Eating greener and losing weight

I must admit that I’ve never been on a conventional “diet” – always hated the notion of regimenting and planning my food. I’d never been overweight and counting calories sounded just daft. Any time a friend or colleague told me about being in some weight loss group or expensive diet, I replied “Why?” or “You’re spending how much to have someone tell you cake is fattening?”

However, age and increasing inactivity had taken their toll on my waisteline. There was the tell-tale signs of a muffin top and I just didn’t feel fit and lean. I wanted to get back into shape and at the same time, to adhere to an ethical/greener eating plan. This was going to be interesting and informative.

I must also confess that I’ve never been a vegetarian (although I don’t ever complain or refuse a good vegetarian meal).

Let the common sense begin
There is some kind of craze about part-time veganism amongst diet-obsessed celebrities. But after trimming away the confusing pseudo-medical/scientific talk by its medical proponents you realise that this just means decreasing your meat and fish intake. Also, having spoken to strict raw vegans, I thought there was something worthwhile there. So I came up with a hybrid and modified version of an eating plan. The rules being:

• No pre-prepared foods
• Less meat, fish and eggs (and the animal products consumed must be free range, organic or ocean-friendly)
• No dairy products
• When it can be eaten raw, eat it raw

So a month ago, I stocked my fridge with more than the usual quantity of fruit and vegetable – did my best to purchase produce labelled “local” from the local grocers. I am trying everything to avoid the big supermarkets these days. The 100 mile radius is a very useful rule or guideline but I have to confess that it’s more guidelines than rules for me at the moment.

Organic is too expensive?
The prices of organic produce used to make my eyes pop but considering how the large operators make their money on volume and scale, it’s more a case of the supermarkets being cheap rather than the small scale organic producers being expensive. Also, I realise now that good food and cheap food are contradiction in terms. If you want to eat healthily and ethically, you have to consider the welfare of the environment, animals and the people who work to produce and deliver the food to our tables.

Even if I wanted to discard “green” eating principles, I still will want to eat the local and organic produce from the farmers’ markets for the simple reason of taste. Fresher local produce just taste better.

Bad food equals empty calories
There are no pre-prepared or quick snack foods in my home now. If I get hungry, it’s a carrot or fruit. It’s good to remind yourself that stuffing yourself silly (the feeling you get after a massive restaurant meal laden with meat, fat and starch) is neither natural nor good.

The reason for the effectiveness of this eating plan is I’ve cut out empty calories. It’s very easy to see why there are very few overweight vegans (and even fewer overweight raw vegans). When your sources of calories are limited, you make the most of them. So by default, I have avoided foods with added sugar and foods high in fat - easy when you make a concerted effort to eat raw produce.

By not consuming packaged and ready-to-eat items, I’ve taken control over what is done to my food. No food is worth being fat for and certainly, no bad food is worth being fat for. The shrinking waistline is a welcome by-product of eating greener. Honestly, it’s no gimmick but a lot of common sense.