Not a vegetarian (though I don't eat that much meat either), but figured I'd share my thoughts. As for vegan vs. non-vegan, I would go ovo-lacto if I were you. The reason is that there are nutrients (the one that immediately comes to mind is vitamin B12) that one can only get from animal products, aside from supplementing. To me, that indicates that a vegan diet is unnatural for humans (in fairness, so are a lot of other things we eat nowadays). Adding milk/eggs allows you to get what you would be missing by eliminating animal products entirely. I also have my concerns about the "fake meat" products (Boca, Morningstar etc.) as they are so processed--I just don't think they can be that good for you. Protein, as mentioned, is not a major issue one way or the other--complete proteins can pretty easily be obtained from plant foods by combining things like grains/legumes (such as a dish based on rice and beans). This may be getting a bit off topic, but I'm surprised your doctor didn't say anything about eating fish. Oily fish like salmon, herring etc. are high in omega-3 fatty acids which are good for the cardiovascular system (and the two I mentioned are also lower in mercury than a lot of other fish; mercury is a problem in some types of fish). Hope this helps and didn't offend anyone; that was not my intention.