Glad to hear you're doing it properly.
The protein thing isn't that big a deal if you're smart about it, imho. I'm not a diet-nazi, it's only vegan zealots who tend to piss me off (especially self-righteous junk food vegans who look like they're about to keel over from some deficiency or another).
Yeah, Initially I was obsessive over getting adequate protein. Then I realized that it wasn't as if I ate much meat anyway before becoming a vegetarian. I had already stopped eating red-meat because it didn't taste all that good to me anymore and chicken was the only other thing I ate. I was used to veggies because my parents have always eaten a lot of lentils, beans, vegetables etc. It wasn't really hard. Although coming out to my family as a vegetarian was a funny experience LOL.
I've calmed down some on being a health nut because I realized I was developing an eating disorder--which I've had experience with. It isn't one that has been officially identified as a disorder yet.
I agree that vegans can be intense. Though I considered it for about 5 minutes when I realized that there ARE other purposes for the milk I drink every morning...namely that it is there for the cow's baby.
Perhaps I should start a seperate thread on this. Sorry to spam your lovely food-thread. (A)
Are you also a vegetarian?