I mentioned last week how a vegetarian lifestyle can be healthy. I know this works, since many years ago I was a complete vegetarian. My dear mom put up with this for a few months while I shunned all meat. I did lose weight, which was my goal. If you are really eating a balanced vegetarian diet, you can't help but eat healthy food.
One of the big transitions towards vegetarianism is replacing meat with other protein sources. There are a number of non-meat protein sources, including legumes (beans, lentils, and peas), nuts, grains (like quinoa, brown rice, or barley), soy products (soy milk, tofu, TVP, or tempeh), or protein supplements (powders). With a little planning, you can turn many dishes into meat-free dishes. Bean burritos. Veggie burgers (I have been eating boca burgers for years and love them). Soup with beans. Peanut butter sandwich. Stir Fry with tofu. And on and on. You can still get the protein without all the negative consequences of excess meat consumption.
Now you may be saying to yourself, "I'm not ready or willing to become vegetarian." Honestly, neither am I. There is an alternative, called "flexitarian" which means being a flexible vegetarian, or mostly being vegetarian, but still eating some meat. I recently got a book from the library called "The Flexitarian Diet". It has a lot of good information and recipes for incorporating more meat-free dishes into your life, so you may want to check it out. You can also google "flexitarian" for other resources. What's a good way to start? Have some meat-free days. I'm aiming to be an expert flexitarian, which means five meatless days per week.
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