I've been a vegetarian for many years but I took the plunge into full veganhood back in April. All went well till about 3 months ago. I am seeing a personal trainer and she doesn't want me to eat unfermented soy products so tofu is out. I am going to be experiementing with tempeh for the first time this weekend and see how that goes. I am grossed out by fake cheeses so I'd just as soon eat none than eat the fake stuff which turns out fine because my trainer said I am not to eat anything pretending to be anything else. So even my vegan Boca burgers are out.This caused me to lose faith in what I was doing and started eat cheese again. No my weight loss has plataued and my skin is breaking out. I need to get back on the horse so to speak but I feel lost because I must eat protein with every meal and I'm tired of eating a different bean or nut everyday. Any suggestions on how to jazz up the same old stuff or any other sources of protein I should try?

I love tempeh, as for more protein, brown rice and beans, look for Ezekiel bread, cereals as these are made from sprouted live grains which is a complete protein.  Check out the website,  vegweb is an excellent recipe site, and you tube as I recently found a great recipe there  for brown rice breakfast  by Bethanny Frankel,  that takes only five minutes to prepare.

Check out http://myvega.com/. kinda pricy but totally worth it!

I do Amy's california burgers (veggie) not like Bocca's it has no Corn syrup or stuff that is processed. I was not allowed to eat that either. I do Amy's though. I do not daily but like you if I get sick of beans I do one on a gluten free , egg free, dairy, nut etc bun. But you could leave out the bun. I do not eat bread more then once a week either. I eat grains just not breads and pasta often. It can be frustrating some nights.

Thanks guys! yes is can be very frustrating but I'm still trying to give it a go. I'll definitely try those Amy's. I already use VegWeb but I guess I need to look more.

I am really sorry about that! but Tempeh is the BEST!!! alicias tuna salad is soooooo good! Also, make sure your personal trainer is "the one." I went through three personal trainers until I met "the one" My personal trainer is my best friend! and she is VEGAN! it was my dream came true when I met her because so many people try to convince you that being vegan isnt healthy but she totally supports me! its great because we understand each other and we have someone to talk about Veganism with! :o) Good Luck! xx

Why would a personal trainer be a substitute for nutritional counselor?

justin - i think if you have a good personal trainer, they should be very aware of nutrition and a big part of their job would not just be yelling "give me ten more!" but also helping to create a meal plan that would work for the particular client.  I actually think the advice they gave is pretty good -  fermented soy products like tempeh are healthier than the straight soy that most people seem to eat way too much of and the fake meat products are almost always wheat based and have a lot of other stuff in them - for someone working with a personal trainer to loose weight, avoiding all the things they mentioned seems a good step, especially if someones diet is really loaded with them.  

Brandy, try looking at sunshine burgers, they are good and contain no crap, no soy and only about 4 or 5 ingredients - pretty much rice, veg and herbs.  Also, I love tahini - just sesame seed butter basically - I mix it with some water to make a sauce for those sometimes boring beans, I also keep a jar of toasted pecans or other nuts in the kitchen to sprinkle on my greens with some olive oil.  Toasted - it makes all the difference!

Does a personal trainer have the same ultimate goal as the client? Most trainer always want their clients to consume more protein, regardless of any other factor. They may want their client to loose weight and gain muscle mass as quickly as possible. This goal may or may not not be consistent with long term health. I usually have to try and convince my patients not to buy protein supplements, usually based on whey, from their trainer. These supplements work very well in the short term but are associated with grave risks.

Brandy reported that she was convinced to start eating cheese again until her stomach revolted. It is common for trainers to encourage such things because their goals are their own.

I agree, I would never trust my trainer for nutrition information.  Is this even part of their training?  My gym has a nurse that you are able to see, but when I mentioned that I was vegan my trainer said "oh, she probably can't help you."  Not that I need to lose weight, but I thought that was crazy.  I have found more information on my own by reading books by Neal Barnard, MD, John McDougall, MD, and The China Study.  I don't know that I would trust what others say when I know they haven't been schooled on vegan diets.  I base my diet on whole grains and vegetables, very little processed protein, and I have only gotten stronger and more cardiovascularly fit. 

