How do you stay full on a vegan/wfpb diet?

[gentlegreen]

I recently was surprised that my diet that until recently was enabling a modest calorie deficit has become approx 40% calories from fat in the form of tahini and milled flax so roughly Mediterranean..,
Apart from leaving out obvious empty carbs like bread and grain (eat more beans instead), there's pretty well no calorie counting..
The basic principle is to start with a massive quantity of veggies cooked pickled raw.....
The whole "5 a day" thing is ridiculously inadequate,.
I get most of my WATER intake from my evening veggie and bean stew ...
If I start exercising more I will likely fuel it with bread and grain ... I instinctively want to swing from fat to carbs ..

 

[gentlegreen]

A key thing I plan to do in the future is eat my big meal at midday so I don't go to bed with a full stomach..better for glucose and fat-burning and perhaps less peeing at night ..

 

[Calamity1971]

Working From Portacabin, Basically.

Oh god, they're a GB news presenter

 

[gentlegreen]

Basic rule for me is if I think I'm hungry I eat more veg (not convinced I ever am genuinely hungry... My ideal BMI is probably at least a whole point or 3.5 kilos lighter.,.)
I eat a lot of Polish jarred lightly pickled salad and the cabbagey ones especially "Warsaw" work well with milled flax and tahini ( to my palate at least).
I will also add the cucumber-based "Greek" salad and especially the green tomato to my main meal....

 

[SpookyFrank]

A lot of shit advice on this thread.

• No, there are not people who simply cannot survive on a plant-based diet.
• 'Give up being vegan' is not an answer to the question 'how do I stay vegan'.

Also good advice, like finding protein rich foods. Protein sends 'fullness' signals to your brain once you start digesting it.

 

[gentlegreen]

It was over 40 years ago for me and I have no great recollection of what it was like - but I was eating a fairly crap diet in 1981 and very quickly was living on stirfry and wholegrain... looking back I don't recall even eating many beans - apart from sprouted ones ..
And my weight was good even though it was another 6 years before I started cycling...

Drifting into fish then some cheese and the odd egg in my 40s and 50s saw me getting fat and then obese, but the general quality of my diet had deteriorated - lots of instant mash and bread and who knows what else -

I have since learned to appreciate the most nutritious foods so cruciferous greens and beans every day.
At the moment I actually get most of my protein from tahini !
(I will be curious to see what my cholesterol looks like next year when I may feel like getting it tested...

It's easy for me as I have no enthusiasm for "recipes"...

Protein per 100kcals - from Reddit and I haven't actually checked the figures... :-
(4,25 is 1g per kg of my healthy weight - 85kg - for 2,000 kcals)

 

[Kid_Eternity]

That helps, but not enough

Eat more fruit.

 

[Karl Masks]

I imagine tinned fish probably isn't terrible as these things go. Maybe baby steps would be better/more sustainable though? What about just eating more veggie stuff and getting accustomed to that before jumping right into the vegan thing?

Perhaps. But I eat tinned fish twice a day and chicken for dinner. That's a lot of meat and probably not the healthiest option.

I have been trying to build up but it seems that at some point you just have to go full tilt in order to get all the right nutrients.

Unfortunately I appear to have come down with something. This is the second time i've attempted this way of eating only to have health issues at the same time. Felt very cold yesterday evening, overnight (when out of bed) and this morning. Dunno what's going on. I don't appear to have a fever. Perhaps the god of veganism hates me

 

[Karl Masks]

We are not all the same. Some people just dont feel full or satisfied on plant based diets. As you said, YMMV. You can survive on it sure, but I would listen to your body on this one, especially if you're craving protein.

I don't know what I'm craving. Or if it's just the meals are too small. It just seems very weird that you can eat a meal and feel properly satiated (not stuffed), and then be hungry a short while later. Maybe that's just how some of us are and that carb heavy meals are that way. I can eat the same calories in a lower carb higher fat meal and be full much longer. But I didn't want to stay on high fat.

 

[gentlegreen]

Or if it's just the meals are too small.

