Do you feel like your body is still recovering from winter? Sluggish mornings, comfort eating, and low energy can linger long after the cold fades.
Spring is the perfect time to reset, to refresh your meals, boost your energy, and support your digestion. But shifting out of winter habits isn’t always simple. Let’s explore practical ways to make the change gentle, achievable, and perhaps even enjoyable!
Key Takeaways: Habits to Boost Energy and Ease Digestion
- Winter can leave you feeling sluggish and stuck in comfort eating.
- Spring is the perfect time to refresh your energy and gently support your digestion.
- Focus on lighter, seasonal foods, gentle movement, and restful evenings.
- Small changes like adding fresh greens, walking outdoors, and adjusting evening routines can make a big difference.
- Try one new habit this week and leave one winter habit behind.
-
Why Winter Habits Affect Your Energy and Digestion
It’s not just in your head, winter can really affect the body:
- Hormonal shifts: Less sunlight affects vitamin D and melatonin, which can impact sleep, appetite, and mood. A study published in the American Journal of nutrition concluded that women who replenished their vitamin D stores had improved weight loss results.
- Comfort food cravings: Colder months encourage heavier, starchy meals, which can slow digestion and of course, lead to weight gain.
- Reduced movement: Shorter days and chilly mornings often mean less activity, which can leave your energy low and digestion sluggish.
- Sleep disruption: Irregular routines can continue into spring, leaving you tired even when the days get longer.
Recognising these patterns helps to understand how your body reacts to different stimuli so you can support it effectively as the seasons change.
Habits to Boost Energy and Ease Digestive Issues
- Rebalance Your Plate
Swap heavier winter meals for lighter, seasonal produce like asparagus, leafy greens, herbs, and berries. These foods energise your body and naturally support digestion. Swap rice, bread, pasta for high fibre vegetables and healthy fats. These keep you full and support a healthy microbiome. Think avocado, nuts and seed, roasted vegetables. - Reset Your Body Clock
Even 10 minutes of morning sunlight can help to regulate melatonin, improve sleep, and help your digestive rhythms reset. Make the most of the earlier sunrise and go for a walk when you first wake up. Even just walking once around the block is a great start. - Lighten Your Evenings
Winter often means cozy nights on the couch. In spring, create a relaxing evening routine: swap screens for a book or calming music, dim the lights, and aim for an earlier bedtime to support better sleep which improves energy, gut health and weight loss. - Move Daily
Gentle walks, stretching, or gardening help boost circulation, stimulate digestion, and lift energy levels. Think of it as signalling to your body that winter hibernation is over. On work days, I try to get up and move for 5 minutes every hour. This not only adds movement into my day, it helps me focus, and I’m not so tired at the end of the day. - Support Digestion with Fermented Foods
Introduce small amounts of fermented foods like sauerkraut or kimchi. These provide probiotics that help your gut thrive and can reduce bloating and sluggish digestion. Start with 1-2 tablespoons in meals to give your microbiome a gentle boost. - Watch the “Treat Creep”
Winter habits like nightly chocolate or extra glasses of wine can carry over into spring unnoticed. Be mindful and choose when you really want them rather than keeping them on autopilot. Try an after dinner walk, rather than sitting down for chocolate and netflix. Walking after a meal helps with digestion and blood sugar balance.
Practical Tip to Make Habits Stick
Pick one winter habit to drop and one spring habit to add this week. Small, consistent changes are far more effective than trying to overhaul everything at once.
Spring Habits in Action: A Client Story
Josie* ( mid 50s) came to see me last spring, noticing the weight creeping onto her belly. She wanted to feel more vibrant, alive and learn simple nutrition and recipe ideas to support her at this stage of life.
Over a couple of appointments, we introduced small, manageable changes: increasing her protein, having a salad for lunch, swapping cakes for fruit, and adding more incidental movement into her routine.
Josie experienced increased energy, decreased bloating, better digestion and weight loss. She was thrilled with both how quickly she saw results and the difference they made.
* Name changed for privacy.
A Fresh Recipe to Get You Started
Spring Greens & Chickpea Salad with Lemon-Herb Dressing
Serves 2 | Prep: 10 mins | Cook: 10 mins
Ingredients
- 1 cup cooked chickpeas (or 1 tin, drained and rinsed)
- 1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and lightly steamed
- 1 cup baby spinach leaves
- 1 cup rocket (arugula)
- 1 small cucumber, sliced into half moons
- 1 handful fresh herbs (parsley, mint, or dill), roughly chopped
- ¼ cup feta cheese, crumbled (optional)
- 2 tbsp toasted pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds
- Optional fermented boost: 1–2 tbsp mild sauerkraut or finely chopped kimchi
Dressing
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Method
- Lightly steam or blanch the asparagus for 2–3 minutes until just tender, then rinse in cold water to keep it crisp and bright.
- In a large bowl, combine chickpeas, spinach, rocket, cucumber, herbs, asparagus, feta (if using), and fermented option if desired.
- Whisk together all dressing ingredients in a small jar or bowl.
- Pour dressing over the salad and toss gently to combine.
- Sprinkle with seeds before serving.
Tip: Adding fermented foods gives a gentle probiotic boost to support digestion while keeping the salad light, fresh, and energising.
Enjoyed this post?
Sign up for my newsletter and get simple tips for gut health, energy and a healthy weight and lifestyle – delivered straight to your inbox (every few weeks or so).
Kim Healey
Nutritionist | Metabolic Balance Coach
Whole food. Whole life. One Step at a time
Guiding people to create lasting change with whole food and everyday habits that support lifelong health, one step at a time.