Vegans kind of have super powers. Somewhat predictably they have lower rates of obesity, diabetes and hypertension. Rather incredibly they are less likely to get cancer and if they get cancer are more likely to fight it off. I’ve even had vegan friends self report that their vegan diet has made their skin better. So - the argument for a vegan diet seems fairly compelling - you’ll be healthier, you’ll be less likely to die of several terrible diseases and you’ll be hotter - and yet, only about 2.5% of the American population is vegan.

I can even bet that if being vegan gave one, say, real super powers as in incredible psychic abilities (i.e Todd in Scott Pilgrim vs. The World), you’d still find that the rate of conversion to a plant based diet would be weirdly low.

And why?

Because it’s damn hard and cheese is delicious.

Those are my reasons anyway and I say them as someone in the midst of an involuntary almost vegan diet, thrust upon me as a temporary remedy to some stomach problems I was having. I feel great, I really do. My stomach has never been calmer, my energy levels are high and when I run I feel like I am flying. And yet…

Meeting friends for dinner has never been harder, finding good recipes is not as fun as it used to be and I miss cheese. I think about cheese all the time: giant wheels of cheddar, soft clouds of buffalo mozzarella, finely grated parmesan.

I once described my love of cheese to a vegan and he compared it with a crack addiction. He told me that I’d just have to get through the withdrawal to see the light. “You’ll feel great,” he said, “And you’ll wonder what you were doing this whole time.”

Well, I’m two weeks in and for some reason feeling great isn’t enough for me. I want to enjoy food the way I used to and while dropping meat made me love food more, dropping dairy has made me miss enjoying food.