Wellspring Family Camp vs. Other Weight Loss Programs
There are many ways that Wellspring Family Camp differs from traditional weight loss camps (sometimes called diet camps or fat camps). At fat camps, the focus is on short-term weight loss. While campers do lose weight at fat camp, the weight loss is almost always temporary. When campers return home, they tend to regain the weight that was lost—and often even gain additional weight due to the frustration of feeling unsuccessful in their weight loss efforts.
In contrast, Wellspring Family Camp teaches you and your family the skills you need to continue losing weight independently at home. With many years of research and testing behind it, the Wellspring Plan you to make simple, scientific and sustainable changes to your family’s diet and activity routines. In addition, we help you and your children work through the emotional and psychological factors that contribute to weight gain.
Wellspring Family Camp is a comprehensive and integrated program to help families learn skills and gain motivation, including:
- Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy: the approach to changing thinking and behavioral patterns that decades of research have shown produces the best long-term results (e.g., decisional counseling; rational emotive therapy; goal setting; self-monitoring; journaling; problem-solving)
- Masters- or Doctoral-level therapists trained on weight management approaches, to help campers understand, improve, and manage emotional and motivational barriers to success.
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy that most insurance companies will reimburse – allowing many families to recoup a significant portion of the cost from their health insurance.
- The support and camaraderie of other families who are handling similar weight management and parenting challenges.
- A dietary program that allows and empowers campers to control how much they eat at every meal and to learn the basics of nutrition that every weight controller must understand.
- Access to Pinehurst Resort’s 4-star chefs and their insight into the process of transforming your kitchen into a Wellspring-friendly cooking environment.
- Systematic evaluations of the results of the program, short-term and long-term.
- A Continuing Care Program that encourages campers to use the skills learned at camp to become long-term weight controllers.
If you are considering other weight loss camps, please consider asking some of the following questions to make sure the camp is not operating on a “fat camps” model:
- What was last year’s average weekly weight loss at Camp?
- What are the camp’s long-term results? What percentage of campers maintain or continue weight loss at home?
- Who designed the weight loss program? What are their credentials? Is the program design scientifically based?
- Is counseling or behavior modification offered? By credentialed therapists?
- If so, do the therapists work full time at the camp during the summer? Does each camper have an individual therapist assigned to him or her? Do therapists continue to work with campers after campers return home?
- How are families involved?
- How many campers return each year? Did they regain weight? Will new campers feel left out because of cliques from prior years?
- How large is the Camp? Is it a manageable size where the Camp Director knows each and every camper?
- Can we talk to several families of campers who have maintained or continued weight loss from last summer?
- Does the camp demonstrate improvements in self-esteem and overall well-being?
