Live Light participant Raquel Alen wrote a wonderful article for her school newsletter. We were so impressed by how eloquently she spoke about weight and health. We just had to share it.
Part of being healthy is getting to and staying at a healthy weight. I am not talking about being model skinny either! We’re simply talking about how you can get to a weight that reduces your risk for diseases, like diabetes, in the future.
You’ll also find that being at a healthy weight gives you more energy, improves your mood and helps you tackle those day-to-day challenges.
Also it means eating healthy, like using portion control and not always eating fast food.
Another way to stay healthy is to drink at least 40 oz of water a day.
Try to not eat oily, sugary, or fatty foods every day.
Eat at least 7 pieces of fruit a day and 6 servings of vegetables.
Exercise at least an hour a day and also watch only 2 hours of TV a day. If you watch more, get up every commercial break and walk around, just so you won’t be a coach potato. I know you won’t probably feel it but you should do it. You can also jump rope as another way of exercise.
Another thing about healthy eating is to find low calorie and healthy substitutions for your favorite foods. Ice cream has at least 500 calories in two ice cream scoops. If you eat frozen yogurt, for example, you can get two scoops of frozen yogurt for only 300 calories. That means you can have more calories to use and you tackled your sweet tooth.
Here are more examples of substitutions:
| Things You Shouldn’t Eat | Things to Substitute The Taste |
|---|---|
| Fried Chicken | Baked Chicken |
| White Pasta | Wheat Pasta |
| Eggs | Egg substitute |
| White flour | Whole wheat floor |
| Ice cream | Frozen yogurt |
| White sugar, brown sugar | Honey or less sugar |
| Whole milk | Almond milk and 1% milk |
| Cake and Cookies | Fruits with whip cream |