Spring is finally here! Baseball season is officially underway, and before long it will be time to hit the beach. If you’re feeling a little anxious about baring some skin, and you’re ready for a fresh start, here are six simple steps to healthy-ing up your eating habits and getting in tip top shape – no crazy diet required.

Drink More H2O

In addition to supporting optimal metabolism, studies show that drinking a few cups of water before meals can naturally curb appetite. Plus trading just one 12 ounce sweetened drink (soda, sweet tea, lemonade, fruit punch, sports drink) for water once a day can slash the equivalent of over 2,500 teaspoons of sugar in a year’s time – that’s nearly 40,000 calories. Reach for 16 ounces of water four times a day, and if you dislike the taste, spruce it up naturally with a little mashed fruit, fresh grated ginger, fresh squeezed citrus, sliced cucumber, or sprigs of mint.

Eat Breakfast Daily

Nine out of ten people agree that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but less than half fit in an a.m. meal seven days a week. This spring, make breakfast a priority. In addition to kick starting your metabolism and fueling your morning, eating breakfast has been shown to help prevent late night overeating (which may be why breakfast skippers are four and a half times more likely to be overweight). Whip up a simple smoothie, fold fruit, nuts, and oats into yogurt, or make extra portions at dinnertime and eat leftovers for breakfast.

Make Produce the Main Attraction

Veggies and fruits are loaded with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, fiber, and fluid, and research shows that eating more produce helps reduce the risk of nearly every chronic disease. Plus trading servings of starchy foods like rice or pasta for more veggies, and sweet treats like cookies for fresh fruit is an easy way to cut calories. To meet the recommended five servings a day, aim to include fruit in every breakfast and snack and veggies in each lunch and dinner.

Go for Whole Grains

Fewer than 10 percent of Americans eat the minimum recommended three daily whole grain servings, but fitting in more can lead to major benefits. Studies show that hitting the mark can lower the risk of heart disease, stroke, cancer, and diabetes, and help fight obesity. Eat more by choosing oatmeal, whole grain cereal, or whole grain toast at breakfast. At lunch and dinner go for nutrient-rich and filling options like brown or wild rice, corn, and quinoa.

Eat More Pulses

You’ve heard of beans – black, red, white… The category of pulses also includes peas, such as chickpeas and yellow split peas, and lentils. These gems are nutritional powerhouses that provide slow-burning carbs, protein, fiber, minerals, and antioxidants, and eating more pulses is a smart weight loss strategy. One study found that subjects who consumed the most pulses lost four times more weight than those who ate the least. At least a few times a week trade meat for beans or lentils, or use pulses as a starch alternative, in place of grains or potatoes. You can even incorporate pulses into snacks, like hummus, or oven-roasted chickpeas.

Choose Healthful Fats

It may seem counterintuitive, but fat is one of the most important nutrients in your diet. Fat is a building block of your cells, so you need it for maintenance and healing. Fats also allow you to absorb certain antioxidants and the fat-soluble vitamins — A, D, E and K — which “hitch a ride” with fat to get transported from your digestive system into your blood. In addition,fat boosts satiety and slows stomach emptying, so you feel fuller longer, which makes eating fat a slimming strategy. Spread whole grain toast with ripe avocado or almond butter, whip nut butter into a smoothie or add nuts to a parfait. Dress salads with an olive oil based vinaigrette or sauté or oven roast veggies with olive oil. At snack time reach for nuts or seeds, olives, or dips made with good fat, like guacamole and tahini.