Eating Right For You

YOU ARE NOT WHAT YOU EAT…

Just because you just ate a food containing fat does not mean you will automatically become fat. Eating with balance, moderation, and variety is the key to weight maintenance. Now its important to remember an important rule when it comes to the weight status of a child or teen: Children and teens should eat to maintain their weight, NOT lose weight. Children and teenagers are still growing and should not limit their caloric intake, which may limit their vitamin and mineral intake needed for proper growth. Growing requires proper nourishment, which can be done through a proper nutrient dense diet. Children and teens should focus on applying the concepts of balance, moderation, variety. With time, they will actually grow into their weight which is recommended.

Now that we know children and teens should focus on weight maintenance and not weight loss, how to accomplish this?

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Begin with balance…When it comes to which foods or beverages to eat, just remember that eating a balanced diet is important! Eating with balance implies consuming a meal with properly proportioned amounts of each food. The main food groups are dairy, fruits, vegetables, grains. Dairy tends to be protein rich, while fruits vegetables, and grains are carbohydrate dense. Balancing your plate with all of these food groups can help you consume all those vitamins and minerals, and other essential nutrients your body craves!

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Don’t Stop There!… Eating in moderation is key when it comes to proper nourishment. Eating foods in moderation means that no food is over consumed, while others are under consumed. For instance, its okay to eat ice cream if desired, however, eating a bowl of ice cream everyday could be considered too many portions daily. If someone were to eat a bowl of ice cream once or twice a week in addition to a nutrient dense diet then that is competely acceptable!

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Eat a Variety of Different Foods!…When you eat a variety of different foods based on the food groups and color you are almost guaranteed getting a variety of different vitamins and minerals. Eating an item from each food group is important because they contain a a large amount of nutrients. Consuming a variety of different colored vegetables is important too because vegetables are full of vitamins and antioxidants. By getting many different colored vegetables you are consuming an array of many different vitamins and antioxidants your body thrives on.

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Its important to remember this rule: There is NO such thing as “GOOD” or “BAD” foods!

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Its true, you can enjoy your favorite foods and maintain a healthy weight! In order to do this successfully its crucial to remember eating  with balance, moderation, and variety!