CHAPTER 1: Exercise and Eating

Endurance Exercise

Endurance exercise is for your heart and lungs. Walking, bicycling, and swimming are the safest examples of endurance exercise. Walking stimulates the heart and lungs even if your speed is only 3 miles per hour. If you can get your heart rate to 125-170 beats a minute for 30 minutes three times a week, you are doing enough exercise. However, working up to this level may take time.

Strength Exercising

Strength exercising is very important for maintaining the ability to do things that require strength--climbing stairs, getting out of a chair, and carrying packages. Strength exercises increase stability of joints and general flexibility. You should try to do regular weight-moving exercises 3 days a week. This form of exercise is very safe but should begin with a low weight load.

Doing Exercise: Three Points

1. Get an exercise pattern that will work into your life. Doing lots of exercise one week and nothing the next week is the wrong way to go. Better to do some each week. Mixing forms of exercise is a great way to keep having fun. The idea that weight lifting and running is the only exercise is wrong. There are many different types of exercise to enjoy.
2. Remember that endurance exercise is better for you than strength exercise. Therefore, if your time is limited, you will gain the most by taking a very fast walk three times a week and counting your pulse (at the wrist) for 60 seconds to check your heart rate.
3. Don't forget your stomach (abdomen) muscles. Most adults get back pains. The back gets a lot of its strength from a strong abdomen. Sit- ups with knees bent are good exercises to keep the abdominal muscles in shape. Start training your abdomen (and back) for adulthood.

Watch Out! for Too Much Exercise and Dieting

Having a "beautiful figure" or big muscles is a normal desire for most teens. We have all read about the ugly duckling that becomes a beautiful swan; the frog that turns into a prince. We normally want to become something quickly. However, a lot of the changes a teenager goes through are part of an inherited, biological "clock" that we have when we are born. It ticks at its own speed, and no matter what we do with our diet or exercise we can't make it go faster. But we can damage the clock by overdoing.

Some boys and a few athletic girls try to build up muscles by lifting more weight than they should. And some will be tempted to use "steroid" pills and similar supplements to build up their muscles faster. Really bad things happen to steroid users -- we won't go through the list of bad things here because it is so long. But death is on the list. Other supplements such as creatine and "andro" may also cause problems.

Exercise injuries.

The young adolescent needs to learn skills so that the heavy exercise of many sports are added to a body and mind that is ready. After age 15, most adolescents are ready to train.

Over-straining of the legs can cause pain and swelling below the kneecap. The pain is increased by running or kneeling. After the period of rapid adolescent growth, the pain (called Osgood Schlatter disease) will usually go away.

"Shin splints" over the front, lower leg are caused by irritation of muscles and tendons from running on hard surfaces. The pain is noticeable at the beginning of running and can result in a small break in the bone if the exercise is not stopped.

Jumper's knee, Achilles tendonitis, and other injuries all occur from overusing a part of the body. Stretching and gradually getting in shape are the best protection.

A few people exercise and diet too much. Their need to feel fit and thin takes over their thinking. Worrying about weight loss and exercise is common. If you or someone you know is having these feelings, talking with a doctor is very important, the sooner the better. Too much exercise and weight loss can cause death. They may have a problem called anorexia nervosa (an-no-rexia-nerve-osa).

This condition results from too much concern about food, appearance, and weight. The person who has this condition may exercise a lot, overeat and throw-up, really fear weight gain, and be pleased when a lot of weight is lost. The condition is very dangerous.

What Do You Need to Eat?

Your body loses proteins, vitamins, and minerals every day. These have to be replaced. Proteins are the building blocks for your body. Proteins come from meat, poultry, fish, eggs, beans, nuts, or peanut butter. You should eat several servings each day from the high protein and high vitamin and mineral food groups. A lot of vitamins and minerals are found in fruits, vegetables, meats, dairy products, and enriched breads or cereals. Calcium needs for bone growth increase during the teen years. For teens who can't drink milk, take Tums or try tofu, sardines, and yogurt for the necessary calcium.

Girls require 50% more iron than do boys. High iron foods include liver, green vegetables, and fortified cereals.

When food is used in the body, it produces energy for heat, growth, and life. This energy is measured in calories (kal-o-rees). Most boys require approximately 2500 calories per day - during the growth spurt this increases to about 3000 calories per day. These are averages and will vary depending on the amount of activity you do. Most teen girls require about 2200 calories per day.

The active athlete who engages in 2 hours per day of heavy exercise needs an additional 800-1500 extra calories per day above the usual recommended levels. The athlete should increase fluid intake for several days before an event. Athletes should also increase their intake of iron.

What's the Easiest Way to Eat well?

• Try to have at least one meal a day when the whole family is together. It is more likely for you to eat healthy foods when the whole family eats healthy foods.
• Get in the habit of reading food labels. Look at the total calories you get and the percent of calories from fat and protein. Try to keep fat at less than 30% each day and protein more than 15%.
• Snack no more than a few times a day.

For Vegetarians and Serious Athletes

If you are a strict vegetarian, you need to talk to a nutritionist. Your doctor can put you in touch with one. It is particularly difficult to get all of the needed proteins, vitamins, and minerals if you are a vegetarian and eat no milk products or eggs. You may need vitamin B12 too. Protein intake is the most important concern. In general, a vegetarian has to consume a lot more food to equal the caloric intake of someone who also eats meats, poultry, and fish. Most vegetarians eat milk products and that greatly improves the chances for getting necessary calories, vitamins, and minerals.

What Don't You Need to Eat?

Our bodies were made to store body fat quickly from food. When humans lived in caves, they needed to live a long time without food. Our body doesn't seem to know we don't live in caves any more. An average American now has enough fat stored to live several months without food.

When you eat too many calories, you turn them into fat. Eating only 100 calories per day more than you need will store about 36500 excess calories as fat in a year - almost 10 pounds. Kids who drink one sweetened soda or juice a day are much more likely to end up being overweight than kids who do not drink sweetened juice or soda. (This has been studied and is True!).

• Try to change snack habits. Replace chips, candy, and cookies with crackers, cheese, nuts, fruit, juices, low- fat yogurt, and vegetables.
• To avoid too many concentrated carbohydrates, try to change snack habits. Better than chips, candy, and cookies are low-salt crackers, fruit, juices, and vegetables.
• Try to cut back on sugar. Keep the sugar bowl off the table. Decrease candy and pastry consumption. Avoid desserts of sweet foods. Avoid soft drinks and fruit drinks high in sugar. Check the ingredient label and avoid those that have sugar high on the ingredient list-- this includes such sugars as glucose, sucrose, fructose, and corn syrup.
• Try to cut back on some fats in your diet. Broil or bake foods rather than frying them. Chicken may have less fat than beef but when deep fried, chicken has twice as much fat as a hamburger. Select lean cuts of meat. Eat fish and poultry instead of red meats. Use low-fat or non-fat milk products. Cut down on hidden fat in fried foods, foods served with heavy sauces or gravies, pastries, and even chocolates. Reduce milk to 2% fat or less. You won't notice much difference in taste.