I was vegan for 12 years (& veggie for 16 years before that). Went back to lacto-veggie last year only because i was going to do a trek in the Himalayas & the tour people reckoned they couldn’t guarantee a dairy free diet for the duration. The last thing i wanted on top of altitude sickness & Delhi belly was stomach issues caused by built up dairy intolerance, so i started eating small amounts of dairy. In the end, the trip got cancelled. I’m still eating small amounts of cheese & yoghurt only because i’m hoping to re-attempt a similar trip this year. After that i’ll go back to being vegan.
I too hate things like “vegan cheese” & imitation meat product. Yuk. Really can’t see the point in them.
Since starting eating dairy again, i’ve noticed an increase in phlegm, & a slight increase in weight. No noticeable decrease in fitness. Being vegan never stopped me from being reasonably fit. I usually manage the BHF SDW 100mile Randonnee in about 9Ω to 10 hours. Even when i eat meat i was never muscular – always tended to be skinny.
Like the others have said, i also have no issue with others who choose to eat meat. Who am i to tell anyone else what to do ?. Obviously i’d prefer if people eat only ethically raised animal products. I have no problems with compassionate animal farming. However, I do have issues with intensive farming of all types, & that includes cereals & vegetables.