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Following a healthy lifestyle  - Hints and tips 

The Cancer Council is encouraging people to measure their waist, and look at implementing changes to reduce their cancer risk if they exceed these measurements.
 

How do I measure my waist?

• Measure your waist at the halfway point between your lowest rib and the top of your hipbone. 
  This point is around your stomach, roughly in-line with your belly button.
• Take the measure directly on your skin.
• Take the measure at the end of expiration (breathing out normally).
• The tape should be snug, but shouldn’t compress the flesh.

Why do we gain weight?

Weight gain occurs when the energy you take into your body exceeds the energy your body uses. If you are overweight, you may be eating more than you need for your level of activity.   
HEALTHY EATING
To help reduce your cancer risk, a balanced diet is recommended.  Replace fatty foods with lots of fruit and vegetables and a variety of wholegrain cereals, breads and pastas and non-fat or reduced fat milk and dairy products.
 

How much do I need to eat? 

It is recommended that adults eat five serves of vegetables and two serves of fruit a day for good health and to reduce cancer risk.  Depending on your age and gender, it is recommended that adults should eat at least four serves of bread and/or cereals.  Include lean meat, fish, poultry, but limit, or eliminate altogether, processed meats like ham, bacon, sausages, salami and frankfurts. 

Fruit and vegetables
•  Snack on fruit and vegetables, or dried fruit and nuts if hungry.  Dried fruits and nuts can be high in calories, so should
   be eaten in moderation.
•  Add fresh or canned fruit to your breakfast cereal.
•  Include at least three different coloured vegetables with your main meal.
•  Include salad with your lunch.
•  Cook vegetables in different ways for interest and variety, eg oven roasted, grilled or barbecued.
•  Use frozen, dried or canned vegetables if fresh are not available.
•  Adapt your recipes to include more vegetables, eg add carrot, celery and peas to bolognese sauce.

Drinks
•  Avoid sweet drinks, including soft drinks – choose water instead.  
•  Cut back on alcohol.   A 120ml glass of white wine has 315kj.

Portion sizes
•  Reduce portion sizes – many people eat much more than they need. Try cutting your usual portion by one third.

Other Helpful Hints

•  Check food labels for kilojoules and fat, they show the amounts per portion and per 100g – choose carefully.  
•  Don’t do your supermarket shop when you’re hungry to avoid buying food items you don’t really need. 
•  Don’t skip breakfast. Eating soon after you wake up helps burn kilojoules at a higher rate until lunch.  
•  Often thirst and hunger are confused, so drink water before eating and establish whether or not you really are hungry.
•  Be careful not to over-indulge in low fat foods.  Just because they have less fat, doesn’t mean they contain no
    kilojoules. They add up the same as other foods. 
•  Leave out the obvious extras like parmesan cheese, mayonnaise and margarine.

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

Being physically active is one of the most important things you can do to help reduce your weight.
 

How much exercise do I need? 

Up to one hour of moderate activity or 30 minutes of vigorous activity is recommended each day to cut your risk of cancer.  
Moderate intensity activity causes a slight but noticeable increase in breathing and heart rate and includes brisk walking, mowing the lawn, medium-paced swimming or cycling.
Vigorous activity makes you ‘huff and puff’ and includes active sports like football, squash, netball and basketball and activities such as aerobics, circuit training, jogging, and fast cycling.
 
Tips on how to include more exercise in your daily life
•  See exercise as an opportunity, not an inconvenience.
•  Walk instead of driving to the shops, and walk in your lunchbreaks.
•  Walk or cycle to work and walk up stairs instead of taking the lift or escalator.
•  Do something you enjoy with a friend, like tennis, swimming or dancing.
•  Get off the train or bus one stop earlier and walk the rest of the way.
•  Do vigorous housework like vacuuming or mowing the lawn.
•  Step it up – a pedometer is a gadget that fits to your belt and counts the number of steps you take.  Aim towards a goal
    of 10,000 steps each day.   
•  Active recreation such as bushwalking, surfing or cycling.
•  Try something different like salsa or ballroom dancing.
•  Pilates and yoga are great for building strength and improving balance.

For further information - www.cancervic.org.au or the Cancer Council Helpline 13 11 20