Dear 16-year-old self…

One week from today, I will be flying to Dallas to attend the Blissdom conference.

This will be my first ever blogging conference, so I’m a little nervous.  But, I am very thankful that the conference is put on by my friend Alli who I traveled with to Ethiopia last year.  Plus, I will be there with my fellow California Raisins bloggers, and they are a wonderful bunch.  I’m having a hard time already trying to decide what sessions to go to, as the schedule is jam packed with incredible speakers.

But, before all of that, just a couple hours after I land in Dallas, I will be putting on a session of my own.  No, not at the conference, at a local high school.  I will speaking to an auditorium full of coaches, teachers, athletes and parents.

My talk is titled “Eat Right, Play Right: Proper Nutrition for the Teenage Athlete.”

But what I wanted to call it was, “Do You Know What Kind of Crap Your Kids Are Eating?”

See last year, I worked with the girl’s basketball team from this school.  Their coach contacted me because her players didn’t have enough stamina to make it through a simple workout.  She knew they weren’t drinking enough water and was suspecting an overall poor diet.  I had them fill out a food log for a week and send it to me.  I expected to see a bunch of fast food and junk, but even I was shocked that many of them considered Cheetos and Dr. Pepper a balanced breakfast.

My first thought was, “How can they eat this crap?”

My second thought was, “Oh yeah, I ate that crap too when I was sixteen.”  I remember going for a six mile run with the cross country team and coming home to scarf down a bowl of mint chocolate ice cream the size of my head.  At one point in my teenage life I had a 2-pack-a-day Nutty Bar habit.  And don’t get me started on the fresh gooey Otis Spunkmeyer cookie bags they sold in the cafeteria.  4 giant cookies for $1?  Perfect afternoon snack.

Thankfully I had parents who made sure I ate healthy food at home.  My dad was insistent on sending us to school on a full stomach.  He was up a the crack of dawn (or earlier) to cook a healthy breakfast for my grumpy self (I am not a morning person).  And after basketball or soccer practice, we always came home to a healthy dinner.

Some of the kids who sent me their food logs don’t seem to have this home support.  That’s where the fast food creeps in.  And I worry because right now they are already feeling the side effects of their poor diet.  Nausea and fatigue during practice, muscle cramps during games, trouble focusing in school.

The good news is, the girls who I spoke with last year have made changes to their diet and have already seen results.  With an increased water intake and healthier food choices, their athletic performance has improved.  One of them even signed to play basketball at Harvard!

I hope to offer some practical tips, healthy alternatives, and maybe a little inspiration.  I would also like to include a few quotes from you.  So tell me, what would you say to your 16-year-old self?

If I could go back in time, I would tell my 16-year-old self to put down the Nutty Bars, drink more water, and spend some time in the kitchen with my parents.  Oh, and don’t be afraid to look in the mirror every once in a while.

What would you say to your teenage self?