Teens and Sports? How Much Are You Willing to Risk?

I don’t really keep up with sports too much, but today I heard something about Albert Pujlos coming back after he broke his wrist. He recovered in two weeks. I started thinking about all the teens involved in sports that don’t give thier bodies’ enough time to recover. Some will even hide thier injuries. I understand that teenagers are pushed by coaches and parents to do thier best. However, playing with an injury jeopardizes your capability of being your best.
My bestfriend is a varsity cheerleader. She was really excited to be put on varsity when she was a sophomore last year. During a practice she fractured her ankle. She dealt with the pain untill the end of the season and ended up having to get surgery to fix the injury. Now, she is missing out on cheer camps and practices. This is one of many examples of what teens are doing in every highschool sport.
It’s one thing to be dedicated to your sport, but when you are risking your future health for your highschool cheerleading squad you’ve taken it a little too far. To be your best you have to keep your body in good shape. Playing with an injury or not allowing yourself time to heal could be detrimental to your physical capabilities for the rest of your life.  Do what’s best for your body and it will pay off in the end!

Pledge and Save Your Life

Have you ever heard of the show “To fat for 15?” It’s about girls that are over weight and go to a camp called wellsprings and are on a strict diet and many of them lose between 50-200 pounds.

Many teens aren’t eating healthy, whether you are over wight or not, eating healthy is important to every day.

Style has a pledge going for everyone to make a pledge saying they will eat healthy. Make the pledge today by click here. For each pledge made, style is donating $1 to the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation.

Start today! Don’t wait for tomorrow, because tomorrow will become the next day, and the next day will become the next.

Things to help you live a healthier life style.

1. Drink plenty of water!

2. Have at least one vegetable a day (but have as many as you can).

3. Snack on things like grapes, strawberries, almonds, cheese sticks, and carrots instead of chips or candy.

4. Choose food with wheat flour instead of white flour.

5. Cut back on soda, limit your self to one a week.

6. Make an effort exercise for an hour a day.

If you have an suggestions that you do to stay healthy, comment and let every one know, and don’t forget to join the pledge!

Easy Ways Teens Can Eat Healthy

Our group got together recently and was talking about how easy it is to eat junk food, but it’s just as easy to eat healty. Find out easy ways you can feel better, look better, and eat better by changing the way you eat.

Easy Teen Fitness

Teen blogger Tori is pumped about sharing her easy health and fitness tips. Look and feel great using the tips in this video.

Five Quick Ways to be Healthy

Recently I’ve tried to eat a little more healthy.  Here are a few of the tips I’ve stuck with.

1. Stop drinking as many soda’s- Simply limit the amount of soda’s you have a week. If you have one a day then go down to one every other day then every couple days then maybe you can get it down to once a week.

2. Stop eating out so much- Eating out is not only not good for you, but it costs a lot.

3. Have your parents put a healthy snack in the fridge like grapes or something so when you open the fridge (because we all do it even when were not hungry) there’s something healthy there to grab.

4. Find foods with less sugar. I recently did something where I cut out a lot of sugar I had and it helped clear a lot of break outs.

5. Drink water- Water is so good for you, and it’s free! Drink it up!

12 Easy Ways To Be Healthier

I’m not a health expert, but I do try to stay healthy and I found these tips to be really helfpul:

1) Drink Less Soda(or none at all!)

To put it simply, drinking soda is like drinking liquid sugar. Imagine filling a soda can almost full of sugar, then drinking it. That’s what you’re doing every time you have soda.
Sugar isn’t the only bad thing though. The acids in soda will eat away at your tooth enamel over time, causing tooth decay. There have been studies conducted proving a link between soda consumption and tooth decay.
Soda also has an addictive property to it. It’s full of caffeine! We’ve all seen how attached to coffee some people can get. Well, the same thing can happen with soda. It also doesn’t quench your thirst at all. The sodium and carbonation actually just make  you thirstier!
Over time, soda consumption can also lead to things like obesity, tooth decay, caffeine dependence, and bone weakening.

