Firstly, congratulations. I've been vegetarian for extended periods, but I confess I found it very difficult. I was raised on meat and enjoy it a lot. There are a lot of good reasons to go vegetarian, and health and fitness is just one of 'em.
Secondly, don't believe anyone who says that you cannot be healthy as a vegetarian, or that soy hormones will turn you effeminate or gay. It is perfectly possible to be a healthy vegetarian, though many who try vegeratianism for the first time don't think things through and have problems with deficits of protein or iron. And there's no compelling evidence of side effects of high-soy diets when one looks at any of the Asian cultures in which soy is a staple food. I don't recommend making soy your only protein- any diet that goes to extremes tends to have its problems- but I suspect you have fewer risks from soy than you do from eating cow or pig that was pumped full of hormones and antibiotics.
Thirdly, yes, the state of the industrial meat industry really is that scary. The workers are minimally trained and have to process far too many animals in far too short a time, almost across the board. The amount of food the system produces is something of a miracle, but it has very few real safeguards, and ultimately has problems with sustainability.
Okay, pulpit aside, a few pointers.
If you don't want to eschew meat entirely, and you like seafood, fish can definitely be your friend. Wild-caught fish in particular is full of good fats- the ones that we increasingly suspect keep your brain sharp and your heart valves supple. Just be careful of eating a lot certain fish like tuna and swordfish that build up mercury in their system over their long lives and then pass it on to the creatures that eat them.
You do need protein. Eggs and soy are considered to be good sources because they contain the full suite of amino acids the human body needs to create proteins of its own; most plants lack part of that set, but one can still get the full suite by matching appropriate foods. This is a good part of the reason that legumes (beans) and rice are staple foods in much of the world; together, they make a perfect protein. A peanut butter sandwich also works pretty well. Seeds and nuts are your friends.
You also need iron, as had been mentioned, so as not to grow anemic. Chick peas, soybeans, dark leafy vegetables like spinach, figs, molasses, and dried apricots are good sources, among others. Vegetable iron sources are not as easily absorbed into the body as animal ones, so you need to be sure to get enough iron in your diet, which may take some thought.
Be aware that many vegetarians find their ability to "go back" to eating meat diminishes after they've been vegetarians for an extended period of time; the gut stops making the appropriate enzymes for meat digestion, which can make suddenly going for steak an unpleasant experience. If you continue to consume milk products this diminshment is slowed or stopped, at least accourding to some of my vegetarian friends. I recommend doing your own research.
Finally, my personal experience is that a regrettable amount of mainstream vegetarian products take the tack of: "we'll add soy sauce to soy protein and shape it, and it will be just like meat!" These people suck This is not a winning strategy. There are good vegetarian and vegan products out there- I have friends who swear by Quoorm, if you can find it- but by and large, the ones that embrace trying to be tasty within the context of being vegetarian tend to fare better than the ones that try to be "pretend-meat", which is almost inevitably disappointing.
Oh, and one last thing: One cup of dry rice, cooked, mixed with about half a packet of cooked "mexican style" frozen vegetables (the kind that comes with kindey beans and broccoli), tossed with soy sauce, mongolian fire oil, and a dash of dried ginger makes a lot of tasty, very inexpensive food that's also high in iron and a complete protein.
