Spring has finally here, although if you live in Sydney the last few weeks almost felt like spring had arrived early. If you've been a bit lazy with exercising and/or have over-indulged over winter, now is the perfect time to get yourself back on track.

Here are a few simple ideas to get you started:

• As the days are getting longer, try and fit in at least one extra session of exercise a week.

• Watch the the portion size of your meals.

• Limit the amount of fats in your diet.

• Aim to eat 2 serves of friut and 5 serves of vegetables each day (gofor2and5.com.au). Check out last month's newsletter if you are not sure what is a "serve".

• Minimise the number of alcoholic drinks each week (bearing in mind that it takes around 30 minutes to walk off one glass of wine or a schooner of beer, depending on your body weight).

Alcohol & Weight Loss

Many experts note there are health benefits of having a drink a day, including a reduced risk for high blood pressure. However, if you exceed one drink per day, you might be sabotaging your weight loss plans. Alcohol contains 29 kilojoules (7 calories) per gram and offers NO nutritional value. It only adds empty calories to your diet.

Many foods that accompany drinking (peanuts, pretzels, chips) are salty, which can make you thirsty and encourages you to drink even more.

The advertisers will tell you that low-carb beers is a healthy option but realistically they might be no better for you than traditional brews. Sales of low-carb beers have soared and the sector is worth over $150 million a year in Australia.

Experts say that the "healthiness" of beer does not depend so much on the carbohydrate content as the number of kilojoules a product contains. A traditional beer such as Tooheys Old contains 156 kilojoules (38 calories) per 100 millilitres - only 30 kilojoules (7 calories) more than Hahn Super Dry at 126 kilojoules (30 calories) per 100 millilitres. Tooheys Old also has a lower alcohol content, which nutritionists say is far more important than the carb content.

If you enjoy a beer or two and want to keep your weight down, light beers are the better option.

Exercise For Your Body & Mind

Everyone knows that exercise is good for us physically, but it also strengthens the mind and improves your mood.

Research has found that:

Exercise can improve a person's mood and mental performance. Active people are generally happier and are less prone to depression. Active seniors suffer less cognitive decline than sedentary ones. Aerobic exercise may make us sharper at any age. When sedentary people become active, they get better at switching from one task to another, and their memories improve. Besides improving circulation, exercise causes chemical changes within the brain, by boosting the activity of mood-enhancing neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin. Exercise triggers the release of endorphins - morphine like chemicals that blunt pain and foster relaxation.

Muesli Bars

Breakfast and muesli bars can be a healthy alternative to chocolate and biscuits, providing you choose the right ones. Some bars can be as high in fat, kilojoules or sugar as chocolate bars. Look for bars that have:

• More than 5g fibre per 100g.

• Less than 15g fat per 100g.

• Less than 3g saturated fat per 100g.

• Less than 20g added sugar per 100g.

• Less than 600 kilojoules (150 calories) per serve.

There are some muesli or breakfast bars that actually have more kilojoules than a Mars Bar (refer Sydney Morning Herald article).

Sydney Running Festival

Good luck to everyone who is participating in the Sydney Running Festival on Sunday 20th September.

For more information on the event, visit the Sydney Running Festival website at sydneyrunningfestival.com.au.

Nothing contained in this newsletter is intended to be used as medical advice and it is not intended to be used to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease, nor should it be used for therapeutic purposes or as a substitute for your own health professional's advice.