With warm spring air comes the irresistible urge to purge — cleaning out your house, getting your desk tidy and of course, tossing last year’s trends from your closet to make room for the latest must-haves. But don’t stop there! Spring-cleaning your diet will not only help you be healthier, but also give you more energy. We asked Toronto-based registered dietitian Lisa Weinberg for her tips on cleaning up your diet this spring.

1. Reduce your meal size
Let’s face it — after a long (and cold) winter in Canada we have all eased the winter blues with a few too many nights of comfort foods. “We tend to put on weight during the winter,” explains Weinberg. “We eat heavier meals, more food and perhaps we have been sick. It all adds up to extra pounds. But don’t think detox — it’s just making healthier choices.” When spring hits the outdoors is inviting, we gear up for bikini season and we start to hit the gym more often. By eating smaller meals more often, you will boost your metabolism and help clean up your diet.

2. Eat probiotics
Probiotics (good bacteria in your digestive system) seems to be the buzzword in the health world these days, but they are especially important during the spring. “If you have been sick throughout the winter you may have been taking antibiotics,” says Weinberg. “Antibiotics can actually deplete your body’s supply of probiotics. By adding more in the spring, you boost the digestive system and help it to work better.” A good way to add some probiotics in your new spring-cleaned diet? Look for yogurt with added probiotics like Astro BioBest Maximmunité yogurt or Astro’s probiotic drink, Maximmunité.

3. Eat the colours of the rainbow
Spring comes with so many new fresh fruits and veggies in a wide variety of colours. One of the best ways to spring clean your diet is to add spring colours to your meals. Choose from every colour of the rainbow, like fresh berries, melons and leafy greens to mix into your balanced meal and you’ll be upping your intake of essential vitamins and loads of antioxidants. “It all helps prevent diseases and are healthy for the skin, your body, weight and will increase your energy just by adding in more colourful spring time foods,” explains Weinberg.

4. Eat your snacks
“When you explain to people it’s good to eat throughout the day, they sometimes go over board and eat 5 full meals each day,” says Weinberg. In actual fact, you should be eating 5 small meals every day including some healthy spring-clean diet snacks such as almonds or walnuts and some fruit — perfectly portable and yummy. “Spring cleaning your diet is really not about not eating, or cutting way back on food — it’s about eating sensibly throughout the day so you’re not starving at the end of the day and then you blow it.”

5. Get motivated to exercise
If strutting your stuff around the office in summer dresses and skirts isn’t enough to make you want to hit the gym more often, think about wearing that itsy-bitsy bikini. When spring rolls around it’s the perfect time to exercise more and why waste all that workout time spent if you eat poorly afterwards? If you find you’re slow on spring cleaning your diet try making your way to the gym a couple more times a week — it will motivate you to eat healthier so you’re not working out for nothing!

For more ways to spring clean your diet and make healthy changes to your life, visit www.feelgoodinside.ca