Posted by Linda Daignault on Tue, Apr 12, 2011 @ 11:20 AM
Style Network is bringing it's obesity-awareness campaign on the road with an event set for Saturday, April 16 in St. Louis. On hand at the event--Wellspring's own Tanisha Mitchell, a favorite of loyal Too Fat for 15 viewers.
The event, called 'Healthy Moms + Healthy Kids,' will take a town hall approach to the issues of good nutrition and healthy living, with city officials, professional athletes, teachers, authors, journalists and Style Network personalities all contributing. In addition to Tanisha Mitchell, Allison Sweeney of Biggest Loser and Ruby Gettinger of Style Network's Ruby will take part in the event.
Portions of 'Healthy Moms + Healthy Kids' will be filmed for a special to air on Style Network later this year.
Those of you in the St. Louis area should definitely plan to attend! Here are the details:
Saturday, April 16
1p-5p: Health and fitness booths with free giveaways; activities for the kids in the gymnasium
2p-4p: Filming of Style special in auditorium (doors open at 1:30p)
West County Family YMCA
16464 Burkhardt Place, Chesterfield, MO 63017; phone: 636-532-3100
Additional information is available here.
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How are Wellspring Camps different than traditional fat camps? Wellspring offers the most fun and effective weight loss camp program available for kids, teens, young adults and women.
Posted by Linda Daignault on Wed, Apr 06, 2011 @ 02:53 PM
Coach John Taylor, a favorite among fans of Too Fat for 15: Fighting Back and the many Wellspring Academies students he has helped over the years, was featured on Perez Hilton's QuickFit Tip of the Day recently.
His fitness advice? Always have a workout partner. In his Tip of the Day, he cites research that indicates the importance of having a reliable workout buddy.
What do you think? Are you more likely to workout with a friend or by yourself?
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How are Wellspring Camps different than traditional fat camps? Wellspring offers the most fun and effective weight loss camp program available for kids, teens, young adults and women.
Posted by Linda Daignault on Mon, Mar 28, 2011 @ 08:52 AM
Thanks to Rozalynn Frazier from Health Magazine for these great tips on preparing your body and mind for a 10K.
After being cooped up all winter, what better way to enjoy being outdoors than to train for (and finish!) a 10K? Whether you’re an occasional jogger or a serious runner, it’s motivating to have a goal to strive for, says Jenny Hadfield, co-author of Running for Mortals. And if you train with a friend, you’ll have built-in cheerleading. Ready to go for it? Here’s what you need to know.
Why run anyway?
Besides the mental boost it provides (runner's high is real), running strengthens your bones and burns about 100 calories per mile.
Plan way ahead
Sign up for a race that’s at least six weeks away. This way you’ll have catch-up time if life (school, family, etc.) intervenes and slows down your training. Not ready for 6.2 miles? Cut running times roughly in half, and opt for a 5K. Either way, don’t overdo it—ramping up miles too soon can cause injury.
Halfway through training, tackle a 3-miler at your intended race-day pace. Wiped out? Consider a run-and-walk strategy for your 10K. In general, decrease your miles by 25 to 30% one week before the race to be rested enough for it, Hadfield says.
Push each other (in a good way)
Crazy-hectic schedules can wreak havoc on group runs. Still, try for at least one weekly session with your friends. Hadfield’s suggestion: Meet at your crew’s favorite local spot near your home for a quick out-and-back run.
Pace your race
When the gun goes off, don’t go all out. Start slow, and conserve energy for the race’s second half. If you panic or feel like you won’t finish, push that negativity out of your mind. Simply slow your pace, and focus on breathing. And remember: It’s perfectly OK to walk.
Stretch it off
Post-race, walk around for a few minutes, then do some quad, hamstring, and calf stretches to prevent soreness. After you and your friends regroup, snap a finisher photo. You’ll want to remember your amazing accomplishments.
How to train
If you run 3 to 4 miles three times a week, here’s how to tackle a 10K:
• Do two 40- to 50-minute runs weekly.
• Add a longer, slower run (45 to 90 minutes) on the weekends.
• Cross-train for 45 minutes one or two times a week.
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How are Wellspring Camps different than traditional fat camps? Wellspring offers the most fun and effective weight loss camp program available for kids, teens, young adults and women.
Posted by Linda Daignault on Wed, Mar 09, 2011 @ 11:59 AM
For those who have avoided artificial sweeteners due to speculation that they increased risks of cancer and other health issues, check out this article from the March 2011 Tufts University Health & Nutrition Newsletter:
If you remember the great saccharin scare of the late 1970s, it may come as a sweet surprise to learn that the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has removed the artificial sweetener from its list of hazardous substances. The switch clears the last official blemish from saccharin’s reputation, with the FDA having given it an OK in 2000. Following studies linking saccharin with cancer in rats, the EPA’s Carcinogen Assessment Group listed the sweetener as a possible human carcinogen in 1980. Now, in response to a petition from an artificial-sweetener trade group, the agency has reversed that listing, saying there’s insufficient evidence that saccharin causes cancer in humans. Although not as popular in the US in part because of lingering cancer fears, inexpensive saccharin remains the largest-volume artificial sweetener in the world, primarily used in Asia.
At Wellspring, we answer a lot of questions about artificial sweeteners from concerned parents. Our stance has always been to think of artificial sweetener from a triage perspective. For kids who have a serious weight issue, the number one health priority needs to be losing weight. For many kids, artificial sweeteners help them move in that direction.
As kids lose weight and begin routinely making healthier choices, many parents then choose to work on lessening the amount of artificial sweetener used by their children.
Hopefully this change in status by the EPA will help parents feel more comfortable with artificial sweetener as their kids transition into a healthier lifestyle. As we frequently remind parents: excess weight poses immediate physical and mental health risks to their child, and that needs to take a high priority.
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How are Wellspring Camps different than traditional fat camps? Wellspring offers the most fun and effective weight loss camp program available for kids, teens, young adults and women.
Posted by Linda Daignault on Tue, Mar 08, 2011 @ 12:02 PM
If you tuned into Style Network's 'Too Fat for 15: Fighting Back' last night, you were introduced to Carsyn, a 17 year old from Virginia who came to Wellspring after 'falling out of love with sports' and subsequently gaining weight.
In an interview on myYearbook.com, Carsyn opens up about the challenges she faced in overhauling her lifestyle and how difficult it is to be a young person struggling with weight. Here's an excerpt:
What’s one thing you wish all young people knew about others who are struggling with weight issues?
I wish they would let up a little bit. I think some people are way too harsh on those who look different. It’s not about weight, it’s about being healthy... The two H’s - healthy and happiness - are big rules for me. As long as you’re happy with who you are, no one has a right to judge you. I don’t appreciate the disrespect, judgment and bullying that happens to the overweight people here and how it affects them because it makes them so defensive and so ugly sometimes. You have no idea what it can do to a person.
Carsyn's interview shows a mature, compassionate, and self-aware young lady who has faced an extremely difficult challenge. Unfortunately when you read the comments by other teens on the site, the type of 'disrespect, judgement, and bullying' she talks about facing are very evident.
To Carsyn and all of the other kids and teens who take on the incredible challenge of losing weight: Please know that you have the respect and support of countless people. EVERYONE has their issues. The only difference with the kids who come to Wellspring is that they are brave and strong enough to face their issues and work toward a solution.
Here's the link to the interview if you'd like to leave Carsyn a more supportive comment than those currently posted.
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How are Wellspring Camps different than traditional fat camps? Wellspring offers the most fun and effective weight loss camp program available for kids, teens, young adults and women.
Posted by Linda Daignault on Mon, Mar 07, 2011 @ 05:24 PM
Make sure and tune in to Syle Network for the premiere of Season 2 of Too Fat for 15: Fighting Back. It starts soon! (8pm, 7 Central)
In the meantime, you can see the students on Good Morning America Health. Just click on the video below.
