Don't let your conservation efforts end at taking shorter showers or switching out incandescent light bulbs for fluorescent.

You might also consider these health strategies that reduce the likelihood of becoming overweight, even reduce weight if you are already there. You will be provided two dividends: improved-- no, dramatically improved-- health, as well as reducing the carbon toll your life leaves.

To reduce weight and reduce your carbon footprint:

• Consider replacing meat sources of protein with soy, such as tofu, tempeh, and soy milk. 30% of all fossil fuels, in fact, go towards animal agriculture in one way or another. According to The Green Book (Three Rivers Press, 2007), if a family replaces one lb of beef with one lb of soy per month (about half an ounce per day), they will conserve 20,000 gallons of water per year just because of the reduced water needs of soy compared to livestock. Soy products are filling, have a low-glycemic index (low sugar-release properties), and can contribute to weight loss.
• Put green on your plate-- Green foods like lettuce, spinach, broccoli, and green peppers are among the foods that should be the centerpiece of your diet. You'll gain even higher environmental marks by growing them yourself or buying whole vegetables, rather than bagged pre-cut salads. The carbon costs of whole fruits and vegetables is far less than the overly-packaged, processed products that line supermarket shelves. Buy locally-produced fruits and vegetables, whenever possible.
• Eat whole foods-Remember those? Not ready-to-microwave dinners, not just-add-water-and-heat boxed foods, not the vast array of processed convenience products that fill 70% of supermarket shelves. All leave a huge environmental imprint in their path to process, package, and ship. Instead, opt for whole lettuce, apples, cucumbers, asparagus; raw nuts like walnuts, almonds, and pecans, as well as seeds like sunflower and pumpkin; yogurt, cottage cheese (processed, yes, but minimally); eat whole fruits and vegetables rather than their juices. Whole foods help you lose weight, since they are lower in glycemic index (less sugar release), lack added empty calories, and lack the addictive quality of processed foods.
• Bypass the fast food-- The adverse health and environmental impact from fast foods are clear: Eat at fast food restaurants, and it's far more likely you will be fat. Fast food requires huge energy resources to produce and is also invariably accompanied by a considerable excess trail of trash, often petroleum-based and non-recyclable (or that nobody bothers to recycle). The reduced calories you tend to eat at home yields a lower carbon byproduct.
• Walk instead of drive-- Every chance you get, opt for the old-fashioned way to get about. Because the average car will release about 1 lb of carbon per mile driven, foregoing just a few such neighborhood trips per month by foot or bicycle can add up to a significant annual total. You'll burn calories of your own and obtain all the personal health benefits of the exercise.

Be green and be skinny-the two go hand-in-hand.

Related:

Visit our partner website FoodFit to find heart healthy recipes and cooking tips.

You'll also find great resources on weight loss, maintaining fitness and nutrition and your diet on our partner web site MyDietExercise.com.

Other great information resources include our heart disease site, our cholesterol site and our high blood pressure site.