Diet for Young Adults

Active young adults need to have well-balanced diets to fuel both their energetic lives, as well as bone and muscle growth. Three nutrient-packed meals in addition to several snacks are required daily to keep young adults at a healthy weight, even when dieting, to lose weight. A multivitamin also mioght be taken daily to help replace nutrients missing from the diet.

More Fruit and Veggies

• An easy way for a young adult to lose weight is to add more fruits and vegetables to his diet. Also, reduce intake of fried foods from fast-food restaurants and convenience snack foods like potato chips and cookies. The U.S. Food & Drug Administration recommends that four to five servings of fruits and vegetables be consumed daily for an optimal healthy diet.

  Young adults need essential nutrients like iron and magnesium to maintain normal muscle and nerve function, keep bones strong and support a healthy immune system. These nutrients are often found in green vegetables like broccoli, collards, spinach, kale and cabbage, which young adults may shy away from. Get those green veggies into the diet with mixed salads both at lunch and dinner. Also, steam veggies, and use a butter-flavored spray like Pam to improve the taste and appeal. Keep fresh fruit out on the counter in easy reach for when hunger strikes.

Use Meat as an Ingredient

• Lose weight by eating less red meat and more chicken and fish. Most young adults don't recognize chicken unless it's a nugget with a dipping sauce. Look for ways to make plain broiled chicken more appealing by marinating it or adding herbs, lemon and garlic before cooking.

  Use less red meat by adding it as an ingredient rather than having it as the star of the meal. Add about 2 ounces of thinly sliced steak like sirloin or flank steak per serving to a vegetable stir fry medley with scallions, carrots, and napa cabbage. Add Hoisin, Teriyaki, or chili sauce to give a low meat meal some wow.

Beef Up the Fish

• Nothing is lower in calories and provides more essential nutrients like Omega-3 oil for cardiovascular, immune system, and brain function than seafood. Fish is a food that young adults rarely order when out and eat at home only under pressure. Adding fish to the diet regularly is not only healthy but helps to reduce body weight. Opt for shrimp, scallops, clams or lobster to coax young adults down seafood row. Bake or broil, and use olive oil instead of butter to flavor.