# Has anyone been to an adult fat camp? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 5, 2013, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-been-to-an-adult-fat-camp/675586 "2013-12-05T17:03:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2013, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-been-to-an-adult-fat-camp/675586/1 "2013-12-05T17:03:10Z")
Like [Shane](http://www.shanedietresorts.com/), [Canyon Ranch](http://www.canyonranch.com/), [Structure House](http://structurehouse.crchealth.com/), etc.? Recently, a friend and I started talking about the idea of going to fat camp for a week. I’d love to go for longer – a month would be ideal – but the cost, time off from work, and time my dog would have to stay in a kennel mean that a week is about all I can (maybe) pull off. Does anyone have experience with such a place? Any first-hand recommendations/warnings? (Please, no general advice about losing weight: I haven’t given up on other methods, this is simply something that I’m considering. I’m not interested in discussing nutrition or exercise in this thread, just these weight-loss camps.) ---
**Author:** ![jrsone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jrsone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jrsone)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2013, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-been-to-an-adult-fat-camp/675586/2 "2013-12-05T18:09:26Z")
I don’t but I feel that I would highly benefit from the structure/support of it all. I did Weight Watchers my Freshman year of high school and dropped 100 lbs. I loved that (at the time at least) you were urged to write down every thing and keep track of your activity. I would assume that with those camps, everything would be monitored and if your like me, that would be extremely beneficial. I need rigidness myself. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2013, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-been-to-an-adult-fat-camp/675586/3 "2013-12-05T18:16:22Z")
It’s an interesting concept, but I don’t see the point in going for less than a month. It takes way longer than a week to form a habit. You’re not likely to learn anything in 7 days that you couldn’t learn closer to home for less money. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2013, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-been-to-an-adult-fat-camp/675586/4 "2013-12-05T18:42:28Z")
> [@Rachellelogram](#): > > It’s an interesting concept, but I don’t see the point in going for less than a month. It takes way longer than a week to form a habit. You’re not likely to learn anything in 7 days that you couldn’t learn closer to home for less money. Like I said, a month would be ideal but ain’t gonna happen. The idea isn’t to transform my life in 7 days: it would be to get some guidance, support, and a jump-start on the changes that need to be made at home. And while, sure, I could take a fitness class and a nutrition class and whatever else they offer closer to home for less money, the amount of time it takes would be the same and I think it would be _much_ easier to just take a week off from my life – no work, no dog, no family demands, etc. – and focus only on me and what I need during that time. Get it all at once, in one lump, so I have some tools when I get back home. Know what I mean? But that’s why I started the thread; I’d like to hear from some people who have done it. ---
**Author:** ![Gestalt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/90ced4/32.png) [@Gestalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gestalt)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2013, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-been-to-an-adult-fat-camp/675586/5 "2013-12-05T19:11:14Z")
I agree with **Rachelellogram** ; I don’t see how one week could truly be beneficial. So you will exercise intensely and eat well for one week. And then what? You go back to work where you are stressed, there are donuts in the breakroom and everyone is getting Chinese for lunch, and at the end of a 10+ hour day you’ll have to find the willpower somehow to exercise and cook yourself a healthy dinner. I think the most you could get from it would be a solid week of nutrition and cooking classes (which, I think most of that info you could easily get from a book or online and honestly probably already know most of) and a week of personal training. I think it would be much more useful to try to make adjustments in the “real world” so to speak. ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2013, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-been-to-an-adult-fat-camp/675586/6 "2013-12-05T19:23:18Z")
I had a family member who would go periodically. As you might guess, they taught her some useful things about healthy meal preparation and so on. But then she would get home and fall back into her old habits. So all told, she did not accomplish much. I’m pretty confident that if you did a study, you would find that these results are pretty typical. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2013, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-been-to-an-adult-fat-camp/675586/7 "2013-12-05T19:29:17Z")
Please, no more “I don’t see what you could possibly gain from a week” from people who have never done it. Not that you might not be correct, but I’m not here for opinions that aren’t based on experience. Second/third-hand stories aren’t much use, either, without knowing _why_ the person fell back into their old habits. Which no one but that person knows. Maybe no one on the Dope has been to one, in which case this thread will sink like a stone; I’ll be fine with that. But really, I’m just looking to hear from people who have done it. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2013, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-been-to-an-adult-fat-camp/675586/8 "2013-12-05T19:51:34Z")
I have - not for weight loss - for the “health retreat” - and it was a long weekend, not even a week. Its an amazing feel good indulgence - at least for that amount of time. I’d do it again in a minute for a week if I could ditch the kids and the husband and justify the money. But its an indulgence, not a diet. Having someone fix you spa meals and having nothing to do during the day but fitness classes, health education and spa treatments, yeah, not at all a way to establish habits. The education was pretty useless unless you’ve lived under a rock your whole life. Over a month or six weeks - I think it would work a lot more like rehab does for an addict (been there for family week as well) - where your body would adjust and stop craving sugar and crap and the endorphins from exercise would move past the “God I hate this” to “damn, I didn’t get my run in today” and your brain would start to behave in a long term healthy fashion. I did lose a few pounds over my long weekend - a diet that is what is supposed to be on your plate with limited snacking and a lot of exercise will do that. The one I went to closed a decade or more ago, but Cindy Crawford had just left when I arrived for my weekend. ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-been-to-an-adult-fat-camp/675586/9 "2013-12-06T01:14:32Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > Second/third-hand stories aren’t much use, either, without knowing _why_ the person fell back into their old habits. Which no one but that person knows. Lol, if it’s impossible for other people to know the reasons, then why even ask? More seriously, I am sorry if I didn’t give you the kind of information you were looking for. Unfortunately, the individual I referred to is deceased so there is no way to ask her what went wrong. And even if she were around, I doubt it would be much help to ask her. If she had had a good understanding of why she failed then she probably would not have failed repeatedly. Best of luck in your weight loss journey. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-been-to-an-adult-fat-camp/675586/10 "2013-12-06T18:11:14Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > Its an amazing feel good indulgence - at least for that amount of time. I’d do it again in a minute for a week if I could ditch the kids and the husband and justify the money. But its an indulgence, not a diet. Having someone fix you spa meals and having nothing to do during the day but fitness classes, health education and spa treatments, yeah, not at all a way to establish habits. The education was pretty useless unless you’ve lived under a rock your whole life. So you’d do a week in a minute, but only as a vacation? The long weekend wasn’t valuable as a “jump start” on making changes at home? That’s really the most I can hope to get out of a week – 7 days of focus on diet/exercise, and inspiration for making changes in real life – but now I wonder if I’m expecting too much. > [@brazil84](#): > > Lol, if it’s impossible for other people to know the reasons, then why even ask? Um, because I was asking to hear from the people themselves? Not sure what’s funny/confusing about that… ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-been-to-an-adult-fat-camp/675586/11 "2013-12-06T20:43:10Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > Um, because I was asking to hear from the people themselves? Not sure what’s funny/confusing about that… Well, you stated that nobody but the person in question knows. If that’s true, it eliminates the possibility that somebody else could know by having a discussion with the person. And if that possibility is eliminated, then it’s just as pointless for you to discuss it with them. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-been-to-an-adult-fat-camp/675586/12 "2013-12-06T21:25:23Z")
> [@brazil84](#): > > I had a family member who would go periodically. As you might guess, they taught her some useful things about healthy meal preparation and so on. But then she would get home and fall back into her old habits. > > So all told, she did not accomplish much. I’m pretty confident that if you did a study, you would find that these results are pretty typical. I would agree. IMO, you can’t “teach” someone how to lose weight, any more than you can teach someone how to stop smoking or stop drinking. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-been-to-an-adult-fat-camp/675586/13 "2013-12-06T21:47:06Z")
> [@brazil84](#): > > Well, you stated that nobody but the person in question knows. If that’s true, it eliminates the possibility that somebody else could know by having a discussion with the person. And if that possibility is eliminated, then it’s just as pointless for you to discuss it with them. :rolleyes: It’s impossible for anyone other than the person in question to _know_ the reason; I never said it was impossible for anyone else to _learn_ their reason. Third parties almost never do, though, which is why I didn’t title the thread “Has anyone’s friend/family been to an adult fat camp?” > [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > IMO, you can’t “teach” someone how to lose weight, any more than you can teach someone how to stop smoking or stop drinking. Please elaborate. Cigarettes and alcohol are both things that can be given up: you know better than to suggest that food can be given up, so I’d like to understand how you equate overeating with smoking/drinking. ---
