Friday, August 24th.

     What's for lunch on Friday, August 24th?  Mini corn dogs, dinner roll, and french fries. (I opted for a different vegetable, though.)

Here is a breakdown of what I ate today.  I provided calorie counts for the labeled products.  The other food-I have no idea.

• 1/2 pint 1% low-fat milk........100 calories
• 1 can tomato juice..............30 calories
• 3 strawberries
• 6 mini corn dogs
• 1 (very) small roll
• 1 cup green vegetables
• butter/ketchup/ranch...........120 calories

     Total Vegetables: ~ 2 cups

     Total Fruit: ~ 1/2 cup

     Many people would say, well, this is a good sized lunch.  When I sat down to eat it, I too thought the same.  However, about an hour later in my math class, my stomach was growling, even though I had just eaten.  I found it difficult to focus on class, and wondered how other students were faring.  

     Unlike some of my classmates, I do not have football or sports practice right away after school.  I thought to myself, How on earth are they going to make it through practice, on such a light meal?  I am lucky enough to be able to go home after school and have a snack, while these athletes can't, and often have practice until 5 o'clock!  Surely, they can't preform their best when they are hungry.  Where will the energy they exert in practice come from? The answer is not the lunch they ate earlier in the day.  The meal is too small for anyone on the football team, or a cross country runner who routinely runs 5 miles a day in practice!  Those athletes need the energy from their lunch to perform well, and as of right now, they are not getting it.

     Simply put, this meal is not enough to keep a person full. In order to be focused in school and at practice, students need more than this snack to give them energy they need.

Until next time, stay full!!