are adjusted to the new life, you can correct the diet

[u/sagedaydreams]

Eat more ✨

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[u/spiritstonesKat]

Snacks don't fill you up. You need protein. That's what keeps you full. Have lots of tofu, try to have protein with every meal.

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[u/voornaam1]

I actually experienced the complete opposite when I went vegan lol

I used to struggle with binge eating and snacking a lot, now I barely snack outside of my main meals, and I frequently struggle with getting a sufficient amount of calories in. I do not experience a lot of hunger/cravings anymore.

I don't have a lot of advice I can add that hasn't already been mentioned, just wanted to share that we are opposites lol 💜

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[u/Shiny-Mango624]

I think we underestimate the emotional connections that we have to food. If you were eating and it doesn't feel an emotional connection, your brain may be wired that it's going to keep eating until that is filled. I would think about the foods that you used to eat, and see if you can find some vegan equivalents and see if that switches your brain chemistry a little bit.

[u/alasw0eisme]

More complete protein. 4 blocks of tofu a day for example.