I wanna go Vegan...

The first couple of weeks will be tough: you'll spend half your life reading labels in the supermarket But once you have done this, you'll know what you can and cant have and it becomes much, much easier!

Another thing, don't get stressed because you cant find a good milk/yogurt equivalent - you wont find one. You may find things you can use instead for cooking etc., but there's a reason dairy products taste the way they do, and none of them good! There are some excellent substitutes on the market ( I love so good chocolate bliss ), but none of them will be the same, so don't expect them to be

There have been some great suggestions for alternatives so I wont do the same, but what I tried to do was to forget about the money and try something new every week (eg. A vegetable I hadn't tried, or a new meat supplement product). Some of it will turn out horrible,  but some of it will become your new favorite too!

I often use a website called www.recipezaar.com which is a regualr cooking site, but has heaps of vegan options too. Check out the vegetarian section as well, as most of those meals can be made vegan

This woman has some amazing recipes. If you're finding eating hard just cook for yourself more, you'll learn more about what you can/can't eat and realise how delicious food can be without animal products.

http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2005/12/recipe-index.html

It's good to invest in some sort of vegan cookbook, it's one of the first things I did as I didn't have much of an idea - and of course my meat eating family didn't.

I tend to disagree. I used to be a big dairy fan before I realised that milk means death for baby cows  

For a while I thought that I was doomed to hate soy milk and other not-quite-right products, but then I realised that a lot of the dairy substitutes are really different from brand to brand. I recommend trying out whatever you can get your hands on and seeing which you like best. It's well worth the effort!

Whilst not all products are fabulous, some 'substitutes' are not in any way 'second-best' to their dairy counterparts! Here are my fave:

Tofutti better than cream cheese = Philly cream cheese minus the cruelty
Vitasoy Soy Milky Lite = Trim dairy milk minus the cruelty (at least how I remember it!)
Kingland yoghurts = just like dairy fruit yoghurts
Tofutti sour cream = just like sour cream
Kingland mayo = just like mayonaise
Soyattoo cream = just like (no, BETTER THAN) dairy whipped cream!

That's just my opinion, but as I mentioned, I used to love dairy and drank milk by the glass (bleh). But with these great products I don't miss it AT ALL!

Hard cheese is a tough one and there are some reasonable substitutes like super melty Cheezley, but I'll admit it's not QUITE the same! We keep searching on that one....

Imrpove your cooking skills!
I took cooking classes (expensive though), but I recommend  just acquiring all the cooking skills you can.
Even if the cooking classes or recipies aren't entirely vegan, if they improve your skils in the kitchen it will pay off in the long run.

There was no way I would have gone vegan if I hadn't improved my cooking skills in the two years previously.

Ooh! I was wondering what the sour cream and whipped cream tasted like? So just like dairy? I'll get it for my omni bf

Well, in my opinion the sour cream is JUST like dairy sour cream, in the same way that Tofutti cream cheese is just like Philly.

IMHO the whipped cream is not exactly the same as dairy whipped cream because it has a little bit of a coconutty flavour to it (coconut being one of the ingredients). But I actually think that makes it taste so much better than dairy whipped cream. At any rate it certainly doesn't have any kind of nasty soy flavour to it. I am addicted to Soyattoo -- I just wish it weren't so new and hard to find (that'll change I hope!)

I have to try them!!!

The only nutrient you need to be concerned about is B12. However, I'd reccommend getting a blood test 6 weeks after changing to a vegan diet.

Good luck  
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i wouldn't be to worried about B12 it takes 30 or 40 years to become deficient.
The meat industry uses B12 deficiency in vegetarians as another reason for people to eat meat. its because when they slaughter the animals the dirt and everything from there intestines go onto the meat but once cooked that B12 is barely there.
high sources include dirt and human waste

and Im not about to eat poo.

but if you need the hole piece of mind thing there are B12 supplements

*i read this awhile ago so by no means do i think im 100% correct*

Sounds like you're doing well! Congrats.
Give it a go, you'll be surprised.

'MILK'
It took me a while to find a (soy) 'milk' I like. There are several 1 litre refridgerated and to me they taste the best. Try one til you find one you like.

CHEESE
Cheese reminds me of ear or toe wax! Even smells like it eeyew!
I just don't see the appeal (though I did used to like).

EASY MEAL
Try the Soyco marinated tofu flat packs.
They are quite nice eaten straight out of the pack too.
Nice with salad

WHEN YOU DO GET THERE
Yes, check B12 levels. If you don't get through fortified foods (added B12) you might need to supplement. I personally have to have an injection roughly every 6 months. Doesn't hurt! Because I've gone into the danger zone levels before. My iron levels are excellent ... better than when I was a meat head!

Take care of your health, there is plenty of info around and most of all, don't be hard on yourself. Do what you can, don't be anal in front of people coz it just pisses everyone off around you and gives out ammunition against the vegan cause.  

i have been slowly cutting out animal products from my diet. I have had times where i fall back and give in but I don't let those times stop me from continuing to try.
A diet, any diet, is not about perfection, but about consistency.

Being vegetarian is harder, I think, because you aren't teaching your tastebuds or body to love a different type of thing. your body remembers tastes for two weeks, so if you have a cheeseburger, and enjoyed it, your body will remember and keep wanting that cheeseburger for two weeks.

I learnt that even though I could slowly cut things out, I needed to cut them out and anything that tasted similar for a full two weeks or more before I could try to eat a substitute. Especially when cutting out cow's milk and drinking rice milk instead.