vitamin D and a vegan diet

Wow... totally awesome... I assume you're already vegetarian?  This is a concern that I have and am planning to discuss with the surgeon when I meet with him.  I became a vegetarian about 6 months ago and plan to work into a vegan diet eventually.  I have traded some things like almond milk in place of regular milk and I avoid eggs and cheese most of the time but can't say as often as I like. 

Aside from the obvious ethical reasons to quit eating meat... my health was of course another major factor in my decision.  I've read so much about the benefits of a vegetarian/vegan diet and I truly enjoy the food much better however; I just still can't seem to get my blood sugars under control.  I've been to a dietician and she seems to think a vegetarian diet consists of too many carbs and although she was willing to work with me, she just wasn't as educated on vegetarian/veganism as much as I'd of liked her to be and she kind of gave me a vibe that made me think she wasn't going to be as beneficial to me as I'd hoped.

Yeah, I've been a vegetarian for about 25 years.  It was no problem at all with surgery.  Most vegetarian sources of protein have less protien per ounce than meat so it might be a little more difficult to get a whole lot of protein in and I did rely on protein shakes longer than some people do.  But I rarely do a shake anymore and I am easily getting in 70 grams of protein most days.

My diet probably is higher in carbs than some people that eat lots of meat.  I eat a lot of beans which have lots of carbs.  I consider those "good carbs" though.  I believe we need some carbs in our diet, just not in the form of white bread, cheezits and potato chips.

I think you need a dietician that is educated about a vegetarian/vegan diet.

One of the things I'm trying to figure out is not only how to replace the animal products in my diet with a vegan alternative but how to make sure I keep getting the nutrition I need.  Like, I could replace skim milk with almond milk, yeah.  But skim milk has eight grams of protein per cup.  Almond milk has one or two grams of protein.  So where I am going to get the missing six or seven grams of protein from?  It's the same with soy cheese.  Yeah, if I want a grilled cheese sandwich, I can use soy cheese and get the flavor I want.  But I'll be getting about 12 grams less protein than I would get with regular cheese.

So I'm kind of doing it gradually.  As I figure one thing out, then I change it.  I also feel ethically OK, at least right now, eating eggs and dairy if they come from animals that were treated humanely.  I found a local farm where I can buy fresh eggs from free range chickens and I realize most vegan would still have a problem with that, but I'm not quite sure why.  I am trying to find a local farm where I can buy raw milk.  I have decided that if I can get the milk, I will try making yogurt myself.  I'm not gonna make my own cheese, though!