How Eating Healthier Changes More than You Think
Eating healthier is a popular trend nowadays, and for good reason. According to the CDC, obesity in the United States sits around 42.4%. That means nearly half of the US is considered obese…not overweight…but obese.
Now, I’m not here to jump into any fat shaming. But, there is a lot that needs to be done if we want a healthier country.
Body positivity is one thing; but if you’re at a higher risk for heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, and cancer, isn’t that enough to make you want to re-examine your eating habits?
Let’s go beyond the factor of being obese, though.
Today, I’ll show you just some of the impact it can make if you simply reduced the amount of meats you eat in any given day.
And no, I’m not promoting a vegan lifestyle. I’m carnivorous, but logical about what I consume.
How Does Eating Healthier Help?
Eating Healthier doesn’t just affect the numbers on your scale. In fact, by changing your meals up even a slight amount can create a vast ripple effect for both being green and practical living.
It’s all about monitoring your portion sizes and not over-indulging on those foods you find amazing.
Far Less Meats Consumed
According to the Department of Agriculture, we in the US consume roughly 222.2 pounds of beef and poultry each year. The is just shy of 0.61 pounds per day, or 9.74 ounces.
Following nutritional guidelines, we should only consume between 5 and 6.5 ounces per day. Personally, I strive for around six ounces total as it’s easier to keep track of in MyFitnessPal.
Eating just six ounces per day drops the grand total to 136.9 pounds of beef and poultry per year, which is a 38.4% decrease!
Less Meat Equals Less Land Needed
Over the last two years, the Amazon Rainforest has been ravaged by fires. Most of these are man-made as farmers clear land for agriculture. Unfortunately, they often get out of control and decimate large swaths of land.
Now, not all agriculture centers around meat production. However, beef takes up more than 30 million square kilometres of land, with this number growing each year.
If everyone were to pay attention to portion sizes and only eat the amount required by nutritionists, the world could save 11.4 million square kilometres of land (30M kilometres X 38.4% reduction in consumption).
Of course, there are a lot of other factors to consider. But no matter how you slice it, less demand on any type of food requires less landmass to produce.
And also keep in mind that beef takes up the vast majority of land for production while having the worst value per acre.
Eating Healthier Saves Money at the Store
Think about how much you spend each week at the grocery store. How much of that is meat products such as beef, chicken, or pork? Then consider how meats are often the most expensive single item you’ll buy.
If you’re eating more than 6.5 ounces of meats, according to experts, you’re consuming too much. What would you save at the grocery store if you simply reduced the amount you served to yourself and/or the family?
From my point of view, we’ve easily saved several hundred dollars throughout the year by simply eating less meats. Instead of huge steaks or cooking up a ton of burgers, I only serve what is logical per person.
Helps You Lose Weight
I’ve been on a health kick, lately. When your heart stops, you kind of start putting things into perspective. And weighing as much as I did without having much physical activity was literally about to kill me.
Reducing the sheer amount of food I ate in a day has helped me lose more than 80 pounds so far. I still eat the same stuff I did before; I just eat far less.
And you don’t have to go on a Keto diet or sign up with Weight Watchers to lose weight. It all starts with understanding portion control and eating healthier.
For example, I’ll still enjoy chocolate peanut butter ice cream. But instead of a heaping bowl of it, I limit the serving size to just half of a cup. Which, in turn, saves me money as I have to buy less to satisfy my sweet tooth.
Reducing Medical Costs
The estimated medical costs centering around obesity is more than $147 billion per year in the United States. And in 2020, being obese also increases the risk of complications from COVID-19.
This could account for one of the reasons why the virus is so prevalent in the US…nearly half of us are considered obese.
But no matter what you believe or how you view the current pandemic, eating healthier does reduce medical costs overall. This is because a healthy body is more resilient, can heal quicker, and you’re less likely to use sick days at work.
Reduces the Waste You Toss Out
And lastly, eating healthier helps you manage waste production. One of the reasons why I don’t take the trash out often is because there isn’t much trash to take out.
And if you pay for trash removal on a weekly basis, wouldn’t it be nice to only have to pay for it monthly?
This also depends greatly on how much you throw out and the size of your family. But still, reducing the waste also reduces what you spend on trash bags and other things around the house.
What Will You Do for Eating Healthier Today?
Like I said earlier, eating healthier causes a ripple effect that will adjust a lot more than you might think. And all of it for the better.
Whether you think it’s practical to save money in groceries or trying to lose 20 extra pounds, monitoring your intake is key.
Take fewer trips to Taco Bell and other fast food places and keep an eye on your spending. How much can you keep in your wallet while eating healthier this week?
For me, it was saving hundreds of dollars just in take out alone each month for a family of four.
Michael has been interested in the practicality of living green for quite some time. He works closely with GreenGeeks Web Hosting as the Content Marketing Team Lead and an author of various articles.
