I Tried Veganism and It Didn't Work for Me
Summary
Most vegan diet "failures" stem from inadequate calories, missing B12, sudden fiber increases, or narrow food variety -- not from plant-based eating being inherently unhealthy. With proper planning, 84% dropout rates can be dramatically reduced.
Supported by 3 cited sources
Evidence Summary
Why People Struggle on Vegan Diets The Faunalytics study (2014) -- the largest survey of current and former vegetarians/vegans -- found that approximately 84% of people who try a vegan diet eventually return to eating animal products. The top reasons were dissatisfaction with food (32%), health concerns like fatigue (26%), social difficulties (13%), and inconvenience (13%). These numbers sound discouraging, but they reveal something important: most failures are not about veganism being
Supporting Evidence
Based on the Faunalytics 2014 survey of over 11,000 U.S. adults. Most failures relate to planning gaps, not inherent dietary inadequacy.
Plant foods are lower in calorie density, which benefits weight loss but can cause fatigue and weakness for those who do not adjust portions.
B12 deficiency is entirely preventable with supplementation. Supplemented vegans achieve normal B12 status.
Sources & Evidence
3 sources cited across 3 claims
84% vegan/vegetarian dropout rate
Cohort StudyVegan diets cause unintentional undereating
RCTUnsupplemented vegans have high B12 deficiency
Systematic Review