Introduction

While teens can be athletic, it is very important that they be healthy at the same time. In order to have all the right nutrients, proteins, and vitamins that your body needs to keep your self healthy, it is key that you eat right. Also, your body needs to create enough energy to keep your body moving when you are athletic. So keep reading to find out more on how to be an Healthy Athletic Teen :)

Why Should I Eat Healthy?

It's important for teens to eat healthy because the types of foods that you eat can affects the way that your body acts. It's like not having enough sleep at night, so in the morning when you wake up, your body is tired and cannot function properly. Eating healthy can help to control your mental functioning, emotional-well being, energy, weight, and future health. Getting the right nutrients can also help to build and strengthen your muscles, bones, and tendons. It also can keep your blood pressure even and help to maintain a healthy weight. The best part is that it puts you at a lower risk of getting diseases or illnesses like diabetes.

If you don't eat healthy there are many side effects. One for instance is that you can gain a lot of weight...maybe even become obese! Eating unhealthy all the time can do just the opposite of what eating healthy can do to help you. It can make you feel really lazy and draggy (like you are pulling your body weight + a backpack filled with heavy text books). For teens that are overweight or obese, they are at risk of developing type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and other bad health problems.

There are many ways to eat good, yummy food without it having to be unhealthy. Check out this website to find healthy food options.

Recommended Daily Intake

For calories:
2200 for female teenagers (13-18)
2500-3000 for male teenagers (13-18)

For macro-nutrients:
Protein:
- A healthy active 15 year-old female needs about 87 grams per day
- A healthy active 15 year-old male needs about 109 grams per day
Carbohydrates:
- A healthy active 15 year-old female needs about 320 grams per day
- A healthy active 15 year-old male needs about 399 grams per day
Fats:
- A healthy active 15 year-old female needs about 70 grams per day
- A healthy active 15 year-old male needs about 90 grams per day

click on this link to calculate your recommended daily intake

Healthy Foods to Include!

Healthy Foods to Include


Although there may be many unhealthy food choices that are advertised on TV, in magazines, and at shopping centers, there are also many healthy foods that you can choose from. These are the types of foods that will keep your body fit and healthy throughout your life. Here are some of the healthiest choices:

1. Sweet Potatoes: loaded with carotenoids, vitamin C, potassium, and fiber.

2. Fat Free or 1% Milk: great source of calcium, vitamins, and proteins with almost no fat and cholesterol

3. Wild Salmon: with the omega-3 fats, there is less chance of risking heart attacks

4. Brown Rice: lots of fiber, magnesium, vitamin E and B-6, copper, and zinc.

5. Citrus Fruit: rich in vitamin C, folic acid, and fiber. Makes a great snack!

Foods to Avoid

There are some foods that you should avoid because they have very little micro-nutrients and are not healthy to eat (even though they taste good):

Pepperidge Farm Chicken Pot Pie (microwave kind) - if you eat the whole pie, you are taking in over 1,000 calories and 18 grams of saturated fat. gross!

McDonald's Chicken Strips - 5 strips is about 630 calories, 11 grams of artery-clogging fat, 1,550 mg of sodium (this is without the dipping sauce).

Dove Ice Cream - for a scoop the size of a tennis ball, right there thats 300 calories and 11 grams of saturated fat, which is half a days worth).

Burger King Quarter Stacker - it's filled with 4 hamburger patties, 4 slices of cheese, 8 slices of bacon, sauce, and bun (...how delicious...). There is half a day's calories, 1,000; one-and-a-half-days' worth of saturated fat, 30 grams; 3 grams of trans fat; and more than a day's worth of sodium; 1,800 mg!!!

Click here for more from the "10 Worst Foods"

Healthy Snacking

Healthy Snacking
Here are a few tips on healthy snacking. The first thing that is important to know is why are we so hungry? The answer is that during adolescence, the body demands lots of nutrients to grow. So, although it may be very tempting to grab a burger or bag of chips when you are hungry, there are better choices to choose from. When you are looking for the right snack, you want to choose a food that has a lot of complex carbohydrates like whole grain, and combine it with another food that is protein rich like peanut butter or yogurt.

Another question that seems to pop up when trying to choose the right snack is how do I know if it is healthy? Well, first of all, just because something says "pure" or "all natural" it does not always mean that the snack is healthy. An example would be an all natural juice drink that has lots of sugar. Another thing is you must always look on the Nutrition Facts Label for things like trans fat, which is something you really want to avoid. By looking at the label, you can tell what kinds of ingredients and nutrients are in your snack.

Overall, the main thing to keep in mind is to just stick to healthy food and not get caught up in the moment of being hungry, and then end up eating something completely unhealthy. As long as you keep a few healthy snacks in your bag, you should last the day without craving unhealthy foods. Here are a few healthy choices:

1. Ants on a log: Peanut Butter on celery sticks. Add raisins.

2. Trail Mix: Whole grain toasted oat cereal w/ chopped walnuts and dried cranberries.

3. Healthy Ice Pops: Freeze 100% fruit juice in ice pop molds or ice trays.

Healthy Diet Video

Here is a quick video about maintaining a healthy diet. Continue to next page to see another video.

Healthy Teen Choices

Here is another video about making healthy teen choices in life.