Questions about Wellspring and Adolescent Weight Loss

We are committed to providing you with the information you need to make the best decision for your child.  Below are a number of questions frequently asked by parents and students.

Please do not hesitate to contact us with additional questions about Wellspring or concerns about your child’s weight.  Call us at 866.364.0808, or email admissions@wellspringacademies.com.

Questions about Adolescent Weight Loss

Why is weight loss so critical for overweight children and adolescents?

Is there a connection between my child’s weight and depression?

How can I control what my child eats?

My child went to a weight loss camp and lost 20 pounds, but then gained the weight back in a few months? Why?

Is there a connection between my teenager's weight and other behavioral problems, like anxiety and general irritability?

Is my child at risk for developing diabetes?

Does my child have a food addiction?

What's the best way to encourage my child to be more active?

Is there a connection between my child’s weight and poor performance in school?

Questions about Wellspring Academies

My child isn't interested in attending Wellspring . What can I do?

How do we stay in contact with our child at Wellspring ?

Will sending my child to Wellspring reinforce her identification as overweight?

How does Wellspring handle homesickness?

How do I know my child will be safe?

What happens if, after a month or two, my child decides she doesn’t want to continue, and wants to come home?

How long does my child need to remain enrolled at Wellspring

Is a very low-fat diet healthy?

Can we visit Wellspring ?

Questions about Adolescent Weight Loss

Why is weight loss so critical for overweight children and adolescents?

Weight loss is critical for your child’s health and happiness.

Although some adolescents who are significantly overweight are already experiencing related health issues (e.g., insulin resistance, diabetes, polycystic ovarian syndrome, orthopedic problems, gallstones), most are not. Health issues resulting from or exacerbated by excess weight typically develop later.

However, medical research shows that if 90% of overweight adolescents are bound to become obese adults, unless there is some intervention.

Weight problems can seriously compromise the health of young adults or adults. In recent years, researchers have established significant correlations between excess weight and most major disease states – not only diabetes, but also coronary heart disease, a range of pulmonary diseases, hypertension, stroke, various dermatological conditions, liver diseases, cataracts, gynecological problems, as well as the following cancers: breast, prostate, colon, kidney, esophagus, uterus, cervix and pancreas.

Overweight children and adolescents often become very unhappy about their weight. They feel like they don’t fit in; they are teased or excluded; they often have low self-esteem and even develop clinically significant levels of depression.

Although many overweight youngsters will retreat to more solitary pursuits, others may compensate by excelling in some area that provides refuge from criticism (e.g., academics, drama, running with the wrong crowd). In virtually all cases, however, the unhappiness caused by excess weight negatively impacts energy level, mood and outlook. This unhappiness can also trigger or contribute to a range of negative behaviors.

Researchers have established that overweight adolescents are less likely to graduate from high school and one study showed that the future outlook of overweight teens, compared with other teens with a range of medical conditions, was bleakest – alongside terminal cancer patients. We also know that overweight young adults are less likely to enter college, less likely to graduate from college, less likely to get married, and more likely to occupy a lower socioeconomic group.

Is there a connection between my child’s weight and depression?

Research has shown that low self-esteem and depression are very common among overweight adolescents. Overweight teens don’t fit into their lives very well. Their activity levels are generally low; they usually don’t participate in sports; their social circles tend to be much more constricted than average; they date very little, if at all; and, they often view their bodies and themselves as unacceptable. They’ve internalized this message, especially overweight girls, from our slim-obsessed culture.

Substantial weight loss, when accomplished in a well-designed therapeutic program, packs more anti-depressant punch than all the Prozac in America.  Improved fitness, health, and looks improve self-esteem and generate renewed energy and enthusiasm. Improved sense of control, even mastery, of a very difficult problem can transform chronic frustration into pride and hopefulness.

How can I control what my child eats?

Once your child hits puberty and has some independence and a few dollars to spend, you cannot control what he or she eats. High fat foods are cheap and available everywhere. With adolescents, adopting the role of the “food police” typically provides another avenue for confrontation or rebellion. However, you can do quite a few things to encourage your child to eat well.

If you follow the suggestions listed below, you will make it much easier for your child to eat healthfully and lose weight:

General Attitude

Managing Food

My child went to a weight loss camp and lost 20 pounds, but then gained the weight back in a few months? Why?

You are not alone. The scientific literature reveals only two published studies that showed modest benefits of weight loss camps when evaluated 1-5 years later. Anecdotal evidence suggests well over 90% of campers who attend typical diet camps that do not include a scientifically-based behavioral-change program gain all the weight back and then some within the first year. It makes great business sense for the diet camps, who urge campers to return the following summer. However, it makes no sense for the campers, who experience years of successive failures.

