Eating healthy and getting fit can seem like an enormous undertaking, so in the beginning, it’s important to take small steps.

At the start of a new diet, drastic changes in what you eat and drink, might give you some short term “results”, but a better solution for long-lasting success is a diet that fits into your everyday lifestyle. Giving your refrigerator a makeover is an essential (and fun!) first step to making your diet work for you (instead of the other way around).

Here are three steps that will help you make the transformation, and get started on the right track with your new diet.

First: Give your food a new look!

The key to a well stocked refrigerator, one that’s filled with a variety of smart, and healthy choices, often comes down to the words you read on food packaging.

The ingredient list, and the nutrition label tell you most of what you need to know to be a savvy eater.

The ingredient list is number one in showing you exactly what you’re eating. Ingredients are listed in order of quantity, the greatest in abundance being listed first - all the way to the smallest amount.

When butter, eggs, lard, or cheese are listed near the beginning of an ingredient list, be assured that there is too much added fat to this product.

What you want to see on a label is the word “whole”: whole grain, whole oats, whole durum wheat, or whole rye. Getting the ingredients as close to their original form gives us the best nutrition. Beware of refined or processed ingredients. Fiber is our friend and we want plenty of it!

Look out for sneaky names for common items such as added fat and sugar. Triglycerides are still fat, and fructose, sucrose and corn syrup are still sugar. Anything hydrogenated or worse, partially hydrogenated, are still fat and one of the worst kind; Trans Fat.

Trans Fat is a man made product that makes liquid fats solid with the addition of hydrogen to make the product have a longer shelf life. Trans Fats are known to raise your “bad” LDL Cholesterol and help in the formation of plaque in your arteries.

The nutrition label tells you how the numbers breakdown. Listed are amounts per serving, calories per serving, and a breakdown of fats, sugars, and vitamins. Important to note is the serving size and servings per container. One serving of a Snickers Bar might be 170 calories per serving, but it has 3 total servings, so that’s a whopping 510 calories per bar! Remember to always multiply the total number of servings, by the servings per container, to get an idea of the total nutritional values.

Now that you’ve learned how to give food labels a new look – it’s time to prepare your fridge for transformation.

Second: Out with the old, in with the new!

Before you roll up your sleeves, and begin cleaning out your fridge - take a photo of what is currently inside your fridge. This will come in handy later…

Now, remove everything from your refrigerator, and toss anything that’s expired or looking inedible. Give your fridge a good scrubbing. Cleaning the inside of your fridge gives you a fresh palette for a new start.

Third: Transform your fridge with lots of color!

For everything you’ve tossed, you now need to replace with a variety of fresh, whole foods including lots of fruits, and vegetables. Not sure what to buy? When you are at the grocery store, try picturing a rainbow, and get fresh fruits, vegetables, and other items in every color from nature. To make it fun each time you go to the market, pick two or three different colors and make sure to especially stock up on the fresh produce that has those colors.

Some suggestions:

• Red: apples, cabbage, peppers, grapes, tomatoes, cherries

• Yellow: bananas, peppers, squash, corn, lemons, pineapple

• Orange: carrots, oranges, tangerines, peppers, mango

• Green: broccoli, peppers, kale, cabbage, lettuce, brussels sprouts, kiwi

• Blue: blueberries, blackberries

• Purple: eggplant, plums, prunes

• Pink: grapefruit, watermelon, salmon

• Brown: eggs

• White: tofu, onions

• Black: olives

What is in your refrigerator is reflective on your life. The closer your food is to it’s original form, the more your body will love you! After you’ve stocked your fridge with fresh and colorful produce take another photo of the inside for your refrigerator.

Compare your before and after pictures to see the results of your refrigerator makeover!

Continue to liven up your fridge with whole foods fresh from the garden, the farmer’s market, and the farm, and with as little processed and refined foods as possible.

Limit meat and saturated fats to a few times a week, and try to eat from all the food groups everyday.

Eating good food is first a matter of understanding, and then a matter of choice, and finally, simply, a way of life!