Many people struggle to improve their eating habits. The Times food writer Mark Bittman, appearing this week on WNYC radio, told listeners about an unusual strategy that has worked for him.

All day long, he eats a vegan diet. But after about 6 p.m., anything goes.

In his newest book, “Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating With More Than 75 Recipes,” Mark explains how increasing fruit and vegetable consumption and reducing dependence on processed foods will lead to better health not only for your body, but also for the planet. He explained his “vegan before dinnertime” strategy recently on the Leonard Lopate show:

My arrangement with myself is that from the time I wake up until dinner I eat only fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes. I don’t even eat white bread during the day. And then starting at dinner, I do. I have one meal a day when I do pretty much what I want, which is normally quite indulgent.

Mark made the changes after developing high cholesterol, borderline high blood sugar, bad knees and sleep apnea, and realizing he was about 35 pounds overweight. A doctor suggested he adopt a vegan diet, which means no animal products. But for a food writer, Mark said, becoming a full-time vegan was both unrealistic and undesirable. Instead, he came up with a compromise:

I decided to do this sort of “vegan till 6” plan. I didn’t have huge thoughts or plans about it. I just thought it was worth a try. Within three or four months, I lost 35 pounds, my blood sugar was normal, cholesterol levels were again normal … and my sleep apnea indeed went away. All these good things happened, and it wasn’t as if I was suffering so I stayed with it…. I have not eliminated anything completely from my diet. I haven’t had a Coke in a while, but I didn’t drink that much Coke to begin with.

Mark says he’s not trying to promote a particular diet, but does want people to realize that a simple evaluation of your diet can lead to meaningful changes.

I want to make things as simple as possible. This is consistent with everything I’ve ever done. I’m the guy who says, “Don’t sweat it.” I’m trying to once again say, “Let’s figure out how to do this cleanly and easily.” I would just encourage everyone to examine the portion in their own diet between processed foods and animal food and junk food on the one hand and plants on the other. To the extent the first group is much heavier than the second group, I say make some adaptations to change that.

To hear more from Mark, click here to listen to the complete 35-minute interview. And be sure to check out his popular food blog, Bitten.