Prior to the establishment of Wellspring Camps, in 2004, no weight loss camp available to the public provided any clinical behavioral change program to empower participants to sustain the weight loss beyond camp.  Furthermore, traditional diet camps confuse campers about diet and nutrition – serving small portions or calorie-dense, high-fat foods alongside more healthful fare.  Weight loss cannot be sustained until the “diet” becomes a permanent part of lifestyle change. And lifestyle change requires intensive training, as well as a clinical program to ensure that the training will translate into new thinking and behavior outside of camp. Research shows that cognitive-behavioral therapy is the most effective way to change critical eating, activity patterns, focusing, and emotional control.

Is there a connection between my teenager's weight and other behavioral problems, like anxiety and general irritability?

Teenagers face the major challenge of deciding who they are, how they fit into the world, and what they want to do with their lives. Between the mirror and the social isolation, it becomes very difficult to find self-acceptance, self-nurturance, and a peaceful feeling about the identity challenge of the teenage years. As a result, overweight teens may experience anxiety or “act out.”

Losing weight will not solve the quest for identity, self-worth, and a viable exciting plan for the future. However, losing weight will dramatically improve moods and feelings about one’s body and self. Science has documented this very robust effect, especially if the weight loss is accomplished via a well-designed program, including a strong clinical component.

In addition, eating healthfully, just by itself, can improve physical well-being and decrease tiredness and irritability. Losing weight requires eating lower fat foods than average-weight teenagers consume, and doing so consistently. It also requires far more activity than overweight teenagers typically get. That increase in activity can improve mood, quality of sleep, and provide a new and important coping device.

Is my child at risk for developing diabetes?

Many more cases of Type II Diabetes (non-insulin dependent, what used to be called “Adult Onset Diabetes) have been diagnosed in children (beginning at age 8) in the past few years compared to ten years ago. This is a very serious disease that will, if your child develops it and doesn’t cure it, reduce your child’s lifespan by 20 years or more and also create serious quality-of-life issues.

The good news is that Type II Diabetes is almost completely preventable. The major risk factors for developing Type II Diabetes are:

Family history and ethnicity are uncontrollable risk factors. Weight status, on the other hand, can be changed via concerted efforts to modify eating and activity patterns. If your child has a controllable risk factor (i.e., excess weight), then you can take action to help him or her lead a better, healthier, and longer life.

Does my child have a food addiction?

Technically, your child does not have a food addiction. The conditions that define an addictive substance—such as greater and greater amounts required to produce a desired effect and avoid withdrawal symptoms—do not apply to food. However, your overweight child may well have a psychological dependence on food – a relationship with food that is quite unhealthy both physically and emotionally.

Has eating become your child’s comforting reliable friend? Is eating a “coping skill” to which your child resorts when faced with stress at home or at school? Has eating become your child’s source of primary interest and amusement? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then your child’s growth in many key areas of life may have become stymied as a result of an unhealthful psychological dependence on food.

Eating is a very enjoyable and necessary part of being human. However, we function best when we also have strong interests in learning, growing, creating, connecting with others and challenging ourselves. If your child’s world has narrowed in focus to the simple pleasures of food, then he or she has a major problem.

In order for your child to reach his or her true social, intellectual, and physical potential, he or she must change from “living to eat” to “eating to live.” Food can still be an important and pleasurable part of life, just not the primary focus.

Here’s the good news: With the right kind of help, change and tremendous growth can happen.

What's the best way to encourage my child to be more active?

Here’s the short answer: You’ve got to move to lose!

People who want to lose weight must expend more energy than they take in. To maintain weight loss, energy expended must match energy consumed. Unfortunately, for your overweight child, he or she probably has a biology that makes the management of this energy balance quite difficult. Overweight people have bodies that resist weight loss by being very efficient at storing food taken in and stingy about expending energy.

Nonetheless, with lots of attention, the right information, and considerable dedication, even resistant biologies can be tamed. For example, did you know that by simply standing up you expend 20% more energy than sitting down? As soon as we start moving, we double or triple the energy expended when sitting down. This means that overweight children don’t have to begin training for triathlons to lose weight. A walk through a book store or to the corner to buy a paper will contribute to health, in contrast to playing video games.

The following suggestions, which we review in detail at the Wellspring Academies family workshops, focus on increasing movement along these lines:

Is there a connection between my child’s weight and poor performance in school?

Overweight teens sometimes struggle in school. Decreased interest in school can emerge when hopelessness and frustration and anger form a dark cloud over your child. Frequently, hopelessness and frustration about the weight combine with anger and resentment toward those who tease them or make seemingly subtle “put down” remarks.

