Nutritionist Sarah Di Lorenzo: Why Spring is the best time to give your health an overhaul

I really do love the idea of a Spring Reset. There is such a wonderful feeling coming out of winter and feeling the warmth of spring.

Many of us over the winter months become complacent, don’t drink as much water, have let regular exercise go and in some cases gained some unwanted weight.

Therefore a Spring Reset is the perfect opportunity to give yourself a little overhaul and focus on being your best self. Think of where you are at with your health, what changes you want to make and how you are going to do it.

The new season puts a spring in our step, we feel renewed health, more energy and mental clarity.

A Spring Reset basically means movement, eating healthily, sleeping well, exercising and being well hydrated.

A great place to start would be to do regular exercise and ideally outside. Now that it is spring days are longer, brighter and you can soak up the all-important Vitamin D that most Australians are deficient in.

Start with thinking about what your goal would be with exercise. Is it to do more cardiovascular exercise or resistance training?

The best place to start with exercise is to find something you love, it could be hiking, dance classes, gardening, a group activity, finding a buddy, running, cycling, swimming or considering some support with a personal trainer.

We all need to do strength training. You can do this outdoors so easily with squats, planking and lunges. The goal is to build up our muscles and metabolism.

On days off from intense physical activity consider a gorgeous walk in nature to lower stress and increase your sense of wellbeing.

Remember morning exercise gives you a wonderful hit of endorphins to set you up for a great day ahead.

Spring produce is colourful, everything from citrus, tomatoes, green beans, berries and leafy greens. Plan your meals ahead of time and do your food preparation.

Your plate should be colourful and half of it full of fresh salad or vegetables. Protein should take up a quarter of the plate, or about the same size as your palm. Feature probiotic-rich foods in your diet such as yoghurt with fresh fruit at breakfast, or sauerkraut with your lunch. Include a good quality complex carbohydrate like sweet potato or brown rice and make your snacking about nuts and fruit.

Garnish all meals with freshly chopped herbs and don’t forget to start your day well hydrated and aim for 30ml per kg of body weight in water intake daily.

Have a think about your sleep and bedtime routine. Try to make sure you are sleeping well because good sleep is the power behind focus, resilience and metabolic health.

Set up a regular sleep schedule, go to bed and wake up at consistent times if you can and carry this over to the weekends. Create a winding down routine before bed, such as a bath. No screens, no emails and no late night working! Avoiding alcohol can really help with good quality sleep.

Make sure your bed is a place you want to be with fresh linen and comfortable. Set a goal of seven to eight hours of sleep each night.

Many of us love a good spring clean of our homes, but what about detoxing your mind and digital space. Instead of doom scrolling, try to spend some time on yourself with practising mindfulness, consider meditation, a journal, breath work and regulating your emotions.

Unsubscribe from unnecessary emails, clean up your desktop and do a digital detox. Spend some time each day device free.

Make time for yourself each day, add it to your calendar like a meeting. This is very important to keep your performance high, avoid burnout and enjoy life. It’s like a little recharge.

When thinking about your reset and looking at your list of goals don’t get overwhelmed. Take things day by day but also do your preparation as this is the key to success.

Start with small steps, and it may even be small steps and only one focus like just improving your water consumption.

Be sure to track your progress and celebrate your successes with something non-food related like a massage or gift.

Consider asking a friend or family member to come on the journey with you as well.

A spring reset is all about fresh food, mental clarity, good sleep, setting goals so you can feel energised, lighter, brighter and loving life.