OVERCOMING BARRIERS TO HEALTHY EATING
In today's society, people have more and more reasons as to why they are unable to eat healthy. Some are for a good reason, while others make up excuses just because they don't want the hassle of eating healthy.
TIME
‘I don't have enough time to prepare healthy meals.’ For the average teenager, time can be a large constraint. From having to wake up early in the morning to get ready for school, having to rush of to extracurricular activities, and to top it off a load of homework, time constraints can be a large 'problem'. A large community of teenage competitive dancers have to deal with time constraints for all aspects of their lives, especially when it comes to food choices. Knowing from personal experiences, being involved in something like this can mean little time for anything else, especially when you do it competitively. I know that I would come back from dance at 9:00 all tired and hungry, but by the time I finished showering and doing homework it was passed mid night and it was time to go to sleep. At this point, I would forget all about dinner, or opt for a high calorie unhealthy meal on the way home which was definitely not the right choice. However, getting your priorities straight really helps.
‘I don't know what foods are best to eat!’ Some people simply do not know about healthy eating and are unaware of the resources available. This holds true for many teenager who's schools do not emphasize this. They don't know what foods they should be eating, what is good for them, how much calories they should be consuming, etc.. However, it's never too late to learn. With the right resources, you can completely educate yourself on the topic of healthy eating and go from knowing nothing, to know what you need to do to be the healthiest you can be.
KNOWLEDGE
TOO DIFFICULT
‘I eat out a lot and find it hard to eat well!’ Sometimes, having become accustomed to a certain lifestyle can be difficult to alter, however, with the motivation to overcome it, it is possible to change the way that you live.