I was reading about the new Planetary Health Diet in today’s news, but I don’t know what to eat. Can you help me? The diet lists grams of different foods, but I need menus or at least a list of foods I should eat. I am not a vegetarian so it will be a big change for me. But, I want to do my part to save the planet as I already use reusable shopping bags, recycle, and don’t buy plastic water bottles or straws.
The challenge for people to follow the Planetary Health Diet is exactly what you asked – what do I eat? In the U.S., you probably don’t measure serving sizes in grams like across the pond and you need to plan menus so you can shop for groceries. People wanting to do their part to improve our planet’s health need an eating plan with household measurements like cups and ounces as well as specific food options in order to plan menus.
Congrats to the international scientists who developed the Planetary Health Diet. While this diet is plant-based, it is not vegetarian since it includes small amounts of meat, poultry, eggs, and seafood. They based their world diet on 2,500 calories which are higher than the average adult woman or man needs to maintain their weight. While you didn’t provide me with your gender, age, height or weight to calculate your calorie goal, I created a man who could eat 2.500 calories a day using the Healthy Body Calculator®. Then using HELP Healthy Eating for Life Plan® to create a 2,500 calorie eating plan and the goals of the Planet Health Diet, a 2,504 calorie eating plan was created. In case you are interested, this would be enough calories for a 35-year-old male 6 feet 4 inches weighing 205 pounds. BIG guy! Also, this man:
- sleeps 8 hours a day,
- is mostly sedentary (sitting, standing, driving) 9 hours a day,
- and performs only low effort activities (walking 2 mph) 7 hours a day.
Below is this man’s healthy eating plan and if you would like a personalized healthy eating plan that fits your calorie needs which may not be 2,500 calories, try HELP Healthy Eating for Life Plan®. After adding your physical data and Calorie Goal, choose your food preferences for:
- Type of milk – select soy or rice
- Type of meat – select plant-based proteins (I will show you in the table below how to add small amounts of meat, poultry, and seafood)
- Cooked beans, peas, lentils – select 1 to 2 servings a day
- Are you a vegetarian – select plant-based protein
- Snacks or not – you can choose none and HELP will add snacks if needed to spread out your calories during the day.
- Click Next
Here is a 2,500 calorie meal plan for the Planetary Health Diet:
