Weight Loss Camp

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If you're in high school or college, or if you have a son or daughter who is, attending summer camp probably doesn't figure into your plans. Indeed, most young adults who spend their summers at camp are doing so as counselors or staff, not as campers.

However, young adults who are overweight and have tried various diets without success should seriously consider attending a summer weight loss camp with a serious clinical program. For many, the experience is the start of long-term behavioral change.

Why Diets Don't Work

Think about it for a moment. You go on a “diet” to change your eating habits. But once your “diet” ends, your real diet returns to what it was before your “diet.” So it shouldn't be surprising that you gain the weight back again.

Most diets are like the “get rich quick” schemes we've learned to laugh at and dismiss. They're short-cuts to something we all know requires hard work.

What's needed is a way to develop healthier habits – habits that will stay with you for the rest of your life.

Seeking Professional Help

For young adults who have had enough of yo-yo dieting, it may be time to seek help from a trained professional. An experienced clinical professional can help you develop the habits that will make the weight come off and stay off.

There are a couple of options for finding a clinical professional to assist you with permanent weight loss. There are weight loss clinics located at research hospitals around the country that offer programs of varying length. They typically require weekly meetings. Some meetings also involve the immediate family, in an effort to help you change your habits by changing your environment.

Completely changing your environment for a period of time is another option. Research has shown that intensive residential programs can change behavior over a course of weeks and months. Weight loss summer camps with effective after-care programs are a good option for many young people seeking to develop healthier habits.

What is Weight Loss Camp Like ?

For many young adults, the right weight loss camp is like a summer vacation that changes their lives. Most campers are just like you – high school or college students who want to lose weight permanently, but who are apprehensive about coming to camp. The fact of the matter is that once you arrive at camp, any apprehension melts away in the presence of new friends you can relate to, fun activities, and a clinical program to get you started down the path to long-term behavioral change.

It's easy to make friends at camp. You'll have a lot in common with other campers. Like you, they are determined young people who have struggled with their weight, and who have made the courageous decision to seek professional help in order to turn the tide for good in the war on fat. As the weight starts to drop – and it always does – a happy and confident aura envelops camp and campers. As a result, campers are often excited about trying new things – whether canoeing, rock climbing, mountain biking or starting new friendships and relationships. In most cases, they succeed. It all adds up to a great time. Suffice it to say, weight loss camp is more fun than going on vacation with your parents, and much more fun than working a summer job.

Who is Weight Loss Camp For?

Most young adults can benefit from developing healthier habits. As a result, most young adults can benefit from attending weight loss camp. Even high school and college age students who are 10-20 pounds overweight will lose a significant amount of weight, and start the school year off in tip-top condition.

On the other end of the scale, if you're very overweight, you should definitely consider weight loss camp. Most weight loss camps don't presume or require any specific level of activity, mobility, dexterity or flexibility. Rather, new activities, games and sports are taught element by element, so even the heaviest campers are able to master and enjoy skills that they will be able to use in the fall, winter and spring to remain physically active. And of course, the rewards are often highest for the heaviest campers. It is not uncommon for very heavy campers to lose 30 or 40 pounds over a 4-week session.

The key, of course, is whether that weight will stay off. This is why it's essential to make sure that you choose an effective weight loss camp.

Choosing the Right Weight Loss Camp

What differentiates good weight-loss camps from less effective weight-loss camps is not only the quality of the facilities, the food and the staff, but whether the camp experience leads to long-term behavioral change.

Good weight-loss camps direct their entire programs at changing behavior over the long term. Sports, activities, educational and clinical programs are all part of an overall clinical design to teach new behaviors and habits. Cognitive behavioral therapy is likely a core element of the clinical program. And because it is unlikely that a child's behavior will change completely over the course of a summer, let alone one month in the summer, good weight-loss camps will provide follow-up or after-care programs, checking in with kids and their families. Exceptional camps may try to involve families towards the end of the camp experience in an attempt to change the environment into which the child is returning. Some new camps are acting as feeders into residential schools, which enroll students for 6 months or longer – a length of time that is likely to allow for substantial behavioral change.

Other weight-loss camps are more oriented towards short-term weight loss. Portion sizes are reduced. Diet is changed. The activity level is high. But there is effectively no overall clinical model that will effect long-term behavioral change. Frequent weighing is a hallmark of less effective programs. While weighing can be a boost to morale over the summer, it will not be a constructive habit for a child whose behavior has not otherwise changed once he or she returns home.

So if you're thinking about weight-loss camp this summer, think about asking these questions:

- How would you describe the clinical program?

- How does it engender long-term behavioral change?

- Who designed the clinical program?

- Who is the clinical director, monitoring the effectiveness of the program?

- Can I see outcomes data? (Blinded data is fine.)

- Is there an after-care program?

- How are families involved?

- Do you refer campers to residential school programs?

Is My Teen Just Lazy?

Are overweight teens just excessively lazy? Do they give up too quickly compared to teens who do not have weight problems? The answer to both of these questions is a resounding “No!”

Lose 20 Pounds in 2 Weeks without Dieting! Without Exercise!