Crafting a plant-powered menu is one thing; turning that menu into all-day energy is another.
I’ve met plenty of vegans (myself included) who checked every ethical box yet still felt like an extra on The Walking Dead.
If that’s you, chances are you’re tripping over one—or several—of the seven missteps below.
Let’s fix them.
1. Under-eating calories
“Many new vegans find themselves constantly snacking or feeling fatigued… you’re just not eating enough calories or protein or fat or some combination thereof,” notes dietitian Sapna Vora in an interview with Plant Based News.
Plant foods are champions of nutrient density but lightweights in calorie density. Swapping a chicken-and-rice bowl (600 kcal) for a kale-and-quinoa bowl (350 kcal) looks heroic on Instagram—until your blood sugar free-falls by 3 p.m.
My own wake-up call came during a photo-shoot week in Portland. I stuffed myself with smoothie bowls, felt “full,” then spent the afternoons yawning behind the lens.
A calorie tracker revealed I’d been undershooting my needs by 600 kcal a day. Once I added an extra scoop of peanut butter and a fistful of walnuts, the slump vanished.
Quick fix:
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Anchor every meal with a calorie-dense core: oats + nut butter at breakfast, hummus + whole-grain pita at lunch, or tofu curry with coconut milk at dinner.
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Don’t fear healthy fats; one tablespoon of olive oil adds 120 effortless calories.
2. Skipping vitamin B12
The Vegan Society puts it bluntly: “To get the full benefit of a vegan diet, vegans should either eat fortified foods two or three times a day or take a B12 supplement.”
B12 keeps your red-blood-cell factory humming; stall that assembly line and oxygen delivery plummets—hello, chronic fatigue. Because plants don’t make B12, relying on kombucha “trace amounts” is like banking on rainfall to fill your swimming pool.
Quick fix:
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Pick one: 2–3 servings of B12-fortified foods daily or a 250–500 µg chewable supplement several times a week.
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Check labels: some plant milks contain as little as 0.4 µg per cup—far below the 2.4 µg RDA.
3. Overlooking iron
Harvard’s Nutrition Source reminds us that iron-deficiency anemia is “the most common nutritional deficiency worldwide, causing extreme fatigue and lightheadedness.”
Non-heme iron (the plant kind) absorbs at roughly 10 % the rate of heme iron. Translation: that heroic spinach salad needs a strategy. I learned this the hard way after a routine blood panel flagged low ferritin.
A squeeze of lemon over my lentils and a daily Brazil-nut-and-raisin trail mix nudged levels back into range within three months.
Quick fix:
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Pair iron-rich beans, lentils, or tofu with vitamin C sidekicks—citrus, bell peppers, strawberries.
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Keep coffee and tea an hour away from iron-focused meals; tannins block absorption.
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Consider a gentle iron bisglycinate supplement if bloodwork—and your doctor—say you need it.
4. Living on processed carbs
Vegan convenience foods rescue road-trips but sabotage steady energy. On a recent Japan swing, I subsisted on konbini (convenience-store) white-bread sandwiches and soy lattes.
Delicious? Absolutely. Sustaining? Not so much. By day three my brain felt like mushy edamame.
Ultra-processed carbs spike glucose, trigger insulin crashes, and leave you hunting for the next wrapper. Whole-grain, fiber-rich staples release energy slowly and deliver minerals the body converts into ATP (think quinoa’s magnesium).
Quick fix:
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Build a “half-plate” habit: fill 50 % of your plate with vegetables or fruit before adding starches.
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Swap refined grains for intact ones—bulgur instead of couscous, steel-cut oats instead of instant.
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Batch-cook beans; they’re the slow-burn logs in your metabolic fireplace.
5. Forgetting omega-3s
I’ve mentioned this before, but brain fog often masquerades as tiredness. Short-chain ALA (from flax or chia) must convert to long-chain DHA/EPA—an inefficient process. Low DHA can dull mental sharpness and deepen perceived fatigue.
Quick fix:
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Grind two tablespoons of flaxseed daily and sprinkle it over breakfast.
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Consider an algae-derived DHA/EPA supplement (250–500 mg combined) a few times a week.
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Balance your omega-6 intake by moderating sunflower, corn, and soy oils.
6. Burning the candle late
Diet isn’t the only drain. During a recent album review marathon (music blogging roots die hard) I stretched editing sessions past midnight. Even with immaculate macros, five-hour sleep windows trashed my energy.
Chronic sleep debt disrupts hunger hormones, pushing you toward sugary fixes, and tanks mitochondrial efficiency—the body’s battery pack.
Quick fix:
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Guard a non-negotiable eight-hour sleep window—yes, even during Stranger Things binges.
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Dim screens 90 minutes before bed; blue light delays melatonin.
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Trial magnesium glycinate (200–400 mg) if muscle tension keeps you wired.
7. Flying blind on data
Guesswork is a poor coach. Without periodic check-ins—blood tests, food logs, even a basic mood tracker—you’re steering blindfolded. I book a comprehensive panel every six months; seeing my B12 or ferritin trendlines keeps me accountable and calm.
Quick fix:
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Schedule an annual (or biannual) panel covering B12, ferritin, vitamin D, thyroid panel, and omega-3 index.
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Use a simple app to log meals for a week each quarter; patterns (good and bad) jump out fast.
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Treat supplements as—wait for it—supplements, not excuses for a sugar-fueled diet.
The takeaway
Fatigue isn’t inevitable on a vegan path; it’s a sign something’s out of tune.
Feed your calories, respect your micronutrients, curb the ultra-processed creep, and honor sleep.
Tweak these seven levers and that perpetual yawn can become the steady hum of plant-powered momentum.
