friedhamster

hey there...well, i became a vege when i was 18. It was actually quite easy as i lived on the all-you-can-eat college mess hall food for 4 years.
then 2 things happened. #1) At the age of 23 I developed a serious allergy to most legumes (beans) which i had been relying on as a major source of protein. It is not uncommon for food allergies to show up in your early 20's after you have essentially stopped growing. #2) By age 24 I had begun a career as a professional acrobat/dancer/ performer in an extremely athletic company. (think cirque du soleil type of stuff).

By the time i hit 30, i just felt anemic. I felt sluggish and sickly. I seriously did not think i was getting enough protein no matter how much i ate--i was burning usually at least 3000 calories a day, just like a prof. athlete.
So that is when i started re-introducing meat. like i said it took me 2 or 3 years before i even touched red meat again..and i still do not eat it very much. I have stopped physically performing at that level now, and i actually feel like i could start to eat less and less meat these days..and probably will.

It should be noted that I have met several vegetarians who have become high level athletes/performers, and generally they have a very difficult time sticking to it, or they end up just going back to some form of meat--not everyone, but certainly a large majority.

I definitely support those people who can stick to a veg or vegan lifestyle though--it is much better for our environment--and for the animals.

good luck with your choices though, whatever they may be.