I know I won’t be the first person to say this, but the oncoming of spring doesn’t just mean it’s time to clean out your junk drawers or that certain corner of your closet. It’s the perfect time to spring clean your diet.

The winter is difficult. The weather is nail-bitingly cold and all we want are warm hearty meals to take away the cold in our bones. Hearty doesn’t always mean healthy.

Not mention the surplus of food-driven holidays and constant marketing of holiday-themed candy. Winter usually isn’t anyone’s healthiest time of year.

That’s okay, though!

Take the same motivation you have to clean out all that junk and donate clothes you don’t wear, and put it towards your diet!

But first, don’t hover too much on the word “diet”.

I hate planned diets. It’s stupid to drink your meals and cut out foods that you think are unhealthy when they’re fine.

For example, if you aren’t celiac, or have a gluten-intolerance, there is absolutely no reason for you to go gluten-free. It’s not going to get you any closer to looking like the Jolly Green Giant.

Simply eat healthier. Open up your snack cupboard and throw out those highly processed snacks. They aren’t doing anything for you. Make a trip to your local Trader Joe’s. Trader Joe’s has some of the best snacks. They’re healthier versions of the snacks you’re so used to eating, and they don’t taste any different.

Try cutting back on your caffeine intake, and maybe even your dairy intake. If you’re used to getting your coffee light-and-sweet, try it with just milk.

If your springtime goal was to start exercising more and lose weight, throw it out the window. Throw it out if it means you staring at the number on the scale and trying ridiculous diet plans.

Go to the gym, and work out enough that you actually feel the burn, but don’t get hung up on that number. Muscle is heavier than fat. If you’re burning fat and gaining muscle, the scale isn’t going to change much.

Pair your new gym motivation with a diet change because the two go hand in hand. No part of your health will change if you get a Wendy’s 4-for-4 right after a workout.

If you think Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods are silly and expensive, that’s a reasonable opinion. That doesn’t mean you should continue to ignore the produce section when you walk into Shoprite, though.

Pinterest is a blessing of an app but insurmountable easy and healthy recipes are just waiting for you to try. Make boards for drinks, smoothies, meal planning, dinners, and even desserts. Dessert doesn’t have to be sugar and processed fats; try a fruit salad with a dollop of whipped cream.

Whatever it is that you need to motivate yourself, push it towards your diet. By just cutting out fried and processed foods you can lose some of that excess fat. Don’t worry about the scale; put that thing in the garbage.

This is the perfect time to spring clean your eating and health habits; make it work this year.