So resist the soda! Grab a water instead!

2) Pay Attention to Sodium Content

“A teaspoon of salt contains about 2,300 milligrams of sodium, and the amount recommended by most organizations is between 1,500 to 2,400 milligrams a day. It’s easy to consume twice as much per day, and many Americans do so, averaging from 2,500 to 5,000 milligrams a day.”

Click Here to learn more about the sodium content of everyday foods. This article is very informative!

3) Don’t Eat Until You Get A Food Baby Every Time

We’ve all done it, and we do it too much. Mom makes your favorite dinner, and you just can’t stop eating! Before you know it you have a “food baby”, or that extra little gut you can’t get rid of for a day or two. So when you’re eating a meal or even just snacking, know when to stop. You can tell if you’re too full to eat anymore, or if you’ll be too full IF  you eat anymore. It’ll take some will power at first, but after awhile you’ll prefer the smaller portions.

4) Snack on Fruits and Veggies, Instead of Junk Food

Instead of grabbing for the chips, grab something healthier. A very nutritious snack(and one of my favorites) is to cut up an apple, and eat it with peanut butter. It’s delicious, and it gives you a healthy energy boost if eaten before exercising. Some other good snacks are carrot sticks, celery, any type of berry, cut up cantaloupe, bananas(also delicious with peanut butter!), dried cranberries, or grapes(try freezing them).

5) Walk Your Dogs

It’s an easy way to get in some exercise and get your pet out of the house at the same time. If you think it’s boring, try changing up the route you take, going for longer walks each time, or even taking your dog to the park to walk around there!

6) Hang Out At The Park With Friends

On nice days, get a group together to go to the park! You can play football, basketball, frisbee, volleyball, soccer, just walk around, or even play on the playground! Being outside with your friends is always a good time, and you’ll be burning calories by moving around.

7) Go Swimming A Lot!

Who doesn’t love swimming? The water resistance is a good work out for your muscles, which in turn burns calories. Try different water games like Chicken and Marco Polo. Chicken is where you get into pairs and one person gets on their partner’s shoulders. Then the people on top try to make the other people fall over. The last pair standing wins! And I think we all know how to play Marco Polo!

8) Eat Breakfast

Even if it’s just a bagel or some fruit, eating a good breakfast can significantly help you lose weight. When you eat a little something(preferably a healthy something) in the morning, it gets your digestive system going. That way, by the time you eat lunch, your body is ready and waiting to process the nutrients. Not only that, but eating breakfast will help you wake up. Watch out for sugary breakfast foods though! Go for whole grain cereals, granola bars, or fruit.

9) Drink Water

Over half of the human body is made up of water, but it can get depleted easily, especially in the hot summer. If you’re going to be outside for extended periods of time, be sure to drink plenty of water beforehand. It wouldn’t hurt to take a water bottle with you either. The same goes for exercising. The more water you drink beforehand, the less dehydrated you’ll feel during and after you work out. Water can also help curb your hunger between meals if you don’t have a snack!

10) Look At The Serving Size

You’d be surprised by how small some servings are meant to be, especially on things like cereal and pasta. Simply eating the recommended serving size will help a lot.

11) Get Your Whole Grains

This can be easy and it’s really good for you! It’s as easy as looking for the words “whole grain” on certain food items. Try it in breads, cereals, granola bars, crackers, rice, pasta, and tortillas.  The USDA recommends that we get 3 servings of whole grains a day. Unfortunately, the average American only gets 1 serving a day. Whole grains are a good source of fiber, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.

12) Research!

Don’t be afraid to look online for even more, better, and more specific health tips for what you want. The internet is full of useful information, but also has a lot of phony websites. Just be sure you’re on a legitimate website when getting something as important as tips for your body.

Check out this awesome link about the 5 foods you should eat every day. It has some surprising facts about foods that you may already love!

The 5 Foods You Should Eat Everyday

How much processed food do you eat?

