Reader Question: Always Hungry on a Plant-Based Diet?

This post is part of my ongoing Reader Questions Series.

Reader Question:

I’m having trouble staying full on a plant-based diet. Can you help me?

Plant-Based Cooking Answers:

It’s not always the case but I’ve heard this before. I have a couple of suggestions that may help you feel fuller longer.

1. Eat More Food

Since there are fewer calories in whole foods than a diet that includes animal protein and fat or dairy, it makes sense that you’d need to eat a higher volume of food to get the same number of calories.

Keep this in mind when consuming meals because sometimes people add a lot of greens and vegetables and forget to include other plants foods that can help keep them fuller. I’ll go into these below…

2. Include Some Fats

If you’re not restricting all fats, adding some good fats to your meals, such as avocado and nuts or seeds (1-2 ounces) can help. Nuts are highly recommended by Dr. Joel Fuhrman. Dr. Fuhrman was an inspiration for my switch to a whole-foods, plant-based diet. Not only are they recommended for satiety but they are also important for overall health and especially brain health.

Whole plant sources of fats, including nuts and seeds, are strongly associated with longevity as they reduce heart disease risk, are linked with cancer prevention, and “play a significant role in brain health,” according to Dr. Fuhrman.

Nuts and/or seeds can be used to make salad dressings or sprinkled on top of your salad and are a great addition to breakfast cereals like oatmeal and buckwheat.

3. Get Enough Protein

Eating enough plant protein each meal can also help. What’s considered enough daily grams of protein? Adults require no more than 0.8 or 0.9 grams of protein per healthy kilogram of body weight per day. Here’s an article with an easy-to-use calculator for determining your protein grams for the day.

This is especially true if you’re 65 or older as more may be required as we age. For example, use these protein-rich plant-based powerhouses: tofu, tempeh, quinoa, seitan, and all legumes are good choices.

Add beans to your salads, soups, or stews, try tofu or tempeh eggless salad. Quinoa is a great substitute for brown rice in dishes and can even be made into flatbread. Seitan is made from wheat gluten so it isn’t appropriate if you’re gluten-sensitive.

Other soy products like soy milk or soy yogurt are good choices. I like adding my homemade soy yogurt to oatmeal and berries along with some nuts for breakfast. Or, add it to your smoothies.

4. Eat Whole Intact Whole Grains

Adding whole intact grains such as chewy farro, brown rice, barley, or bulger to your meals is helpful. Whole grains take longer to digest than more refined grains. Dr. Greger has a delicious breakfast combo of intact grains using barley, rye berries, oat grouts (much like brown rice), and black lentils. The black lentils have protein and other whole grains will definitely keep you full longer. Here’s his recipe for BROL which stand for Barley, Rye, Oats, and Lentils

5. Eat a Large Salad Every Day

I know it’s sometimes hard to eat large raw salads but they are usually filling. Some people chop the raw ingredients either by hand or in a food processor to help with some of the chewing. Add beans or some whole grains to salad, as well, for an extra boost of nutrition and for satiety.

And, don’t forget squashes and potatoes which can be filling and delicious served in a salad. White potatoes are best served cold as they can affect blood sugars in some people.

I hope that helps some. I suppose a food diary might help pinpoint what works best. 

I’d love to hear how you’re doing so let me know how it’s going…

6. Drink Plenty of Water

Yes, we’ve heard that drinking 8 glasses of water a day is good but how many of us actually accomplish this goal. If you forget to drink water find a way to keep track. I like keeping 8 raw beans in my pocket and will transfer them from the pocket on my left to the pocket on my right when I’ve had a glass. That way I know for sure and drinking more water helps squelch feelings of hunger.

Remember your body may be getting used to eating fewer processed or fast foods that tend to stay in your system longer. Plus your body just gets used to eating a certain way. Give it some time and I’m sure you’ll start feeling more satisfied with this new way of eating. 

DO YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT LIVING A PLANT-BASED LIFESTYLE?

This post is part of an ongoing series of questions about eating a plant-based diet from my readers. If you have a question that you’d like me to answer, please email me at diane@plantbasedcooking.com. I read every question and answer them personally so if you feel stuck or are struggling with something or feel overwhelmed, I’d love to help you!

If you have a question about a medical condition, I want to emphasize that I am not a medical doctor and I would suggest, if you’re not getting the help you seek from your current doctor, that you look into this site, Plant-Based Doctors, to see if you can find someone who would more likely help your deeper issues from a plant-based diet perspective. 

I have a certificate in Plant-Based Nutrition from eCornell and am a certified Food Over Medicine instructor. I read a lot about what a plant-based diet and lifestyle can do for your health so I will answer your questions to the best of my knowledge. 

SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCE

If you can relate to what this reader’s going through, let us know what you’ve found that works in the comments below.

Do You Have a Question?

This post is part of an ongoing series of questions about eating a plant-based diet from my readers. If you have a question that you’d like me to answer, please email me at diane@plantbasedcooking.com. I read every question and answer them personally so if you feel stuck or are struggling with something or feel overwhelmed, I’d love to help you!

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