Elk River Healthy Lifestyles
Elk River Healthy Lifestyles is a safe alternative to traditional "fat" camps. Elk River Healthy Lifestyles, a program of The Pinnacle Schools, is a therapeutic teen weight management program. The Elk River Healthy Lifestyles program concentrates on changing negative behaviors in the long-term. By combining therapies, physical activities and a healthy diet, students learn to make positive choices while maintaining a healthier lifestyle.
Elk River Healthy Lifestyles is a medically-based, multidisciplinary and developmentally sensitive approach designed for overweight teens. The goal of "fat camps" is to lose weight quickly while having fun. Most camper’s weight loss is a result of healthy diet, smaller portions and increased activity. However, the differences between weight management programs and fat camps are not only the facilities, food and staff but the overall long term result. Without dealing with the core issues (depression, co-dependency, food addiction) the weight will come back. Elk River provides intensive therapeutic and weight loss services for the whole teen, not just the problem with obesity.
Between 16 and 33 percent of children and teenagers are obese. While obesity is easy to recognize, it is one of the most difficult medical conditions to treat. Teen obesity is rapidly becoming the most serious health issue facing youth today. The earlier teens work towards a healthy weight, the more likely they will grow into healthy adults and help reverse serious health conditions. The health risks of being obese are well-known and include but are not limited to:
- Diabetes
- Hypertension or high blood pressure
- Heart disease
- Cancer
- Respiratory problems
- Joint pain
- Neurological impairments
Individualized Program. Students in the Elk River Healthy Lifestyles Program receive a state-of-the-art individualized program based on their unique needs. Our program combines intensive counseling, academics, fitness and nutrition education. In addition, weekly clinical exercise and nutritional assessments help facilitate safe weight loss. Students attend individual and group counseling sessions to discover the core issues related to their eating disorder. Topics explored in counseling include but are not limited to:
- Depression
- Self-esteem
- Food addiction
- Co-dependency
- Stress management
- Limit setting
- Healthy self-nurturing behaviors
A highly trained and caring adult staff works with students to improve skills, such as peer relations, resulting in a positive self-image. Healthy food choices, physical conditioning and academic success create the confidence teens need to stop excessive behaviors and pursue healthier, more active lifestyles. Elk River Healthy Lifestyles gives teens the tools needed to build self-confidence and the motivation to maintain a healthy weight.
Elk River Healthy Lifestyles recognizes the importance of education and believes no student should fall behind academically while missing school for treatment. Our school specializes in education for students in grades 6-12. Parents receive weekly progress reports and a personal workbook that mirrors their child's program.
The parent workbook promotes parent skills such as family-based problem solving, expressive communication, healthy limit setting and nurturing techniques. At the end of the program, parents attend a 3-day Family Workshop. The workshop is intended to help families reconnect while working together on a plan for success.
Long-term success is the ultimate goal for residents in Elk River Healthy Lifestyles Program. Not only do obese teens suffer with serious medical problems, they often struggle with social and psychological issues such as:
Sedentary or Low Activity Level
Disordered Eating Patterns
Food/Drug/Alcohol Addiction
Online Gaming Addiction, an addiction to online video games, role-playing games or any interactive gaming environment. This addiction has increased dramatically in the U.S. Gaming stimulates the brain's "reward centers" which stimulates the same high a drug addict or alcoholic feels. Signs and symptoms include: restless and irritable when doing other activities, eating meals at the computer while gaming, inability to keep track of time spent gaming, increasingly defensive about game playing habits, declining school performance, skipping class to continue game play, defiant, isolation from family and friends.
Impulsiveness
Anger
Depression, an illness that involves the body, mood, and thoughts, that affects the way a person eats and sleeps, the way one feels about oneself, and the way one thinks about things. The signs and symptoms of depression include loss of interest in activities; loss of appetite with weight loss or overeating with weight gain; loss of emotional expression; a persistently sad or anxious mood; feelings of hopelessness, pessimism, social withdrawal; low energy level; trouble concentrating, remembering, or making decisions; unusual restlessness or irritability. Alcohol or drug abuse may also be signs of depression.
Passive, Apathetic, or Anhedonia is the technical term for the inability to experience joy. When people are in the depths of depression, nothing touches them, not the most intensely pleasurable activities, not the most familiar comforts. They are emotionally frozen.
Low Self Esteem
Poor Peer Relationships
Truancy Failure to attend school regularly
Poor School Performance
Lack of Health Maintenance Behaviors
Elk River Healthy Lifestyles supports the mission of The Pinnacle Schools by providing an environment of respect, acceptance, and challenge where students can become self-directed, educated, and contributing members of society.
