The Adolescent Dietitian - Sam Armstrong

The Adolescent Dietitian - Sam Armstrong Sports Dietitian with over 10 years working in sport with teenagers. My belief is that healthy, well-informed teens means h

Passionate about adolescent growth and performance, as well as helping foster positive relationships with food and body.

Does this look familiar?⁠⁠There's LOADS of reasons your teen might seem more snacky on school holidays, and no, its not ...
11/01/2022

Does this look familiar?⁠
⁠
There's LOADS of reasons your teen might seem more snacky on school holidays, and no, its not just boredom!⁠
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Teenagers often undershoot their calorie needs through term (between school, sport and just limited time) so when they finally get a break their body likes to compensate. Also a lot of teenagers end up growing over the school holidays because of this, so this definitely isn't a bad thing!⁠
⁠
"But they're just eating junk!" I hear you.⁠
⁠
What can you do?⁠
- Make some high protein choices available at all times; protein is both satisfying and great for growing and repairing their bodies.⁠
- Make sure they're drinking enough; thirst and hunger and pretty similar signals in our brain, so make sure they're still staying hydrated!⁠
- If there is junk in the house, make it hard to make; teens will trend to easy options. Frozen dim sims might take 30mins, but picking at leftovers from last night I can do now.

Wait, what?⁠⁠According to a HUGE systematic review, every 245ml of milk consumed per day (DURING your growing years) res...
10/01/2022

Wait, what?⁠
⁠
According to a HUGE systematic review, every 245ml of milk consumed per day (DURING your growing years) results in an extra 0.4cm of height per year!⁠
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So if your teenager is a milk fiend, nothing to worry about. But if your child is avoiding dairy, this might change their mind! Especially active kids, as their need for calcium is higher than the average teenager too.⁠
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Note: sorry short adults, if you're done growing, you're done. Don't worry, I feel your pain.

I often get asked "how can I get my teen to eat right on holidays?"⁠⁠Make it easy.⁠Make it accessible.⁠Make it simple.⁠⁠...
09/01/2022

I often get asked "how can I get my teen to eat right on holidays?"⁠
⁠
Make it easy.⁠
Make it accessible.⁠
Make it simple.⁠
⁠
Most teenagers don't want to spend hours thinking about their meal or snack. Most want to get back to whatever else they're doing on their holidays.⁠
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So what can you do?⁠
- Make a lunch box like in school; they can take it to their room or out with them and you'll know they're getting a similar intake.⁠
- Have lots of snacks out on the bench; if they can see it, they'll eat it. Have the foods you want them having easily visible.⁠
- Let them know; if they're allowed to take leftovers, tell them! If they're allowed to eat the muesli bars, tell them! Or better yet, leave a note so you know they have a record of it.

Did you know this? 🤔⁠⁠We hear a lot about girls becoming Iron Deficient - and this is definitely a pressing issue - but ...
20/05/2021

Did you know this? 🤔⁠
⁠
We hear a lot about girls becoming Iron Deficient - and this is definitely a pressing issue - but did you know teenage boys are also at risk? 😵⁠
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Some of the reasons teenage boys become deficient in iron include;⁠
- Rapid growth ⬆️⁠
- High training loads 🏃‍♂️⁠
- Low iron intake 🥩⁠
- Gastrointestinal upset 💩⁠
⁠
So what are some of the symptoms to look out for?⁠
- Increased fatigue 😴⁠
- Decreased training / competition performance ⬇️⁠
- Failure to grow at expected rate 👦⁠
- Irritability / mood swings 🤬⁠
- Repeat infections / illnesses 🤧⁠
- Loss of appetite 🤭⁠
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Fortunately most of the time fixing iron deficiency in boys doesn't take too long - but it can go undiagnosed for a while! So if you or your boy is showing any of these symptoms, shoot me a DM and get a booking with your GP - he might need some Iron stat!

How do you talk to teenagers about healthy habits? 🤔⁠⁠This is one of my favourite questions when working with a new teen...
19/05/2021

How do you talk to teenagers about healthy habits? 🤔⁠
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This is one of my favourite questions when working with a new teen client. Its usually a concept we've internalised that's been informed by parents, friends and social media. It gives a beautiful snapshot into what parts of health are important to a teenager.⁠
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"So, what does healthy mean to you?"⁠
"Do you believe you match up against your definition of healthy? Why/why not?"⁠
"Is being healthy important to you?"⁠
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Simple questions like these (without any judgement or an ulterior motive) can really start a conversation about health and healthy behaviours. In fact, I encourage you to ask yourselves the same questions and unpack your own beliefs!⁠
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Sometimes this stuff can be a bit touchy or hard for a parent to do - sometimes kids and teenagers shut off and don't want to have this conversations. That's ok, that's a big part of why I love to work in this space. I can be the one asking these questions instead 😁

The best thing you can be for your kids is an example 😊⁠⁠I feel like I'm going to get some hate here so let me clarify -...
19/05/2021

The best thing you can be for your kids is an example 😊⁠
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I feel like I'm going to get some hate here so let me clarify - if your child has an eating disorder it is NOT your fault, as eating disorders are multi-faceted and have many contributing factors. 😓⁠
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BUT. If children and teenagers don't see healthy eating demonstrated at home, where are they going to see it? ⁠
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So have a think about your health behaviours;⁠
- Are you eating the amount of vegetables you expect your kids to eat? 🥦⁠
- Are you eating regularly like you would like your kids to? ⏰⁠
- Are you talking about food in a positive way (how it nourishes us, how good it tastes and gives us energy?) 😋⁠
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Or on the flip side...⁠
- Are there such things as "good" and "bad" foods in your house? 😬⁠
- Do you talk about "feeling guilty" about eating certain foods? 🤯⁠
- Do you use the word "fat" in a negative way? 😢⁠
- Do you talk about "needing to go on a diet"? 😕⁠
- Do you talk about how your body was "never the same" after having your kids? 😰⁠
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Demonstrating healthy behaviours in the home, both in how we eat and how we talk about food is so vital for how our kids will behave and feel about food. 😇⁠
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If you're worried about what you're passing on to your kids, let me know - I am always happy to help 😁

This is something I say a lot in clinic.- It’s “common” for adolescent females to become iron deficient.- It’s “common” ...
17/05/2021

This is something I say a lot in clinic.

- It’s “common” for adolescent females to become iron deficient.
- It’s “common” for adolescent athletes to get fatigued.
- It’s “common” for adolescent athletes to get stress fractures in their growing years.
- It’s “common” for adolescent athletes to be starving all the time.
- It’s “common” for growth to be slowed during high training loads.
- It’s “common” for adolescent female athletes to lose their period.
- It’s “common” for adolescent athletes to develop disordered eating.

But none of these things are normal. None of these examples point to optimal health of our young athletes 🙅‍♀️

Just because somethings happens a lot, doesn’t mean it’s good. In fact in these cases, it points to something that needs to be addressed ASAP by a health professional 👩‍⚕️

Are you experiencing any of these? Or have you experienced these and been told it was “normal”?

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