It was sad to read that around 63% of Australians are now overweight or obese. A full quarter of our population are obese according to figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Aside from the health implications of being overweight, there's some pretty severe environmental issues too - our expanding midriffs are another example of us consuming more than we need; and that consumption has to be fueled by natural resource use. It's another instance of the results of our everything, all the time society.

I started piling on the pounds a few years back after being pretty much desk-bound for years and was feeling pretty ick about it. I was resistant to doing exercise such as going to a gym as it's non-productive. I feel it's a little like putting gas in your car and then just letting it idle or revving the bag out of it while going nowhere.

I've watched too many people on yo-you diets and I wasn't about to subject myself to living on lettuce either. As for "fat blaster" pills and potions, that's just overkill in most cases and does nothing to deal with underlying causes.

Here's the thing -  most of us *can* have our cake and eat it too! For most of us it's down to input vs. output. If we want to eat more than our lifestyles require, it simply needs to be burned off - and why not be productive in the process?

What I did was to start a cleanup project in local bushland and within a few months I was back to within normal weight limits along with feeling a lot better. I also had something to show for my efforts rather than making someone else rich.

Aside from using a little common sense in relation to what we eat, forget the Dr. Phil and Oprah diet books, steer clear of gyms, resist buying exercise equipment - look at what's around you that needs to be done; whether it's cleaning an oven, weeding the yard, walking to the store instead of driving (the best gas saving tip of all); or consider exercising for the environment. Just make it something with a clear purpose instead of being like a mouse inside a wheel. The more you do, the more motivated you'll become.

Disregard some of the so-called labor saving devices that you slave in your job to buy - they, as well as our diets, are what are making us fat and also contributing to environmental degradation - it's a triple whammy!

Save cash, add years to your life and help the environment - life can be so much simpler than we make it; or more accurately, what we're told it should be.