The joy of veggies is you can eat as many as you like...
And they come with water, fibre and phytonutrients.
You may be a bit more farty than you would like for a while until your gut flora and fauna catches up.

carb heavy meals

In order to keep the weight off, the "carbs" in my main meal are beans resistant starch - no grains.
And I have significantly slimmed down my breakfast bread
I do have this dodgy oat habit after my main meal which might be expected to spike insulin and cause a crash - but I've eaten them with all the fibre and fatty tahini of my main meal.

As I said earlier I regret succumbing to this dessert and I also need to move my main meal to the middle of the day ...

 

[JimW]

I eat tinned fish twice a day and chicken for dinner

This is hardly a vegan diet I've been vegan for forty years paying very little attention to balance, chips and beans type for years, and never had a problem with not feeling full so it probably is as much to do with individual metabolism.

 

[gentlegreen]

Karl Masks if you're happy to say, what's your BMI and exercise level .. and in caloric surplus or deficit ?
Just trying to see how we compare...
FTR I'm 63 and my BMI is about 24.7, but I'm still slightly heavier than I need to be - waist size over 40 inches...
And my steady small caloric deficit of the past year seems to have stalled...

I sometimes feel the cold and sometimes I don't...

 

[Karl Masks]

Karl Masks if you're happy to say, what's your BMI and exercise level .. and in caloric surplus or deficit ?
Just trying to see how we compare...
FTR I'm 63 and my BMI is about 24.7, but I'm still slightly heavier than I need to be - waist size over 40 inches...
And my steady small caloric deficit of the past year seems to have stalled...

I sometimes feel the cold and sometimes I don't...

BMI i think is around 21-22? I'm 5'7 and about 65kg. My exercise level is rubbish. I try a half hour walk a couple of times a day. Don't really feel up to much else at the moment.
My waist size, last I measured, was under the 40 inch thing.

Feeling cold is ok, except when it's not. I don't know if it's related to my UTI or just a bug I've picked up a 24 hour thing, or a weird reaction to my increased carbs

 

[Karl Masks]

This is hardly a vegan diet I've been vegan for forty years paying very little attention to balance, chips and beans type for years, and never had a problem with not feeling full so it probably is as much to do with individual metabolism.

Of course it isn't, that's what i'm getting away from

 

[Karl Masks]

Here is my breakfast (yes it has an egg, i'm working slowly and didn't have anything else in cupboard, i also added some broccoli, cucumber and courgette)

 

[bellaozzydog]

Perhaps. But I eat tinned fish twice a day and chicken for dinner. That's a lot of meat and probably not the healthiest option.

I have been trying to build up but it seems that at some point you just have to go full tilt in order to get all the right nutrients.

Unfortunately I appear to have come down with something. This is the second time i've attempted this way of eating only to have health issues at the same time. Felt very cold yesterday evening, overnight (when out of bed) and this morning. Dunno what's going on. I don't appear to have a fever. Perhaps the god of veganism hates me

Feeling cold generally happens when you have “run out” of calories

 

[danny la rouge]

I have a supply of different nuts from Lidl. So if I’m having porridge for breakfast, I add roasted hazelnuts when I serve. Or if I want to snack I have nuts rather than a round of toast. Higher protein and not relying on simple carbs. (Though you do need carbs).

Nuts, kidney beans, chickpeas, quinoa, tofu, sunflower seeds, chia seeds.

 

[ddraig]

People answering in good faith when we've been here with this poster before sadly, they should take on board what people have said previously

 

[Riklet]

I don't know what I'm craving. Or if it's just the meals are too small. It just seems very weird that you can eat a meal and feel properly satiated (not stuffed), and then be hungry a short while later. Maybe that's just how some of us are and that carb heavy meals are that way. I can eat the same calories in a lower carb higher fat meal and be full much longer. But I didn't want to stay on high fat.

I dont think plant based should be carb heavy tbh. You can have a very high protein and veg/fibre diet that way. Might be you need to tweak what you're cooking.

But if you "naturally" eat two tins of tuna and some chicken a day I would say you do have a high craving and natural desire for protein because that must be going on 120g of protein a day, combined with whatever else you eat. A lot of people just don't have the desire for that much protein and honestly I do think a plant based diet can be easier or more natural for them.

