Fat Camps Are Out, Healthy Lifestyles Are In

Today’s weight loss camps are not the boot camps of yesteryear. By focusing on long-term healthy lifestyles and the triggers that make us eat too much, modern camps offer more than a diet jump-start.

If your vision of a weight loss camp includes drill sergeant fitness instructors and celery and carrot sticks, think again. Most of today’s weight loss camps focus heavily on making a healthy lifestyle achievable for the long term. “The idea should not be for the client to return over and over but to take the new lifestyle skills home,” explains Jim White, RD, an American Dietetic Association spokesperson. “The biggest indicator of success is longevity.”

So how do you find a camp that’s going to do more than help you shed a few pounds in the short term? The most important step is to ask questions. Adam Martin, fitness director for Hilton Head Health Weight Loss Spa in South Carolina, says an effective weight loss camp combines fitness, nutrition, meal planning, and behavioral changes in its program.

White advises potential campers to look for programs that feature registered dietitians and personal trainers certified by professional organizations like the American College of Sports Medicine. “Camps should also address emotional eating,” White stresses. “They need to get to the root of the weight loss problem. Is it boredom? Stress? Are you really hungry?”

White says camps need to offer realistic programs that clients can take home and incorporate into their own busy lifestyles. A lot of camps offer classes on how to prepare simple and healthy meals. A good camp ensures that exercise is fun and is often followed up with a relaxing massage or yoga session. “The approach should be holistic,” he says.

So if it’s not boot camp, how will the pounds slide off, you may wonder? According to Marsha J. Hudnall, program director of Green Mountain at Fox Run in Ludlow, Vermont, people often need a place where they can zero in on their goals for a week or more. “If people get away from the distractions of daily life and focus on themselves, they can consider what’s really getting in the way of a healthy lifestyle at home,” she says.

“We ask our campers to consider the top three obstacles that are getting in the way of eating healthfully,” Hudnall adds. Those obstacles are different for everyone but may include regularly skipping breakfast or overeating at night. Hudnall says that while behavioral changes are not rocket science, they can be hard to implement at home without support. “Women especially tend to put everything and everybody else first and themselves last,” she explains. That’s one reason Green Mountain offers a lot of take-home materials to its guests, as well as opportunities for them to keep in touch once camp is over.

“It’s hard to create the camp environment at home,” White says. “Peer support is important.” A good weight loss camp will provide follow-up in the form of online support groups or regular newsletters, for example.

However, weight loss camp isn’t for everyone. The experience isn’t cheap, so make sure you’re committed before you go. “You have to be goal oriented,” says Martin. “A good camp is aimed at helping people change their lives.”

Hilton Head Health Institute

Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
www.hhhealth.com

Sometimes the reasons for attending a weight loss camp go well beyond the basic goal of slimming down. According to Martin, the first thing he and his staff ask patrons when they come to this posh weight loss camp is, “Why do you want to lose weight?”

Some people want to prepare to run a marathon in a year, while others just want to get on the road to a healthy lifestyle. Hilton Head Health caters its camp to individual needs, putting patrons in classes and on exercise regimens that match their weight loss goals and physical fitness levels. The camp also focuses on the issue of emotional eating, and that’s one reason it offers very specific programs that reach out to every demographic from widows to divorced women. “There’s a very emotional component to weight loss,” explains Martin.

Programs at the Hilton Head Health Weight Loss Spa run from one to eight weeks, with most patrons spending two weeks at the camp, sharing cottages on site or staying in private accommodations. Campers benefit from low-calorie gourmet cuisine that they can learn to cook themselves in demonstration classes.

On arrival, all guests take part in a 60-minute session with a Hilton Head staff member to discuss what they want to accomplish at the camp and any special needs they may have. The retreat can then cater specifically to their goals and limitations.

SpaFinder’s Readers’ Choice Awards recently honored Hilton Head Health for the second year as one of the 10 best spas for weight loss. It’s no small wonder. Guests who stay there for two weeks typically lose seven to 14 pounds, but that’s on a weight loss diet of about 1,200 calories a day, which can be pretty slim for an active individual.

Green Mountain at Fox Run

Ludlow, Vermont
www.fitwoman.com

Going to a weight loss camp can be intimidating enough without having to worry about the perceptions of other camp participants. That’s one reason Green Mountain at Fox Run is a women-only retreat for weight loss. “Women feel safer in an environment where they don’t have to worry about what they look like,” says Hudnall.

The camp, on 26 wooded acres in the mountains of Vermont, was founded more than 30 years ago by nutritionist and teacher Thelma J. Wayler, MS, RD. Its philosophy is not based on dieting but on discouraging women from feeling guilty about eating as well as learning to love themselves and their bodies while seeking a healthier lifestyle. “We encourage women to stop thinking about weight loss and focus on living healthfully,” Hudnall explains. That means Green Mountain is not going to help its patrons become the stick figures they see on many magazine covers. Instead, the camp teaches women how to reach a healthy weight that’s right for their own bodies. “It’s about feeling well,” adds Hudnall.

Retreats at Green Mountain’s health spa run from one to four weeks. Much of the experience at Green Mountain involves exercise such as walking and hiking on the trails and grounds of the spa. Participants can also attend workshops on how to manage food cravings, how eating can evolve out of emotional issues, and how to eat “mindfully”—in other words, no distracted eating while watching TV. Meals here are geared toward health and weight loss, but they won’t leave anyone hungry. Grilled Caesar salads, vegetable pizza, Cornish hen, and maple-glazed salmon round out the menus.

And then there’s the spa, where tired bodies can experience soothing massages and body wraps that leave skin as smooth as cream. But patrons should keep in mind that this is still a weight loss camp—the emphasis is not on indulgence but on learning to care for yourself in an environment that mimics real life.

Camp Technique

Marina del Rey, California
www.camptechnique.com

Camp Technique is for the serious loser—weight loser, that is. With programs at a variety of levels designed to address your individual needs—whether you want to lose 20 or 200 pounds—the camp is labor intensive. Participants can expect 20 to 30 hours of exercise per week.

This camp is not for the faint of heart—or pocketbook—with sessions running from four to 16 weeks. Campers benefit from one-on-one sessions with personal trainers and lots of fun outdoor activities like swimming, hiking, kayaking, and biking. Clients also receive two to three massages per week to get the knots out of tired muscles.

Guests receive five healthy, portion-controlled meals each day, as well as classes on nutrition and healthy shopping habits. The program focuses on maintaining weight loss for life, and campers enjoy personal sessions with nutrition counselors who teach healthy lifestyle maintenance for the long term.

— Deborah R. Huso