Hi, Rory.
I've seen you around but I don't think we have ever talked. So first off: Nice to Meet You
As far as advice or recommendations go, I am of two minds.
In talking to non-vegans, if only I had a nickel for every time someone said, "I could be vegan, except for the cheese." and what I usually tell them is, "go ahead and be vegan, except for the cheese."
Listen, no one is really 100% vegan. And if you only cheated on cheese, and just considered calories, you would be like 95% vegan. If you went by grams of food consumption, you probably would be like 98 - 99%. That is still an A+ in my book. So don't sweat it. One of my favorite sayings is, "Don't let perfection be the enemy of good".
On the other hand, there are many reasons (ethics, personal health, and environmental) not to consume ANY dairy. I don't have to give you the reasons. You probably could give the lecture yourself. But there is a reason people have a lot of trouble with cheese. It's addictive. And it's not just the salt and fat (although those things alone make it hard to give up). but the milk protein casein is also addictive. In the article below as well as others the authors/researchers compare cheddar to crack.
But like any other addiction, you can beat it. It just isn't all that easy. Although I didn't have trouble doing it many people do. Make a bet with yourself and see if you can go with cheese for 3 weeks. Chances are by the time you get to 3 weeks you won't even want cheese anymore.
[URL unfurl="true"]https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelpellmanrowland/2017/06/26/cheese-addiction/#54fb5f963583[/URL]
