According to junior Aaron Lopes, an athlete who has been on the MVHS basketball, volleyball and cross country teams, believes that he knows why athletes eat some junk.

However, this standpoint alone brings up another issue: why would athletes reward themselves with something that harms their body?

According to junior Ann Marie Manley, who has been a member of the MVHS varsity softball team since her freshman year, the minor setbacks physically could bring a huge boost mentally, as the huge surplus of motivation athletes receive just by such a small treat could have a huge payoff.

“If I was working out and I wanted a cookie, I would sometimes motivate myself to do one more set [of an exercise] so I can reward myself with a cookie afterwards,” Manley said. “On the surface, a cookie is not going to do anything. I mean it’s just a cookie. But that one extra set maybe will come in handy down the road.”

However, Manley also notes that athletes definitely do have the opportunity to rid themselves of this gluttony through motivation to eat healthy.

“Sometimes, when I think about rewarding myself with junk food, I end up feeling bad in the end,” said Manley.“So I end up eating healthy for a long period of time because I do not want to spoil what I currently have built up.”