Does it seem like every time you see your teen, he’s munching on potato chips, sipping soda, or eating McDonald’s fries?
Junk food is such a big part of modern life that many teens get caught up in eating it and forget the healthy eating habits you tried to instill in them when they were kids. You can’t force your teen to like eating all healthy foods, but you can at least try to emphasize their importance and show him that not all healthy foods taste bad.
Alternative Food Choices
Encourage your teen to cut out soda and other sugar-laden drinks, and instead drink real juice or milk. The vitamins and minerals will help him stay healthy and boost his energy levels, so he isn’t always tempted to sleep through classes!
Rather than munching on greasy, salty potato chips, encourage him to try eating fruit or vegetable salads before dinner. Salad dressing helps liven up the food for those who don’t like the taste of lettuce.
Replace the sugary cereals with healthier choices like Cheerios, and don’t let him add granulated sugar. It’s easy to become addicted to all the sugar in our food, but once he starts to get used to food without sugar, he might be surprised to discover he likes it.
Water is always important to drink, and it’s recommended that everyone drinks eight glasses of water a day. Get your teen to bring a water bottle to school and drink water throughout the day, and he might notice his focus and energy improving. Dehydration can have subtle, but powerful, effects.
Balancing Meals
Too many teens make the mistake of thinking that balanced eating is all about counting calories or grams, studying labels, or trying to calculate how many calories were burned in that walk to the park. Instead, encourage him to simply eat balanced, regular meals.
Helping him learn to balance the types of food groups he eats is important. While everyone slips up, and nobody can be expected to eat perfectly healthy foods every time, overall, the food groups in his meals should be properly balanced, and meals should be consumed at least three times a day.
Some studies have shown that eating several smaller meals throughout the day is better for your body than eating a few large meals. The key here is learning to eat healthy snacks in between breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
The Importance of Breakfast
You have probably been telling your teen for years to make sure he eats a healthy breakfast before leaving home for school or work. Well, you were right all along! Another problem habit many teens have fallen into is skipping breakfast.
Breakfast fuels your teen’s mind and body after a (hopefully) long night of sleep, readying him for the day ahead. His blood sugar might be affected, and some teens even get dizziness or fainting spells if they don’t eat breakfast.
Start small by encouraging him to replace one food with another and see how it affects his energy levels.
Getting your teen to start eating healthy is not an impossible dream!
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- How to Raise a Healthy Child
- Teens and Eating Disorders
- How to Plan Memorable Family Picnics
- How to Communicate With Your Teen
- How to Tell if Your Teen is in Trouble
Tags: Healthy Eating for Teens