And if you're looking to begin your own weight loss journey, find out more about Wellspring. We have weight loss camp and weight loss boarding school programs that offer the most effective solutions for overweight kids, teens, young adults, and adult women.
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How are Wellspring Camps different than traditional fat camps? Wellspring offers the most fun and effective weight loss camp program available for kids, teens, young adults and women.
Posted by Linda Daignault on Mon, Mar 07, 2011 @ 01:59 PM
Tanisha and Carsyn from Style Network's 'Too Fat for 15: Fighting Back' were featured this morning on Portland's KATU AM Northwest. The Wellspring Academies students discuss their reasons for enrolling in Wellspring and their weight loss progress over the past several months at the weight loss boarding school.
Watch the segment here:
And don't forget that Season 2 of Too Fat for 15 premieres tonight on Style Network. Get all of the details and local listings at
mystyle.com.
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How are Wellspring Camps different than traditional fat camps? Wellspring offers the most fun and effective weight loss camp program available for kids, teens, young adults and women.
Posted by Linda Daignault on Fri, Mar 04, 2011 @ 01:16 PM
Don’t miss a sneak peek of the premiere of Too Fat for 15: Fighting Back on Entertainment Tonight TONIGHT, Friday, March 4th. It’s the first day of school and a mix of fresh faces and a new crop of obese teens move to Wellspring Academy to learn how to gain control of their weight and change their lives.
You can catch Entertainment Tonight weeknights at 7:00pm PT on KCBS in Los Angeles and at 7:30pm ET on WCBS in New York. For more information and local listings, log on to http://www.etonline.com/.
And here's a great article about Wellspring Academies students from the Huffington Post: 'Too Fat for 15: Mobid Obesity and Teens'
Don’t miss the premiere of The Style Network’s Too Fat for 15: Fighting Back this coming Monday, March 7th at 8pm.
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How are Wellspring Camps different than traditional fat camps? Wellspring offers the most fun and effective weight loss camp program available for kids, teens, young adults and women.
Posted by Linda Daignault on Wed, Mar 02, 2011 @ 08:24 AM
The Hungarian governement has announced plans to tax unhealthy foods and drinks, a measure widely referred to as the "hamburger tax."
Plans include imposing a per-package tax on foods and drinks that don’t fit into a healthy diet, including “colored drinks” such as Coke and other sodas, coffee, sweets and certain fast-food meals. The few-billion-forint tax revenue could then boost the state health fund, online news agency index.hu said earlier.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban commented that "those who live unhealthily have to contribute more to support the [health] system," while the state secretary at the Economy Ministry said "if certain products have a proven negative effect on health, which could lead to hospital care paid for by society, that's an unequal shar of burdens. It's clear that those who consume such products have to bear the [consequences]."
What do you think?
In this era of concern about the impact that obesity has on society as a whole, should people be held financially accountable for decisions that negatively impact their health (such as smoking and eating unhealthy food) when those decisions are potentially costly to employers and other tax-payers?
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How are Wellspring Camps different than traditional fat camps? Wellspring offers the most fun and effective weight loss camp program available for kids, teens, young adults and women.
Posted by Linda Daignault on Tue, Mar 01, 2011 @ 12:54 PM
Check out the clip below to see three of the students featured on Style Network's 'Too Fat for 15: Fighting Back' discuss their personal struggles with obesity. Tanisha, Scotty, Emily and their families open up about their lives before Wellspring Academies and the difficulties they each faced in handling their weight issues.
Be sure to tune into Style Network on Monday, March 7 for the first episode of Season 2 of Too Fat for 15: Fighting Back, as the students continue their Wellspring weight loss journey.
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How are Wellspring Camps different than traditional fat camps? Wellspring offers the most fun and effective weight loss camp program available for kids, teens, young adults and women.