EXERCISE 
If you are a member of a school sports team, your exercise will probably be covered; however, if you’re not, or if you take a long vacation, try to get outside and do something active everyday.  Cardio-vascular exercise is much more essential to overall health than weightlifting or muscle toning.  Cardio-vascular exercise will actually make your heart beat faster, and gets blood flowing throw your body better.  Running remains the best cardio-vascular exercise.  If you like sports such as tennis or basketball and you can get someone to play with you for an hour or so, this will be more fun, and serve you just as well.  It’s not the actual number of days that you stay active that is important, but rather the consistency to which your activeness occurs.  Running every other day for two months is much more valuable than running every day for one month straight and then doing nothing the second month. 

The general idea to keep in mind with exercise is that it should always be a part of your life in some way.  Just try to spend time outside when there are nice days, and just be sure that you continue to stay active overall.  If you work up a sweat that’s a good sign, it is actually moisture seeping out of the pores in your body.  So whenever you exercise, be sure to drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration.  Also, be sure that you aren’t working yourself too hard, you can do permanent damage.  If your body is telling you it’s time to stop, it probably is.  If you have trouble in the beginning, that’s okay, try slowly increasing the intensity and duration of your exercises over a period of time.  

Easy and Fun Exercise Ideas

• Running
• Team sports or any other school sports with constant movement
• Walking instead of driving 
• Biking 
• Skateboarding
• Rollerblading
• Hiking
• Ultimate Frisbee
• Jogging or actively playing with a dog

EATING
The food pyramid is the best guide to use for long-range dietary plans. However, as noted earlier, there are numerous other ways to eat healthy. The main thing to keep in mind when eating is is to get the RDA of all nutrients in your diet. The USDA and other organizations have done extensive research, and how much they tell you to eat in each food category is accurate. Even fat has a purpose, and there is a RDA for that as well. Look at the nutritional facts on all the foods you eat, and you can figure out roughly if you are getting all you need.  Eating healthy should never be a burden, or else you obviously won’t want to.  Calories are probably the most publicized of all nutrients, and cutting calories is always the goal of those who are trying to lose weight. As a teenager, however, calories are very important. Calories are what give us the energy to do our day-to-day activities, and if you aren’t getting enough, you could become exhausted, depressed, and irritable. 

Teenagers, depending on their size, should be consuming at least 2000 calories per day, and in some cases, as many as 3000. When you are concerned that you might be eating too many calories, be sure to check the calories that come from fat. Those are the most harmful. Calories from fat should never represent more than 50% of your total calorie intake, and should ideally be somewhere around 30%. There is much more to healthy eating than calories however. It is important to be aware of all the nutritional information available to you. Take a look at some of the resources provided, and you might be surprised at what you find. Also, keep in mind that it is just as important to drink healthy, as it is to eat healthy. Everyday you should be drinking 4 or 5 glasses of water to stay healthy. Here are some food ideas that can make it possible for you to eat healthier but still get those foods that you love.  

Easy, tasty and healthy food ideas

• Frozen Yogurt instead of Ice Cream
• Light popcorn
• Skim or 1% milk
• Chicken salads
• Baked potato chips
• Grilled instead of fried meat
• Fish
• Soups
• Juice instead of soda
• Water, Water, Water!