The Ten Guidelines for Teen Girls: Adopting a Healthy Lifestyle

Right after the Bat Mitzvah festivities, you're mature enough to adopt a healthy lifestyle, one that will make you feel good. Indeed, there's no need to suffer from stomachaches or headaches. There's also no need to develop extravagant acne on your face, as you can definitely enjoy a sporty, light, and vital feeling. There's no reason to fill your body with junk food just because your weight is normal. You too deserve nutritious and healthy food. Here's a list of ten habits you should consider adopting. You don't have to adopt them all at once; ease into it gradually, perhaps by Rosh Hashanah. Pick one thing from each category, and slowly add more.

"Man is born to work"

As it is written in the Book of Job. In the past, people used to work hard physically and therefore did not need exercise classes. But today, even in school gym class, you don’t exercise enough (because part of the time is wasted waiting in line). So, there is simply no way that you do not choose a regular sporting activity at least twice a week. It doesn’t matter what you choose, as long as it is something you can stick with. So if you suffer from the cold, don't sign up for swimming in the winter. And if you like to walk, find a friend to walk with regularly. No, walking to school doesn't count.

Beauty Sleep

According to the American Sleep Association, teenagers need eight to ten hours of sleep. These hours of sleep should preferably be at night, and not during the day, as happens during vacations. Why? Because at night we secrete the growth hormone, which helps with growth and also facilitates metabolism at a normal rate. Now, anyone who paid attention in science class knows that every cell in our body regenerates, and this includes skin cells. In other words, those who sleep while their growth hormone is active will regenerate their skin cells at the right pace. This is, of course, not the only advantage, but it is certainly an advantage.

Relax

A healthy mind in a healthy body, as they say. Therefore, if every test keeps you awake, if homework and teachers bore you, if friends annoy you, and if you feel like you're sitting on a powder keg about to explode, or life feels down instead of up, you should learn relaxation techniques. Everyone has a different method that suits them: you can go for a run, write for yourself, take a calm walk in the open air, or talk about it with parents or a friend. If none of this helps, you should know that complementary medicine offers great solutions, such as: Bach flower remedies (dropping a few drops under the tongue), guided imagery, yoga, laughter yoga, and more.

Water Discipline

In Midrash Rabbah, Song of Songs, it is written, "Just as water purifies the body..." From here we learn one of the roles of water, which is to purify the body. In a healthy body, water flows. Yes, water. Not cola, not iced tea... just clean and pure water. The bloodstream delivers all nutrients to each organ of the body, and it also does this with the help of water. So someone who drinks a liter and a half of water every day nourishes all her body's cells. If water contains artificial colors, sugars, and food acids, she's also feeding her cells these harmful substances. Isn't that a shame? Therefore, take two half-liter bottles of water to school. Drink the water until four o'clock in the afternoon. At home, refill one of the bottles and drink it by night. This will keep you clear and pure.

If You’re Smart, Watch What You Eat

Food isn't a mystery. Read the labels on food packages. Also, read the nutritional values table that appears there. If the first ingredient listed on a chocolate drink is sugar and not cocoa, it means sugar is the main ingredient in the drink. If the ingredient list of bread shows it contains hardened vegetable oil, it means the bread contains margarine. Not good! Additionally, the longer the ingredient list, the more processed and harmful the food. It's good to know that healthy food contains only one ingredient, like rice, raw tahini, beans, and more.

Snacking

Food is not for snacking, food is for eating. Salty snacks and sweet candies are not a substitute for food. Until about a hundred years ago, many generations of happy and content children and teenagers grew up without candies because they hadn't been invented yet... This new food group is packed with salt, sugars, and the lowest-quality fats. If you're desperate to snack, limit yourself to one or two snacks a week. Reserve snacks for Shabbat, or a party, or a trip that takes place that week.

(Photo: shutterstock)

Blessings List

Notice, if the only blessing you recite is "shehakol nihye bedvaro," you're in trouble. Vary it with "bore pri ha-etz" for three fruits every day, and "bore pri ha-adama" for five vegetables a day and legumes, "bore minei mezonot" for whole grain rice and "hamotzi lechem" for whole wheat bread. What will you get from this? A lot of dietary fibers that will help your digestive system work efficiently, saving you a long and tiring stay in the restroom (shhh... you didn't hear it from me...).

Free Choice

If you're among those whose parents nag you every time you take an extra portion because your weight is too high, you should tell them to ease up. Not for two hours, but forever. Because no one loses weight for someone else. Even when that person is their loving and caring parents. A person goes on a weight loss diet only for themselves. This is a tested and proven fact. Therefore, only when all the responsibility for the excess weight is in your hands, will you believe in yourself and be able to lose weight.

No Screens During Meals<

Even if you eat alone or if you eat with friends or family, invite your subconscious and conscious mind to the meal too. Only then can you truly enjoy the food, only then can your body direct the nutrients to the right places and not to the fat cells, and only then won't you have an emotional need to eat another portion. For this, you'll have to part with screens, not permanently, just during the meal.

Prevention Is Key<

There’s no way you're going to school with money and no food. It’s clear to everyone, including you, that at a certain hour you'll find yourself ravenously hungry, and soon after you'll be in line for a bureka, a cheese-dripping toast, or just a sugar-laden snack. Shortly afterward, all these fats and sugars will try to escape from you through different paths, some through the pores on your face, causing you acne and frustration. Therefore, go to school with a sandwich (preferably whole grain) with a nutritious spread (not chocolate spread), with a box of fruits, and a box of chopped vegetables.

Want to learn more? Purchase the "Growing Healthy" series of lessons taught by naturopath Sara Bar Asher, at the Jewish Campus of Hidabroot.

Sara Bar Asher is a naturopath and lecturer on nutrition and the food industry. Barasher@zahav.net.il