Few overweight teens are able to rationalize their way through these unpleasant emotions. In general, teens aren’t great at putting things in perspective and envisioning the future – i.e., the importance of school. For overweight teens, these powerful emotions can make that future seem especially blurry. Too often, academic progress suffers as a result.

Healthy and substantial weight loss can restore hope, self-respect, and improve visual acuity for the future. Also, an academic program that takes the focus off the weight – such as Wellspring Academies – can improve social acceptance, self-acceptance, and begin to rebuild a positive attitude to being at school. These changes spark remarkable improvements in schoolwork, particularly in a small school setting in which individualized educational plans are established and easily updated as the student’s progress accelerates.

Questions about Wellspring Academies

My child isn't interested in attending Wellspring . What can I do?

The admission criteria for Wellspring Academies is simply that the student is will to give Wellspring a chance.  Many, if not the majority of Wellspring students, come to campus with some level of reluctance or resistance. This is normal and needs to be expected. Your child has been struggling with her weight for a long time and has likely tried other programs without success.

In these situations, it’s the role of the parent to make the right decision for the child’s health. We advise parents to sit down with their child and explain the decision:
“Honey, I care about you so much. Nothing is more important to me than your health, and that’s why we’ve made the decision to send you to Wellspring.”

In nearly 100% of these cases, once the student arrives on campus to our emotionally-safe environment where she’s not being judged based on her weight, the resistance or reluctance lessens and eventually disappears.

How do we stay in contact with our child at Wellspring ?

Entering students are permitted 2 calls per week after the first week. They are able to earn more time as they progress through the Summit System. Students can receive and send letters, and are also able to receive e-mails. Parents may e-mail to a general student e-mail account. These e-mails are printed out and distributed each afternoon.

You will probably spend as much if not more time on the phone with your child’s behavioral coach, especially in the first few months. So you’ll have an excellent sense of how your child is doing.

There are also visiting weekends scheduled once a month. About every other month, these weekends are also Family Workshop weekends. Visiting families may take their child off-campus during visiting weekends (or the student may return home for an “Off-Campus Challenge”) once the student has reached the second level of the Summit System.

Will sending my child to Wellspring reinforce her identification as overweight?

It may seem like you’re sending the message that you think your child is overweight, but you are actually making a strong statement of your commitment to your child’s health.

Your child may not understand this right away. However, once your child enrolls, the identification will shift to a very positive one, supported by peers and staff who understand that biology is not destiny, and that thousands of overweight people return to a health weight and become successful long-term weight controllers each and every year.

How does Wellspring handle homesickness?

Students enroll at Wellspring Academies for a relatively limited period of time. It is highly likely that your child’s enrollment at Wellspring is his or her best opportunity to embark on a new and healthier path.

Students also have a great time at Wellspring. But some – particularly younger students – struggle in the first few days with homesickness. In fact, the most common challenge we encounter at Wellspring is not difficulty with food, activity, weight loss or behavioral change, but rather homesickness.

In our experience, the best way to address homesickness is immersion in the program. Once students are enjoying exciting activities and making friends, homesickness abates very quickly. At the same time, the most challenging day for many Wellspring students is the first phone call; when students first communicate with parents, their thoughts turn to home, and what they are missing there.

Parents should also be aware that, for any child, being away from home increases anxiety. For adolescents who are struggling with their weight, being away from home means not only a temporary separation from family and friends, but also unavailability of many of the coping mechanisms they have used to get by.

As a result, the anxiety level may be a little higher, and when communicating with you via phone or letter, this can manifest itself as homesickness, which will naturally elicit concern.

If you receive a communication like this, please realize that most students who experience these issues are actually doing quite well at Wellspring and enjoying themselves. But this may not be conveyed in communications home.

Over the first few weeks and months of your child’s enrollment at Wellspring , you should expect to be in nearly constant contact with the Directors and also your child’s Behavioral Coach, so we can work as a team to address this important issue and help your child acclimate to and focus on the program.

How do I know my child will be safe?

Safety is absolutely our top priority. Success depends on ensuring that students are physically and emotionally safe at all times. So Wellspring students are supervised at all times on and off campus. The staff-to-student ratio is approximately 1:2. Wellspring is part of the world’s largest organization of therapeutic schools and programs, CRC Health, which requires that all programs follow stringent requirements concerning hiring, training and risk management.

What happens if, after a month or two, my child decides she doesn’t want to continue, and wants to come home?

Frustration is the most challenging issue we typically face after homesickness has abated.

