How to Gain Weight on a Vegan Diet

A common misconception about a vegan or plant-based diet is that it’s difficult to gain weight.

On a vegan diet, you’d naturally be cutting down on highly processed foods, and even some major food groups that are typically of high caloric value, such as meat and dairy.

Though there are plenty of ways to boost your plant-based calories to ensure you’re on track to gaining weight, whether this is for a specific weight gain goal or as part of a muscle-building program.

You’ve come to the right place to find out more about how to gain weight on a vegan diet!

A Quick Word on Calories

Calories are quite simply the unit of measuring the energy we get from eating food. All types of food are essential sources of calories, which we require daily to live and function.

It’s important to consume enough calories to support our everyday health and function, as we also burn these calories to move and survive.

Calories to us are like gas to a car, an energy source!

However, if we consistently consume too few calories, it can have a negative impact on our health - like trying to drive your car when it has no gas in the tank. On the contrary, if we consistently consume too many calories, our metaphorical gas will overspill, leading to weight gain.

This is the principle of calorie balance. Generally, we need to be consuming the same number of calories as we’re burning for energy. However, this depends on your weight management goals!

It is possible to put yourself in a calorie deficit if you want to lose weight or a calorie surplus if you want to gain weight. You can do either of these objectives in a healthy way.

Most fat loss or weight-gain diets are based on the principle of a calorie deficit or calorie surplus, respectively.

This is a key point to remember while reading this article, that the only way to successfully gain weight is to increase your calorie intake from various food sources.

Defining the Vegan Diet

A vegan diet consists only of plant-derived foods, meaning there is no consumption of animal-based foods.

The vegan diet has become extremely popular in recent years and continues to grow, with approximately 79 million people globally leading the lifestyle.¹

Many health benefits of going vegan have been noted as a result of the increased consumption of whole foods, fruits, and vegetables. And not to mention the immensely positive impact veganism has on the environment and current state of the planet.

Though with cutting out such a major food group, does that make it more challenging to gain weight on a vegan diet? Possibly! But all it takes is a little knowledge and planning to ensure you’re consuming a calorie-dense, nutritious diet to support your goals!

Gaining Weight on a Vegan Diet: High-Calorie, Plant-Based Foods

We have already established that the principle of weight gain is to consistently consume more calories than you burn (caloric surplus).

However, there are certainly specific plant-based foods that you could focus on to help you hit your daily calorie target without feeling like you’re eating mountains of food to achieve your mass-gaining goal!

Plant-based, high-calorie foods:

Nuts
Nut butters
Seeds
Avocados
Dried fruit such as plum, dates, and apricots
Hummus
Quinoa
Lentils and beans
Oats
Coconut oil
Olives
Bananas
Rice

These foods can be consumed as they are, as part of recipes, or as high-calorie additions to your meals and snacks.

A Final Word

Gaining weight can sometimes be a difficult goal to achieve, particularly while following a vegan diet!

It’s very easy to opt for the unhealthy vegan alternatives that are readily available, but doing so consistently may make it more difficult to achieve your goal in the long run.

With the right knowledge and practice, gaining weight on a vegan diet can definitely be accomplished. Focusing on calorie-dense, plant-based foods will help you maintain your calorie surplus without sacrificing food quality and key nutrients!