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Being 'fit, healthy and toned' are high on everyone's agenda for how they'd like to feel about themselves, and what they love to see in other people.

Feeling physically healthy and at home inside your skin is an essential and fundamental pleasure.

Learning to look after your body and physical well-being are skills that are simply not met by compulsory Physical Education at school. You personally need to take an holistic approach on how you lead your everyday life: the chair you sit in, what you eat, how you travel, and how you spend your time.

Form follows function. That means, that if you exercise, your body will change shape to better accommodate that type of exercise. You choose.

Any change, whether it's in your weight or appearance or attitude to life, is only any good if it's sustainable, and it will only be sustainable for anything more than a few weeks if its enjoyable to do or brings you other very clear rewards.

Food will affect your mood, your energy level, and your appearance. Eat foods to help you in all these areas, not hinder you. Good quality food is an ally not an enemy; is a priority not a luxury. Take pleasure in feeding yourself considerately.

Your body and mind will do best when they can rely on three portions of fresh fruit a day and three good-size portions of lightly cooked or raw vegetables. Reduce to the odd occasion fried-foods and red-meats, while making fish and unsugared breakfast cereals part of your daily diet routine. Sweets and sugared drinks should not be a daily event because they blunt your appetite for far more useful snacks like fruit and nuts and milk. Remember to drink at least two pints of clear water every day to help your body function at full-performance and to cleanse itself. Try this whole strategy for a month and see and feel the results for yourself: better-looking hair, skin, eyes and fingernails, more concentration and energy, and more positive moods. And over the longer term, you increase the likelihood of a bone structure that grows stronger and taller, and teeth more resistant to decay. Your muscles, too, will grow stronger and less prone to fatigue. Admittedly, beneficial food may well taste 'unfamiliar' for the first couple of weeks, but you'll grow to love it. When you look at the whole range of immediate and longer-term benefits, eating well like this is a highly attractive option.

The popular emphasis on physical appearance is extremely damaging and very misplaced. It's the media companies and manufacturers that need us to put appearance as a number one priority. All of us who have friends and lovers know that there are other, far more important qualities at the heart of any relationship that's worth having.

Women are faced with impossible ideals which attack their sense of self-esteem. But they must remember that they are not tubs of cottage cheese with a "sell-by" sticker and a shelf-life.

I accept that I may not be good-looking by conventional human standards, and there's not too much I can do about that. But I can be sure that I'm noticed and needed for my other qualities which I can do a lot about. Like being positive and supportive about things, having a sense of humour, being helpful, being a good friend. People get used to someone's looks, but they need these other qualities day in day out, time and time again.

If you have problems with your skin, such as acne, eczema or whatever else, don't fight it alone. Make an appointment to see a doctor and ask their advice. You may have to do this on a regular basis to keep on top of the problem and to find the best solution for your particular type of skin. Meanwhile, you can probably help reduce the problem if you drink two or three pints of clean water each day, eat fresh vegetables, particularly raw carrots, and don't hassle your skin with lotions and potions which may very likely irritate it. People won't notice your zits even one fifth as much as you do, particularly if what you do is helpful and impressive. Actions speak louder than zits!

When it comes to physical attributes, eyes, smiles and voices are at the top of most people's list of what attracts them. That's no accident, because these features tell another person such a lot about you. For the same reason, a clean and well-groomed appearance and taking good care of yourself radiate the self-respect that seems attractive to just about everyone.

Many guys seem to think that what women like is lots of chunky muscles, when most women say they would be more than happy just to see the 6-pack of a flat stomach - and even that falls far behind the marks they attribute to good old 'eyes and smiles and voices'.

Many women think that guys are mesmerised by a women's breast-size or leg-length, but fellas are also much more interested in eyes and smiles and voices.

What people most value in another person is not being a "big-shot" or "drop dead gorgeous, it's how you make them feel - your caring about them, listening to them, sharing things with them, making life feel better. It's all that personal stuff that makes the biggest impression.