Marvelgirl I agree that you most definitely need protein in your diet but Carrigan is right that a lot of plant based foods do contain protein and too much protein is a bad thing.
From this article:
http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/protein.htm. The article is quoted from sources such as the Food and Nutrition Board, Institute of Medicine, American Dietetic Association, Dietitians of Canada, and the American College of Sports Medicine to name a few.
"So, in the United States it appears that vegan diets are commonly lower in protein than standard American diets. Remember, though, with protein, more (than the RDA) is not necessarily better. There do not appear to be health advantages to consuming a high protein diet. Diets that are high in protein may even increase the risk of osteoporosis and kidney disease."
"It is very easy for a vegan diet to meet the recommendations for protein. Nearly all vegetables, beans, grains, nuts, and seeds contain some, and often much, protein."
"How much protein do we need? The RDA recommends that we take in 0.8 grams of protein for every kilogram that we weigh (or about 0.36 grams of protein per pound that we weigh) 1. This recommendation includes a generous safety factor for most people. When we make a few adjustments to account for some plant proteins being digested somewhat differently from animal proteins and for the amino acid mix in some plant proteins, we arrive at a level of 1 gram of protein per kilogram body weight (0.45 grams of protein per pound that we weigh). Since vegans eat a variety of plant protein sources, somewhere between 0.8 and 1 gram of protein per kilogram would be a protein recommendation for vegans."
Obviously, we are all not going to agree on this. But bluelight had posted this thread to talk about her new vegan lifestyle so I'm trying to give her actual helpful information. You may not agree with becoming a vegan, but that is not what bluelight had asked for.