Plan ahead and make a shopping list. Think about what ingredients you will need to pack your Healthy Weight For Life™ lunch and snack bag and what delicious, portion controlled dinners you can create over the next week.

Remember to include lots of 'free foods' on your shopping list.

Stick to your shopping list to avoid any impulsive buys that may not be a healthy choice.

Shop after you have had something to eat - if you are hungry, you may be tempted to put more food into your trolley than you need.

If you can plan your meals a week in advance, and do one big grocery shop per week, (with a fresh produce top-up mid week), you will save money, plus you will minimise your exposure to unhealthy food options.

As a general rule, buy most of your grocery items that come straight from the farm (fresh fruit and vegetables) and less from the factory (high sugar and high fat processed foods).

When selecting your fresh produce, choose a rainbow of colourful fruits and vegetables. The colours reflect the different vitamin and mineral content of each fruit or vegetable.

When choosing breads, cereals and pasta, choose the least processed foods (those that are made from whole grains).

Whole wheat bread and pastas, brown rice, grain mixes, quinoa, burghul, barley and oats are excellent options.

Select lean cuts of meat such as fillets, top sirloin and tenderloin.

Opt for skinless poultry and plenty of seafood. Try to avoid processed meats such as salami, sausages and bacon.

Dairy foods are an excellent source of calcium and there are plenty of low calorie options to help you get the required calcium serves per day without the added fat content.

Keep a variety of canned or frozen vegetables and fruit in the cupboard or freezer for those times when you run out of fresh produce.

Whenever possible, choose vegetables without added salt, and fruit packed in its own juice without added sugar.

When buying packaged goods, check the nutritional panels to gain information on the nutritional content of the food or drink, including the level of energy, protein, total fat, saturated fat, carbohydrate, sugar and sodium content.

By comparing the energy density of food and drink, which is expressed as the amount of energy in kilojoules (kJ) or calories (cals) per 100g or 100ml, you will be better able to choose the healthy choices over the less healthy choices.

Packaging claims of "low fat", "reduced fat" and "97% fat free" don't necessarily mean that these foods or drinks are low in calories.

Often in order to make a product "low fat" the manufacturers also increase the sugar content to improve the taste. Consider a 500 gram bag of sugar, or a packet of snake lollies.

These items are 100% fat free, however they are still not considered healthy foods, as they are high in calories.

It is also important to check if the "per serve" column on the nutritional information table corresponds with the actual serving size you are likely to consume.

This mental checking process is especially important for "treats" such as biscuits, soft drink or alcohol. For example, a packet of biscuits shows the nutritional information for 1 serve (2 biscuits) is 447kJ per serve.

However when the packet of biscuits is taken home, it is usually eaten within a few days. So, the realistic number of biscuits eaten per person each day is probably closer to 4 biscuits or 894kJ of energy in.

If this additional energy in isn't used by your body via energy out activity, such as an extra 52 minute walk, it will be stored as fat. Remember, excess energy in over time leads to weight gain.