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These top suggestions from the British Nutrition Foundation won’t hurt but will make 2019 a lot healthier

You may be thinking now is the time to make a few changes to your diet and lifestyle to herald a healthy 2019. But if your crash diet or Dry January has already failed, the British Nutrition Foundation (BNF) has come up with a far easier and more sustainable plan.

Its Try, Swap, Change weekly planner aims to help resolutions stick through easy-to-follow diet and lifestyle suggestions.

Each week you choose three or more of the suggestions, which involve trying something new, swapping old habits for better ones, and changing small parts of your daily routine. The the idea is that by focusing on smaller areas where you can make sustainable changes, you’ll be able to lead a healthier lifestyle long term.

The planner can be personalised to help you focus on achieving individual goals and it’s colour-coded to highlight six areas that are key to improving diet and lifestyle. The BNF explains that people can choose what’s best suited to them - so if you want to focus on upping your veg intake, start your weekly planner by choosing green suggestions, or if you fancy eating healthier proteins, begin by taking on the blue challenges. The Try, Swap, Change weekly suggestions

1. EAT THE RAINBOW

Eat at least three different coloured fruit and vegetables

2. GRAB THE GRAINS

Try a new wholegrain food such as wholemeal breads, wholemeal pitta and bagels, brown rice, oats, barley, quinoa, buckwheat, wholegrain spelt pasta, bulgur wheat or plain popcorn

3. MOVE MORE

Swap your usual routine - add an extra 10 minutes of activity such as walking, swimming or weights, each day

4. GO SLOW

Try eating more slowly and enjoying your food - eating more slowly can give your body time to realise it’s full

5. GET PLANT-BASED

Incorporate some plant-based protein beans, peas, lentils, tofu, nuts or seeds

6. SNACK ATTACK

Swap snacks high in saturates, sugar or salt for fruit, vegetables, plain yogurt, nuts or seeds

7. GET FRUITY

Have a variety of fruit and vegetables instead of your usual snacks

8. MOVE IT, SHAKE IT

Find a new way to move: dust off the bike, head to your local pool or park or try some online yoga or movement videos at home.

9. SCREEN BREAKS

Try to reduce your seated screen time, such as watching TV. Set yourself a challenge, such as only an hour of seated screen time a day or halving the time you’d usually spend and stick to it.

10. UP YOUR FISH INTAKE

Try to eat two portions or more this week, one of which should be an oily fish such as salmon, sardines, kippers, whitebait, mackerel, trout, herring, pilchards or fresh tuna.

11. WAKE UP WITH FIBRE

Swap your usual breakfast/morning foods for higher fibre versions

12. YOU’RE SWEET ENOUGH

It’s time to stop or cut down on drinking sugary soft drinks or adding sugar to drinks

13. A LITTLE EXTRA

Add one extra portion of fruit, vegetables, beans or lentils (roughly the amount which fits into a cupped hand) into one of your meals

14. SLOW DOWN ON SALT

Check food labels for low or reduced salt options and when cooking at home use herbs and spices for flavour instead

15. PLEDGE MORE VEG

Fill half of your plate at lunch or dinner with salad or vegetables Sara Stanner, above, the British Nurition Foundation’s science director, says: “Many of us start the New Year with great ambitions to eat better and be more active, but these resolutions may falter after just a few weeks or months. “Finding behaviours that work for you is the key to making sure that short-term changes become long-term habits and part of the daily routine. “The Try, Swap, Change planner has been developed by BNF nutrition scientists to provide a practical guide to help people put their New Year’s resolutions into action, but also to provide an extra motivator for keeping things going longer-term. It’s a great feeling at the end of each day to tick off completed challenges and, in turn, the goals you’ve started to achieve.” Find out more at www.nutrition.org.uk

Four page guide to improving your health and family life in 2019

GREEN = Fruit and vegetables: Make sure you get your five a day YELLOW = Wholegrains: The majority of people are below the recommended intakes for fibre RED = Physical activity: Getting active burns calories, improves fitness and may help improve sleep and reduce stress ORANGE = Helpful habits: Lifestyle changes such as eating more slowly BLUE = Protein: To boost plant protein and include fish your diet PINK = Lower salt, sugar and saturated fat: High blood pressure makes heart disease or a stroke more likely