Keys to Helping Your Teen Lose Weight This Summer
Remarkable weight losses at Wellspring Camps show that a very low fat diet, use of a pedometer, and a supportive home environment are the keys to weight loss success for overweight or obese teens.
(PRWEB) June 2, 2005 -- Aspen Education Group has announced remarkable
outcomes from its 2004 weight loss summer camps. Last summer, campers at
Wellspring Camps lost between 4-5 lbs. per week while improving self-esteem and
mood dramatically. Then, in an unprecedented finding, six months after they
returned home from Camp, 91% of campers continued or maintained the weight loss
they achieved at Camp. The average camper went on to lose another 7.4 lbs. at
home.
If your child is overweight, you might want to know some of the
keys to success at Wellspring Camps, and subsequently at home. Here are a few
ideas you might use to make a difference in your child’s health this
summer.
Diet: (a) Very low fat: The low-carb diet fad is nearing its end.
So adopt the only diet that proven successful over a long period of time: a
healthy, very low-fat diet. This means eating no more than 20 fat grams per day
(or about 5-10% of total calories from fat). This may sound extreme and
difficult to do at first because Americans eat about 80 fat grams per day now,
on average. Yet, research has shown that this more extreme approach is easier to
follow effectively than trying to decrease fat consumption more moderately. In
other words, if you and you teen agree, then simply try to eliminate all sources
of fat in your diet. This means eliminating all fried food, regular fat cheese,
and high fat meats.
(b) Very tasty: Just because you eliminate fat, that
doesn’t mean you and your teenager won’t really enjoy your food. You can order
pizzas without cheese and sprinkle fat free cheese on them and put them back in
the oven to melt the healthier cheese, for example. You can have baked French
fries, buffalo burgers, turkey hot dogs, frozen yogurt, and many other fun and
healthful foods.
Activities: You can buy pedometers (small devices that
hook onto pants) and measure the steps you take every day. Your teenager should
aim for a minimum of 10,000 steps per day, which amounts to about 1.5 hours of
walking per day and about twice the number of steps obtained by average adults.
The whole family can make this a project; no one has to train for a marathon to
reach this important goal.
Supportive home environment: The whole family
can participate in the quest for improved health by changing the foods available
at home and those ordered at restaurants. Eliminate all forms of high-fat foods.
Substitute baked snacks (like pretzels) for fried snacks (regular chips), and
just get rid of butter, oils, regular cheeses, and other problem foods. You’ll
find that everyone will get used to the non-fat versions of foods and will find
them very enjoyable, if you keep working at making them so. The family could
also wear pedometers and seek out as much activity together and alone, as
possible.
Hundreds of participants are benefiting from this approach at
Wellspring Camps this summer. You and your family also can achieve some of these
benefits if you follow these guidelines. To learn more about Wellspring Camps
and Academy of the Sierras, visit www.healthylivingacademies.com or call
866.364.0808.
Aspen Education Group is recognized nationwide as the
leading provider of education programs for underachieving young people. As the
largest and most comprehensive network of therapeutic schools and programs,
Aspen offers professionals and families the opportunity to choose a setting that
best meets a student’s unique academic and emotional needs. An industry
innovator, Aspen was voted among the top education companies by Eduventures, the
leading independent education industry research firm. Aspen’s programs have been
profiled by major news and television organizations, including: U.S. News &
World Report, USA Today, ABC’s “Good Morning America” and the syndicated TV
program “Dr. Phil.” For over two decades, Aspen Education Group has been
achieving successful outcomes for families. No other organization in the
therapeutic education industry offers a more enlightened approach or a more
reputable network of quality programs.
For information about Aspen’s
other therapeutic schools and programs, visit www.aspeneducation.com or
call (888) 972-7736.
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/6/prweb246573.htm