Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

Back when I first went vegetarian, I consumed faux meats all the time, and it never really upset my body, but I wasn't really active back then. For the past six or seven months, I've been staying away from them for the most part because I've heard really bad things about soy protein isolate, and how processed most faux meats were. I've been replacing them with whole soy foods like sprouted organic tofu and edamame.

Are faux meats really that bad? Do many of you consume them as a primary source of protein or even several times a week? They're so convenient, it would certainly be easier than making tofu daily. By faux meats I'm mostly talking about the Gardein brand, which uses non-gmo soy beans and the ingredients list doesn't look too scary.
Thanks!

I certainly wouldn't use them as a primary protein source, but adding them to a convenience meal every now and then is fine I think. Tofu, tempeh, seitan, etc. can be a hassle to prepare, so it's nice to have faux meats as a backup sometimes. My advice would be to just do the best you can, and if you end up eating some faux meats, eat some more healthy things (veggies!) to balance it all out.

There is still debate over soy products. The whole soy industry just have strong marketing. I doubt it too much soy is healthy. Personally I use only some soy milk here and there that's about it.
Faux meat, I don't eat that stuff. For me it's same as any animal meat based junk food.
There are enough other sources for protein. I see no point in being Vegan and eating processed foods but that's just me.

I don't think that faux meats are really "bad" whether they're made of soy or wheat or lupines or a mix of them all. I ate quite a lot of them (mostly for convenience) when I made the transition. However, I noticed that I grew tired of them very quick and while I almost always have a faux schnitzel or burger in my fridge (sometimes I crave a burger after all and during the week I have very little time to cook if any) I rarely consume them anymore.

Seitan is pretty good and cheap too. My tub of vital wheat gluten says there are 24 grams of protein per 1/4 cup of gluten

From a cost perspective I wouldn't go for the fake meat. I went to a vegan on a budget class once and they said something I had realized early on, if you try to go for mostly fake meats it will become expensive to be a vegan or vegetarian and that is part of why a lot of people give up on the idea of being a vegan or vegetarian. I eat it once in a while but there are not a lot of them that are vegan and for a lot of them the sodium content is pretty high.

Very true, but you also have to realize (you probably already do) that most finished products receive a huge markup compared to the prices of its raw material. So while buying ready-made Seitan or Tofu is always a leisure, one must consider that those things can easily and cheaply be made at home. For example, 5 pounds of gluten can be bought for ~$25, which makes ALOT of seitan. The same probably could be applied to Tofu.

I've been vegan for a year and a half and don't miss meat at all. I guess that's why I would consider eating fake meat. I'm always a little cautious when one food is processed to represent another. I gave up deli meat long before I became vegan due to the processing, nitrates, sodium, and other chemicals. If people really want fake meat, I would recommend reading the ingredients and checking the nutritional value. Avoid it if you don't know what an ingredient is, or even if you do

I eat faux meat once or twice per week with no ill effects but they are not my main sources of protein. They do have a lot of sodium but the rest of my diet is very low in sodium and my blood pressure is low so I think its ok. I usually go for St Ives deli slices or the fake chicken. They are great for convenience and have a lot of protein in a small serving size. I believe balance of all protein sources is the key.

Personally, I don't believe in consuming faux meat as a primary protein source since its processed and you don't know what else they're chucking into it at the factories. Just saying. I think its fine to eat it, just not excessively. And as said before balance it out with other sources of protein of closer proximity to natural produce and veggies =)

I don't eat them at home but when I go out I my enjoy some chicken strips or the like. I don't think having them occasioanllywill do me any harm but like all processed foods they are high in salt and other goodies. If it makes veganism easier for me, especially when eating out when you can't always get exactly what you want, then why not.

I'm not going to lie if it wasn't for the faux meats it would have been hard for me to become veg. I am currently vegatarian working on becoming vegan and fax meats are a staple of my diet. I do also like a lot of pasta but I can't live without my veggie burgers. What I like to do is buy the veggie crumbles and make my own homade veggie burgers. If I'm unable to make them for whatever reason I usually have some already made frozen boca burgers ready to go in the microwave. And yes I still eat the bk veggieburger as well as the subway veggiemax even though none of them are vegan.

As far as soy goes, ive done a lot of research on it-- and basically ate nothing but it for a few years of my life.

And my personal conclusion is that its almost all bad and very difficult to digest for humans. Its so hybrid and genetically modified at this point that even organic is bad and should be avoided.

Tempeh is the only type of soy that I feel is actually good for you. Its fermented soy, which basically means pre-digested, and has very little processing involved.


but honestly.. overall.. soy is probably still far better than eating meat.

Usually I never eat the faux meats, but if my parents buy them (normally the vegan boca burgers) I eat them. However, I have noticed they go through me really quick and are not an essential item of my diet. Tofu is something I have on occasion, but normally for my protein I'll go to other foods like nuts and grains.

I would say use them not as your primary protein source, but supplement them occasionally. They DO have a lot of protein, and so it makes it really tempting and easy to get that extra 20-30g.
And although Gardein products are mostly organic and what not, tofurkey isn't so great, and neither are most of the others. I recommend tempeh. It's the best tasting and the most natural. Plus, it has the most protein. That and organic non-gmo tofu, you should be golden!