Weight Loss Boot Camp

By Dr. Edward F. Group III, DC, ND, DACBN
updated on 11/19/2007 at 03:05PM

The incidence of obesity is skyrocketing in the United States, making weight loss boot camps popular for kids, teens, and adults. So, can these camps really deliver on their promise to help you lose weight and change your attitudes towards food and exercise? Read on to learn more about weight loss boot camps. Then you can decide if this is the best weight loss method for you.

What Is A Weight Loss Boot Camp?

Children have been attending summer camp programs for decades. These programs can be geared towards a specific activity such as boating or drawing, or they may just be geared towards summer fun. But in the last twenty years, camps have emerged that help people lose weight. They are known as weight loss boot camps, and they are not just for children.

In the beginning, the traditional weight loss boot camp setting featured a low calorie diet and a fitness or exercise program. However, many of these camps ignored the need to address the underlying behavioral and emotional issues that were at the root of many people’s weight struggles. Early weight loss boot camps helped people lose weight for a short period, but they were not effective in creating the lasting dietary and behavioral changes that would help people keep the weight off for good. Many people lost a significant amount of weight while at camp; only to return home and watch their weight loss results disappear.

Can Weight Loss Boot Camps Promote Long-Term Weight Loss?

For many years, children, teenagers, and adults have enrolled in weight loss boot camps as a means of losing weight quickly. And while many of these participants have been able to lose weight while they are at camp, there is little information about the long-term success of the weight loss boot camp. In many cases, once the participant returns home to his or her normal eating patterns, social issues, and lifestyle pace, the weight quickly returns.

Healthy weight loss is based on nutrition, exercise, education and motivation. Many health experts feel that in the absence of a true change of behavioral and dietary patterns, any weight loss results achieved at weight loss boot camp will be short-lived. Today, many health experts agree that a weight loss boot camp may not be the best approach for helping people deal with obesity over the long-term.

A weight loss boot camp will probably not help you effectively lose weight and keep it off for the rest of your life. However, a stay at a weight loss camp may help you to jump-start your weight loss regime. Just be sure that you have the resources in place to sustain your weight loss success once you return home.

Choosing A Weight Loss Boot Camp

When choosing a weight loss boot camp, consider asking the following questions:
How long has the camp been in operation? Have they tracked the long-term (10-15 years) results of any of their participants?
What is the philosophy of the program? Is the curriculum structured towards weight loss only, or is there a focus on creating healthy lifestyles through dietary and behavioral changes?
What tools will the camp teach you to help you change your life?
What are the qualifications of the staff? Does the weight loss boot camp have licensed counselors, nutritionists, registered dietitians, psychologists and exercise physiologists on hand to assist you with your program?
How will the staff tailor the curriculum to meet your individual needs?
How many participants can be enrolled in any one session?
Will the staff at the weight loss boot camp provide any support for you after your stay is over?

Making Weight Loss Permanent

If you do choose to enroll in a weight loss boot camp to stimulate your weight loss efforts, you will need to make sure you can sustain these weight loss results once you return to your normal environment and routine. If selected wisely, a weight loss boot camp may help you shed pounds quickly, especially if used with Slimirex™.

About the Author

Dr. Edward F. Group III continues to develop, sell and evaluate exclusively high-end natural and organic healthcare products to support a wide range of health conditions. The products we promote are free of toxic tag-along herbicides, insecticides, pesticides, heavy metals, fumigants, irradiation, liver-toxic glues, binders, or gelatin capsules with animal-source risk and toxic preservatives.

For all of your weight loss and obesity needs, natural remedies, tips, products, support forums and more please visit us at www.weightlossobesity.com or www.slimirex.com.