LyX *IS* proper latex
I don't get why people think it isn't. It just takes the menial, time consuming "coding" part out of it. Coding in latex isn't special. It's just commands. But you have to type out all those commands, why waste the time? You're not special for doing it. Anyone can waste the time.
Instead of typing out THOUSANDS of extra characters in code, you can just fire up LyX use button clicks and short cut commands :-/
Not to mention, you can spend hours wondering where you fucked up in your code. Where you forgot a $ sign, or didn't call an appropriate package etc. LyX will TELL you when you make an error, it will tell you why, and how. But most importantly, in nearly every case it won't LET you make the error, because it will tell you "don't do this or you'll fuck it up"... With texnic it's "compile and see", "compile and see" etc. every like 20 lines or so to make sure you didn't screw up. Tiiiiiiiiiime waaaaaaaaaaaste. So unnecessary.
You'd probably save hundreds of hours over the course of your degree... And thousands over your professional mathematical career. In conclusion, reinventing the wheel is just stupid...