You work hard and play hard, so why aren't your abs hard?

We all know that we need a balanced diet complete with five fruit and veg a day, all the colours of the rainbow and washed down with litres of water.

It is, after all, the girly mag mantra (but, conveniently, usually tucked away in the last few pages, right next to the classifieds and 'see all your shoes clearly in our snazzy transparent boxes' ads).

But, after a long day of lectures, that horrific walk home (because it always is) and the prospect of an even longer night out ahead of you, it's easy to fall back on the Indian down the road or the quick boil pasta with tomato sauce.

So, on my search to stave off malnutrition (and maybe even be able to get into my jeans without doing a miniature dance display round my bedroom) I've found a few easy-to-stick-to plans.

But fear not, these tips shouldn't interfere with your lifestyle too much and, what's more, white wine is still on the menu.

Make time for breakfast

According to the NHS website, "several studies, including a 2003 project by the University of Helsinki, indicate that people who eat breakfast tend to be slimmer than those who don't."

I completely understand if the 'two dried figs instead of a chocolate biscuit' swap doesn't quite set your mouth watering

Jessica Baron

So, instead of pretending that rumbling noise in your lecture hall is coming from the OHP, have a bowl of cereal or, if you're in a rush, a slice of toast on your way out the door, and avoid the 11am-munchies.

Goodbye bag of crisps, hello rapidly reducing waistline.

Swap for success

Alternatively, consider some food-swapping (again from the trusty NHS website). I completely understand if the "two dried figs instead of a chocolate biscuit" swap doesn't quite set your mouth watering, but the substitution of a glass of white wine instead of a bottle of beer is very doable - especially if you get to the point where you cant really taste what you're drinking anyway.

Green means go

Failing that, all packaged food is now required to bear a lovely multi-coloured label signaling the fat, sugar and salt levels and calories in that product.

So you can work out how high (or low) on the healthy-scale your food of choice is, at a glance. Easy peasy.