How to not feel exhausted on a vegan + caloric deficit diet

Nutrition Q&A [Moderated]
1

Hey BBM,

For religious reasons I am on a vegan diet for the next 40+ days (with additional restrictions on oil most days). A caloric deficit is implied as gorging on vegan foods is contrary to the purpose of the fast. Anyway, I value this more than my gainzz so I’m not willing to budge on these restrictions. Nevertheless, I’ve historically felt very physically exhausted (barely able to keep my eyes open throughout the day, drag myself out of bed even after 7.5 hrs of sleep) while on this fast. I am not overweight (155 lbs at 5’10", reasonably good body comp) and do not have any health complications as far as I know. I’m definitely not overtrained, as I reduce the intensity and frequency of my gym sessions drastically during this period. So what can I do to combat the lethargy (while complying with the diet restrictions)? In terms of diet, are there any micro/macronutrients you’d recommend I consume more/less of?

Cheers!

2

I don’t think the diet is contributing in any meaningful way unless you’re very calorie restricted, e.g. > 1000 kCal deficit or so. If you’re unwilling to do anything about this, I’n not sure what we can do here.

That said, there aren’t any micro/macro recommendations that will do anything about this either in the context of a large deficit or other cause of fatigue.