Health tips

Five is the magic number. We all know we are supposed to eat five portions of fruit and vegetables a day. Apart from providing us with lots of fibre, fruit and veg are full of valuable vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, which do us the power of good.

	Keep a bowl of fruit at your desk to snack on throughout the day.
	Order a side salad as a starter in a restaurant (make sure it's a nice one or you'll just feel hard done by!)
	A glass of orange juice for breakfast counts as one portion, or grab a little carton to drink at your desk when you get into work.
	A banana chopped onto your cereal will also leave you feeling more satisfied and boost your energy levels.
	When you feel sapped of energy mid-afternoon, try a bowl of yoghurt with some chopped fresh fruit.
	Keep a bag of frozen peas in the freezer for those times when you don't have any fresh vegetables in the house!
	Remember, chips do not count as a portion!

Aim to eat 5 smaller meals rather than 3 larger ones. Food boosts your metabolic rate so as well as having more energy, your metabolic rate will be quicker.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, breakfast is the most important meal of the day - it boosts your metabolism and leaves you less likely to snack on unhealthy items throughout the rest of the day. If you can't handle a big breakfast, a little is better than nothing - try a yoghurt or a small bowl of cereal, or a fruit smoothie.

Carbohydrates like pasta, rice and potatoes are one of our main sources of energy. It makes sense to eat these types of food during the day when we need most of our energy, rather than in the evening before we go to bed. Try to cut down on carbohydrates after 7pm, they take a long time to digest and will only sit in your stomach.