How to Be a Healthy Teen Girl
Four Methods:Building Healthy HabitsKeeping Clean, Hygienic, and HealthyStaying Mentally HealthyBeing a Socially Healthy TeenCommunity Q&A
Being healthy means many different things for teen girls. Building good habits of diet and exercise is important, and so is having good hygiene. Being healthy also means having a positive mental attitude, and making safe decisions about your body and behaviors. Be healthy to feel confident, look great, and take care of your body!
Four Methods:Building Healthy HabitsKeeping Clean, Hygienic, and HealthyStaying Mentally HealthyBeing a Socially Healthy TeenCommunity Q&A
Being healthy means many different things for teen girls. Building good habits of diet and exercise is important, and so is having good hygiene. Being healthy also means having a positive mental attitude, and making safe decisions about your body and behaviors. Be healthy to feel confident, look great, and take care of your body!
1
Building Healthy Habits
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1
Choose healthy foods. Your food is your fuel for your body and brain, so pick good fuel! Minimize eating food with lots of sugar, salt, and fat – stay away from fast food, fried food, junk food from the snack aisle like potato chips, canned and processed food, and pastries. Amp up your intake of fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, low-fat and fat-free dairy, and low-fat protein like fish, chicken, nuts, beans, peas, and lentils.[1]
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2
Have good eating habits. Other than what you eat, how you eat can help you stay healthy and fit.
- Don’t skip breakfast, it provides your body with its first fuel of the day and helps you concentrate. Good breakfast foods include fruit, eggs, low-fat milk, cream of wheat, oatmeal, or whole grain toast.
- Choose healthy snacks like a piece of fruit, a handful of nuts, some celery, or a piece of cheese.
- Pack your lunch for school so you can create a healthy meal for yourself.[3]
- Be involved in shopping and meal planning at home. You can even help the rest of your family to eat healthy![4]
- If you’re trying to lose weight control your portion size, i.e. how much you eat at one time.[5] Use a smaller plate or bowl, keep a food journal so you can track your servings, and fill most of your plate with fruits and vegetables.[6]
- Be sure to get enough calories! The average teen girl should eat 1,600 to 1,800 calories a day if you’re not very active and 2,200 to 2,400 calories a day if you’re physically active.[7]
- Avoid fad and crash diets. You will easily regain any weight you lose, and these are not good for your body. Always talk to your doctor before dieting, or if you have concerns about your weight.
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3
Maintain a healthy weight. Rather than worrying about your weight, think about your Body Mass Index, or BMI. This calculation judges whether you’re a healthy weight for your age and height. You can use this calculator to find out your BMI.[8]
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4
Drink at least 7 glasses of water every day. Keeping your body hydrated will help regulate your metabolism and purify your body. Drink at least 7 glasses of water a day to stay hydrated.[10]
- Carry a water bottle with you and sip on water throughout the day. Be sure to drink water whenever you’re thirsty.
- Drink more water if it’s hot out or you’re being active.
- Your pee should be light yellow in color.
- Boost your water’s flavor with slices of lemon, life, or fresh fruit!
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5
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- Setting a regular bedtime for yourself
- Exercising regularly (but not within 3 hours of bedtime so it doesn’t keep you up).
- Avoiding caffeine after 4pm
- Relaxing before bed with a warm bath or reading.
- Not napping too much during the day.
- Avoiding all-nighters, which throw off your sleep schedule.
- Having good sleep hygiene: keep your lights low at bedtime to signal your brain it’s time to sleep, keep your room cool and dark overnight, and wake up with bright lights.
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1Choose healthy foods. Your food is your fuel for your body and brain, so pick good fuel! Minimize eating food with lots of sugar, salt, and fat – stay away from fast food, fried food, junk food from the snack aisle like potato chips, canned and processed food, and pastries. Amp up your intake of fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, low-fat and fat-free dairy, and low-fat protein like fish, chicken, nuts, beans, peas, and lentils.[1]
-
2Have good eating habits. Other than what you eat, how you eat can help you stay healthy and fit.
- Don’t skip breakfast, it provides your body with its first fuel of the day and helps you concentrate. Good breakfast foods include fruit, eggs, low-fat milk, cream of wheat, oatmeal, or whole grain toast.
