Spring Clean Your Health!

By Andy Orwig, Personal Trainer @ O2 Fitness Brennan Station

Achieving and maintaining a healthy weight has a lot to do with your environment. For most people, your environment includes home, work, and all points between. Why not give these a much needed makeover with the rest of your spring cleaning? Use these 6 simple steps to clean the slate, in time for swimsuit season:

Clean out and restock your refrigerator and freezer
First, check for past-due expiration dates to make room for new. Compost, recycle, or reuse what you can and discard the rest. Be sure to clean underneath and behind the unit to make sure the appliance runs as efficiently as possible and keeps your food at the proper temperature (under 40 degrees for the fridge). Finally, fill it with fresh produce, low-fat dairy, and lean protein.

Go on pantry patrol
Consolidate open boxes of pasta, cereal, bars, and more and again check for spoilage and long-gone expiration dates. Reorganize spices, soups, flours, sugars, and other pantry staples to help cut down food preparation time. Grade your pantry for how “natural” it is. Is it chalked full of processed foods, preservatives, and artificial flavors and colors? If yes then, it’s time for a makeover!

Dust off the gym bag
Pack your bag with all the essentials for Day 1 of your “back on track” plan. For example, arm your bag with water, socks, shoes, undergarments, athletic attire of choice, toiletries, even post-workout snacks like trail mix and Gatorade. For even greater inspiration, treat yourself to a new outfit or new shoes!

Find a group fitness class to try
Be it RPM, BodyCombat, Zumba, or one of our yoga classes, there is certainly strength in numbers when it comes to exercise. Check out O2 Fitness’ local class times and locations and mark it on the calendar. Better yet, find a friend tag along with and sign-up together. After all, a friend’s first visit is always complimentary!

Farmer’s Market, here I come!
Find out when your local market opens for the season and look into when a community-supported agriculture (CSA) near you begins their distribution of produce.

Hydrate
As temps increase, so does your body’s need for water. Make sure you sip on water throughout the day and with meals. Try to choose water over any other beverage, especially those with caffeine like diet soda, coffee, or tea.