COACH_DENISE
2/11/08 11:36 P
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You are a teen and your body is growing and developing and this is a crucial time to make sure you are getting enough nutrients AND calories. Eating anything less than 1800 calories is not allowing you to get the proper nutrition or calories (energy). By eating less than 1800 you are slowing your body a great deal and starving your body so it holds onto everything you put into it as fat reserves. You are working against your efforts and causing problems for your growth and development. You also need those nutrients and calories for things such as typical daily functions like your heart beating, your lungs expanding, muscles contracting etc. As you start to eat nutritious calories at the recommended level, your metabolism speeds up and becomes more efficient and that is how you begin to easily lose weight AND grow and develop at the same time.
The key is to eat smaller meals and snacks more frequently. This gets the metabolism working most efficiently and gets you the calories and most importantly the nutrients.
The best way for you to move forward is to:
1) Begin eating 6 small meals/snacks each day each consisting of 300-350 calories.
2) Focus on nutrition at each meal/snack - whole grains, fruits, veggies, low fat dairy, lean meats/nuts/beans.
3) Make sure each meal and snack is a healthy balance of protein sources (lean meats/beans/nuts and low fat dairy) and carbohydrates (fruits, veggies and whole grains).
4) Save the "junk" like fried foods and sweets like soda, pies, cakes, cookies, candy and cake for the special occasions of life.
5) Make sure you are active daily for at least 30 minutes if possible and include strength training several times a week to tone and shape your body.
This plan will allow you to have the nutrients you need for growth and development and will help you have energy for life, will improve your outlook on things and will help your find your bodies best weight and shape.
You may want to review these articles:
A Teen's Guide to Nutrition & Healthy Eating
A Teen's Guide to Fitness & Exercise
A Teen's Guide to Weight and Body Confidence
Coach Denise
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