Seven Tips To Spring Clean Your Diet
Ready for a fresh diet?
As it hots up outside, Spring’s the perfect time to swap those soups, stews, and warming winter bakes for something healthy, light and fresh! Whether you’re heading to the beach or for the slopes this Easter, we’ve got the tip tips to spring clean your diet and get in shape this season.
Junk The Junk
This old favourite tops the list for every dieter out there! Cleaning the cupboards of your guilty pleasures is often the first step on successful weight loss journeys. But when you clear those shelves of processed, sugary foods, be careful to replace them with something healthy to grab when hungers strikes!
Check out our page 100 Calorie Snack Page for inspiration.
Breakfast
Plenty of people try to cut calories by skipping breakfast. But with snacks so readily available, why take the risk of going hungry? Instead, try starting every day with something that’ll actually fill you up! Whether you go yogurt, go eggy or you go old-fashioned with a bowl of porridge, getting a decent portion of protein in your breakfast keeps you feeling full for longer!
Eat Seasonal
Every season brings a healthy crop of dietary delights, but there’s nothing better than a Spring feast! From artichokes to radishes, strawberries to peas, all the tastiest healthy ingredients will be coming into season in the next few weeks, so don’t miss your chance to fill up while they’re fresh!
Check out our Top Ten Spring Foods blog post for our favourites.
Be Smooth
If you struggle with your five a day, a green smoothie is the perfect option for a spring health kick! You might not fancy going all out (dandelion greens, nettles, or kale), but a blend of spinach and apple, or of avocado and mango, could be the delicious source of pure nutrition and fibre you’ve been missing!
Tip: Try using seasonal ingredients to get your green smoothie as fresh as they come.
Cool Down
A key reason people over eat is plain old thirst! Whether you’re out and about or have your feet up, keeping an icy drink of water close at hand is the best way to stave off hunger as it gets warmer. Staying hydrated can make all the difference when it comes to keeping that urge to snack at bay.
Get Colourful
Aside from snowmen’s noses, winter food tends not to be too colourful… Potatoes, squashes, pies and pasta, while there’s nothing wrong with beige, Spring is the time to get your fill of all the colourful, nutrient rich foods that your body has been missing. From fresh herbs to ripe and gorgeous fruits, piling the fridge with colourful ingredients will help diversify your diet and get you the tastiest nutrition out there while it’s at its best!
We sat down with Amie to get her take on summer dieting regimes. What are her dos and don’ts, and does she have any advice on where to start?
When embarking on a fat or weight loss program, the first question you should always ask yourself is Do I want to be thin or do I want to be healthy? We’ve all heard the phrase You can’t out train a bad diet and it’s true. In the long term putting your health first requires fueling your body with the right nutrients, which is the most beneficial way to maintain a healthy weight and achieve your goals.
Whilst diet and exercise are, of course, both important for your overall health and wellbeing, particularly when starting your weight loss plan, it is vital that food habits change in order to see real lasting change. Your most important step when you start out is to set realistic slimming goals. This means ditching extreme diets of any kind – including crash diets – in favour of healthy, balanced meals which include protein, carbohydrates and good fats.
Losing weight too quickly by under-eating, over-exercising or skipping meals can lead to excess skin folds on the body where it has shrunk too quickly. Extreme exercising can also put increased pressure on your adrenal glands and can end up stressing your body with high cortisol levels, which in turn can lead to future health problems.
For the best results, why not follow Amie’s 5 easy tips for healthy weight loss:
Get Seasonal
Eat seasonally to maximise your nutrient intake.
Get Real
Go for real food, making your diet as natural as possible.
Get Colourful
Aim for a ‘colourful’ plate and a good variety of veg in every meal.
Get Reading
Ditch sugar, monitor your salt intake and read the labels of your food carefully.
Get Three
Make sure you get three nutritious meals a day, with two small snacks thrown in to keep your blood sugar levels up.