It is never too late to make positive changes to your lifestyle!

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Eating well and keeping active can improve your long term health and quality of life. There are no “magical” solutions to losing weight. It takes time to put on weight and it takes time to lose it. You’re most likely to have long term success if you lose weight slowly and make changes to your lifestyle that you can stick with for life. This includes building more physical activity into your daily life. Read these helpful tips which give advice about how to do this. If you are carrying excess weight around the middle, in the interest of your health, you should undertake the following activities to reduce your waistline:

• Follow a diet plan lower in kilojoules and total fat (particularly saturated fat).
• Do regular physical activity such as walking, dancing, riding a bike or swimming.
• Ask your doctor, dietitian for advice.

Eating plenty of fruit and vegies not only contributes to good health, but also protects against a number of diseases and helps maintain a healthy weight. Most Australians eat only half the recommended amount of fruit and vegetables.

It's easy to remember - for good health, eat at least 2 serves of fruit and 5 serves of vegetables every day. For tips on how to get extra fruit and vegies in your day visit Go for 2&5® website and try to:

Refer to a New England Journal of Medicine publication (Volume 344:3-10 January 4, 2001 Number 1)  'Effects on Blood Pressure of Reduced Dietary Sodium and the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) Diet' proven to help lower blood pressure. Or for a more plain English outline, you may prefer to read 'In Brief: Your guide to lowering your blood pressure with DASH' from National Institutes for Health USA 

And care should be taken to:

• limit saturated fat and moderate total fat intake
• choose foods low in salt
• limit your alcohol intake, if you choose to drink 
• consume only moderate amounts of sugars, and foods and drinks containing added sugars

Be active every day in as many ways as you can:

• avoid short trips in the car - walk or cycle instead
• take the stairs, rather than the lift
• aim for 30 minutes or more of physical activity per day

It is important to vary your diet - it's easy to make your food choices tasty, interesting and never boring. Choose foods from the five food groups, to vary and plan your weekly menus. See Australian Guide to Healthy Eating and note the Dietary Guidelines for Australians.

Nutritional characteristics of the five food groups

Food Group Name	Bread, Cereals, Rice, Pasta, Noodles	Vegetables, Legumes	Fruit	Milk, Yoghurt, Cheese	Meat, Fish, Poultry, Eggs, Nuts, Legumes
Main distinguishing nutrients	carbohydrate, iron, thiamine	vitamin A (beta-carotene)	vitamins, especially vitamin C	calcium, protein	protein, iron, zinc
Other significant dietary components	energy, protein, fat, fibre, magnesium, zinc, riboflavin, niacin equivalents, folate and sodium	carbohydrate, fibre, magnesium, iron, vitamin C, folate and potassium	carbohydrate, fibre and folate	energy, fat, cholesterol, carbohydrate, magnesium, zinc, riboflavin, vitamin B12, sodium and potassium	fat, cholesterol, niacin equivalents and vitamin B12

Resources - to help you Measure Up
Frequently Asked Questions 
Big Red BBQ - Healthy recipes  Get out in the fresh air, enjoy a healthy BBQ with family and friends and have fun.
Healthy eating resources - Measure Up Program  Available in many languages other than English
Tomorrow People  Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people being healthier and living longer – today, tomorrow and into the future. 

Resource links recommended by Measure Up to help you with healthy eating

This information is provided in harmony with the Measure Up Campaign (Australian Government Initiative) for people who want to become healthier and are prepared to make positive lifestyle changes.

• Australian Guide to Healthy Eating 
• The CSIRO  The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is Australia's national science agency and one of the largest and most diverse research agencies in the world.
• Dietary Guidelines for Australians 
• Dietitians Association of Australia  As the largest professional nutrition organisation in Australia, this site gives you practical, up-to-date information on a range of nutrition topics you can trust. Visit the Smart Eating For You section for tips, recipes, nutrition A-Z’s, go on a virtual shopping tour, assess your diet.
• Food for Kids  A website produced by CHOICE, Australia's leading consumer organisation, dedicated to providing easy to follow information about food products which your children, and possibly the rest of your family, are likely to eat.
• Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ)  Food Standards Australia New Zealand sets food standards for Australia and New Zealand. Here you can find information on the content and labelling of food sold in Australia and New Zealand and food safety issues.
• Go for 2&5®  Here you can find out about the benefits of fruit and veggies, ways to get more fruit and veggies into your day, plus some super simple tasty recipes and other resources.
• Go for 2&5® Recipes A great range of recipes to help you prepare tasty and healthy food for all occasions.
• Heart Foundation  This website provides information on the importance of healthy eating and drinking and looking after your heart.
• Nutrition Australia  Provides scientifically based nutrition information to encourage optimal health for all Australians. Here you can find publications, fundraising ideas and general information on nutrition for all ages.
• Nutrient Reference Values  A general guide your kilojoule requirements for the day can be found on this website including Recommended Dietary Intakes.