Quitting dairy

I am participating in the Blogging From A-Z Challenge. Each day in April (except the last 4 Sundays), I will post topic themes that begin with the letters of the alphabet, from A-Z. Today's letter is Q.
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Yep, I'm doing it. I'm quitting dairy. 
As I mentioned in a previous post, I had a theory that I may be lactose intolerant so I gave up dairy for 2 weeks to see if that was the root of my "issue".  I was fully expecting it to be hellish giving up cheese, chocolate, and other delicious things.  Strangely enough, it wasn't difficult at all.  I easily substituted soy, almond & coconut milk for cow's milk, skipped the butter or used a non-dairy substitute, and even enjoyed some tasty dairy-free chocolate chips when I was craving something sweet.  In most cases, my family didn't mind accepting the substitutes, too, which made cooking a lot easier for me! 
After 14 full days, I noticed a distinct change in my tummy.  The biggest of which was the lack of the bloated, uncomfortable feeling I was experiencing all day, every day for the last few months.  On Tuesday I decided I'd go ahead & indulge a little by having some shredded cheese & ranch dressing w/ my dinner.  Then yesterday I indulged even more by eating some amazingly tasty brownies that my friend baked.  There were no real adverse effects last night, but this morning...BLECH!!  The bloating was back in full force.  I'll spare the details, but suffice it to say, I was not a happy camper.
So I'd have to say, this little experiment confirmed my theory: I'm lactose intolerant.  I know that giving up dairy completely would be hard, but I'm definitely only going to allow myself to partake of it in very small amounts every once in a blue moon.  Today's discomfort will be a great motivator for sticking to that plan.  Since it was very easy to give it up entirely for 2 weeks, I'm thinking I won't be having a lactose-deprived mental breakdown anytime soon.  Especially after discovering dark chocolate almond milk.  *drool*