Having the ability to live on campus at a residential treatment center can pay off in a huge way. A controlled environment is a place where students can focus solely on getting back on track, but they can improve all aspects of life. One hidden benefit that Elevations RTC prides itself on is the ability to offer numerous ways to improve nutrition while on campus.
With teenagers staying months at a time, this is the perfect opportunity to change bad habits from an eating perspective. In turn, this can improve life in general. What may appear to be subtle changes, in the beginning, can be much more than that later on in life.
Planned Meals
Meals on campus give students variety, but at the same time, keep them on a balanced diet. Teenagers can pick what type of food they enjoy best, but they get certain meals at a set time. Developing this type of schedule is excellent going forward, as it cuts down significantly on poor eating habits.
In particular, late-night eating is very detrimental to overall nutrition. There is a set time for dinner, and then lights are out at a particular time as well. Eliminating any late-night meals can turn out to be a change that makes a big difference. Eating alone and at weird times can be a habit that many teenagers going through issues start to rely on. Developing his bad habits early can prove a problem for those trying to recover going through a program where they don’t live on campus. There’s still always going to be the temptation of having the freedom to make poor meal choices at inopportune times.
Meeting with a Nutritionist
Having a nutritionist on campus weekly, can be highly beneficial for any teenager trying to get into better eating habits. They cannot only answer any questions that might pop up, but they hold people accountable for their actions. It is a lot easier to hide bad habits from a nutrition standpoint without anyone there overseeing everything. The nutritionist not only runs groups on campus, but they also have a gardening and food club that allows for individual meetings. Some students might end up showing particular interest in these areas, so they have the chance to explore more on their own.
The goal of the gardening and food club is to create healthy habits that can last a lifetime. Some teenagers out there have never grown their own food or made their own food, for that matter. By coming up with easy to implement ideas, it becomes much better for teenagers to start living a healthier life on and away from campus.
The normal group meetings are a great way to gain knowledge on all types of different information without feeling like poor questions are asked. There is always that level of embarrassment when asking certain questions in some settings, but since all students are learning about eating correctly for the first time in their life, this makes sense. There is always that opportunity for students to possibly find something that could be a career path for them. There are graduates who have learned more about nutrition, cooking, gardening, and more, and they take that with them outside of Elevations RTC.
Help with Eating Disorders
Some teenagers are at Elevations RTC because they have a history of eating disorders. When that is the case, we understand that they need extra attention when it comes to nutrition. Not only do the students need the right environment to eliminate social pressures and have support during the most challenging times, but controlled and planned meals make a big difference as well.
The truth of the matter is, more than one in ten high school students go through some level of an eating disorder in their life. Having therapeutic techniques, a campus built for structured meals, and a team of medical professionals and teachers who know what they are doing around at all times makes life much easier.
In It With Other Students
There is always a huge benefit of going through any challenges with a group of other peers doing the same thing. Not all students will enter Elevations RTC with poor eating habits, but being on virtually the same diet can help those who need it to push through.
Students can lean on one another based on their nutrition goals once at Elevations RTC. It becomes a huge motivator to see who can get in the best shape and leave with the best body transformation. Since most teenagers are also developing during their stay at Elevations RTC, it is very eye-opening to see pictures of the first day and the last day.
Occasionally, students will stay in touch with others after graduation. This gives them an accountability partner to stick with healthy habits. It can be tempting to fall back into an old pattern once the structure goes away, but that is avoidable with the right support system with other students.
Easy Transition to the Outside World
The primary reason why there is such a structured schedule at Elevations RTC is to develop habits in all facets of the learning process. Students need to eat at a set time, study at a set time, and have meetings at a set time.
Eating a balanced diet with set times is one of the easiest ways to develop better habits that will last a long time. Life gets in the way when students might not be able to eat lunch every day at noon once they are away from Elevations RTC but sticking to some plan is a great skill to have.