From mandatory gym classes to club sports and activities, South serves as a resource for students trying to maintain healthy lifestyles. According to health teacher Courtney Kelly, however, it is a student’s responsibility to maintain a disciplined, healthy life.

“Behavior and decision making is essential to our course and how we can instill students to make better decisions and develop good, healthy behaviors so that they can carry that with them throughout their lives,” Kelly said.

According to Kelly, the trend of poor health behaviors among adolescents urged her to be a part of the change.

Similarly, physical education teacher Patricia Moulakelis was interested in the declining health of high school students.

Moulakelis began her fitness career at 16, working at the Women’s Workout World. After receiving her professional certificate and becoming a personal trainer, she shifted her fitness interests to high school students.

“Kids may think that they’re invincible now, that what they do to their body might not harm them later, but if they start [living healthily] […] then they won’t have those lingering effects when they’re older,” Moulakelis said.

Besides teaching students in Dance and Total Body Conditioning, Moulakelis also runs a before-school boot camp for North and South teachers at South.

Nutrition is another part of a healthy lifestyle. In order to obtain proper nutrients, Moulakelis suggests packing snacks such as fruits and nuts to eat throughout the day. Kelly also suggests to look for better school meal options or to pack a healthy lunch.

According to Moulakelis, students wanting to maintain a healthy lifestyle should avoid “fad diets.”

“Your body starts to break down if you’re not getting the nutrition that you need, and it starts to get injured, you feel fatigued and your mind is not working as well as it should be,” Moulakelis said.

Moulakelis also commented on the trend of students starting to focus more on physical capability rather than societal, image-based goals.

“I don’t think [becoming excessively thin] is realistic,” Moulakelis said. “Nobody looks like that unless you’re a model. Even professional athletes [are] getting bigger and just need more muscle mass and [are] becoming more fit that way, [as opposed to becoming thin].”

According to Kelly, in order to create a sustainable, healthy life, students should start making good health choices now.

“Start working out now,” Kelly said. “Start maintaining healthy habits now because that is going to carry on into your adulthood. If you aren’t maintaining those behaviors, make the changes now.”

Moulakelis has similar thoughts.

“I’m probably stronger and wiser in my 40’s than I was in my 20’s,” Moulakelis said. “I think as you get older, you get smarter in what your body can take.”

Moulakelis strives to instill not only fitness but also confidence within her students.

“The main goal for me is [for my students] to have confidence, to be able to develop their own fitness program so they can do it on their own and feel confident about going to a health club,” Moulakelis said. “That’s my goal.”

Better Bites

Better Bites is a new club at South in which students can discuss different ways to promote healthy lifestyles.

According to sponsor Michelle Scheinkopf, students come in with food recipes and discuss ways to change some of the originally unhealthy elements.

“There are some things that we can tweak to lower fat content,” Scheinkopf said. “Get rid of the cholesterol. Lower the sugar a little bit [by] maybe using applesauce instead of oil.”

In addition, students will be provided with opportunities to learn some exercise moves or hear from guest speakers like nutritionists, dieticians, exercise physiologists or yoga teachers, according to Scheinkopf.

“Let’s listen, let’s learn and let’s go out and act on it,” Scheinkopf said. “I want to get that word out the most, that this is not going to be a club where you just sit back and listen. It’s going to be a club where we do things.”

Better Bites meets every other Friday in room 715.

South offers several resources including P.E. classes and a fitness center to advocate student health. The Oracle highlights five students who take it a step further by maintaining healthy lifestyles outside of school.

CHLOE COLETTA

Living healthily does not only consist of eating clean and exercising, but ensuring everything in daily life benefits the body, mind and future, according to senior Chloe Coletta.

Though restricted by school and work, Coletta is still able to maintain her workout schedule, exercising six days a week at the Glenview Park Center. Despite her strict workouts, Coletta does not have a goal weight in mind.

“The only goal that keeps me going is to be the best ‘me’ I can be,” Coletta said. “You could say I’ve already reached my goals because I am happier, healthier and stronger than I’ve ever been.”

Coletta explained the shift in her mindset, from trying to lose weight to trying to become healthier.

“I wanted to be the thin girl that every girl dreams of being,” Coletta said. “I slowly ditched the ‘thinspo’ attitude and eased into a ‘fitspo’ attitude. I do not just want to lose weight, I want to be strong and in shape.”

Coletta recalled the first day of her healthy lifestyle.

“I first began my healthy lifestyle around Halloween of 2012,” Coletta said. “I was sitting on my couch with a bag of potato chips, completely disgusted with myself. I went to the gym that day and decided to make a change.”

Though there are difficult moments in Coletta’s healthy lifestyle, she hasn’t

doubted herself once.

“I definitely have my good days and my bad days,” Coletta said. “I have my moments where I think, ‘This is all for nothing,’ but it isn’t.”

According to Coletta, her advice to students would be to “just keep going” and stay motivated.

