If you're looking for a way to look and feel your best, start with eating the right foods. Teens who eat poorly are at increased risk of disease and poor growth. However, teens who make nutritious choices are more likely to maintain a healthy weight, have increased energy to get through the day and develop strength and endurance for sports, notes the Center for Young Women's Health at Children's Hospital Boston.
Steer Clear of Pills and Fad Diets
With all the diet advice you read in beauty magazines, it's tough to discern healthy tips from unhealthy tips. Fad diets are diets that promise fast results, usually by forcing dieters to ditch some foods that are full of important nutrients such as calcium and iron. Eating a well-balanced diet is especially important for teens because they're still growing, so stay away from diets that seem too good to be true, says KidsHealth, a part of the Nemours Foundation. Also steer clear of diet pills and other "quick fixes," because they are risky and their effects typically wear off soon, warns MayoClinic.com.
Eat Breakfast
If you struggle to wake up with barely enough time to run out the door, the idea of sitting down to breakfast can seem like a joke. Try to make time for breakfast. If you eat in the morning, your metabolism will get an early boost, you will have enough energy to sit through all of your classes and you will be less likely to overeat later in the day, according to MayoClinic.com. On days you oversleep, just take a banana and a small bag of trail mix with you as you run out the door. Anything nutritious is better than nothing.
Enjoy Sugar in Moderation
It's OK to take a slice of cake at a friend's party or have an occasional ice cream sundae at your favorite restaurant, but many teens make the mistake of replacing healthy foods with sugary foods that lack nutrition. Stopping the habit will be difficult if you're used to eating sugar all the time, so start slowly and with the biggest offenders. By drinking water instead of soda and juice, you can save yourself hundreds of calories every day. For extra flavor and refreshment, add a slice of orange to an ice cold pitcher of water.
Snack Often
Throw some healthy pre-made snacks such as a zip-seal bag of pretzels, celery sticks with peanut butter or a bunch of frozen grapes into your backpack on your way out the door, suggests KidsHealth. Eat them when you're craving vending machine food or any time you're ready to eat before lunch hits. Frequent snacking will keep your blood sugar levels from dipping too low and will help you avoid eating too much at meals.
Recruit Your Family
Teens who get family support usually make better eating decisions than teens who don't, according to KidsHealth. Ask your parents and siblings to join you in skipping the junk food aisle and picking out a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean sources of protein and low-fat dairy products when you go to the store, then eat together at the dinner table rather than in front of the television, suggests MayoClinic.com.
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