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Do today's dietary recommendations make you want to throw up your hands? Who wants to eat less saturated fat, less trans fat, less sugar, less salt, more whole grains, more fruit, more veggies, more fish, more fiber – and on and on? Adopting the perfect diet seems daunting, not to mention bland and unsatisfying.

Here's a novel approach endorsed by top nutritionists: Make one dietary change at a time. If you simply switch from whole to nonfat milk in your daily latte, you could lose ten pounds in a year! It's no quick fix, but it's a lot more palatable than a dietary overhaul. Achieving one goal will give you the confidence to make others.

Here are six small changes with big nutritional payoffs. Start with the one that seems most feasible to you.

1. Switch to lower fat dairy products.
Work your way from whole-fat to reduced-fat to low-fat to fat-free milk, yogurt, cottage cheese, sour cream and ice cream.

The payoff: Major calorie savings, plus a drastic cut-back on artery-clogging saturated fat. Four ounces of full-fat cottage cheese contains five grams of saturated fat – about one-fourth of your entire day's allotment - compared to just one gram for low-fat varieties.

2. Eat breakfast.
Instead of grabbing a muffin on the run, start your day with a nutritious carb-protein mix. Try high-fiber cereal with milk, whole-wheat toast with peanut butter and sliced banana, or scrambled eggs with tomatoes and onions.

The payoff: Research from the National Weight Control Registry – a database of 4,000 successful "losers" – shows that eating breakfast is a key weight-maintenance strategy, helping to pre-empt overeating later in the day.

3. Switch to whole-grains.
Choose whole-grain bread, cereal, rice and pasta products over their refined counterparts - bulgar instead of white rice, oatmeal instead of Cream-of-Wheat, Grape Nuts instead of Frosted Flakes. Just make sure the label says "whole grain." "Twelve grain" or "wheat" may simply mean refined grains with brown coloring.

The payoff: Because whole-grains are chewier and higher in fiber, you feel fuller longer. Plus, fiber-rich grains also help protect against heart disease, diabetes and probably colon cancer.

4. Bake or grill instead of fry and saute.
Don't worry: your taste buds won't reject grilled salmon, baked potatoes or steamed broccoli. Herbs, spices and low-calorie marinades enhance their natural flavors, making these foods tastier than the fried versions. You can buy fruit-flavored, barbeque, soy and spicy ethnic marinades that add loads of flavor to pork, chicken and meat. Add fresh herbs such as parsley, cilantro or rosemary to steamed veggies.

The payoff: Enormous calorie savings. A plate of fried shrimp may contain 500 more calories than a plate of grilled shrimp. Plus, fried foods are loaded with artery-clogging saturated fat and trans- fat.

5. Eat fruit with each meal.
Mix berries into your oatmeal, blend a banana-strawberry breakfast smoothie, add an apple and peanut better to your lunch or slice a pear into your dinner salad.

The payoff: Fruits are loaded with vitamins, disease-fighting phytochemicals and fiber, helping you feel full while saving calories. A six-ounce serving of apple juice contains 90 calories and only .2 grams of fiber — no better than many artificially flavored "juice drinks." A medium apple contains 72 calories and 2.5 grams of fiber.