Carbon footprint down, fitness up
May not be obvious, but there’s an inverse correlation between the two
I’ve been doing my bit for the earth for years now. Observing the Earth day, recycling and reusing, segregating garbage, and creating awareness about the need to save the earth.
My efforts have made the earth greener, I’m sure. But it’s only recently I discovered how closely it’s connected to personal firtness.
I locked the door behind me, took the elevator to the ground floor, and then, instead of reaching for my car parked in the garage, I stepped out of the main gate. I walked briskly to the bus stop behind my building.
The bus arrived shortly, taking me to the local train station, where I took a train to the next station. I boarded another bus that dropped me a few hundred meters from my office. I crossed the road, walked the short distance to enter my office building, then climbed two flights of stairs to get to my desk on the second floor.
The decision to stop driving to my office every day changed my routine. Err… my health. Actually, both.
I wake up earlier than usual. I walk an extra mile and climb several hundred additional steps. Though this means unnecessary sweating, given Mumbai’s balmy weather, the extra calories burned feel good.
In fact, this has killed two birds with one stone — it’s burning calories, instead of fossil fuel.
Food ordering service has transformed eating habits. An incredible variety of mouth-watering fare is available at prices that leave us agog. The food is available on tap. Smartly packed, preserving both aroma and nutrition, it arrives piping hot, often within minutes. Unwrapping the meal by itself makes one salivate.
Yet, I’ve stayed away from ordering food. The callous use of plastic and non-biodegradable packaging material leaves me seething.
The decision has another upside to it. It automatically forces me to carry home-cooked food for lunch, something I haven’t done since my high school days. Which means compromises, like leftovers, and missing out on more delicious alternatives, but consuming lesser calories and saying no unfriendly plastic packaging feels rewarding enough.
I’ve made a few more changes to my lifestyle, and each one has made a difference.
I carry my own shopping bag. Quick calculations indicate I’ve saved at least 3000 plastic bags from making it to the landfills over the past five years.
If the distance is short, I prefer to walk instead of driving. Though this little sacrifice makes me sweat more, stretches the time it takes to finish my errands, the walk adds steps and burns more calories.
The third habit probably has been the most transformative: I quit eating meat, turning vegetarian two and a half years ago. Simultaneously, I cut my consumption of frozen products. Both have helped — naturally nudging me to explore healthier alternatives. Why?
Researchers said there will need to be a global shift to a “flexitarian” diet to help keep the global temperature increase from breaching a 2C limit agreed by governments.
In other words, we reduce our meat consumption and replace it with veggies — especially beans and pulses.
Where has my decision taken me?
Over the past three years, my weight has dropped 7%. The charts now place my BMI at ideal. My weight has remained steady over the past two years now, barring a temporary fluctuation of a couple of pounds. Even the Covid induced restrictions on walks over the past twelve months have had little impact on my weight.
But the best news arrived last week. My lipid profile tests returned the best-ever numbers in the past decade, with not a single figure highlighted for any kind of abnormality.
Need I say more?
A few minor changes to cut my carbon footprint has made me fitter. And the world I would leave behind, definitely greener.
