Family Weight-Loss Camps

Participating in a weight-loss camp as a family has many benefits. Not only does the entire family get to share a journey toward getting healthy and losing weight, but they are able to encourage one another through the many ups and downs that accompanies such an endeavor. A summer camp and retreat that is tailored towards weight loss as a family offers resort-like accommodations, so it can easily replace an annual vacation. Additional options include creating a home-based camp.

Home and Fitness Camps

• Consider creating a home-based camp where local education on nutrition and exercise is the center of activity for a few days or a week. Enroll as a family in community classes that teach weight management. Take a family fitness trip such as a guided hiking or biking outing to begin engaging in more aerobic activity together. Enrolling in a fitness- or sports-based camp as a family is another way to jump-start weight loss together. Be sure to consult the family doctor before beginning a new exercise program.

Wellspring Family Camp

• The Wellspring Family Camp (WFC), located in Pinehurst, North Carolina, is an example of a camp designed for families who want to lose weight together. Running from mid-June to early August, the Wellsprings Family Camp is a place to learn healthy habits. Activities include "personal training, hiking, fitness classes, swimming, and a wide variety of sports, games and other fun and energizing activities designed to motivate parents and children to continue a much higher level of activity after returning home." The camp is modeled after a resort to ensure families feel comfortable and to encourage them to enroll in place of a family vacation.

Fitness Education

• Fitness education is a key part of a weight-loss camp. Developing exercise and fitness skills helps each member of the family learn how to lose weight. A focus on active lifestyle helps to encourage hobbies that will aid in weight loss and management throughout a lifetime. While at a camp, families receive education on burning calories, aerobic output, new sports, and how to use fitness machines safely. These skills can also be learned through a family personal trainer or by taking community classes.

Nutrition Education

• When a family is overweight, they must change not only their exercise habits but their eating habits as well. Learning proper nutrition is the first step toward creating a healthy family. Since families typically eat together, making the change with everyone onboard is crucial. Weight loss camps and community classes teach basic nutritional strategies that will help families balance diet appropriately for each individual as well as the group.

Benefits of Losing Weight as a Family

• Losing weight as a family has many benefits. Not only does everyone benefit from mutual encouragement, but families learn how to manage stress and increase communication skills. According to WFC, "At the end of the session, all family members will have the skills, knowledge, and support necessary for transforming the home environment into a place where everyone has the motivation and mindset necessary for continued weight loss and a permanent healthy lifestyle."