Healthy Eating for an Active Teenager

As a teenager, it is very important for you to eat healthy. There are a lot of positive impacts that healthy eating can have on teens. Healthy eating can help you to maintain a healthy body weight, give you more energy, and help to support your growing body. All of those elements are very important especially for a teen who is active.

Having a healthy body weight as a teen can lead to having a healthy body weight as an adult. Also, self esteem can be very significant in a teens life. Having low self esteem about your body weight could lead to dangerous dieting and sadness. A healthy body weight can help teens get higher self esteem. Looking better and feeling better!

During puberty, it is important that teenagers have good nutrition habits. This is important because during puberty your body takes in a lot of calcium so that your skeleton can grow. If you do not get a good amount of calcium you may have health problems when you are older. One health problem may be that you end up with weak bones when you are older because of what your diet was when you were just a teen.

A lot of teens enjoy doing athletic activities. For most activities, teenager might need a little bit of 'extra fuel' to get through it. Teen athletes may need some extra calories to fuel their sports performance and also they need to support their growing bodies! When a teenager does not get enough 'extra fuel' it is less likely for them to perform good while doing sports. Also, it may be harder to maintain their weight! Calorie restrictions can lead to serious health problems for teenagers. You should know just from the words 'calorie restriction' that this is a bad idea! Calories help to give your body energy! And as a growing teenager, if you restrict the calories that you take in, it could lead to growth problems.

Posted By: Kirsten

Macronutrients

Question: What are macronutrients?

Answer: Well first of all, nutrients are substances needed for growth, energy and other body functions. Macronutrients are needed in large quantities (hence the macro!) Macronutrients provide energy. The class of macronutrients includes: Carbohydrates (carbs), Proteins, and Fats. Now, let us explore a little further into the world of macronutrients!


Carbohydrates
















Carbohydrates gives active teens the energy they need to do their daily activities. Carbohydrates are the body's main source of fuel. You can find carbs in many starches, fruit, milk, and even in yogurt. It should be no problem getting a good amount of carbohydrates in your diet because these foods are so delicious! Some may already know that the body can use carbs for energy, but did you know that carbs are needed to help important parts of your body function properly? These body parts include your central nervous system, kidneys, muscles (THAT INCLUDES YOUR HEART!), and your brain.


Proteins




















The second macronutrient that I will inform you about is called protein. Protein is important because its main job is to help the body grow. Active teens will find that their bodies are growing a lot. Protein just helps! It is especially important for teens to get enough protein. Some other things that protein does is: repairs tissue, preserves lean muscle, makes essential hormones and enzymes, and it also is a source of energy when carbohydrates are not available. You can find protein in a lot of foods. Some examples would be: meat, fish, milk, cheese, and soy. You might have noticed that some foods can be a source of carbs and protein. This is great because from some foods you could be getting both protein and carbs! Thus, making it easier to obtain all the macronutrients that an active teen may need!


Fats














Question: Should I never eat any fat?

Answer: You need fats.

Question: Why?

Many people may think that fats should be eliminated from your diet. They may think this because they think that fat just causes weight gain. However, fat is essential for survival! Fat helps you absorb vitamins, maintain cell membranes, helps with growth and development, and it also provides cushioning for your organs! Some foods that you might find fat in are meats, nuts, milk, butter, and oils. There are different kinds of fat. Saturated fat and trans fat can increase your risk of heart disease. Consuming unsaturated fats can decrease the risk of developing heart disease.

Posted By: Kirsten

Daily Caloric Intake

To determine the exact caloric intake for each teenager requires factoring in gender, height, weight, age, and activity level. Generally, female teenagers should consume about 2,200 calories a day, and male teenagers should consume about 2,800 calories a day. Active teenagers should get between approximately 25% and 35% of their daily caloric intake from fats, 45% and 65% from carbohydrates, and 10% to 30% from protein.



http://www.livestrong.com/article/288829-health-nutrition-for-teens/
http://www.weight-loss-center.net/daily_calorie_calculator.html

Posted By: Keau

Foods You Should Avoid

In staying active, there's some foods that you should stay away from because they slow you down and they do not help you to improve in your activities. Some of these foods may be delicious but they wont help your performance in activities at all. Some people just eat whatever they want whenever they want, but if you want to get in shape and stay in shape here are some foods that you should avoid:

Fast Foods:
Fast foods from fast food restaurants, like McDonald's, were created to taste good and always make you wanting more, but they are very bad for you. For example, a Big Mac from McDonald's has 52% of your daily value of fat, so if you eat two Big Mac's in a day you can't eat anymore fats for the rest of that day, if you want to stay in your limits.

















Doughnuts:
All there is in doughnuts is sugar, flour, artificial flavors, and partially hydrogenated oil that's loaded with trans fats.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

Soda:
Many teenagers LOVE soda and drink it up to four times a day because  they don't know that it could effect their health. It doesn't only rot your teeth, in an average can of soda there are about 10 tsp. of sugar, 150 calories 30-50 mg of caffeine, artificial food colors, and sulphites. Soda is no more than "liquid candy." There are many health risk factors of soda, including weight gain, diabetes, tooth decay, and more.

