Yes, I am proud to be a vegetarian. I think that being a vegetarian is a lifestyle more so than a diet. You feel healthier, eat healthier, and know your style. When you go out to eat, you ask if soup has no beef, chicken or fish stock. When you eat a sandwich, you opt for the vegetable sandwich, and you are proud of what you are eating, and it tastes good. You add more concentration of fruits and vegetables in your diet, but you know how to get that extra protein to maintain a well balanced and healthy diet. Being a vegetarian is good for you, the environment, and it makes your options easier to choose from when you go to eat. Being a vegetarian is different from being a vegan in the regard that you do not eat meat, fish, or chicken, basically you stay away from animals, but you can eat milk or egg products. You are then a lacto ovo vegetarian. I think that it's easiest to be this kind of vegetarian. If you try to be a vegan you do not eat any kind of dairy. Good luck with being a vegetarian, and welcome!

No, I am not a vegetarian but I do believe that it can be a healthy lifestyle.

After reading @easyeboy 's explantion I think that I could be a vegetarian without any hardship but I definitely could not be a vegan! I just like my eggs and dairy products (especially cheese!) to give them up!

I'm a 4th generation vegetarian. Not an over-the-top Vegan by any stretch of the imagination. I just don't chew on dead animals. Doesn't matter if they fly, swim or poop in the woods. If it's dead, I don't gnaw on it's bones and suck on the juices of it's corpse - cooked and seasoned or not.

Healthy living has it's downside though. My father (being a 3rd generation vegetarian) got pancreatic cancer (cancer doesn't discriminate) and was given 3 months to live.

He lived for 2 years and the cancer couldn't kill him. The tumor was inoperable and he chose not to undergo chemo so it literally got so big and demanding that he starved to death. We enjoyed the extra time we had with him, trust me. :)

Sorry for a grim sounding post (loved my dad), but if you think about it it was his healthy lifestyle that kept him alive. Even cancer had a hard time wrestling him into the grave!

Eat smart, eat the best food available. Don't compromise. You can even grow your own groceries for fun and profit.

Why am I a vegetarian? Inherited knowledge, learned facts about diet and also a feature of my chosen religion. Not because I think killing animals is inherently wrong nor am I against wearing leather/fur. If I lived in a part of the world where meat was the best choice, I'd eat meat. In the USA, meat is some of the worst food you can get. Food that has an "acceptable amount of mercury" isn't food in my opinion.

Do yourself a favor though. Eat as little processed food as possible. In lab tests the subjects gained 30% more weight from eating the same food. The food that wasn't mashed up and preprocessed they body had to work to digest which burns calories. The processed food goes straight to your hips!

The only place I have a hard time finding a non-meat option is at a fish restaurant. But mostly because the smell of fish is vile to me. I have better luck finding alternatives at a steak house. At least they serve potatoes and veggies. :)

I also enjoy TVP (textured vegetable protein) products. I grew up (and love) Worthington and Loma Linda food products but there are other manufacturers of gluten and soy protein foods that are just as worthy.

I'm not a fan of tofu or the 'gardenburger' alternatives. I enjoy a more hearty source. I make a mean vege-burger and my current favorite the Dinner Roast!

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2172/2066314564_f63aad6501.jpg

Juicy, smells fantastic, seasoned to perfection. Great for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner!