Every day after school this fall, sophomore Claire Sanner laces up her running shoes and heads to cross country practice. During the winter, she piles on the layers to stay warm. In the spring, she puts on her track spikes, and in the summer, she sets her alarm clock for 7 a.m. conditioning.

Dedicating many aspects of her life to being the best runner she can be, Sanner knows the importance of eating healthy and staying in shape.

“With all the running I do, I try and make sure I’m eating enough and taking care of myself so I can perform at my best,” Sanner said. “[Eating healthy and staying active] isn’t really hard because I’m used to it by now … It comes more naturally.”

Sanner is one of the many students, athlete and non-athlete, who pays considerable attention to what she eats.

Having to cut weight for wrestling, junior Matt Stalkfleet is familiar with staying disciplined in order to get down to his desired weight.

“[I stayed disciplined] by knowing my goals and not giving up,” Stalkfleet said. “It’s a lot of mental toughness. Going into a practice, I had to think ‘I’m going to get something out of this.’”

Starting at 220 pounds at the beginning of the summer before his sophomore year, Stalkfleet was able to get down to 195 pounds in just seven months by focusing on making healthy choices and giving his all during workouts.

“During the summer, I had to keep my cardio and weight lifting up [to stay in shape],” Stalkfleet said. “I started workouts with the team in November …  The exercises at the beginning of the season were two hour workouts with the team, and a lot of it was sprints and cardio.”

In order to lose the weight, Stalkfleet cut down mostly on sugars, breads and dark meat and stuck to eating vegetables, lean meats and fruits.

‘Dieting’ often comes with the connotation of entirely cutting out unhealthy foods, but school nurse Paula Hatcher believes in enjoying all foods in moderation.

“By keeping track of what you eat and making healthy choices, you really don’t have to restrict anything; eat the piece of cake, just don’t eat the whole cake,” Hatcher said.

Sanner makes sure not to be too stringent with her diet. She knows that because she does tons of running, there’s no need to excessively watch what she eats.

“I don’t forbid myself from certain foods,” Sanner said. “[It’s] more of just making healthy choices. Every now and then, I’ll … reward myself.”

Achieving weight loss ambitions can be a very rewarding experience. Finally weighing in at 195 pounds, Stalkfleet felt gratified when he stepped on the scale last December.

Simply watching what one eats is different from going on extreme diets that can deprive one’s body of essential nutrients. Many diets, such as fasting, detoxes and no carb diets have become popular, but they can sabotage weight loss goals.

“[Fasting, detoxes and no carb diets] are quick fixes, and that’s the appeal to them,” registered dietitian Staci Hendrickson said. “But typically, [people go off the diet and] gain all the weight back that they lost and even more.”

A big risk of going too far with dieting and becoming overly obsessed with dieting is developing an eating disorder. According to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, up to 24 million people of all ages and genders suffer from an eating disorder in the U.S.

“[An eating disorder] is an easy trap to fall in if you’re constantly bombarded with these beautiful Beyonce bodies, and everyone isn’t intended to look like that,” Hatcher said. “Not everyone’s body is supposed to be like that.”

In addition to eating in moderation, adequate exercise is also an important aspect of one’s overall well being. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends 60 minutes or more of physical activity every day for children and teenagers.

“I encourage my clients to find something they enjoy doing, or at the very least, doesn’t feel like a total chore,” Hendrickson said. “…[It’s about] not making the exercise all about losing weight.”