How to Spring Clean Your Diet

What better time to make an inventory of your food than during a big spring cleaning, right? Now that spring has sprung and the time of indulging in hot sweet beverages and high-caloric food is over, it’s time you detoxed your body and brought back some energy. From regulating your diet and switching to healthier food choices to controlling your food portions, there’s a myriad of different ways in which you can spring clean your diet. 

Don’t eat late 
While the type of food you eat has a lot to do with your body weight and how your body feels, the time at which you eat has a lot to do with the way your weight fluctuates as well. It’s essential that you always have a good high-caloric breakfast, so that the food you eat early in the morning can keep you full and energized throughout the day. Lunch should always contain healthy home-cooked meals and it should be less caloric than your breakfast, while dinner should be the smallest meal in portion or you should avoid it altogether. We tend to be the least active after dinner, so you don’t get the chance to burn the calories which the food that you eat at night contains. One of the best recipes for a healthy weight loss is to eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper. 

Hydrate 
Water is essential for the good functioning of your body, because it helps the oxygen circulate and it expels toxins from your body. It’s vital that you have at least 8 glasses of water a day, so that your body will stay hydrated, which will further benefit the look of your skin as well. If you’re not a big fan of water, you can add some flavor to it by squeezing some lemon juice or put slices of lemons in a water jug. Green tea is a great alternative for water. Not only will it hydrate your body, but it will also boost your immune system and fight cavities as well. 

Eat healthy 
One of the main aspects of diet spring cleaning should include cutting back on junk food and sweetened beverages. Alcohol takes a toll on your liver, making the main organ responsible for detoxes work less efficiently. Furthermore, alcohol acts as a diuretic, which automatically makes the body dehydrated. Avoid sodas and drinks with added sugars, cut down on salt, white flour, white rice and choose fruits and veggies, whole grains and healthy fats such as eggs, nuts, avocado and fatty fish. It would be a good idea for you to try sustainable food, and switch to delicious healthy snacks such as organic dark chocolate coated bananas. Sauerkraut, kimchi and yogurt are rich in probiotics which will keep your gut healthy and packed with good bacteria. 

Clean out your pantry and fridge 
Throw away boxes of crackers and replace them with healthy snacks such as crunchy veggies. Stop buying canned soup and boxed mac and cheese, and learn how to prepare all those meals on your own. Instead of eating out or ordering takeout, it would be a good idea if you cooked your meals yourself. This way, you’ll be in charge of the calories you intake and you’ll know that the food you’re cooking is fresh and healthy made. Not only will you save on calories, but money as well. 

Control your portions 
We tend to eat much more during winter, since spending more time at home often makes us think about what we could eat. Therefore, we usually start eating more out of boredom, rather than because of actual hunger. After you start eating often, your stomach starts asking for more food during regular meals, because it expands over time and you just end up eating more than your body needs. The best way to prevent yourself from eating more than you should is to find great spring recipes and use smaller plates; that way, you'll reduce your portion size and eat less food. 
Final thoughts 

Spring is the best time to clean your home, so use the opportunity to spring clean your diet as well. Eat healthy, avoid takeout food, make sure you’re always hydrated and control how much food you eat in a day, and you’ll feel as light as a feather and you’ll look better too.