“Every time you workout, you are one step closer to your goal,” Coletta said. “Do something today that your future self will thank you for.”

KATIE HAULDREN

For sophomore Katie Hauldren, her health is her priority.

“It’s all about balance,” Hauldren said. “If I know I want to go to yoga for an hour one night, I make sure I focus on getting my homework done before then. If you put health high up on your priority list, then you will make time to workout or go buy healthy foods or sleep that extra hour.”

According to Hauldren, she tries to get some form of physical activity in every single day.

“I really try to not do the same thing two days in a row to really keep it fun,” Hauldren said. “I mix it up from running inside, running outside, going to Lifetime Fitness, going to yoga, swimming, volleyball or lacrosse.”

Along with working out, Hauldren also watches what she eats to maintain her healthy lifestyle. She believes everyone has to watch what they eat or they could harm their bodies without realizing it. According to Hauldren, she makes sure the food she is putting into her body is healthy but also believes that you can have anything in moderation.

“You don’t have to beat yourself up for missing a few workouts or eating a bad meal,” Hauldren said. “No one makes healthy choices all the time. Moderation is key.”

In order to make sure the food she eats is healthy, Hauldren does a lot of research about simply living healthy. According to Hauldren, she sees healthy living in her future and is particularly interested in nutrition.

“I have had interest in becoming a dietician or nutritionist,” Hauldren said. “Living healthy has made me feel better, have more energy and be overall more confident.”

SARAH BETADAM

Junior Sarah Betadam had always been an active person. It was not until her sister started getting sick that Betadam’s whole family started seeking ways to make their lives healthier.

“My parents went on a trek to change the way we ate because controlling that meant that at least our diet wasn’t compromising [my sister’s] well-being,” Betadam said. “Eating healthy would encourage her body to be able to heal from the inside out.”

Betadam’s mom started cooking healthier, and the family began eating out less. Betadam’s family began to see the importance of controlling its health.

“When my body started disliking foods that weren’t good for it, I realized I was doing the right thing,” Betadam said.

Betadam believes eating and sleeping well are big parts of a healthy lifestyle.

“It’s pivotal to understand that we all should treat our bodies right so that our main inspiration to continue to be healthy comes from ourselves,” Betadam said.

JACK STILLMAN

Senior Jack Stillman thinks of moderation as his goal to stay healthy.

“Eating only when you are actually hungry makes a huge difference,” Stillman said. “Snacking can really start to add up.”

According to Stillman, he works out every other day if possible.

“I do a full body circuit with free weights, legs and upper body on the same day,” Stillman said. “I work out at the Five Seasons, and I make sure to eat plenty of protein in the 24 hours after working out and plenty of carbs in the 24 hours before working out.”

Along with working out and eating the proper foods, Stillman also tries to drink at least eight glasses of water a day to keep himself hydrated.

Stillman explained how he recently got into a new form of working out: yoga.

“[I began doing yoga] to relieve stress and help fuel faster muscle recovery,” Stillman said. “It’s really simple to pick up too. Just put a laptop in front of you, search ‘yoga’ on YouTube and go to town. You’ll feel so good when you finish.”

Along with his yoga tip, Stillman has some other advice for all students.

“Regardless of your schedule, make fitness and healthy food choices part of your daily routine,” Stillman said.  “In ten years when all of your buddies start putting on mad pounds, your body will thank you for not being one of them.”

ELLEN HIRSCH

Senior Ellen Hirsch defines a healthy lifestyle as eating nutritionally dense foods and treating one’s body with respect.

“Getting a lot of sleep is really important,” Hirsch said. “When you’re tired, you make poor choices throughout the day and have less self-control.”

Hirsch maintains a disciplined diet on a daily basis.

“I eat the same thing almost every day for breakfast and lunch, so it makes it pretty easy to be healthy,” Hirsch said.

According to Hirsch, she grew accustomed to a healthier lifestyle after participating in yoga teacher training in Hawaii her junior year.

“We ate all organic vegan food and learned about treating our bodies correctly,” Hirsch said. “They called it ‘medicinal eating’, where every food is meant to nourish and heal your body.”

Hirsch became certified to teach yoga over the summer and recently completed an internship that involved shadowing another yoga teacher.

“I don’t have time in my schedule to teach  at regular hours, but I’m looking forward to having the time to teach in college,” Hirsch said.
Currently, Hirsch attends yoga classes at Lifetime or North Shore Yoga and dances at Fischer Dance Center.

“I go to Snap Fitness, which is right by my house, on nights when I’m not doing either of those to go on the treadmill or lift weights,” Hirsch said. “I usually workout four or five times a week, but it really depends on how busy or inspired I am feeling.”

Although Hirsch believes it can be difficult to maintain a healthy diet, the continuous effort is what really counts.

“If I have a lot of homework, I will skip dance or working out and stress-induced eating is always tempting,” Hirsch said. “But whenever I have a bad day or week, I just try to accept that and move on.”