Published on 12, July, 2020
I have to be honest, I don’t know very much about what is healthy and nutritious for you, I grew up on sugary breakfast cereal, instant soup cans, and frozen pizza for most of my childhood. Now I’m a teen just trying to improve her health but there’s so much conflicting information out there. I thought I was being healthier by making coffee at home and using sugar free syrups in it instead of going to Starbucks every morning and starting my day with 300 liquid calories, but now I’m hearing that what I’m doing is apparently worse? And I thought buying the banza Mac and cheese boxes and pairing it with some broccoli was better than my usual Kraft Mac and cheese box but now I’m being told it’s not? And I thought eating a bunch of fruits and vegetables throughout the day surely would be healthy right??? But every one just says “too many carbs and sugars.” It just seems like every food I find that I think is healthy is apparently not, what am I supposed to eat??? It’s like there’s something wrong with every food on earth! I don’t know what to do, I just wanted to be healthier :(
Hi! I'm training to be a Nutritionist and you're right, there is a lot of conflicting information out there and not all of it is reliable. I would really recommend keeping things simple and just taking small steps in the right direction. This is exactly what you started to do and I congratulate you for that!
Please don't let anyone tell you fruit and veg isn't good for you :) A simple and good rule of thumb is just introducing more natural foods to what you're having, exactly like you did with the broccoli. So add some veg or salad with your Mac, add some berries with your breakfast, drink some water before your coffee. Maybe swap the Mac once in a while for some whole grains - like brown rice, quinoa, barley, cous cous, try a couple of things and see what you like. But I find it much easier and better to add healthy foods in and gradually increase them rather than worrying about what you "shouldn't" have. You really don't need to worry about the carbs and sugars in fruit and veg.