We need energy and a healthy body and mind - Eating healthy for teenagers

It is the start of a new year, you are busy at school and with things after school, you have a lot to do and you need energy.  You also want to make sure you do not gain a lot of weight, so what do you do now?  Starving yourself is not the solution because it makes you feel bad and giving yourself over to 'junk food' makes you fat and unhealthy, so what to do?

There is only one answer and that is to eat healthy.  This does not mean you have to live on lettuce leaves.  You can still eat enough to have enough energy, but you will keep it as healthy as possible and also exercise.

Lets look at a few things you can do to follow some healthy eating:

You have to eat regularly which means you can have your 3 meals a day with a snack in between.  Do not skip meals.  Your breakfast is important to get your metabolism working, so wake up a little earlier and eat something before you go to school.  Snack on fruits in between your meals - much better than snacking on a chocolate or chips every day - nobody says you may never eat something like that, you can just not do it every day.

Eating regularly is important for your body because it will keep your blood sugar at a normal level and you will not have to struggle with feeling dizzy or irritated.

If you starve yourself for too long, you will eventually get so hungry that you overeat yourself.  Remember that you are using a lot of energy for going to school, doing sport and socializing and you need to keep your body and mind healthy.  That will happen if you eat healthy and regularly.

Make sure that you do not only eat enough, but you also eat a balanced diet, which will mean you will eat from all the different food groups, namely protein like meat and milk, carbohydrates like rice and pasta, fats, fruit and vegetables.  You can even occasionally have thing like a chocolate or some chips. Just keep in mind to eat these in moderation.

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The food at the bottom of the pyramid you will eat more servings of and the ones at the top less.

It is important to eat food from all the groups, because that way you are sure that you are getting all the vitamins and minerals you need and your body will have enough energy.

A lot of people think that you may never eat something just to enjoy it, you must always be on a 'lettuce and tomato' diet, but that is not true.  You can enjoy all the foods, even the 'bad' ones, the key is just how much of it do you eat.  

Do you spend a whole week just eating chips and cake?  Then you are obviously going to gain weight, because you are taking in too much sugar and fat and not getting all your vitamins and minerals.    You can eat a wide variety of food without restricting yourself to a set diet, that way your eating plan is going to be a life style and not just a 'quick loss' program where you will most probably pick up all the weight again when starting to eat 'normal'.

To eat 'normal' means you eat when you are hungry, you eat a balanced meal and sometimes you just eat because you are in the mood for it.  Enjoy your food, without over indulging and try and get in food from all the groups and you will never have to worry about your weight or a diet.

One should eat to live, not live to eat" -Benjamin Franklin 

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