**Author:** ![brettster55](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brettster55](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brettster55)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-been-to-an-adult-fat-camp/675586/14 "2013-12-06T21:51:22Z")
My first thought was that it sounds like it could be fun, until I realized food options and alcohol is probably limited ---
**Author:** ![perfectparanoia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a5b964/32.png) [@perfectparanoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/perfectparanoia)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-been-to-an-adult-fat-camp/675586/15 "2013-12-06T22:01:52Z")
I have been on the weight loss yoyo for a long time and if I were going to spend money on weight loss, it wouldn’t be for fat camp. I would get a dietician to do a home visit or two or three to help you clean out your pantry and do meal planning. Then I would pay for a personal trainer to set up an exercise program for me. (Since I don’t have the money, it’s sort of moot.) ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-been-to-an-adult-fat-camp/675586/16 "2013-12-06T22:24:44Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > :rolleyes: > > It’s impossible for anyone other than the person in question to _know_ the reason; I never said it was impossible for anyone else to _learn_ their reason. Lol, nice weasel. If you _learn_ something, then you _know_ it, right? :rolleyes: > [@](#): > > Third parties almost never do, though, Well then I congratulate you on your ability – as a third party – to learn peoples’ reasons. I hope that you share your pearls of wisdom with others. :rolleyes: indeed. ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-been-to-an-adult-fat-camp/675586/17 "2013-12-06T22:32:30Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > IMO, you can’t “teach” someone how to lose weight I’ve wondered about this issue myself. I think that, in theory, it’s possible to teach someone how to successfully diet. As a practical matter though, I suspect it’s extremely difficult. Here’s my hypothesis: Self-deception seems to play a big role in food problems. People who are big self-deceivers will naturally have difficulty learning the best ways to approach food and dieting. Instead, they will gravitate towards approaches which are slick, well-marketed, and/or promise them successful weight loss while still eating large amounts of the foods they love. Put another way, the same cognitive problems which cause people to become obese will make it very difficult to “teach” the person how to lose weight. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-been-to-an-adult-fat-camp/675586/18 "2013-12-06T23:51:02Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > So you’d do a week in a minute, but only as a vacation? The long weekend wasn’t valuable as a “jump start” on making changes at home? That’s really the most I can hope to get out of a week – 7 days of focus on diet/exercise, and inspiration for making changes in real life – but now I wonder if I’m expecting too much. > > Um, because I was asking to hear from the people themselves? Not sure what’s funny/confusing about that… Nope, it wasn’t at all a reflection of my real day to day life - it was a fantasy life. When I get home, I can’t do two hours of yoga and spend an hour lifting weights, sit down to three meals prepared by a chef to reflect healthy habits, no tv to suck you in, someone keeping track of your schedule - I’m stuck with potato chips in the house because I have a teenager and a schedule that doesn’t permit three or four hours of exercise a day and the distractions of things I’d rather do (SDMB, read a book, watch TV) keeping me off the treadmill. I’ve had a few fantasy life vacations - they are really cool. But they are about as inspiring when it comes to real life as GOOP is. It was fun, but as a “this will change my life”- it would have been discouraging - I couldn’t do at at home. As an opportunity to recharge, it was great. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-been-to-an-adult-fat-camp/675586/19 "2013-12-07T00:25:47Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > Please elaborate. Cigarettes and alcohol are both things that can be given up: you know better than to suggest that food can be given up, so I’d like to understand how you equate overeating with smoking/drinking. I agree. Many have successfully done it. But it can’t be taught. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-been-to-an-adult-fat-camp/675586/20 "2013-12-07T01:57:55Z")
I never went to a “fat camp”, but I did spend one week recuperating from minor surgery. I haven’t had a cigarette since then. So, one week can be long enough to start to change a habit. > [@Misnomer](#): > > Please elaborate. Cigarettes and alcohol are both things that can be given up: you know better than to suggest that food can be given up, so I’d like to understand how you equate overeating with smoking/drinking. Well, it’s about excess, right? Light social drinking and enough fats and oils to satisfy are fine; some people can even smoke only occasionally. The problem is in drinking all the time, eat too much sugar, and ever buying your own cigarettes.