I wouldn’t say I’m a total health fanatic, but I do like to pay attention to what I’m eating and I try to make healthy choices.  At a family reunion this weekend, I started asking myself questions about how much processed food we eat.  It all started when blue Kool Aid was on the menu for the kids. I don’t usually buy alot of sugary drinks like this, but I figure it’s ok to have them on special occasions.  It didn’t bother me that much for a one time thing but then I looked at their cups at the end of they day and guess what?  They were completely blue.  Maybe the dye stuck to these cups more because they were organic based, but it got me thinking about all of the chemicals, dyes, and processed stuff we consume on a daily basis.  What does that really do to us?  There are alot of different theories, studies, thoughts about this, but can this really be very good for us?

I decided it would bve fun to keep a food journal for a week and see how much processed food I’m eating.  Would you join me? On one column list foods that have an ingredient list of 3 or less.  Most of this stuff would be fruits and veggies, beans, and other whole grains.  In the other column write down the other foods you eat that are processed.

  I’m going to do this too and I will report back and let you know what I came up with.  I’d love to hear about your food lists and thoughts about this.  I know it is a challenge to stay away from processed foods because it is so easy to grab and accessible, but I also know the more whole foods or natural foods we eat, the better!

Can I Really Eat and Be Thin, Too?

I was talking to Stevie, one of our Girls With Dreams advisors, about new topics to write about. She said a lot of girls want to know how to eat healthy and maintain a healthy weight. Both of us know too many girls that might be thin, but aren’t eating well or taking care of themselves. On the flip side, there are also girls who are overeating and putting themselves at risk for being overweight.

So, can you really eat and be thin? YES! Here are a few tips to help you eat well and be healthy!

• Always eat breakfast. This is a really important way to start your day. It kick starts your entire system and gets your metabolism going. Try to avoid sugary foods such as donuts, though. Think fiber, protein, and fresh fruits.
• Eliminate or cut back on soda. Many schools have vending machines and soda is everywhere, so this can be a tough one. Try to replace all of the sugar and chemicals from soda with water. Think of soda as a treat you have once in while.
• Taste the rainbow. Try to put as many colors on your plate as possible. I’m not talking about french fries and yellow cheese dip. Try to get different fruits and veggies into every meal, so you eat the entire rainbow throughout the day.
• Eat regularly. Different theories suggest eating anywhere from 3 regular to 6 small meals a day. As teens, it’s easy to skip meals, so make sure you eat at least 3 meals a day with maybe a few healthy snacks in between. Plan ahead and pack a snack  if you know you’re going to be out so you won’t be tempted to eat junk food.
• Don’t obsess! Eating well should become a natural part of your life, not an obsession. If you’re constantly thinking about your weight, how you look, or what to eat, you might be on the verge of a serious problem. Unfortunately, too many girls have distorted images of themselves. If you fit into this category, check out our other posts about eating disorders and body image.
• Get support from your friends! One great way to do this is to join our Summer Self Esteem Challenge!

Distorted Body Image

Almost every teen I talk to seems to have some complaint about her body. It’s not always the same complaint; everyone seems to get hung up on a different body part. Think about it. How many times have you checked yourself in the mirror? When you look in the mirror, do positive or negative thoughts come to mind?

Unfortunately, many girls stress out about their appearance, which eventually leads to a distorted self-image. Some even develop eating disorders. This warped body image cannot be healed with the wave of a magic wand. Listen to these teens share their views about eating disorders.

Then, make sure to check out the other articles and tips we’ve shared at www.girlswithdreams.com.

Sleep to Look Slim

Busy, busy, busy! My teacher says I am one of those people who is always looking for that “25th hour.” She finally convinced me to give myself a bedtime. It’s more difficult to prioritize my team, but it’s well worth it in the end. I actually stay awake in class, I don’t argue with my boyfriend because I’m not grouchy, and I can go out with my friends instead of napping. I know I’m not the only person who stays up until 2:00 a.m. doing my homework. The easiest way to feel healthier, be more confident, and lose weight is to get on a proper sleeping schedule. I’ve even heard that some people shed pounds after adjusting their sleep patterns to 7 1/2 hours a night.

View this article for more information.

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