Anna, the intermediate school student
Anna is almost 11. She doesn’t feel hungry first thing in the morning, so struggles to force down a bit of breakfast at the request of her mum. She takes a packed lunch to school, which only gets half-eaten too, much to the dismay of Mum, who is always saying "you need to eat more". She is always hungry at dinner time though, so eats it all … especially because she’s allowed icecream if she does! Does she think her diet is typical of an 11-year-old girl? "My friends eat kind of the same as me. They eat more of their lunch but I know they don’t each much of their dinner — and that’s when their mums nag them."
7am Bowl of Weet-Bix Bites with full-fat milk and some canned peaches — I eat only a couple of mouthfuls.
10am A Muffin bake bar and some grapes and a yoghurt. I always eat my muesli bars and biscuits. And I like fruit but don't always eat it all.
12.30pm A wrap with avocado and ham and the rest of my grapes. I only eat half the wrap. I am not hungry enough to eat all of it.
3.15pm A can of Mountain Dew and some lollies from the dairy. My friends buy these for me on the way home—Mum won't give me money to buy stuff from the dairy and my friends are really nice.
5pm After work Mum picks me up from a friend's and I have some potato chips and juice with Mum when we get home. Mum likes to snack while she's cooking dinner, so I get to have some too.
7.30pm Lamb with some boiled potatoes and green beans and a giant bowl of icecream. I am hungry and I eat it all.
Nadia Lim’s nutrition quick fix
Try having a smoothie for breakfast — banana, berry or peach, apricot or fruit salad (using tinned fruit). Smoothies can be easier to have than a solid breakfast first thing in the morning. It will give you a good dose of calcium, important for growing girls, too. How about packing a lunchbox full of nibbly things like slices of cooked meat, avocado, cherry tomatoes, wholegrain crackers, slices of cheese, etc? It’s often easier to eat this way if you aren’t hungry. It avoids the risk of soggy sandwiches too. You’re filling up on empty calories (foods with calories but no nutrition) after school. Get out of the habit of having fizzy drinks now, you will be very thankful later on. Why not make a healthy toastie or tomato and cheese melt on wholegrain toast when you get home from school — just as satisfying as the potato chips, but better for you.