To the vegan Jellies: Is it difficult to reach 2000 calories a day?

No. Legumes, nuts, starches, and any added cooking fats all have tons of calories. Fruit juices and soda have a ton of sugar and calories. Vegan isn’t necessarily healthy.

In 1 cup of quinoa there are 625 calories, in 1 cup of almonds there are 529 (according to Google). So if needed, you can easily even exceed this amount of calories

I don’t think calories are your main concern when turning vegan :) That would be protein, vitamin B12 and iron.

Most of the vegans I know are overweight or obese and eat a fair bit. Getting enough calories isn’t a concern. Focus on your B vitamins, iron, and protein. Make sure you take supplements of B vitamins and iron. Many vegetarians/vegans are deficient, especially in B12, and this leads to nerve damage over time if left unchecked.

Protein was the biggest concern for me. I understand healthy eating and wanted to make sure I was getting balanced nutrients. I know not to have wasteful calories like soda. Are all of you vegans?

I’m not, but my sister has been for 25 years. I like to be vegan at home.

I mentioned the soda; because my only point was vegan doesn’t necessarily mean low cal or healthy. For me low cholesterol is my biggest goal more than low sugar, not that I think sugary things are good.

Some people think vegans only eat vegetables. You can eat cup cakes all day as a vegan just like omnivores do. Bagels, pasta, beans, all are dense in calories. Nits have a ton of fat and calories. Avacodos, corn, fruit, it all starts to add up. Veggies cooked in oil, salads with fatty dressings.

Uh…nits?

*nuts?

omg eat peanut butter. You’ll get so fat. haha

Nuts.

I never said I thought it would be healthy, but I am concerned that it wouldn’t be healthy for me because I’m so thin. To be clearer, I want to gain good calories, not excessive fat calories.

Gaining weight is usually fat and/or muscle. So, exercise and eat sufficient amounts of protein and you should be good to go.

If you want to try being vegan go for it. If you lose weight on the diet, either adjust it or quit it. You are in control, it isn’t something to worry about. You can change your diet again if your concern manifests itself and you lose some weight. You can change your mind one week into it. There is no obligation to stick with it.

Just a vegetarian here – didn’t go full vegan because I don’t think I’m able to eat healthily without changing my diets in ways that I’m not willing to. The issue is definitely not weight though – I’ve always been relatively thin, but fairly stable, even when I became a vegetarian. Which makes sense, because a vegetarian diet does not imply losing weight. My main problem with becoming a vegan is that it is really difficult to get vitamin B12 if not out of animal-based products.

In any case, if you do become a vegan, it’s important to do proper research and perhaps consult your GP about it.

How to get enough Vitamin B-12 into a vegan diet.