How to Adult: Eating Healthy

Most teenagers aren’t conscious of what they eat, which doesn’t always work out. Teenagers are often busy with other school activities and feel they don’t have the time to be healthy. Here are some health tips that won’t take too much time out of your schedule.

Actually Exercise
I hate exercising or any form of physical activity, but 1 hour of exercise every day is recommended for teens. It doesn’t have to be running 5 miles. It could be walking your dog at the park, yoga, Zumba or even jumping on the trampoline.

Portion Control
Some people think eating healthy means not eating at all, but that’s not true. It’s all about portion control. Eating three average-sized meals a day benefits your health rather than eating one or two huge meals. Researchers from Cornell did a study showing people who eat something like chips or cereal out of the bag/box eat 50 percent more than people who don’t.

Be Smart About Your Choices
You don’t have to go on an extreme weight-loss diet to be healthy. Replacing soda with water, getting a salad instead of a burger or eating an apple rather than chips for a snack are all healthier choices. These won’t drastically make you lose weight, but they will give your body the nutrients it needs.

Get Sleep
Teens on average should get 10 to 12 hours of sleep a night. One study concluded that only 15 percent of teens get the proper amount of sleep. Teens also have irregular sleep patterns because they stay up so late on the weekends, this can be harmful to their biological clocks. Getting that many hours of sleep may seem merely, but the more you sleep the healthier you are.

Living healthier isn’t as hard as people make it seem. Doing these few things may not make you a health professional, but they could help you in the long run.