Research
Energy balance
Achieving high energy and protein requirements on a vegan diet is challenging due to the high fiber content and low energy density of plant foods, which promote early satiety.
If you struggle to eat enough calories as a vegan, focus on energy-dense foods like nuts, seeds, and oils, and eat more frequently. Choose lower-fiber carbohydrate sources (like white rice or pasta) during high-training phases to avoid feeling too full to eat enough.
GoodRefutesHIGH confidence
Vegetarian and vegan diets can also lead to very high fibre consumption... plant-based foods therefore tend to have low energy density and promote early satiety... these factors might lead to problems when trying to achieve a high Calorie diet.
Why this rating
The paper cites multiple studies showing vegans consume less energy and have lower energy density diets.
Source
Vegan diets: practical advice for athletes and exercisers
David Rogerson · Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2017
DOI 10.1186/s12970-017-0192-9
narrative_reviewCited 228×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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