Spring Cleaning: 5 Steps to Prepare Your Kitchen and Your Diet

If you've indulged in comfort food and holiday favorites during the winter, you can welcome the springtime in a healthier way: by cleaning your kitchen and getting rid of items that sabotage your weight loss goals.Remember, losing weight and keeping it off starts and ends in the kitchen. No matter how much activity you participate in, you won't see the results you want if you keep on eating the same kinds of unhealthy foods and continue to stick to the health-damaging habits. The body is designed based on what you put in it, not just what you do to it. This is why having a healthy diet and consistently committing to it is vital to achieving a lifetime of enjoying a healthy body.5 Ways to Prepare Your Kitchen and Your Diet for Spring1. Out of sight, out of mind.You cannot eat what is not in your house so remove all the junk and do not leave anything behind. All the chips, cookies, white or refined sugars such as white sugar, pasta, and rice, as well as high-calorie dips and spreads should be removed. Not seeing them helps you to immediately forget about them and knowing that you have to go out of your way to be able to purchase them makes you crave them less.2. Replace the bad with the good stuff.Once the bad stuff has been removed, replace them immediately with the good ones such as lean proteins such as fish and eggs, fruits, vegetables and good fats such as avocado.Make a grocery list before you stock up so you stick to buying the right items and put you in the path to success right off the bat. You start your day reaching for food items that help you beat the battle of the bulge all day.3. Learn to read labels properly.You may have been frequently advised to avoid sugar and fats, but it is also smart to look at the sodium content. Sodium can make you feel bloated due to water retention. Aside from chips, condiments are notoriously high in sodium. A tablespoon of a popular brand of soy sauce contains 920 mg of sodium, which is already 35.3% of the daily recommended intake.Aside from that, looking at labels makes sure that you are indeed buying the right items. For example, you may think you are buying butter but usually, it is just margarine. Some of the time, low calorie items can be misleading in the sense that they are in fact high in sugar to maintain its taste. That fruit-flavored yogurt that's sold as fat-free may in reality be just another sugar bomb.4. Store your food according to priority.The way food is stored should be aligned with your nutrition plan. Nutritious foods like fruits, nuts, and vegetables should always be at the center of the table or at the front part of your pantry. Treats should be hidden at the back, far away from your reach, or not in the house at all!Also, practice the first in, first out method. This is means you're going to consume the oldest items in your fridge or pantry first. This is to avoid food products from expiring before you consume them.5.. Invest in cooking utensil and toolsAfter stocking up on the right food items, it is also a good idea to have utensils and tools that will help to streamline the process and make preparing your own food easier. Some of the essentials items you should have in your kitchen are a digital scale, measuring tools, storage containers, strainer and cutting board. Other time saving kitchen tools to consider, but are not essential are slower cooker, grater, and food processor.