Considering becoming vegan

Hi just wondering if anyone could give me any advice. I am considering becoming a vegan. I feel that it will be easy to cut out meat as i dont really eat that much of it anyway and i actually like some of the meat alternatives. However i am a bit aprehensive of cutting out dairy esp cheese coz i love it!! I havent tried any cheese substitutes, what are they like?? I like soya milk and not that fussed on eggs anyway.
I just dont want to feel at all restricted about what i can eat. What are supermarkets like for vegan food?? is it best to shop at specialist food stores?
I am due to become a mum in around 7 weeks and have read that the vegan diet helps with energy levels which i will be needing as a first time mum!! This will also be beneficial when i get back into my exercise regime (which i cant wait to do, feeling so fat & lazy!!)
ANYWAY, sorry to waffle on but if anyone could shed some light on this for me i woud be very grateful.

Cheers

xMx

I am a vegan

I am a vegan for now over 40 years, it was hard at first but i eventually over come it, i am so pleased about being a vegan, sometimes people look at me and think it is boring because we not eat much meat, i tell them would you eat your pet dog if you were hungry, they dont reply. if i can manage so can they. the meat eaters are a strange race of people that dont care, but the way they are going the animal stock will get lower then what will they do then, they have to join us wont they,in which they could of done in the first place.

I am a vegan

I am a vegan for now over 40 years, it was hard at first but i eventually over come it, i am so pleased about being a vegan, sometimes pepole look at me and think it is boring because we not ear much meat, i tell them would you eat your pet dog if you were hungry, they dont reply. if i can manage so can they. the meat eaters are a strange race of people that dont care, but the way they are going the animal stock will get lower then what will they do then, they have to join us wont they,in which they could of done in the first place.

A bit of advice

Hi Shelly, I'm new on here so sorry I couldn't repply before. I'm not actually a vegan, i'm a vegetarian (and half vegan!) but hopefully I can help a bit. I first became a veggie when I was 10 but I didn't do it overnight and I'd advise you not to try doing it either! I gave up red meat initially then 2 years later I gave up white meat before giving up fish when I was 14. I've since given up eating gelatine, animal byproducts, etc. So think about doing it gradually so you're more likely to stick to it, plus your body will be better able to adapt to it.

Soya in food is ok but I don't think much to the taste of soya milk! I'm sure you can get used to it though. Supermarkets are very good at labelling products that are suitable for vegetarians but not for vegans so you'll either have to go to specialist stores/online shops or start reading the ingredients! This can seem a mundane task at first but you'll quickly get used to doing it and won't think twice about it. You'll need to research the E numbers too!

Btw congratulations are in order I believe!
Laura xx