Simple Sustainability: Sustainable diet

by Sky Trombly –

I recently picked up a dieting book called The Jerusalem Diet by Ted Haggard. I don’t know what I expected, maybe an argument for keeping kosher or for cuisine from Bible times or something. I did not expect what I found which was not only a sensible weight loss strategy, but also a road map for lifestyle change. I, as you might have guessed, have applied the insights to living sustainably.

Insight #1: People have a hard time with complexity

Full confession: I have a tendency to make anything unreasonably complex. Then, I feel overwhelmed and drop all the progress I made. This cycle has kept me minimally productive for years.

Enter Ted Haggard’s ideas about diet. Then, broaden them to lifestyle and sustainable living.

He points out that almost any diet will work if people are willing to stick with them. Problem is, most people won’t and that is just human nature. People generally don’t do well with complex systems for very long. Counting calories and macro-nutrient ratios and so forth can get really complicated and pretty tiring.

His diet plan is very simple. One weighs in every morning and sees whether they are at/under their target weight for the week. If they are on target, they can eat and exercise as they want. If they are above their target weight for the week, they take a “fat” day. A “fat” day is a day wherein a person eats however much one wants but only fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds. The dieter also drinks only water and exercises for an hour.

We just won’t stick to any regimen for long that has us doing and thinking too much about it. We have too much on our plate, so to speak. When we’re building our sustainable lifestyle, we can’t afford to rethink every tiny minutiae every day. We can’t be some kind of paragon of green virtue and everything else we need to be (employee, parent, folder of many socks) if we haven’t:

− made most things we do into habits (we automatically turn off the lights when leaving the room, we don’t think about it)

− made our systems very simple (I don’t shop for kid’s clothing every day so it isn’t really a habit, but I do prioritize shopping at a local shop that specializes in used kid’s gear – used and local, I don’t have to agonize over any more details. In this way, I don’t have to question every manufacturer and every fabric choice or every sustainable fashion criteria I could check off.)

Insight #2: People have a limited tolerance for doing without

I generally want things to be pleasurable and easy for me. Who doesn’t? If something must be unpleasant, I’d rather that unpleasantness not last for long.

Ted Haggard discusses this aspect of human nature from the lens of dieting: the Jerusalem Diet is done one day at a time. First you weigh in and get your current weight, this becomes a habit so it isn’t any trouble. If you’re over your target weight, you have one dieting day. One day of restriction and greater exercise. Afterwards, you can relax until the next dieting day. Most people can hold out for one day. Have that cookie tomorrow.

It is easy to extend energy in short bursts, especially when you’re feeling passionate about something. However, what is the utility of doing the right thing for one day? Are you really going to lose the weight? Or have a meaningful impact?

If your sustainability efforts always feel like drudgery, if you always feel as though you’re scrimping, you might fall off the wagon. Further, your lifestyle will not seem appealing to others. It is therefore important to find pleasure in the lifestyle you create.

Some suggestions:

− find others who are passionate about greener lifestyles

− make challenges and play games with progress (such as a 30 Day No Spend Challenge)

− if you remove something that you enjoy, replace it with something enjoyable. So, for example, say you’d like to eat less packaged food and decided to cut out chips. You might balance the deprivation by getting an air popper and popping your own popcorn.

Insight #3: Change your trajectory

I was skeptical at first. How can you maintain weight loss if you only limit your intake for one day? Or, from a sustainability stand point, what’s the point of turning down the thermostat for a single day and then jacking it back up again?

Sustainability is, by definition, what is doable for the long term.

Ted Haggard solves this conundrum by introducing the idea of changing your trajectory from “fat to fit”. Those hour long exercise sessions on “fat” days can be used to discover exercises that you like doing. Your body benefits from getting food high in vitamins and minerals even if it is only for one day. On a regular day, that third or forth cookie looks less tempting when the potential for having a “fat” day  looms. Gradually, you become more intuitive to what you can get away with while discovering a healthier lifestyle.

Sustainable living is not really a goal you can achieve and walk away from, it is an ongoing practice. Behavior changes open up new possibilities. For example, I switched from plastic shopping bags to reusable. This highlighted the fact that I was using plastic bags to put my produce in. I doubt I would have even noticed if I hadn’t made the first change.

It isn’t about being unerring, it is about making a change and seeing where that change sends you next. Sustainable living isn’t so much a goal but a value that you take with you when you’re making decisions.

Insight #4: Slow progress sticks

The Jerusalem Diet isn’t about losing 30 pounds in 2 weeks. Ted Haggard doesn’t believe that any changes made that drastically will stick. It has a lot to do with the above insights: that complicated diets, with no pleasure, that don’t change your long term behavior don’t stick. And so, slower progress allows you to build in a solid foundation. The first week, you weigh in. Then, you aim to lose one pound each week after that.

It’s like a distance race, runners know they need to pace themselves from the starting line or risk running out of steam. It takes time to establish habits.

The Sustainability Diet

I am going to apply the Jerusalem Diet to my sustainability goals one week at a time. I’ll pick one action I want to take a week. Each morning, I will ask myself how I am doing. Am I straying? Am I on track? I hope that by doing this, I create habits or set things up to take care of themselves.

This past week, my goal was to reduce passive energy loss. On the first day, I found an alarm clock we didn’t need and unplugged it. The second through fourth day, I found 3 sonic mouse repellents. I figure that their use is probably seasonal and have saved them for the fall/winter. These changes were great because they don’t need a lot of further thought. I will just plug those items back in if they’re needed after all.

On day 5, we put my husband’s computer on a power strip. This way, the computer won’t draw energy until he is ready to use it at which point, he’ll turn the power strip on.

On day 6, we put my husband’s power tools on a power strip too. This has an added advantage of building in more safety. The kids would have to turn on the power strip before they could turn on any tool.

I realize that this doesn’t sound like a lot of work and it shouldn’t because it wasn’t! The idea is that we make small consistent changes in our green lifestyle so that our changes don’t put us out, but are still building to an overall greener lifestyle.

If you’re interested in trying along with me but not sure where to start, here are some ideas:

− Food (local, organic, package-free, gardening, meat-less, and so on)

− Shelter (house size, maintenance, cleaning habits)

− Utilities (electricity, heating/cooling, water)

− Transportation (commute, errands, human-powered over fossil fuel powered)

− Employment (less paper/paperless, employment choices, right sizing income and hours)

− Personal Care (clothing, grooming, exercise)

− Family (family size, family culture and values, green parenting practices)

− Financial & Shopping Habits (minimalism, shopping used first, no spend periods)

− Fun & Hobbies (outings, clubs, activities, hobbies)

Lifestyle changes can be tricky. Changes are made easier if they are simple, pleasurable, building on past success, and slow but steady. The Jerusalem Diet is useful for helping me lose the rest of this baby weight, but clearly it can be used in ways far beyond that

Until next time, be the light by living lightly!

Something of a sustainability nerd for most of her life, Sky Trombly’s goal is to empower herself and others to live in a way that is congruent with personal values – and intimately linked to the Earth.  You can join her in her wanderings through the quagmire of sustainable living in every issue of Owl Light News, and on her blog  – talkwalking.org