Overall I think you do have to experiment. I'm not saying don't go vegan at all. But maybe being vegetarian for 6 months would be a better intro? Also don't feel bad at yourself if it doesn't work. I think diet and metabolism are pretty complex and not fully understood by science/nutrition theories yet.

When I was very ill I had a very strong desire for protein and ate lots of animal products for a year. Now I am better I have reduced that. Just to mention this since you said you've been ill recently. Eating non plant based is frankly the easiest way to get your body nutrients... when people are half dead in hospital they don't go straight in with a strict vegan diet.

 

[ddraig]

ffs

 

[Riklet]

ffs

boring. cba.

 

[High Voltage]

I've found since retirement that I've switched from, what I considered the normal 3 meals a day / 21 meals a week down to skipping 8 meals completely

My six breakfasts are vegetarian and the remaining 7 meals are mainly omnivor but even some of them are vegetarian more often than not

I've just ended up going that way no real plan just the gradual reduction in animal protein

And the animal protein I chose to eat I try to get from the best providence local sources I can

 

[Voley]

Working From Portacabin, Basically.

We're the Fucking Petshop Boys!

 

[Jeff Robinson]

Agree with Danny, if you want to eat a healthy plant-based diet meals based around non-refined carbs + protein + a little healthy fat + loads of fruit and veg is your best bet.

I'm working out quite a lot at the moment, so eating a high protein diet. Here's what I am eating today for example:

Breakfast green smoothie: kale, flaxseed, oats, frozen banana, pea and brown rice protein powders and soy milk

Gym

snack: protein shake with banana

lunch: lentil dal with spinach and quinoa, peanut naked bar.

snack: lentil cakes (Protein Packed Lentil Cakes), apple.

Dinner: tofu ban mi (Meera Sodha’s vegan recipe for tofu banh mi | The new vegan), high protein granola (Sainsbury's online Grocery Shopping and Fresh Food Delivery) with soy yogurt, soy milk and mixed berries.

 

[8ball]

Agree with Danny, if you want to eat a healthy plant-based diet meals based around non-refined carbs + protein + a little healthy fat + loads of fruit and veg is your best bet.

I'm working out quite a lot at the moment, so eating a high protein diet. Here's what I am eating today for example:

Breakfast green smoothie: kale, flaxseed, oats, frozen banana, pea and brown rice protein powders and soy milk

Gym

snack: protein shake with banana

lunch: lentil dal with spinach and quinoa, peanut naked bar.

snack: lentil cakes (Protein Packed Lentil Cakes), apple.

Dinner: tofu ban mi (Meera Sodha’s vegan recipe for tofu banh mi | The new vegan), high protein granola (Sainsbury's online Grocery Shopping and Fresh Food Delivery) with soy yogurt, soy milk and mixed berries.

Out of interest, roughly how much protein does that work out at per day?

 

[Jeff Robinson]

Out of interest, roughly how much protein does that work out at per day?

I don't really measure, but in the past I've calculated my average daily intake to be around 90g-110g. The protein powders alone give me almost 50g. This is much more than somebody with normal levels of physical activity needs but I'm going to the gym 5-6 days a week atm, so am eating alot more protein than I have in the past.

 

[8ball]

I don't really measure, but in the past I've calculated my average daily intake to be around 90g-110g. The protein powders alone give me almost 50g. This is much more than somebody with normal levels of physical activity needs but I'm going to the gym 5-6 days a week atm, so am eating alot more protein than I have in the past.

Thanks. Def a decent amount (assuming you’re not super-massive obv).

 

[ska invita]

That helps, but not enough

A can of Guinness a day

 

[Pickman's model]

I'm trying to do this. It is, for me, very not easy.

I eat a meal, it's about 600cals (if that matters). It fills me up. Yet half an hour later, I'm starving again.

I don't know how to resolve this and it doesn't seem to make sense. How can a meal that fills you up, is full of fibre, then quickly leave you hungry?

the trick is to eat several meals in a day

 

[ddraig]

boring. cba.

leave it out then