Weight Loss Process And Plan

Changing Behavior For Long-Term Health And Fitness

Knowing the many challenges faced by overweight children, teens, and young adults, Wellspring researchers have developed a clinical program designed to empower campers with the knowledge, skills and confidence they need to be successful long-term weight controllers.

Wellspring’s clinical program includes cognitive behavioral therapy, dietary management, nutrition and culinary training, and activity management – which has proven successful in helping children, adolescents, and adults lose weight and keep it off.

CBT For Weight Loss

Research published in the 1990s compared very overweight children who had receive CBT for weight loss with equally overweight children who didn’t received this treatment (the control group).

Ten years later, the control group actually gained weight and averaged 60% overweight whereas the CBT group lost weight and averaged only 30% overweight.

Wellspring campers receive 1 individual and two small group CBT sessions per week. A typical group CBT session at Wellspring is as follows:

• • Review of each camper’s accomplishments in the prior day(s). The tone of these reviews will be consistently positive, oriented to problem solving and reinforcement of specific accomplishments.
  • Integration of a CBT/weight control topic, such as stimulus control, 5-step problem solving, decisional counseling, and stress management/coping.
  • Learning a Dealing Skill
  • A Mindfulness Activity
  • Goal Setting
  • Individual sessions will also review progress and self-monitoring journals, focusing on the details of each camper’s efforts.

CBT utilizes methods such as iterative goal-setting, stimulus control, decision counseling, rational emotive therapy, relapse prevention training, positive focusing, and improving frustration tolerance and stress management. Many campers will take to these behaviors like fish to water. Others will have emotional issues to address and overcome before they can be successful. (Researchers have concluded that obese people are 25-44% more likely to suffer from clinical depression than non-obese people.)

Food, Cooking, And Nutrition At Wellspring

Wellspring firmly believes that a dietary plan will only work if the person actually enjoys the food he or she is eating. Therefore, we’ve put tremendous thought and effort into creating menus that our campers will absolutely love. Over the years we have fine-tuned our many healthy recipes to serve our campers’ absolute favorites at every meal. Wellspring’s emphasis on natural whole foods that are low in caloric density, but high in nutrition and fiber means that each meal campers consume is filled with delicious, healthy options. We always aim to serve our campers “loveable foods that love them back”. In other words, foods that are not only flavorful and satiating, but that also encourage health and sustainable long-term weight control. Many campers are surprised to learn that, with just a few modifications, many of their favorite foods such as pizza and hamburgers can still fit within their plan.

Our daily menus include three delicious meals and two healthy snacks that have been developed by culinary and nutrition experts especially for the Wellspring program. We aim to serve meals that are well-balanced and filled with nutritious ingredients and are just as appealing as the foods our campers ate before coming to Wellspring. Each meal includes a “controlled” plate with a balance of protein, starch, and vegetables in specified portions. Campers are allowed and encouraged to supplement their “controlled” meal with selections from our “self-controlled” food bar, which consists of a variety of fresh fruit and vegetable options, condiments/toppings, and proteins such as cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, soup, and egg whites. As the utilization of the “self-controlled” food bar is at each camper’s personal discretion with guidance from our dietitians, campers are able to create a diet that meets their individual caloric and nutritional needs. We teach campers you don’t need to be hungry to be healthy!

Will I Feel Hungry?

By placing an emphasis on nutritious and filling foods such as lean proteins, high fiber starches, and natural produce, Wellspring meals allow campers to lose weight without feeling hunger or deprivation. The added ability to control their food intake from the “self-controlled” food bar allows our campers to make choices that are more “in tune” with their hunger levels at that specific time. This increases their mindful eating skills and reduces the chance that they will be hungry at the end of the meal. Most of the participants at our program report that they are pleasantly surprised to discover how much food they can eat while still losing weight!

How Will I Create Similar Menus At Home?

Nutrition And Culinary Skills For Lifelong Weight Control

Hands-On Culinary Education

An essential component of any healthy lifestyle is the ability to prepare healthy meals. At Wellspring, campers attend weekly culinary classes where they learn how to prepare a wide variety of new and healthy dishes. They also become experts at modifying less healthful recipes in a way that increases their nutritional value and decreases their caloric density. This instruction is not only enjoyable, it’s highly beneficial, as campers return home prepared to take a more active role in the kitchen.

Wellspring’s Culinary Program is highly informative and interactive. Topics covered in the curriculum include, but are not limited to:

• Basic Knife Skills
• Healthy Cooking Methods (baking, boiling, grilling, dry sautéing, etc.)
• Preparing healthy breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks
• Adding flavor with herbs, spices, and low calorie sauces
• Modifying ingredients and cooking method to increase recipe nutritional value
• Etc.

Most campers arrive at Wellspring having already sat through nutrition classes, met with dietitians, and followed various fad diets-and yet are still unclear as to what constitutes a healthy diet that promotes sustainable weight loss. The reason for this is due to the fact that nutrition education often does not focus on strategies that you can use in your everyday life.

• • The role of carbohydrate (fiber), fat, and protein in a healthy diet.
  • How to keep an accurate food diary and utilize the information it contains to make informed food decisions.
  • Scientific research regarding successful long-term weight control.
  • Dissecting fad diets and identifying how the Wellspring Plan differs.
  • Identifying situations that make weight control difficult and brainstorming solutions.
  • Creating a meal plan and grocery shopping list.
  • Etc.