Spring into life

It's a season of renewal and growth, but how many of us can say the same about our own lifestyles?

If the winter months have left you feeling lacklustre and uninspired, now is the time to take that leap of faith and make practical day-to-day changes to your diet.

Although the process is a relatively simple one, finding the time to put this into action can be difficult.

But according to Fiona Moinuddin, who runs her own health food business called Project Delicious, while energy levels are very much connected to diet, you'll soon feel a bit livelier if you follow these five simple tips: 1 Drink plenty of water - even if you do nothing else then just do this, as this will vastly improve your health.

We all know that if you do not put water in a car it won't work efficiently and eventually break down. What you might not know is that the same applies to us, as all we are is an intelligent machine.

Try for at least eight glasses a day and if you find water a bit boring, add a splash of fruit juice or try green tea.

2 Forget the Government's five-a-day - if you want to be really healthy pretend you live in the Mediterranean and aim for eight to 12 portions of fruit and vegetables a day.

The bigger the colour spectrum, the more vitamins and minerals you'll be taking in.

3 Aim for more Omega three - this can be found abundantly in salmon, tuna, pumpkin seeds and linseeds to name but a few.

It plays a vital role in brain structure and prevents the risk of heart disease.

4 Eat more protein and fewer carbohydrates - protein fills you up and keeps your energy levels stable and should therefore be eaten in small amounts throughout the day.

Many of us eat too many carbohydrates. How many of us have toast for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch and pasta for dinner?

You would know that to have bacon for three meals a day would not be healthy yet we think eating wheat three times a day is perfectly normal.

Try to vary your carbohydrate sources and avoid carbohydrates at dinner. This is because carbohydrates provide you with energy and the evening is usually a time when we relax and sleep.

So unless you have vigorous activities planned, this will be wasted energy!

5 Be childlike - children always see the potential in life and are not daunted by new experiences. They don't give reasons why they can't do things they just do it.

If this seems a bit daunting just try to take it one step at a time and remember that the most important thing is that you continue to enjoy your food. Try eating regularly but in small amounts of the right kind of food. This will improve your metabolism and keep your energy levels stable. The potential health benefits include weight loss, a boost to your immune system, increased energy levels, increased brainpower and even the possibility of increased fertility. Fiona said: "People who eat my food say they wake up in the morning with more energy. Their hair shines, their skin is clear, their eyes are bright and they don't get those cravings. "Two of my clients even got pregnant!" These five tips are the essential principles Fiona has infused into her company Project Delicious, which produces healthy food for clients who don't have the time, energy or knowledge to do it for themselves. Fiona describes herself as a real person who cooks real food for real people and as someone who used to embrace the hectic lifestyle of working for Cosmopolitan magazine, it is easy to take her at face value. This approach seems to be a lot more sustainable than some of the crash diets where you drink protein shakes in substitute for meals. "Those diets are great if you have a lot of weight to lose very quickly but just think about what it must do to your bowels because you've got to have fruit and vegetables to keep it healthy," she argued. "You're putting your body into starvation so as soon as you start eating normally again, you're going to pile it all back on again." Fiona also explained some of the startling risks of prolonged unhealthy eating. "In the long term, you could overtax your hormone system that deals with the breakdown of energy which could lead to diabetes or coronary heart disease," she said. So if waking up in the morning feeling bright and alert and ready to face the day is just in your imagination, maybe now's the right time for you to spring into action.