If you are feeling tired on a vegan diet, there might be something off with what you are eating. Tiredness is a common issue among new vegans, but it doesn’t have to be! With just a few tweaks to your diet, you can start to feel energized and ready to go.

With the right balance and understanding of what the body needs, a vegan diet can be just as, and probably more, realistic and nourishing as any other way of eating. There is usually a simple solution to help get your energy levels back where they should be. But first, you have to find out why you are tired to start with!

Reasons Why You Are Tired on a Vegan Diet

1. You Aren’t Eating Enough

The most obvious problem that you might be having is that you simply aren’t eating enough. This is a common problem, especially if you lept straight into veganism, due to vegan portion sizes being way different than what you may be used to

Because a vegan diet is often lower in calories, protein, fat, and carbs. You need to consume more food to make up for those losses. This means ignoring conventional portion sizes and eating until you are full.

This is a very important adjustment to make in your diet if you want to maintain a vegan diet.

2. You’re Nutrient Deficient

Another common reason why you are tired on a vegan diet is that you are deficient in a vitamin or mineral.

This is a common problem, especially if you have not started to eat a balanced vegan diet full of a wide variety of plant foods.

Without animal products in your diet, you will have to get your nutrients from different plant foods. If you only eat a limited amount of plant foods, you could be missing out on important vitamins and minerals. 

3. You Aren’t Getting Enough Protein

If you are feeling very tired on your vegan diet it might be because you aren’t eating enough protein.

This can happen if you are eating too many light foods, like tomatoes, celery, fruit, or cucumbers. You have to branch out from produce into more food options, such as grains, beans, and tofu.

Without a variety of different food groups, it can be very easy to miss out on the protein that your body needs.

If you aren’t getting protein, your body can start to break down muscle, resulting in tiredness, weakness, and a loss of muscle mass.

4. You Aren’t Eating Enough Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are another thing that could cause you to be tired on a vegan diet. This is because your body needs carbs to turn into energy. Without carbs, your body doesn’t have enough fuel to keep you feeling good and active.

This is a common issue on a vegan diet, so you will need to work your meals around a healthy source of carbs. This can be potatoes, bread, beans, or whole grains.

5. You Need More Fiber

Fiber is what often helps to keep you full. Our body can quickly burn through protein and carbs, but fiber is there to stay until you eat your next meal.

If you are feeling overly tired and sluggish, you might not be getting enough fiber in your diet. A lack of fiber can cause you to be hungry all of the time and give you dips in energy. It can also make you constipated, which can result in tiredness.

Fiber also helps your body to better digest food, making the process harder when you are not eating enough fiber.

Fiber is good for many aspects of your body and can easily begin to cause tiredness if you aren’t getting enough of it.

6. You Aren’t Snacking

 If you are not eating enough, what are you fueling your body with?

Our body relies on food for the ingredients needed to make energy for you to live off of. A vegan diet is already lower in fat, protein, and carbs, so you have to eat more food to balance it out. While some people thrive off a few larger meals during their day, others do better with smaller meals and plenty of snacks, or some combination of this. 

One great way to do this is to eat small snacks throughout the day. This way you aren’t stuffing yourself at mealtimes but still eating enough.

Snacks are an easy way to get in some extra nutrients that your body can turn into energy. Some great options are nuts and seeds, sugar from fruit or dates, or some form of complex carb. These are great snack options that your body can transform into energy. 

7. You’re Relying too Much on Substitutes

If you are new to veganism, you might be relying too much on vegan substitutes, such as meats, cheeses, and milks.

This is a common problem for new vegans as they feel like they need these items in their diet. But you really don’t, at least not in a day-to-day way. These foods are great occasionally, but they should not make up the bulk of your diet.

These foods, though vegan, are highly processed. They may be healthier than their non-vegan counterparts, but it’s still good to eat more whole foods. 

These kinds of heavily processed foods can actually become very unhealthy if eaten too much. They can start to drain your energy instead of giving you more.

Related Articles

• Tips for Eating Out on a Vegan Diet for Beginners
• Bloated on a Vegan Diet? Here’s Why and How to Improve Your Digestion
• 10 Signs You Could Have a Protein Deficiency
• Mineral Deficiencies on a Vegan Diet and How to Fix Them

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