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Here are 8 stories from teens and 20's who did the Veggie Challenge in Jan/Feb 2010.

Going vegetarian isn't easy, but it's worth the effort!

I became a vegetarian in January of this year. I didn't realize how different it was. I changed my eating habits this year. I dropped all meat and dairy from my diet. It was hard.

I just moved back home in November hoping to better myself in the long run. I put up with high blood pressure all the time. I'm always stressed out because I've been working a lot. I spent all of last year on the road for work, eating McDonald's. So gross.

Wasn't until I started straightening out my life, that I decided to go the vegan way. I buy vitamins to supplement the missing nutrients from cutting out meat and dairy products. It's hard. I'm trying to save money to afford to get some schooling for myself. Working all the time and spending money on food for myself is hard and tough because vegan, natural and organic products are sooo expensive.

My friends are cool with it. They think it's good for me. I've always been a big girl. I can't remember the last time I weighed less than 200 pounds. I've lost 40 pounds since last summer and it's going well for me. Not only are my beliefs there against animal cruelty, but going vegan has been very beneficial for my health. It's hard at home, though. My food gets eaten by my family, which I put my own money out for. We all eat differently and it can be complex and stressful.

Overall though, I will never go back to eating meat or dairy. I've gotten so attached to the yumminess of all the good vegan foods – I crave them more and more now. I do yoga and exercises every couple of days. I try to do some meditation at night. I can't picture taking this any other way. It's amazing, and I feel awesome about myself. So it's great, and I will never turn away.

– Melanie, early 20's, Oshawa, ON

*Note: If you eat a varied vegan diet, the only vitamin that is critical is b12 but taking D during the winter is a good idea no matter what diet you eat. See our vegetarian nutrition page. Vegan foods need not be expensive if you are eating seasonally and cook with bulk grains and legumes.

An eye-opening experience

I think being Vegetarian is one of the best choices I've made. It helped me to think about mass production and my previous food choices, as well as the impact I was having on the environment as a meat-eater. I never thought about the food I was eating. Everyone asked me WHY I was going vegetarian, no one could understand, this forced me to research my decision in depth, and it really opened my eyes to what I had been doing to myself and the kind of industry I was contributing too. Now that I am vegetarian I feel healthier, and more energized and ready to learn and do more. I simply feel GREAT!

– Christy-Marie, teen, Toronto

It was a very exciting and challenging week

Overall this vegetarian challenge was very helpful for me, I had always wanted to try to be vegan, however I had never had the motivation to do so. The information that I received was very helpful for me to continue my goal of going vegan and eating only from plant based food sources. At times this Challenge was difficult, for example my boyfriend loves when I cook for him and when I decided to go completely vegan he became frustrated and did not want me to force this upon him as well. Other then that, it was a very exciting and challenging week. While still very easy, it took me a few days to really get going but once I started I never looked back.

Several weeks later

I personally loved phase 2 of the Veggie Challenge, I thought that it was exactly what I needed to stay motivated with my choice of eating vegan. I thought that the meal plans were a great help when it came to trying to find simple but tasty meals. The week to week meal plans helped me find inspiration and try my own recipes.

I got my family involved by making them an entire vegetarian meal one Sunday night. Overall they were really impressed with the way it tasted and how filling it was. This was a great opportunity to enhance my knowledge and stay on track!

– Stephanie, early 20's, Pickering, ON

I pushed myself a bit more and tried a vegan diet

I was already eating a vegetarian diet before I tried the Veggie Challenge but wanted to push myself a bit more and try a vegan diet. I cut out dairy and eggs for the duration of the Challenge and bought almond milk for the first time instead of soy. I noticed many of my vitamin supplements I take are not vegan-friendly because they have capsules made of gelatin or contain vitamin d3 which I was surprised to learn is animal based. I also received a ton of criticism from my family and friends for attempting veganism, which I didn't expect. That was probably the hardest part, trying to argue my case. On the other hand, I have a fair amount of leather shoes and handbags which makes me feel conflicted, and it might be too ironic if I ate vegan. I'll try to keep it up anyhow, not necessarily being 100% vegan but doing my best to eat vegan-friendly. Thanks.

– Emma, early 20's, Toronto

*Note: See our Challenge FAQ page for thoughts on leather. Some capsules are vegetarian these days. I buy a veggie DHA that comes in a veggie cap. It is true that vitamin D2 is hard to come by and not as effective at D3. Most D3 is from lanolin, a byproduct of wool making. I make an exception to veganism for this form of D3. –Steve

A 15 year-old vegetarian from a family of carnivores

I come from a family of huge carnivores (haha), so I thought this Challenge would be difficult for me but, surprisingly, it wasn't. This [going veggie] is all based on your beliefs and your opinions and if you feel you can do something, it won't matter what others have to say because you're doing it for yourself. I am 15 years old and I've been a vegetarian for 3 months now, it's going pretty well. I liked the Veggie challenge a lot as well. Thanks :D

[Samantha suggests: "maybe you should have a teenage website or something, or a 'what to take for school lunches' section?"]*

– Samantha, teen, Mississauga, ON

*Note: For lots of veggie lunch ideas see veg.ca/lunch. Eventually we will create a teen section, but for now check out http://www.vegfamily.com/vegan-teens/ and http://www.peta2.com

From seafood to vegan

I entered this Challenge being a pescatarian and thinking it would be easy to cut out seafood for a week. Then I received the first email, encouraging me not to eat milk, eggs and honey during the Challenge*

This is what I decided to do.

I thought it would be easy, but it's actually more work (looking at every product I buy to make sure... ), but very rewarding!

My girlfriend did not even last 24 hours, while I did for a week and will keep being very aware and careful about what I eat. I am so proud of myself!!

– Laurie, early 20's, Montreal

*Note: the first email says: "Some new vegetarians simply replace the meat they're used to eating with lots of eggs and dairy products. We don't recommend this as the healthiest way to go. For more information and suggested alternatives see our webpages on eggs and dairy."

Making a difference!

I've always loved fruits and veggies, but meat had always been the staple in my diet. I wanted to try vegetarianism, just to see if I could do it, and I wanted to try it for health reasons. After seeing how easy the last month was (including going to various social functions that centered around food) and researching the other impacts of eating animal byproducts, I am not only doing it for health reasons, but also for ethical, and environmental reasons as well. Not only do I feel great physically, but I also feel better spiritually and emotionally knowing that my food decisions are making a difference!

– Tiffany, late 20's, Windsor, ON

Vegetarian products easy to obtain

My Veggie Challenge was very helpful to me and my family. Lately I've been very interested in nutrition and healthy food choices. I found it was very easy to obtain vegetarian food products at any grocery store.

– Callan, early 20's, Kingsville, ON