I've been a vegetarian for 3+ years now and I never had a single regret. Meat puts you at all sorts of risks including high cholesterol(when you have too much it blocks arteries and blood which can cause a heart attack), heart disease, diabetes, even cancer. Not only is it packed full of fat and unneeded calories but your body can't digest it as quickly as other foodstuffs, like vegetables and fruit :idea:, which in turn makes you fatter. But being skinny isn't a sign of being healthy. It's a sign of a fast metabolism. The true danger is in the actual meat and what it does to your body. A single serving of Pork Chops(about the size of a deck of cards) has 86 mg of Cholesterol. Compare that to an ENTIRE container of 2 cups(114g) of Cottage Cheese. A serving has less than 5 mg of Cholesterol and the entire container has less than 20mg. My dad had to go on a prescription medication called Crestor recently for his high cholesterol. His triglycerides(bad cholesterol) was something like 300 which is very high. After I told my mom to completely cut out meat from any food she makes him, in 2 months time his tryglycerides went from the 300 to 180(along with his meds). He still isn't at the optimal level but he's definitely getting there.