EUGENE -- Fad diets tend to go hand in hand with new year's resolutions. But now a growing population is choosing to go vegetarian.

Eugene resident Greg Becker is setting his top priority for 2008.

"It's actually my new year's resolution. Become vegetarian for a month as we were just talking about," said Becker.

He will join an estimated 10 million Americans already living, what some consider, a healthier lifestyle.

"Vegetarians are traditionally lower in weight than non-vegetarians, they have lower risk of developing heart disease, developing diabetes, and having high blood pressure," said Registered Dietitian Nancy McCaffrey.

She says the definition of a vegetarian varies. There are those who eat some meats.

"We in the health profession tend to call those people flexitarians," said McCaffrey.

And those who stay away from animal products all together.

"So you go from this flexitarian kind of orientation of food to the vegan."

Whatever the choice may be, McCaffrey says you need to follow a few guidelines. Step one: "I would say go slow. Don't just wake up one day and say I'm not going to eat meat whatsoever," said Angela Smith of Café Yumm.

The six-year-vegetarian says she gradually shifted dairy out of her diet when her doctor diagnosed her as lactose intolerant. She and McCaffrey both say planning your meals and gradually filtering certain foods will make life easier.

Step two: think about taking vitamin or mineral supplements.

"Vegans, people who totally shun any kind of animal products, they are at little bit greater risk of developing a B-12 deficiency," said McCaffrey.

Sticking to one type of food can contribute to those deficiencies, so step three: pick a wide variety of fruits and grains for your diet.

"Calories do count in every eating style," said McCaffrey.

McCaffrey believes this could be the most important step, so don't think you can eat french fries and soda, then get away with it.

Finally, step five: "It certainly only isn't what you eat, it's also how much you move," said McCaffrey.

And remember, change can be hard to swallow.

"If you fall off the wagon, just get back on. Don't judge yourself too harshly," said Smith.

Smith says once you go vegetarian, it's easy to find an array of restaurants in Eugene that cater to your appetite.