Have you slid into bad food habits? Are you feeling sluggish and less than fit? We’ve got the low-down on how you can make better choices.

We probably all know that our daily diets are less than 100% healthy, but few us are willing to swap the white wine for wheatgrass juice just yet. Still, there are easy adjustments that can be made to your daily routine that will have a positive and significant impact on your diet without causing too much pain.

Water makes all the difference

Oh, not drink more water again! We know its been said before, but drinking more water really can make a difference to your overall health and wellbeing. Being less than fully hydrated leaves you feeling lethargic and can even stimulate the appetite, giving you the urge to snack more between meals. Try to drink at least two litres of water each and every day - or enough to maintain your urine at a pale yellow colour. Every time you are tempted to reach for a bite to eat stop and have a long drink of water instead. It really does take the edge of hunger and you will feel more alert as well. Keep a bottle of water on your desk, in your car or wherever you are working and keep sipping away.

You could also swap you favourite tea and coffee for herbal infusions. This is a great a way to add healthy variety to your hot drinks, while green tea has high levels of powerful antioxidants called polyphenols that have been lost in the black tea we normally drink due to processing. So make your daily cuppa a healthy cuppa!

Change your eating habits

Fad diets are pretty impossible for any length of time and they are not good for your long-term health. However, many such diets do contain a nugget or two of good advice that can easily be worked into your regular routine.

The original, strict Atkins diet, for example, has been rightly relegated to the "what were we thinking?" bin of diet history, but all the research into it has shown that some degree of its anti-carb message makes sense. Highly refined carbohydrates such as white pasta and mashed potatoes really aren't good for us in large or too-regular doses, as this year's latest model Ð the GI (Glycemic Index) diet Ð has shown (they release surges of insulin into the bloodstream, affecting our moods and appetite).

So you hate counting calories, weighing and measuring food every day, so stick to the basics and swap wholemeal for white pasta and bread, cut down on the carbs after the late afternoon (they're harder for the body to process well at night) and, perhaps most importantly of all, eat lots more fruit and veg.

However, if you do like to keep a strict check on your weight loss and health and you are addicted to your computer, there is a foolproof way to loose the pounds. Logging in every day every calorie you consume is a sure way to see exactly where you are going wrong. The programme also advises you if you are eating too much fat, protein and starch and advisers how to check this. You can also plan to eat fewer calories for a couple of days before you have a blowout at a party! I know this plan works if you have the will power and it is a healthy way to lose both weight and inches!

Potion control

We are not saying you must go without life's little pleasures. Dark chocolate contains particularly good types of polyphenols (yes, them again!) called flavonoids, which can help prevent heart disease. Swapping your regular bar of Dairy Milk for one that has minimum 70% cocoa solids is a good way to increase the nutrient content in your chocolate bar.

While you're at it, you might think about cutting down on portion sizes overall. Research has shown that many of those so-called "naturally" slim people quite simply eat less than the rest of us.

The reality is that small changes are the ones that we are likely to stick to for the rest of our life and that can totally change our attitude to food overall. Going from a size 16 to 12 in two months might be great for your ego but, as any regular dieter will tell you, such dramatic changes tend not to last. By making small but significant lifestyle changes, not only is weight more likely to stay off, but also it will be great for your health long term.

Also when you eat can influence your health, too. A recent study at the University of Nottingham revealed that women who skip breakfast eat more calories throughout the day overall. Having a good breakfast (oat-based cereals such as porridge are particularly good), means you can acually eat less overall.