Spring is in the air. In Hawai'i, the mango trees are blossoming, gardenias are preparing their fragrant bloom for April and May, days are getting longer and the weather is warming. Life is good. However, with warmer and longer days come shorter shorts, mini-er skirts and increased swimsuit-time.

Whether you're hitched or still living the swinging single life, there's always room for improvement in a healthy diet, especially when it requires you to showcase most of your birthday suit. Here are 10 tactics to help you on your pursuit of the perfect figure. While these measures are not foolproof, they'll certainly help you feel healthier.

Bonus feature: a recipe that is perfect for kick-starting your guilt-free spring. Miso marinated mahimahi with fresh fruit salsa is low on fat, and is chock-full of fiber, potassium, antioxidants, folate and omega-3s.

Consider this our way of saving you a $5,000 spa retreat to Mexico.

TOP 10 TACTICS: GETTING READY FOR BATHING SUIT SEASON

1. Fill up on fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables are not only low in calories, but also high in fiber. Fiber is critical to maintaining a healthy diet, as not only does it contain nutrients that are essential to your health, but it also helps fill you up so that you eat less of other foods (i.e., doughnuts, chips, crackers, etc.). Most adults do not get the recommended amount of fiber (25-30 grams per day), which is thought to be one reason why so many Americans are overweight.

2. Drink eight glasses of water every day. Even though people often think drinking a lot of water increases bloating, it actually does the opposite. Adequate water intake helps remove sodium and impurities from the body. Some research also suggests that it may help increase your metabolism, so drink up.

3. Limit sodium intake. Water is attracted to salt, so the more salt you eat, the more water you retain. Think about how you felt the last time you ate that massive shoyu chicken plate lunch: You probably woke up feeling "fatter," thinking it was a result of the mac salad. Not so, though mac salad is packed with calories; your morning Buddha belly was likely due to all the sodium in the shoyu, thus causing you to retain extra water.

4. Eat foods high in potassium. Eating foods high in potassium, such as bananas, oranges and potatoes, helps you retain less water. And, those foods help increase your fiber intake (see No. 1, above).

5. Get moving. The best way to burn calories and stay in shape is to do some kind of physical activity. Find something you enjoy so that you'll integrate the activity into your daily routine. Swimming in the ocean, paddling, walking along the beach, hiking in Manoa or Tantalus, jogging Diamond Head, playing tennis at Kapi'olani Park ... spring fever is the perfect motivation.

6. Allow room for some indulgences. Deprivation leads to overeating, which leads to not being ready to sport a bathing suit. So don't make any foods off-limits; just be mindful of portion sizes. Buying portion-controlled foods (i.e., 100 calorie packs of Oreos, Dove dark chocolate squares) is a great way to allow for wee moments of joy in your diet, so that you don't plunge into gluttonous behavior.

7. Get your antioxidants. Living in Hawai'i means spending much of our lives outdoors. Being out in the sun can cause wrinkles and inflammation of the skin. Antioxidants can help decrease some of the damage from the sun. Therefore, it's imperative to include antioxidant-rich foods in your diet. Make sure to choose a wide variety of colors of fruits and vegetables; the darker the color, the higher in antioxidants. Try blueberries, guavas, raspberries, Oki-nawan sweet potatoes, seaweed (wakame seaweed salad ... always good), and green tea. (Note: Wearing sunscreen is the best preventative for skin cancer, skin damage and aging skin. Don't think that eating seaweed salad every day for dinner will help you avoid basal cell carcinoma.)

8. Limit alcohol consumption. Alcohol not only causes dehydration but is high in calories. If you are going to consume alcohol, make sure to limit your intake — one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men. Try a light beer or a 5-ounce glass of wine for a lower-calorie option. Choose your cocktail of choice wisely when it comes to watching your waistline.

9. Eat vitamin C-rich foods. Vitamin C is important for the formation of collagen, which is essential for healthy hair and skin. And having healthy, glowing hair and skin only makes you look and feel that much better in a bathing suit. So go ahead and eat up those citrus fruits, guavas, strawberries, peppers, broccoli and pineapple, all of which are packed with vitamin C. (And you thought it was because of the Pantene you just started using!)

10. Choose healthy carbs. Eating a diet that is excessive in carbohydrates (more than about 60 percent of total calories), especially refined carbs like white bread and cookies, can cause you to hold on to extra water. This can lead to temporary bloating or weight gain due to the extra water weight. This does not mean you should eliminate all carbohydrates, as they are an essential part of a healthy diet. It just means to eat sensible amounts of healthy carbs — for example, make one-half of your plate nonstarchy vegetables, one-quarter of your plate a whole grain such as whole-wheat couscous and one-quarter a lean protein such as mahimahi.

Melissa Gibson, Jodi Citrin Greebel and Katie Nuanes are the authors of "The Little Black Apron: A Single Girl's Guide to Cooking With Style & Grace" (Adams, 2007), which has been featured in People magazine, Men's Health, "The CW11 Morning News" and more. The authors contribute to various media outlets, including The Huffington Post.