If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to go to a weight maintenance camp, “Nightline” spent most of its January 1st edition looking at an obese mother and son who used a camp to jumpstart their battle against obesity.
Like mother, like son
Collin Robinson, an 11-year-old fifth grader, says he loves double quarter pounders with cheese, and it shows. He’s clinically obese at five foot eight and 249 pounds. Mom Krista, herself 334 pounds, says she knew she had to make a change for both of them, so she spent $7,900 to send them to a two-week long family weight-loss camp in North Carolina.
Wellspring calls the camp a healthy living immersion, rather than a fat camp.
Krista says as a working single mom she doesn’t have time to cook, and constantly eating fast food and unhealthy snacks brought them to this point.
Getting immersed in health
The program calls for taking 10,000 steps a day, and each day at the camp involves a two-mile early morning walk. Other fitness activities help kids get in their 10,000 steps, and family aerobics and other activities help families work out together.
The meals provided at the camp are low in fat, and the goal is to consume no more than 800 calories a day. When “Nightline” checked in the options for lunch were a veggie burger or bison sloppy Joe with a side of beans. Participants can also have an unlimited amount of foods like mushrooms, fruit, nonfat yogurt and low-calorie soups.
They weigh all food to keep a strict count of calories and fat consumed. Collin tried the veggie burger and said he’d actually choose it over a cheeseburger.
Healthy tips for life
Kids also take cooking classes to learn how to make healthy foods themselves like oatmeal and zucchini sticks. Parents get more complicated lessons like baked chicken strips and sweet potato fries.
A field trip to the grocery store helps campers learn how to make healthy substitutions. Collin and Krista find lean meat for burgers and a fat-free brownie mix to satisfy some of their cravings.
Making progress
After a week of activity and healthy eating, Krista lost 10 pounds and Collin dropped 11. The second week Collin lost 5 more and Krista 6 more, a loss of 16 pounds each in two weeks.
Krista said upon leaving the camp that she felt like they would be successful at home, but she was worried about keeping up with it if they slipped back into old routines.
But when they got home, they read the labels and threw out a ton of food they used to enjoy. Five weeks after camp, Collin had lost 27 pounds and said he was now able to do more activities. Krista lost nearly 33 pounds and called her journey “incredible.”
Collin said he enjoys doing yoga on the WiiFit these days, and he’s proud that his mom is more confident and has more energy. Krista says she loves that she hasn’t had a migraine since being at camp.
(By Sarah E. White for CalorieLab Calorie Counter News)
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