Fit Camp - A Supportive Environment for Weight Loss Success
Sometimes the best way to overcome poor eating habits and emotional eating triggers is to join a residential weight loss program away from home. Short-term weight loss camps, or "fit camps," that last four to eight weeks can set healthier patterns into motion and jumpstart a diet and fitness regimen. For longer term help, many teens turn to weight loss boarding schools, where they can continue their education while receiving therapeutic support, personal training, and nutritional advice.
A Positive Peer Community
Findings in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggest that personal contact and peer support are critical to successful, long-term weight management. One of the primary advantages of weight loss camps and schools is that they create a positive peer culture and supportive environment for teens to get in shape. Unlike traditional school settings, where heavier children are often bullied and teased, students in these programs are facing the same weight challenges as everyone else.
Wellspring Academy, with locations in California and North Carolina, is among the most reputable and effective weight loss boarding schools in the country, and has been recognized as a highly supportive environment for overweight or obese teens. Wellspring establishes a positive group dynamic by encouraging students to participate in group events like sports, prom or dance night, or other social activities. In addition, the entire school gets together for "summit," a weekly meeting designed to celebrate each student's successes. Students and staff offer positive feedback, applaud each other another, and show their support and understanding.
"We make it easy for students who may have felt socially awkward or isolated in previous settings to develop a full social life and get to know other students," says Rachel Thomas, M.A., a therapist at Wellspring Academy in California. "You can't underestimate the importance of making lifelong friendships. Strong social ties give students confidence and motivation to get healthy and active."
A small staff-to-student ratio at most weight loss camps and programs ensures that teachers and therapists are present to monitor student activity around the clock. If Wellspring students are struggling to get along, they can address their interpersonal issues in the presence of licensed therapists and other neutral parties at structured, "community care and concern" meetings.
Group therapy sessions are another outlet students have in which to interact with and support one another. If students are uncomfortable speaking in groups, they can discuss issues in weekly individual therapy sessions or one-on-one with residential staff.
"Teenagers care deeply about the opinions and experiences of their peers," counsels Thomas. "It can be 10 times more effective for a student to get input from fellow students than advice from any adult. A student who can share a positive experience or shed light on a different way to view a situation can have a huge impact on another student."
"Because we are a close-knit community," observes Aki Morita, Ph.D., a therapist at Wellspring Academy in California, "the students undoubtedly influence each other. While one popular person's negativity can bring down a group, it's also true that a group of positive students who are losing weight and feeling good about themselves can lift up a student who is struggling. The influences go both ways. Fortunately, in a controlled environment, we can use group therapy sessions, community meetings, and a privilege system to reward positivity and healthy camaraderie."
Positive Reinforcement
Programs like Wellspring frequently have rewards systems in place to motivate students and reinforce their weight loss efforts. As Wellspring students make progress with journaling, staying active, and setting goals, they move up a five-tiered level system, earning new responsibilities and privileges each step of the way.
The level system serves the dual purpose of encouraging positive behavioral change in teens and acting as a barometer for how much progress each student has made. After maintaining a certain level for 60 days, the staff meets to discuss the student's readiness to return home.
"The level system reminds the students that everyone is in the same boat," Thomas states. "Each individual has challenges and strengths, and they're all working toward the same common goals: good health and permanent lifestyle change."
At Wellspring, students can also earn rewards in the form of off-campus challenges. Every six to eight weeks, "OCCs" allow students to visit nearby restaurants, parks, or stores in the community, attend culinary classes, or to take short trips home to test their newfound skills.
"The off-campus challenges are not a vacation from the program," advises Thomas. "They are an opportunity to put into practice the skills and behaviors the students have learned at Wellspring. It's like a test run. If students deviate from their plan, they can come back to school to process what happened, why they made poor choices, and what they need to do to reach the next level."
From the start of the program, the therapists at Wellspring begin designing a plan for each student's transition home. Before each OCC, and before each child leaves the program, she has a plan for ways to monitor her food intake, exercise levels, and emotional responses. The therapists help families create a support network at home, encouraging students to join a local chapter of Take Off Pounds Sensibly (TOPS) or Weight Watchers and working with local therapists to ensure a smooth transition.
"Any time a student leaves campus, whether for an OCC or to return home, she is armed with an action plan," says Morita. "She knows how to approach diet and exercise; she understands her home environment and the triggers for emotional eating; she knows how to confront difficult situations; and she has healthy alternatives in mind. More importantly, she knows where she can turn for help, whether that's to her Wellspring therapist or peers, her home therapist or support network, or her family. Because we've been working with her parents throughout the program as well, her family is well-equipped to support and encourage her."
A positive environment and healthy support network can spell the difference between weight loss success and failure. For children and teens, having a strong group of friends who can relate to the highs and lows of the weight loss experience can lead to greater satisfaction, self-esteem, and weight loss results.
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