Unlike some weight-loss camps that focus on education for weight-loss success, Camp Pocono Trails focuses on fun and friendships to build healthy new habits along with self-esteem. The best summer ever? We think so!

There’s no limit to the fun outdoor activities your child can enjoy, thanks to Camp Pocono Trails’ own private lake front and TWO swimming pools (one for boys and one for girls) and the outstanding amenities our camp features.

Here are just a few of the many activity choices campers can enjoy:

• Water skiing
• Kayaking
• Swimming
• Basketball
• Floor hockey
• Golf driving range
• Dance
• Yoga
• Nature hikes
• Plays
• Climbing wall

What activity will your child discover that helps him or her make a step toward a healthier future?

Additionally, you can have peace of mind about your child’s well-being at our camp because we are accredited by the American Camp Association! Not all camps are accredited.

ACA accreditation goes a step further than state and federal regulations to ensure safety in all aspects of camp operation: site/food service, transportation, health care, management, staffing and program. So you can feel good about the safety of your child while he or she is having the summer of a lifetime!

What’s causing this increase in obesity rates? Obesity has many different causes. Some of the causes are:

• Lack of physical activity or sedentary lifestyle
• Too much fat in the diet
• Too much sugar in the diet
• Family genetics

With those causes in mind, here are a few tips that can help obese children lose weight and help children with healthy weights stay there:

• Find a “stopper”. A stopper is an activity that is incompatible with eating. Examples are chewing gum, playing outside, running, or doing house cleaning.
• Make lifestyle changes as a family. Get rid of high-fat, high-sugar or salty snacks in your home to avoid temptation for your kids.
• Drink plenty of water. Set an example for your kids. Water is healthy, and can keep you full so you don’t want to eat as much.
• Exercise as a family. Go for a bike ride, play tennis, go swimming, or just go for a long walk as a family.
• Find a weight-loss camp for kids that focuses on fun exercise opportunities, long-term success and lifelong friendships, such as Camp Pocono Trails.

More tips on helping obese children lose weight.

Are these striking commercials enough to make a difference in the childhood obesity epidemic? Raising awareness is one step, but being aware of the problem won’t stop it. True lifestyle changes are the only way to conquer childhood obesity once and for all.

Changing one’s lifestyle, or the lifestyle of one’s children can be an overwhelming task. Incorporating more exercise, healthier foods and less time being sedentary in front of the TV or video games requires true commitment and dedication, and often parents don’t know where to start.

Weight loss camps for kids, such as Camp Pocono Trails, are a great way to kick-off healthy lifestyle changes. Kids and teens are taken out of their current environment and routine for a summer to a place where they can play, learn about and experience the lifestyle changes it takes to be healthier.

Additionally, kids and teens have a chance to connect with others who are working toward the same goals as they are, leading to an environment of acceptance and lifelong friendships.

Is there a better way to spend a summer? It’s not too early to start planning. Check out our dates & rates page today to find the summer adventure of a lifetime.

If your family’s goals include weight loss for your kids, learning to live a healthy lifestyle, building self-esteem and creating lasting friendships then Camp Pocono Trails is the place for you! The 2012 Dates & Rates are now posted so you can find and register for the perfect weight loss adventure for you this summer!

Remember: Campers traveling from west of the Mississippi River to Camp Pocono Trails in Pennsylvania get FREE AIRFARE for a minimum 4-week stay! For details call 1-800-365-0056.

Nothing builds self-esteem like accomplishment. Nothing builds confidence like learning new skills. Nothing builds friendship like a common goal.

Imagine a fun-filled, life-changing summer for kids ages 7-19 filled with sports, cultural activities and outdoor adventures. Weight loss success, self-esteem and lasting friendships await you at Camp Pocono Trails!

Please see New Image Camps or click here for registration form.

We would love to have you or your child at camp this summer!

Please see http://www.newimagecamp.com/dates-rates.html for session dates and detailed registration information.

Frustrations to a marathon:  17-year old, Daniel Salerno, builds on life-changing lessons from Camp Pocono Trails:

Daniel Salerno had been overweight his entire life.  He’d tried everything from weight loss programs (beginning in the fourth grade) to liquid diets.  Without prolonged results, his frustrations grew.  In 2009, his parents enrolled him in a session at Camp Pocono Trails, but his head wasn’t entirely in the game.  Two years later he went back to camp.  This time things “clicked”.   Salerno says, “I realized I’m doing this for me and not for anyone else.  I started watching what I ate and running regularly.  That was the year I decided I’m going to do this.”

With support from his family and friends, Salerno has lost nearly 50 pounds.  His goal is to lose another 30 by summer’s end.  Salerno is also training for Philadelphia’s November half marathon.  He contributes much of his success to lessons he learned at Camp Pocono Trails weight loss camp for kids.  His new skills include choosing foods for optimum nutrition, cooking for health, continually working on self-esteem and participating in a range of physical activities.

To read more about Salerno see: http://www.northjersey.com/news/123526659_Healthy_habits__click__at_summer_camp_for_RDHS_junior.html.

Tony Sparber recommends  a number of weight loss rules for children to live by:

• Consume an adequate amount of food to provide all the required nutrients
• Drink plenty of pure water (Minimum 6-8 glasses per day)
• Target slow, steady weight loss: 1-2 pounds per week

These are some of the simplest steps we can take toward empowerment in the fight against childhood obesity.

When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.
- Lao Tzu

By Nicole Selinsky and New Image Weight Loss Camps

Makes 6 servings

Equipment Needed:

-Measuring cups and spoons

-Saucepan and blender

-Wooden spoon and hot pad, cookie sheet

-Paper cups, aluminum foil, popsicle sticks

Ingredients:

-1/3 cup berry juice blend

-1 envelope of unflavored gelatin

-1 ½ cups low-fat vanilla yogurt

-1 ¼ cups frozen unsweetened berries

Method:

1. Place the juice in a pan and sprinkle the gelatin over it, Cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until gelatin crystals dissolve.
2. Remove the pan from the heat and place on a hot pad.
3. Mix the yogurt, berries, and warm gelatin mixture in a blender. Secure lid and blend until smooth.
4. Fill six-ounce cups with the blended mixture and cover each with a sheet of aluminum foil. Place the cups on a cookie sheet.
5. Insert the popsicle stick in each cup by making a slit in the foil.
6. Place the tray in the freezer and freeze until hard.
7. Peel away the paper and enjoy!

Nutrition Facts:

Serving size: 1 Popsicle

Calories: 71

Fat: 1 g

Protein: 3 g

*for children and teens ages 7-19

A year ago, Manhattan fifth-grader Isis Joseph poured her pain and hopes into an essay that won her a free life changing opportunity at Camp Pocono Trails weight loss camp.

“There’s a lot of kids that need the camp and can’t afford it,” said Tony Sparber, owner of Camp Pocono Trails, which was the subject of the MTV show ‘Fat Camp.’ “Business has been very good to me and my family. We’re looking to give something back.”

For full press release see:  http://articles.nydailynews.com/2011-05-26/entertainment/29602338_1_tony-sparber-average-camper-camp-pocono-trails