Eat Healthy? Say What...?

It is very important for active teens to eat healthy because it will give them energy, help them grow, provide a healthy future, and will let them maintain an active lifestyle.  Most athletes know what their body needs before they have practice or workout.  Every body is different.  You have to know your body well to recognize what it needs.

Healthy foods will help you maintain that healthy lifestyle that every athlete needs.  Later in this blog you will learn specific foods, but for now you need to know that it is important for active teens to eat more vegetables, fruits, carbs, and proteins than average teens.  Active teens seem to need more food because they tend to work off the food faster than average teens.

Healthy eating doesn't necessarily mean eating a salad and fruits all day.  Most teens think that eating fruits and vegetables is what eating healthy is.  This is an incorrect statement.  Eating healthy means to have a balanced diet.  The right amount of each food group.  For example, you need 3 servings of milk products a day; 4-5 servings of vegetables; 2-3 servings of meat/beans; 3-4 servings of fruit; and 9-11 servings of grain.  This is a daily guide for the amount of foods that you should eat to be considered healthy.

Eating healthy will help you grow in so many ways.  You will grow in height, muscle, increase of energy, and it will help you mentally.  Mom always told you to drink your milk so you could grow up big and strong like dad.  This is true, but you need all the other foods too.

If you ever wondered what you will be like when you get old, I'm sure you don't want to be an old person that has many problems with their heart or lungs.  This is what happens when you don't take care of yourself, and you don't eat healthy.  Eating healthy and maintaining your active lifestyle is the best way you can avoid all those problems that most old people have.  No one ever wants to suffer when they're old.  Take action now and things will be better for your future.

Active teens should be mentally healthy as well as physically.  Being mentally healthy is a good factor in affecting their work ethic while participating in strenuous activities, likes sports.  Believe it or not, eating the right foods contribute to their mental health.  If you were to eat candy and soda all day, while sitting on the couch, you are more prone to having a depressed life, compared to someone who had a balanced diet and was physically active.

This does not mean that you have to completely eliminate junk food from your diet.  It is just a better idea to cut down on the amount you eat.  It is a good motivation to have ice cream or some candy at the end of a hard workout.  Sometimes having a motivation is better than not having anything to look forward to at the end of the day.  It will also help you mentally.