Suggestions for an active teen?

[gnomechompsky]

I find it hard to keep up a high calorie diet and dont feel like i am getting all the additional vitamins and nutrients that i should be. I am almost certain that i dont get enough iron.

I was wondering if anybody had any diet suggestions?

I lift weights on a daily basis and am running track.

Usually i try to have some kind of tofu dish for breakfast and then have two pb&j's for lunch with a cliff bar usually thrown in sometime during the day and try to eat a variety for dinner along with a vitamin code supplement.

But its still not uncommon that i feel weak at some point during the day.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[sift to the seven]

I always used to have lulls in my energy levels in high school. After lunch sometimes my body would just make me fall asleep. I literally couldn't keep my eyes open. I've heard it's because all of the blood rushes to your stomach when you have a lot to digest.

 

I would recommend trying to up your carbohydrate intake possibly. I think you seem to get enough protein, with the tofu and peanut butter. People with muscles do talk a lot about protein though, so I think a protein shake couldn't hurt. However, carbs are easiest to digest and the bodies' prefered form of energy. So it seems easy to get lots of calories if you eat more carbs, since they don't make you as bloated - I've read that a lot of carbohydrate digestion occurs in the small intestine, not the stomach.

 

As an anecdote I saw a little girl at a vegetarian buffet eating a whole plate of rice. That goes to show, that kids know what they need to eat, and they have a ton of energy. (I was a camp counselor)

 

I recently made a great rice/lentil salad from a recipe on sweet brown rice from Bob's Red Mill. That is a very filling and healthy meal. It has vegetables, carbs and protein. Yum

 

As for nutritients, you could try sprouts or dark green vegetables (juiced makes them easiest to consume), 'superfoods' like spirulina', or something like vega, also, which, as far as I know, should be a relatively balanced supplement with lots of vitamins and minerals.

 

Hope this helps.

[gnomechompsky]

Thanks. That does help. I am trying to figure out something that i can brown bag to school to replace the pbj though. Muscling through a dry peanut butter sandwich every day can just be a bummer. I have been thinking of using the lunch meat recipe on vegandad.blogspot.com but im not sure if vegan mayo has to be refridgerated as strictly as regular does or not. That vegan dad blog is awesome by the way. If you have not seen it before i highly recomend checking it out.

 

But a bump up in carbs is a good idea. I will try that.

And I have been meaning to bust back out the wheatgrass juicer but have procrastinated on it for a while. I cant really justify vega though, the stuff is just too expensive for me.

 

Thanks for the advice.

[sift to the seven]

Sure. Sounds like you're doing well. I looked at that blog. Looks good. I might try a recipe especially since I've just started cooking again. Anyways I was searching through the "what you typically eat" thread and I found this post. I find it amusing that so much food could be consumed a day, and the main thing I noticed is that he does some snacking ; he eats pb&j for lunch, and also 2-3 pieces of fruit and some nuts. So adding fruit and nuts could be worth considering. I know i could use some more fruit in my diet. Now I'm getting hungry. Take care.