For many parents of overweight children, the desire to send their children to weight loss camp is overridden by the costs of weight loss camps for kids. It is true, that many of these sleep away camps and kids fitness camps can cost thousands of dollars that today’s parent just doesn’t have. Very few insurance companies pay for these beneficial programs, and parents are often left trying to deal with the problem in silence. Luckily, there are also many free resources that parents can use to turn their home in a private, mini weight loss camp that will help their child and their entire family.
Obesity normally runs in families. In order for the chain of obesity to be broken, one responsible adult must break from the pack and look for both realistic and proven tricks and tips to transforming the families lifestyle. But how?
If going to a full time weight loss camp for kids is not an option, then you can decide to empower yourself with knowledge and information (which is free) and make your home a weight loss camp of its own. All you need is the committal of every family member and a little bit of instruction. The first place to start is by visiting any of the sites offered by the CDC that discuss healthy weight loss for children.
Secondly, you may want to attend a two or three day course in nutrition so that you have accurate information to base your camp upon. The third step is to go through your home and remove all of the foods and items in your home that do not fit into your healthy lifestyle. Learn how to read food labels, and look for meal planning ideas from weight watchers or other online sites that specialize in healthy eating.
At first, the drastic change of your home becoming a weight loss camp will be met with hesitation. However, the end result is worth it. Each week begin implementing one new activity that will promote health and wellness. This can be as simple as taking a walk after dinner every night or limiting the amount of TV watching to an hour. You can also sign the family up for a fitness class or purchase a DVD exercise program that the family does together.
As the initial resistance tapers off, you will notice that being healthy and exercising really is fun. You and your entire family will feel better which will have you all looking for creative ideas to stay healthy. Allow your children to participate in the meal planning and shopping, and try to explain to them what makes food healthy or just ‘junk.’ Obviously, when you are dealing with children, they will feel punished if they are restricted from all sweet treats. For this reason, it is smart to come up with modified food choices that are slightly indulgent that your child can have from time to time.
Setting up a weight loss camp for kids in your own home should not just be a temporary adjustment. The truth is as you learn more about healthy living and eating and become a living example of just how transformational it can be to you and your child’s health, you are taking giant steps to making a positive change in your family. There are plenty of free resources to help you, many of which will help you overcome your emotional response to weight loss as well. Children are resilient and since you are introducing and enforcing the right and healthy way to live, they will naturally want to follow course.
If you can, you may want to find an affordable, temporary weight loss camp that you and your child can attend to gather ideas and get a boost towards your goals. However, just because you cannot afford it, doesn’t mean you can’t make it a reality in your own home.
