How Much Should I Eat?

It’s not important that you know every nutrient in every food you eat. The Food Pyramid was created to help you eat healthy and get the key nutrients you need each day. Each food supplies specific nutrients.

Turn to the “Food Pyramid for Teens” worksheet on page 2. The amounts shown on this pyramid are for teens. Younger, less active teens should eat the smaller amounts. Older, more active teens can eat more.

Let’s review the Food Pyramid

Why is it important to eat a variety of foods within each food group?

Foods in the same group contain different nutrients. For example, if you just ate oranges you would get plenty of vitamin C, but you wouldn’t get other important vitamins.

Why is it important to balance your diet to include food from all of the groups?

Each of the food groups provides different nutrients. If you ate from just 1 or 2 of the food groups you would be missing important nutrients.

Why is it important to practice moderation in eating foods from each of the food groups?

Eating too many calories or not being active enough will result in weight gain.

What is a calorie?

What is a Calorie? A calorie is the amount of energy in a food. The number of calories you need depends on your age, gender and activity level. High school students need between 1,800 and 3,200 calories a day. Use your daily calories to get the nutrients you need from the food groups to keep your body strong and healthy.

Why is it important to be physically active?

In addition to healthy eating, you need to move your body every day. Daily physical activity provides many health benefits, helps keep you at a healthy weight, and is fun!

It’s important to understand how much you should eat of the foods in each food group. This will help you get the nutrients you need and stay within your calories for the day.

Turn to “How Much Should I Eat?” on page 3. We will review the different quantities for each food group.

Turn to “My Daily Food Recall – Day 1” on page 5. Read the directions and complete the activity.

You will be completing another “My Daily Food Recall” in the next class. Try to remember everything you eat. These recalls will help you determine the areas in which you need to improve.

NEXT CLASS!!!!! Bring AT LEAST 1 food label to be used next time!