I am reading brandy's post as she lost faith in doing this because she can't come up with other sources of protein but beans and nuts so she started eating cheese again - ie; she fell "off the wagon" of her own accord- maybe I am totally misreading the whole post, but I'm not seeing where she is saying that her trainer told her to up her protien, eat cheese and start taking protein supplements.....

I think being a personal trainer is a lot like other modalities - like acupuncturists, for example - you may have someone who takes the time and goes out and studies and takes courses and educates themselves in nutrition to better help their client, or you might have someone who has very little knowledge who then gives their client erroneous advice with no basis.  

I'm not sure why I'm suddenly defending the personal trainers of the world here!  but I truly think that there are some out there who take a full interest in their clients health and are equipped to counsel them on nutrition. 

I have a very different experience than you do Justin with patients and physical trainers - I have one patient who has MS and has been working with a trainer who has gotten her off of a lot of the horrible foods she was eating, given her sound nutritional advice and has made an amazing impact on her health.

Lets not be so down on all physical trainers, but like every other modality, look at the individual, their training and their advice before throwing them all under the bus!

....and I still agree with Brandy's trainers advice-  cut out the fake foods and if you eat soy only do it in fermented forms - I'm not sure how that is perceived as unhealthy advice - it's worked for me!

I don't mean to throw personal trainers under the bus, I think they are excellent at their jobs.  But, I see their jobs to be coaching people on workouts and fitness.  This has nothing to do with them, I wouldn't trust my doctor to know much about a vegan diet.  I know this from experience, as most of my doctors think it is great, but tell me flat out that they don't know much about it.  Also, my husband is in medical school and recieved little nutrition training.  Like you said Ann, he went out and learned it all himself.  I think maybe personal trainers can give nutritional information, but I think few know how to do this with a vegan diet; at least I have never found one that does.  He didn't tell her to eat cheese like you said, but he told her to steer away from something that she felt was an important part of her diet thereby making her consider going back to old ways.  There are so many special diets out there these days that it would be difficult for them to be up on everything. 

I would question anyone  advising a vegan not to eat tofu.....one of the highest quality proteins out there, with low sodium, fat and calories, just not in the same category as the highly processed fake products out there full of soy by-products. Also, it is not difficult to eat enough vegan protein with each meal, if you are eating a healthy plant-based diet. Beans, green, nuts, seeds, whole grains all contain protein. Most of us eat too much protein. There is still controversy among the very best, credible doctors on the best way to be "vegan", with years of research behind them, I surely would question specific advise from a trainer, I agree.

I really like Gardein products.  The soy used in Gardein isn't a currdled or processed the same way tofu is.  I don't really consider it a "fake meat" because its not really trying to be something else.  It is a complete protein that uses wheat, soy and pea proteins, quinoa, amaranth, millet and kamut. 

If you want to completely avoid soy, check out Brenden Brazier's book "Thrive."  He sells his own product line called Vega that is also carried by Whole Foods: http://myvega.com/.  I like the Whole Food Health Optimizer added in my smoothies, and also the Whole Food Energy Bars.  Good stuff!  He ends up replacing soy protein with hemp, brown rice, and green pea proteins. 

For instance, ingredients in the Optimzer drink include: 

Organic hemp protein, yellow pea protein, organic brown rice protein, whole flax seed, ChlorEssence (high CGF chlorella), Frutafit Inulin FOS (from chicory root), organic gelatinized maca root, protease I, protease II, amylase, lipase, cellulase, wild blueberry, blueberry, black raspberry, cherry, marion berry, blackberry, L. Acidophilus, B. Bifidum, natural vanilla flavour, xanthan gum, stevia leaf extract.

I am stil trying to like tempeh.  I noticed that a couple of you stated that you love it.  Any good recipes out there?  I think maybe I am not cooking it correctly because it always seem tough and tasteless to me.