As someone who trains a lot of teenagers, I find that getting them to eat healthier can be a struggle. Generally speaking kids are a victim of their parents eating habits, social setting binge eating, and societal norms for eating in school. If I had a nickel for everytime a parent told me “I tried to tell them how to eat but they won’t listen to me” I would be rich. Having said that I have found some success making small changes with the athletes I work with. Here are some tips for this.
5 Tips
- K.I.S.S. KEEP IT SIMPLE SILLY-Thinking you will get your kids to track their macros or cut carbs completely our of their diet is pretty aggressive. Food is part of a teenagers social perogative. Getting pizza after a football game, getting ice cream in the summer after the beach, and even going to pulp after a hard workout session is a big part of their social lives. I wouldn’t expect them to pack their lunch in individually wrapped cartons and eat boiled chicken and broccoli while their friends eat pizza. Try this instead : Can we eat a piece of fruit instead of a bag of chips? Can we pack lunch once a week instead of eating out every day? Can we drink water instead of drinking pop or fruit juice?
We need to realize that behavioral psychology comes into play here. Big changes may be overwhelming especially with a teenagers busy schedule. Make some small changes and encourage little things. As we know highly active kids can get away with cheating on their diet more than adults. Small changes for the win!
- Teach your kid how to cook-This might be the most important thing you ever do for your kids health. We all know that cooking from scratch and making your own meals are healthier than eating out. You would be surprised at how much your kid will take to knowing how to cook an egg properly, making chicken on the grill, or steaming vegetables. You never know where this skill will take them. (keep it simple once again, no need for chicken cordon bleu) Teach your kid how to make eggs and see where this goes.
- Clear your house full of junk food– The law of Dr. John Berardi states that “if you have food in your house, you or someone you love will end up eating it.” Knowing this fact should tell you that if you have chips, pop, and cookies in your house someone is going to eat it. No I do not have teenage kids, but I was a teenager once and I remember scouring the pantry and fridge trying to find anything to eat, mainly telling my parents that there is nothing to eat in the house. (Most parents nodding solemnly right now) Keep it out of the house and your chance for success will go up!
- Keep fresh healthy snack alternatives for your kids to eat- Building on the point above, if healthy snacks are in the house, your teenager is more likely to eat them. Not saying they will live on a diet of celery and peanut butter, but they may be more inclined to make small changes as we stated above. Can we try an apple with peanut butter? Can we do yogurt with strawberries? Can we do carrots and hummus? A little is better than none.
- Treat sweets as a reward, not a staple– Ice cream every night, pizza 4 days a week, cookie with breakfast? These should not be staples in your diet at home. Encourage that this is a Sunday night treat for a good week at school or another accomplishment. Think 80/20 rule on this one. We can encourage our kids to eat healthy most of the time knowing that its not going to be perfect. Try and put yourself in their shoes and remember what it was like to be a teenager. Try and think about being encouraging and positive about their eating habits. They may be more receptive.
If you have any other suggestions or things that you have found that work, please let me know. I would love to get parents suggestions.
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