Luncheon Meats/Hot Dogs:
Meats such as hot dogs contain an ingredient called sodium nitrate. Sodium nitrate is a dangerous, cancer-causing ingredient that has no place in the human food supply. People that eat luncheon meats and hot dogs a lot show a higher risk of pancreatic cancer compared to those who eat hot dogs rarely or never.














Now that you know about the foods you should avoid, you might have begun to lose hope. After all, these foods/food groups can be very tempting, and although they may taste delicious at the time, they aren't doing your body any good. But never fear! there are plenty of healthy food alternatives that taste just as good, and are better for you!


Chocolate: Milk chocolate is very sugary and hardly has any beneficial properties. So instead of milk chocolate, try DARK chocolate. Dark chocolate has gotten good press in recent years for having potent antioxidants that fight free radicals, which are destructive molecules that are connected to heart disease and other ailments.


White Bread: Instead of white bread, you should switch to whole wheat. White bread is made with bleached flour, which doesn't sound very appetizing in itself if you ask me. Plus, white bread has high fructose corn syrup in it, which is bad for you. Whole wheat bread is unprocessed, so your body uses more energy digesting it (burns more calories).


Dip: Drop the dip, and start using salsa. rather than having fatty, creamy, processed dips, try eating salsa with your chips. Salsa has Tomatoes, Cilantro, Onions, and healthier properties. Although chips aren't an IDEAL snack, when you want to indulge in them, salsa is the way to go.


Chips: While we're on the topic of chips, how's about an alternative to them? Popcorn. Most chips have 140 calories per serving while popcorn only has about 30 calories. Need I say more?

Pork & Beef: Bacon. We cannot resist it. But anyway you put it, turkey is better than pork, or beef. Turkey bacon has about 50 calories in 2 slices and 1 gram of saturated fat, where some regular pork versions can have 14 times the saturated fat and more than twice the calories. Plus, ground turkey is less fatty than using ground beef in cooking.


Soda: Instead of drinking soda, try Sparkling Water. You might be thinking that "Sparkling Water" isn't enough to sustain your thirst for soda, but with a few squeezes of lemon and lime, it's a refreshing alternative. Besides saving calories, you also avoid some of the other soda ingredients (sugar, phosphoric acid, potassium benzoate) that may cause long-term health issues.


http://www.sixwise.com/newsletters/05/07/20/the-6-most-unhealthy-foods-you-should-avoid-at-all-costs.htm
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/foods-from-mcdonalds/6220/2
Posted By: Keau & La'a

Three Day Meal Plan

First off, this 3-day meal plan is a plan, not a diet. This is not intended for losing weight, but it is created to help teens make healthy eating choices so that they can live a healthier lifestyle. But smart food choices alone cannot do the whole trick. A good amount of exercise is very important, too. (:

DAY 1
Breakfast:
-2 c. High fiber cereal (Kashi, Fiber One, etc) with 1 c. Skim Milk
-2 slices whole wheat bread w/ 1 tsp. Olive Oil-based spread
-1 c. Orange Juice

Lunch:
-Tuna Salad Sandwich with 2 slices tomato, & 1/2 c. Romane Lettuce
- 1/2 c. Strawberry Yogurt with 2 tsp. added blueberries
-Drink Water!

Snack:
-1 medium apple slices w/ 2 tsp. peanut butter

Dinner:
- 120-150 g. seasoned chicken breast
- 1/4 c. brown rice
- 1/2 c. Steamed broccoli
- 1c. Skim milk

Dessert:
-Fruit-Flavored Popsicle

DAY 2
Breakfast:
-2 c. whole grain oatmeal w/ 2 tsp. blueberries
-1 medium banana
-1 c. skim milk
-1 slice whole wheat toast w/ 1 tsp. strawberry jam

Lunch:
-Spiced chicken patty on whole wheat bun w/ 1 tsp. mayonnaise
-1 c. Romaine lettuce salad w/ 1/2 tbsp. Caesar dressing
-1 medium orange
-Lots of WATER

Snack:
- 2 c. Pita Chips
- 1/8 c. Hummus

Dinner:
- 2 c. spinach & cheese ravioli
- 3/4 c. tomato sauce w/ ground turkey
- 1/4 c. cooked mixed veggies
-2 c. skim milk

Dessert:
- 1 c. fresh strawberries
- 1 tbsp. whipped cream

DAY 3
Breakfast:
- 2 hard-boiled eggs
- 1 c. berry yogurt w/ 3 tbsp. FlaxPlus Granola
- 1 c. orange juice

Lunch:
- 2 Tbsp. Peanut butter, 1 Tbsp. Jelly, 2 slices whole grain bread (PB & J sandwich)
- 3 oz. baby carrots
- 1 c. grapes
- 2 c. skim milk

Snack:
-1 1/2 c. unsweetened & unsalted mixed nuts, raisins, dried fruit, and dark chocolate chips

Dinner:
-2 c. chili w/ beans & ground turkey
-1 small baked potato w/ 1 tsp. olive oil-based spread
- 1 c. green beans
- Lots of WATER!

Dessert:
-3/4 c. vanilla nonfat frozen yogurt
- 1 tsp. dark chocolate chips

Posted By: La'a