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Teen Survival Guide
Eating Well
Have you ever been asked, "Are you a healthy eater?" What does that even mean? Healthy eating means getting the right amount of calories, vitamins, and nutrients your body needs to be its best.
How to be a healthy eater
- Follow the MyPyramid guide to healthy eating. The colored sections stand for the food groups and how much you need from each group. Orange is much wider than yellow because you need plenty of grains each day, but should limit how much oil and fat you have. Choose foods from each food group every day—don't forget about red just because you love purple foods!
- Learn how to read food labels. If you know what's in your food and how much, you can limit those nutrients that you want to cut back on and up the ones you want to eat more of. For example, you may want to eat less saturated fat, but more calcium.
- Be sure to check serving size. One cup of breakfast cereal or one slice of bread is a serving. A serving of meat, chicken, or fish is about the size of a deck of cards.
- Get regular exercise. Teens need about 60 minutes every day.
- Unless your doctor gives you the okay, do not diet to lose weight. Instead, change your habits to focus on healthy foods and exercise. Most teens are able to keep a healthy weight simply by being more active.
- Don't skip meals. Breakfast is especially important!
- Don't deprive yourself of foods you love.
- Avoid "emotional eating"—eating because you are bored, stressed, or feeling blue. Try writing in a journal, talking to someone you trust, working out, or volunteering in your community.
- Don't forget to enjoy food and mealtimes with friends and family!
Fun quiz
Teens need roughly _______ calories a day.
*Hint: You can find the answer in one of the web sites listed at the end of this section.
Answer: 2,000
Teen tip: There are no shortcuts to eating right. Choose all kinds of healthful foods to get the calories, vitamins, and nutrients your body needs. Do not take any "dietary supplements" (like vitamins, herbs, or protein powders) before checking with your doctor.
Orange = grains (bread, cereal, rice, crackers, pasta, tortilla)
Green = vegetables
Red = fruit
Yellow = oils, fats (butter, mayonnaise, margarine, nuts, salad dressings)
Blue = dairy, calcium-rich foods (milk, cheese, yogurt)
Purple = meats, beans, fish, poultry
Activity: Make your own healthy eating plan online with MyPyramid Plan at www.mypyramid.gov/mypyramid/index.aspx. This tool will help you figure out how much you need to eat from each food group to be healthy. Next, print out your plan and keep a copy in your purse. You also might want to write down on your printout the foods that you like from each food group. That way, when you're in the lunch line or out with a group of friends, you can take a quick look at your plan to help you choose what to eat.
To: girlshealth.gov
From: Tina (age 14), Chula Vista, California
My friend eats fast food and junk food all the time, but she looks great. Does someone like her need to eat healthy?
Eating right does help you to look your best, but it's not just how you look on the outside that counts. The body needs certain vitamins and nutrients to build strong bones and teeth, carry oxygen around the body, power the brain, and lower your chances of getting certain diseases. Healthy food choices are packed with these kinds of vitamins and nutrients, while fast food and junk food are mainly "empty calories," which means they have little nutritional value. Eating poorly will catch up with you over time.
Content last updated February 15, 2008