Although Wellspring Academies may appear simple and straightforward, what we ask students to do – and, in particular, the level of consistency required for success—challenges even the most resilient long-term weight controllers, especially teenagers.

Research demonstrates that most weight controllers experience three distinct stages of change as they grapple with increasing activity level, limiting eating to healthful (albeit tasty) foods, and staying focused on remaining positive about themselves and their futures. Those three stages are 1) honeymoon; 2) frustration; and 3) acceptance.

After students have overcome homesickness and settled into the program, many of them enjoy a honeymoon period that includes relatively rapid weight loss and a feeling of excitement about making such a positive and important change in their lives. The weight loss seems easy and the activities at Wellspring Academies are fun and interesting.

The honeymoon period may last weeks, or only a few days. It ends when students get frustrated.

The reason for this frustration is unique for each student. It could be an interaction with another student, poor weight loss one week, or being challenged by their behavioral coach or a staff member. Whatever the reason, many of our students have relatively poor frustration tolerance. While at home they might have relied on familiar coping mechanisms to deal with this frustration, like zoning out on the Internet or overeating, they do not have these opportunities at Wellspring Academies. As a result, common reactions to frustration include statements concerning an inability to do the program, statements of unhappiness (sometimes deep unhappiness), and expressed desires to return home.

Wellspring Behavioral Coaches and staff are experienced and adept at dealing with these reactions and transforming them into learning opportunities. Frustration tolerance is a key skill for successful long-term weight control. At such times, we can help your child most effectively if you can align yourself with us as much as possible.

This is so important, because when Wellspring Behavioral Coaches and staff begin helping a child to work through this frustration, it is common for the child to appeal to parents in an attempt to find an easier path. If you’re with us 100%, this becomes a remarkable, possibly transforming, teachable moment for your child.

These appeals from students to their parents for assistance sometimes take the form of what we call “splitting”. Splitting is trying to pit one authority figure against another – in this case, pitting the parent against Wellspring. Attempts to split sometimes result in distorted descriptions of situations and events at Wellspring. These conversations can produce some concern, of course. And this is why it is essential that you communicate with us if you hear anything that concerns you.

Ultimately, frustration helps promote important changes. We have helped hundreds of students work through frustration to achieve the acceptance required for successful long-term weight control. As a result, we know that those who successfully work through frustration at Wellspring are much more likely to succeed once they return home. They develop better frustration tolerance and new, stronger and healthier coping skills.

How long does my child need to remain enrolled at Wellspring

Regardless of how much weight your child has lost or the date on the calendar, he or she should transition home from Wellspring once he or she demonstrates the skills and commitment required for successful long-term weight control.

At Wellspring Academies, we believe that losing weight is only a secondary goal. The primary goal is developing those behaviors that enable long-term weight control. The behavioral change required for successful long-term weight control is tracked through our Summit system, where weight control skills such as self-monitoring, journaling and activity are measured alongside commitment, overall attitude, and fulfilling academic expectations.

Our approach is that once students have reached the level of Ascender (the third level of the Summit system) or higher and maintained that level for 60 consecutive days without setbacks (Stumble or Long Fall), they almost always have the clinical recommendation of Wellspring to transition.

Throughout your child’s stay at Wellspring, you will be in communication with your child’s Behavioral Coach and the Directors in order to evaluate and determine when the right time to transition is for your child.

Once students have received Wellspring’s clinical recommendation to transition, Wellspring will stand behind their success not only in terms of the after-care program, in which all students participate, but also if students regain a clinically significant level of weight. Wellspring is invested in the long-term weight control success of these students and will work with families to bring a student back to Wellspring at a tuition level commensurate with the family's ability to pay.

Is a very low-fat diet healthy?

Hundreds of studies over the past half century have clearly proven the superiority of a very low fat approach to weight loss. There are two primary reasons for this.

First, fat is more calorie-dense than the other types of food – carbs and proteins. Each gram of fat has 9 calories, while each gram of carb or protein has 4 calories. So by cutting out the fat, you’re reducing the calorie-density of your diet, and almost certainly reducing caloric intake.

Second, the research shows that low-fat is simply easier to sustain over a period of years than a low-carb diet. Chances are you know a few people who “eat healthy all the time” i.e., no junk food, no fast food, lots of fruits and vegetables. And you probably don’t know anyone who has lasted more than a year on a low-carb regimen.

This is why we train our students to enjoy, understand and prepare very low-fat foods.

Can we visit Wellspring ?

We encourage all families to visit. Tours occur on weekdays and are scheduled through the Admissions Department. Please call 866.364.0808 to schedule a tour or learn more information. Monthly family weekends also make it possible to visit your child once he or she is enrolled.


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