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Count Your Calories to Save Resources

Lose weight and save the planet.

Josh Peterson

By Josh Peterson
Fayetteville, AR, USA | Sun Jan 25 10:00:00 GMT 2009

I once read a scientific theory about why animals sleep. It proposed that animals slept in order to cut down on the amount that they have to eat. If animals had to keep themselves going 24/7, they’d strip the ecosystem of its resources in no time. Man is an animal that eats entirely too much food. In the United States, 14% of our household foods go to waste.  It’s estimated that the average American wastes nearly $600 dollars a year on uneaten foods. 

Find Out How Many Calories You Need
Counting calories is a great way to maintain your weight and reduce the amounts of food that you eat. First, you need to figure out how many calories you need to eat in order to maintain your current weight. If you’d like to lose weight, then you need to figure out how to create a calorie deficit. The American Cancer Society has a calculator that can help you determine the amount of calories you need to eat in order to subsist.  If you increase your exercise, then increase your caloric intake accordingly. 

The Foods You Should Eat and Avoid
The Mayo clinic recommends cutting out high-calorie foods before you start looking to trim calories elsewhere. Do you like a bit of caffeine in the morning? Skip the latte. Drink tea or coffee without sugar. Stop drinking soda. Drink tap water instead. Eat more packageless fruits and vegetables. Eat less carbon-intensive meat. Skip fast foods and other processed foods that will make you fat. Overall, eat less foods that you don’t need to eat.

Eat Smaller Portions
You don’t have to change your lifestyle too drastically. Cut down on portion sizes. If you enjoy eating pizzas, like me, eat two slices instead of four. Save the other slices for a different meal. Twice the mealage out of one pizza. This will stretch your food dollar, and it will reduce the amount of resources you actually consume, your packaging waste and, possibly, your waistline. 

More on Eco-Friendly Eating:
Make Your Comfort Foods Healthy : Planet Green
Eat These Vitamin D Rich Foods and Recipes To Boost Optimal Health
Help Prevent Childhood Obesity by Living Green 

Find the best in organic, local and sustainable recipes and eco-friendly health tips you can use everyday with Planet Green Food & Health.

 
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