Healthy Eating on the go!By Lisa Van De Ven
A quick bag of chips from the vending machine instead of breakfast. McDonald’s for lunch. Nothing but Diet Coke all day until you get home.
With busy schedules, pressures to eat like friends, and body image issues that make dieting commonplace, it’s no wonder that healthy eating isn’t at the top of the priority list for many teenage girls. According to experts, though, healthy eating habits start in the teenage years. A good diet can go far in improving concentration levels in class, keep moods more level and increase energy altogether—all of which is reason enough to start eating well now.
“I don’t like the idea of teens thinking about dieting,” says Harley Pasternak, celebrity trainer and founder of 5factordiet.com, who has worked with the likes of Jessica Simpson, Mandy Moore and John Mayer. “I want them thinking about a lifestyle that they can sustain for the rest of their lives.”
Which may seem like a tall order when you’ve got homework, a part-time job and that new boyfriend to consider. The fact that many teens aren’t experiencing the healthy sit-down family meals of yesteryear may make it seem all the more difficult. The solution, say dietitians, is to control your own diet now to ensure a healthy future.
How can you do that? Easily enough, according to dietitians Mary Ellen Prange—co-ordinator of the Healthy Eating & Active Living program at the Nutrition Resource Centre in Toronto—and Donna Bottrell, director of nutrition for Compass Group Canada, which services food for school cafeterias across the country. They offer teens the following tips:
- A lack of fruits and vegetables, says Bottrell, is the number one problem with teens’ diets today. “There are so many good things that we get out of fruits and vegetables, especially at that age,” she says, adding that a little preparation goes a long way. Cut up fruit the night before, or buy pre-cut vegetables. You’re more likely to grab that healthy snack if there’s no prep involved at the time.
- Get involved with your family’s grocery shopping, adds Bottrell. Helping control what goes in the cart can make it easier to control what goes in your mouth later.
- Try to become less reliant on packaged and fast foods, suggests Prange. “The convenient choices tend to be the less healthy choices,” she says. If you do opt for fast food, be smart.
- Choose subs with lean meats such as turkey or roast beef, or a cheese or vegetable pizza over salt-heavy pepperoni. Treat fatty foods such as fries as a once-in-a-while alternative instead of a daily staple.
- What about the holidays? Binge eating is a major side-effect of all of those festive soirées, says Bottrell. But eating nothing all day, then loading up on food come party time, isn’t a balanced way to eat. “Make sure to eat during the day,” she says. “That way, when you get to the party… you’re less likely to over-indulge.”
So what kinds of foods should you snack on to fill the hunger gaps? Bottrell recommends snacks that fill your stomach while offering a combination of nutrients. Nuts, she says, are a good option, as are cut veggies with a hummus dip. Yogurt parfait with fruit or cheese on a bagel, meanwhile, combine food groups. “Try to make sure that it counts and it’s going to stay with you,” she says.
