Extra Resources Online! •VOCABULARY Q.UIZ •ACTIVITY: INFERENCES •3 READING LEVELS

Extra Resources Online!
•VOCABULARY Q.UIZ
•ACTIVITY: INFERENCES
•3 READING LEVELS
•TEXTTO TALK AUDIO
•COMMON CORE
LESSON PLAN
•VIDEO
•READ 180 LESSON
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Four years ago, Kris Beall
couldn't walk the length
of his school building.
Last year, he ran (and
won) a half marathon.
Vocabulary
devastated: very upset
obese: extremely overweight
motivate: to encourage
someone to do something
scholarship: money awarded to
someone to help pay for school
moderation: avoiding extremes;
keeping reasonable limits
"I Lost 100 Pounds"
At 14, Kris was so obese that he could barely walk. But he
turned his life around—and now he's helping others do the same.
Kristopher Beall was 14
when his great-grandmother
died. He was devastated.
"I found eating as my
comfort," recalls Kris, now
18. After school, he would
often eat a whole bag of
pizza rolls dipped in ranch
dressing. Then he'd have
fried chicken, fried catfish, or
two or three big helpings of
spaghetti for dinner.
"I didn't know about
nutrition," says Kris,
who lives in Brandon,
Mississippi. "I thought what
I was eating was OK."
But it wasn't OK. Kris's
weight ballooned to 298
pounds. "I was so big,"
he remembers. "I didn't
recognize it until it was too
late. Then I felt trapped."
A Heavy Problem
I
g
I
8
Being obese made Kris's
life difficult in many ways.
"It made me feel shy," he
says. Kris kept to himself,
worried that other kids
would make fun of him.
He didn't participate
in sports. "It was
embarrassing," he explains.
He hated shopping for
clothing because it was so
hard to find clothes that fit.
Exercising was a huge
challenge. Kris could not
even walk the length of
his school building. "My
feet hurt," he says. "It was
just hard to get around. I
couldn't walk normally."
Kris knew that he needed
to change his life. But how?
When Kris told his parents,
they were desperate to
help. They looked for a
program that could help
him lose weight. But they
couldn't find one that they
could afford.
Kris's mom decided to
send a message to Patrick
House. House was that year's
winner of the weight-loss TV
show The Biggest Loser.
Ready for
a Change
At first, Kris tried
to get healthy
on his own. That
didn't work. "I
didn't know how to
do it," he explains.
He just ended
up back on his
couch, watching
TV, eating, and
feeling sad.
"I felt hopeless,"
Kris remembers.
He had thoughts
of killing himself.
(
"I needed help,"
says Kris of the time
i>efore he learned
about healthy living.^
wiww.scholastic.com/actionmag | December 9, 2013 5
Mrs. Beall asked House
to talk to Kris to help
motivate him.
Soon afterward, House
visited Kris and befriended
him. He helped Kris get a
scholarship to MindStream
Academy, a boarding school
in South Carolina that helps
teens lose weight.
Kris with Patrick
House of The Biggest
Loser, after they
ran a half marathon
together last year
Getting Healthy
Life at MindStream wasn't
easy. Kris would wake up at
6 a.m. He worked out three
times a day. In between
workouts, he did schoolwork
and took care of horses.
"My first two weeks were
so tough on me," says Kris.
"But I was determined. I
didn't want to lose weight
to look good—I wanted
to lose weight because I
wanted to feel good."
Kris learned how to pick
healthy foods. "Instead of
pizza rolls," he says, "I'd
have an apple or a granóla
bar for a snack."
All his hard work paid
off. In four months, Kris lost
90 pounds. Back at home,
he lost another 20 pounds.
When he retumed to his
old school, no one recognized
him. "They thought I was
a new student!" says Kris,
laughing. "It was awesome."
Kris loved the horses
at MindStream. At
first, he was too heavy
I to ride them. That
made him want to lose
weight even more.
A New Life
It's been two years since
Kris lost weight. These days,
people often ask him why
he is so happy. Kris's answer:
"I have been changed."
Nothing makes him
happier than helping
others change too. He goes
running with friends and
teaches his family to cook
healthy recipes.
Every once in a while,
Kris still enjoys a small ice
cream or another treat.
"Being healthy is not being
a health freak," he says. "It's
all about moderation."
Kris has advice for other
teens who want to get
healthy. "Just start," he
urges. "If you can't run a
mile, start walking every day.
Eat more vegetables, and cut
out the soda. The hardest
part is the first few times,
getting up and oft the couch.
Absolutely do not give up!"
—Sarah Jane Brian
>êA
EHENSION TEST PRE
Show Whot You Know
Answer these questions about "I Lost 100 Pounds."
Fill in the bubble next to the best answer to each question.
1 • What is the main idea of
this article?
® Fried chicken is not a healthy food.
® Kris lost a lot of weight by learning
how to make healthy choices.
© Kris hangs out with TV stars.
® There's a boarding school in South
Carolina that helps teens lose weight
2.
When Kris says "It was awesome,"
you can infer that he felt
.
® proud
© silly
(D bored
® scared
3 « Which of these was not mentioned
in the text as a problem for Kris
when he was overweight?
® walking long distances
® finding clothes that fit
© getting his schoolwork done
® participating in sports
4«
On page 5, column 3, the word
desperate means
.
® losing a lot of weight
® feeling scared because you are
about to do something new
© willing to do anything to
fix a situation
® being excited about the future
Which quote from the text helps
the reader understand what it
might be like to be very overweight
and unhealthy?
® "Being healthy is not being a
health freak."
® "I felt hopeless."
© "They thought I was a new student!"
® "I have been changed."
6 « Which statement does the
text support?
® Kris never eats fattening
food anymore.
® Kris went to boarding school in
another country.
© Kris was a contestant on The
Biggest Loser.
® Kris was 16 when he started
losing weight.
Use a separate sheet of paper to answer the following questions.
/•
At MindStream Academy, Kris learned how to be more healthy. What are some changes
he made to his lifestyle? Use two examples from the text to support your answer.
8.
The author included the fact that Kris lost an additional 20 pounds after he came
home from MindStream Academy. What does this information tell the reader about
what Kris learned at MindStream?
re in the Teacher's Guide.
w w w . s c h o i a s t i c . c o m / a c t i o n m a g | December 9, 2013
7
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