Now is the time to develop a healthy attitude towards your health, after all, you are ultimately responsible for it! To help you here are some dos and don'ts!

Do:

1. Eat regularly, 3 meals a day and 2-3 snacks

This will keep energy levels high and fuelled and your metabolism working efficiently. It is when we skip meals that we upset our metabolism. So, it is so important to fuel your body consistently with all of the nutrients it requires. The easiest way of figuring out what and how much we should eat is by following the food pyramid.

2. Always eat breakfast

It is often said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day and most scientists agree. It is when we ‘break the fast’ of our slumber and refuel and ready our bodies for the tasks of the day ahead.
Having cereal like muesli, porridge or any multigrain cereal for breakfast will kick start your day in the right direction. It will give you the energy to concentrate and perform well in school. Add a glass of orange juice for Vitamin C or fruit on your cereal for added nutrition. Other good breakfast choices are:

1. Wholemeal toast and jam, scraping of butter/margarine
2. Poached/boiled/scrambled egg with toast
3. Granary bagel with jam
4. Grilled bacon and tomato

Here is a list of ideas for meal choices:

Snacks:

1. Fruit wholemeal scone and a piece of fruit such as a banana
2. Low fat creamed rice
3. Low fat yoghurt
4. Fruit
5. Bagel
6. Crackers with peanut butter
7. Crackers with cheese spread
8. Hummus
9. Rice cakes
10. Oat cakes
11. Veggie strips
12. Carrot cake
13. Handful of dried fruit and nuts

For lunch:

1. Wholemeal sandwich/pita/wrap with lean meat, chicken, fish, tuna or egg with salad vegetables
2. Rice/pasta salad with mixed beans and sweet corn
3. Tuna Pasta salad
4. Baked potato with baked beans/tuna/cheese and side salad
5. Quiche with side salad
6. 2 poached eggs on wholemeal toast with grilled tomato and mushrooms.

Add some fruit such as seedless grapes, mandarin oranges, apple etc.

Dinner:

1. Chicken, beef, lamb or pork stir fry with oriental vegetables
2. Grilled or poached salmon with boiled potato and broccoli
3. Spaghetti Bolognaise with mixed salad
4. Chicken/Vegetable/Beef Fajita’s with kidney beans and homemade salsa (finely chopped tomato and red onion with chopped coriander leaves and some lime juice)
5. Roast chicken/turkey with boiled vegetables and potato’s
6. Salmon/cod/haddock fishcakes with salad
7. Homemade beef/turkey burgers with oven chips served with lettuce, tomato, onion and pickle.
8. Grilled haddock and oven chips and peas.
9. Pasta pesto with pine nuts and sweet corn, mixed salad.
10. Chili con carne with kidney beans and Buckley rice with a tomato and onion side salad.

 

3. Get regular exercise

Get into the habit of having 20-30 minutes daily exercise. This can be broken up into 3x10 sessions of walking, running, skipping, rollerblading, cycling, dancing etc. This is called cardio vascular exercise and strengthens your heart and lungs. Exercise strengthens and builds muscle mass, which regulates your metabolism and keeps your weight in check. Another important reason to exercise regularly is to strengthen your bones. Developing good bone density in your teens will prevent problems in later life when our bones become weaker through age. Any weight bearing exercise encourages bone cells to multiply and become stronger and denser. One last reason to exercise is that is releases ‘happy mood’ hormones called endorphins. During and after exercise endorphins are released, which elevate our mood and give us a sense of well being. Most people say the hardest thing about exercise is actually getting up to do it!

4. Drink 8 glasses of water everyday

We lose about a litre and a half of fluid throughout the day by breathing, going to the bathroom and perspiring. It is important to replace this fluid. It’s amazing that most of us are slightly dehydrated. I believe that a lot of the everyday niggly little problems like lack of concentration, lethargy, headaches, sore throats, stomach upsets are all down to dehydration. Get into the habit of drinking at least 8 glasses of water every day and see your spark return! Caffeine and alcohol act as a diuretic meaning they encourage water loss so you can’t count your cup of tea as your fluid intake! However, juice and milk can be counted!

5. Cut down on fizzy drinks, drink juice, milk or smoothies instead.

Fizzy drinks usually have a lot of sugar in them, which is bad for our teeth and energy levels. The diet kind has no nutritional value. Have juice or smoothies instead.

6. Eat 5 portions of fruits and vegetables everyday

There has been 1000’s of studies on the health benefits of fruits and vegetables and the conclusive evidence from health authorities all over the world, is that to prevent disease and maintain good health we should aim to eat 5 or more servings of Fruits and Vegetables every day. The antioxidants and phyto chemicals, of which there are 1000’s in one piece of fruit, all help with the prevention of the onset of degenerative diseases. Get into the habit now! You can count your glass of juice as one serving.

7. Having a daily treat is fine, as long as treats don’t make up the majority of your diet!
   Look at the food pyramid

Don'ts

1. Don’t diet!

Diets don’t work and are based generally on deprivation, limiting food groups and are short term. The best way to manage weight is to eat regular balanced meals, cut down/out junk food and fizzy drinks and exercise.

2. Don’t limit your dairy food intake;

Growing bones need calcium. It is so important to look after your bones. Eat plenty of dairy and get some exercise.

3. Don’t smoke!

Why start something that you KNOW is detrimental to your health, yellows your teeth, is expensive, and makes you smell??!! Smoking leaches your body of valuable nutrients, it can cause cancer, heart and lung problems, and countless other health problems. Just don’t do it.

4. Don’t abuse alcohol

Alcohol is a toxin and the body tries to get rid of it as quickly as possible. If you abuse alcohol you are putting undue stress on your still developing liver and kidneys to eliminate it. You are damaging your internal organs before they are fully mature, which may lead to health problems in the future.

5. Don’t take drugs

It should be obvious not to take a substance that can kill you instantly but so many people do out of curiosity and peer pressure. Know this: That drugs can do irreparable damage to your health. At the very least they leach your body of calcium and other important nutrients, which will weaken your bones and teeth. At the very most, they can kill instantly. Do not be tempted to experiment. If you try once, chances are you will do it again. Apart from the health implications, drugs will have a negative effect on your family, study, friends, relationships etc.

So with all this in mind it is now up to you and you alone to make the correct decisions regarding your health. If you get into the habit of being healthy in your teens, you will see the benefit when you’re in your 30’s and 40’s. You can’t turn back the clock…so make sure you will never want to! Good luck!

Emma Buckley B.Sc