Self-monitoring, cognitive behavioral therapy, lowfat eating and daily activity... this is a winning combination for many students who attended the first weight-loss boarding school for teens in the country.
Last year, we brought you a number of in-depth reports on the first class at the Academy of the Sierras in Reedley... and now, one year after leaving the school, we see how they're doing.
Transitioning from the controlled environment of the Academy of the Sierras to home life is definitely a challenge.
Seventeen year old Alanya Cherkis from Arcadia, California spent six months there.
She shares her experience.
"I was really nervous at first like not knowing what to do. For a while, I did slip. I wasn't doing well and I was gaining a lot of weight and not exercising."
She has now acclimated to life at home and says she's happier now than she's ever been, even though she admits she could still lose more weight.
The first study of the long-term success was just completed.
It shows that of the students who were there at least six months and left around June of last year, 100% of them have maintained medically a very significant level of weight loss.
The program at A.O.S. is about much more than just losing weight; it's about changing theirr lifestyle.