- Choose healthy snacks like a piece of fruit, a handful of nuts, some celery, or a piece of cheese.
- Pack your lunch for school so you can create a healthy meal for yourself.[3]
- Be involved in shopping and meal planning at home. You can even help the rest of your family to eat healthy![4]
- If you’re trying to lose weight control your portion size, i.e. how much you eat at one time.[5] Use a smaller plate or bowl, keep a food journal so you can track your servings, and fill most of your plate with fruits and vegetables.[6]
- Be sure to get enough calories! The average teen girl should eat 1,600 to 1,800 calories a day if you’re not very active and 2,200 to 2,400 calories a day if you’re physically active.[7]
- Avoid fad and crash diets. You will easily regain any weight you lose, and these are not good for your body. Always talk to your doctor before dieting, or if you have concerns about your weight.
- 3Maintain a healthy weight. Rather than worrying about your weight, think about your Body Mass Index, or BMI. This calculation judges whether you’re a healthy weight for your age and height. You can use this calculator to find out your BMI.[8]
-
4Drink at least 7 glasses of water every day. Keeping your body hydrated will help regulate your metabolism and purify your body. Drink at least 7 glasses of water a day to stay hydrated.[10]
- Carry a water bottle with you and sip on water throughout the day. Be sure to drink water whenever you’re thirsty.
- Drink more water if it’s hot out or you’re being active.
- Your pee should be light yellow in color.
- Boost your water’s flavor with slices of lemon, life, or fresh fruit!
-
5
- Setting a regular bedtime for yourself
- Exercising regularly (but not within 3 hours of bedtime so it doesn’t keep you up).
- Avoiding caffeine after 4pm
- Relaxing before bed with a warm bath or reading.
- Not napping too much during the day.
- Avoiding all-nighters, which throw off your sleep schedule.
- Having good sleep hygiene: keep your lights low at bedtime to signal your brain it’s time to sleep, keep your room cool and dark overnight, and wake up with bright lights.
Take Charge of Your Health: A Guide for Teenagers
Making healthy decisions about what you eat and drink, how active you are, and how much sleep you get is a great place to start. Here you’ll learn
If you think you need to lose weight, talk with a health care professional first. A doctor or dietitian may be able to tell you if you need to lose weight and how to do so in a healthy way.
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- how your body works—how your body uses the food and drinks you consume and how being active may help your body "burn" calories
- how to choose healthy foods and drinks
- how to get moving and stay active
- how getting enough sleep is important to staying healthy
- how to ease into healthy habits and keep them up
- how to plan healthy meals and physical activities that fit your lifestyle
How does the body use energy?
Your body needs energy to function and grow. Calories from food and drinks give you that energy. Think of food as energy to charge up your battery for the day. Throughout the day, you use energy from the battery to think and move, so you need to eat and drink to stay powered up. Balancing the energy you take in through food and beverages with the energy you use for growth, activity, and daily living is called "energy balance." Energy balance may help you stay a healthy weight.
How many calories does your body need?
Different people need different amounts of calories to be active or stay a healthy weight. The number of calories you need depends on whether you are male or female, your genes, how old you are, your height and weight, whether you are still growing, and how active you are, which may not be the same every day.
How should you manage or control your weight?
Some teens try to lose weight by eating very little; cutting out whole groups of foods like foods with carbohydrates, or "carbs;" skipping meals; or fasting. These approaches to losing weight could be unhealthy because they may leave out important nutrients your body needs. In fact, unhealthy dieting could get in the way of trying to manage your weight because it may lead to a cycle of eating very little and then overeating because you get too hungry. Unhealthy dieting could also affect your mood and how you grow.
Smoking, making yourself vomit, or using diet pills or laxatives to lose weight may also lead to health problems. If you make yourself vomit, or use diet pills or laxatives to control your weight, you could have signs of a serious eating disorder and should talk with your health care professional or another trusted adult right away. If you smoke, which increases your risk of heart disease, cancer, and other health problems, quit smoking as soon as possible.If you think you need to lose weight, talk with a health care professional first. A doctor or dietitian may be able to tell you if you need to lose weight and how to do so in a healthy way.
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