Lean and Green

Earlier this year, when the government announced new eating guidelines that for the first time addressed weight loss, I was at the edge of my seat: Like two thirds of Americans, I need to slim down. But following the federal Food Pyramid, last revised in 1992, had kept me from losing weight—and no wonder, when it encouraged fat-free foods like jellybeans. At least I wasn't alone: The Harvard School of Public Health says federal guidelines that painted fat (not sugar, portion size or lack of exercise) as the nutritional villain "may have contributed to the current epidemics of obesity and diabetes as people replaced fats with fast-burning carbohydrates."

Following are five steps to make the new eating guidelines work for the health of your family and the planet—as well as the seams on your bathing suit.

#1: Eat Lots More Produce
The new guidelines call for two cups of fruit and two and a half cups of vegetables per day. That's nine servings, up from five. Salad lovers will find this effortless, but for women who hate to chop, that's a heck of a lot of carrot sticks.

Stealth move: Besides offering fruit at all three meals and two vegetables at lunch and dinner, I've employed more devious measures, adding shredded zucchini and mushrooms to meatloaf and spinach to lasagna. The "no eating in front of the TV" rule has been revoked, so long as my family is munching on sliced cucumbers and strips of red and yellow peppers.

Health benefits: Fruits and veggies, nutritious and low in calories, are rich in vitamins and antioxidants, which lessen the risk for some cancers, heart disease, high blood pressure and stroke. What's more, produce adds vital fiber to the diet. Fiber makes it easier to lose weight because you feel fuller and eat less.

Environmental bonus: Saving farmland. The difference in farmland required to keep Americans eating nine servings of produce a day is about 7.4 million acres, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. McDonald's, which has begun offering apple slices as an alternative to French fries in children's Happy Meals, expects to buy 54 million pounds of fresh apples this year—up from zero just two years ago. And although buying organic offers only minimal nutritional advantages, according to Marion Nestle, Ph.D., a professor of nutrition at New York University, the real plus is that it promotes the health of farm workers and limits the amounts of pesticides that make their way into the environment and into our foods.