Overweight Teens Get Healthy Jump Start at Weight Loss Camp

August 30, 2009— -- A month ago three overweight teenagers agreed to allow "Good Morning America Weekend" to chronicle their stays at the New Image Camp at the Camp Pocono Trails in Pennsylvania.

Over the course of three weeks, Shaequan Edmunds, 16, of Parkville, Md., Tori-Osha Lyas, 15, of Hattiesburg, Miss., and Andrea "Poqui" Bergara , 13, of Austin, Texas, learned how to improve their eating habits and engage in sports and exercises every day, challenging themselves to change their lifestyles and lose as much weight as possible.

New Image divides campers into small groups of six according to their ages, to foster peer support. Lyas and Edmonds were in the Super Senior Girls and Boys groups and Bergara was in the "Teen A" group. They got up every morning at seven, ate breakfast with their camp mates and then rested briefly before dividing into small groups for a series of intense activities.

From the pool to the gym to the weight room, each of them spent at least four hours a day working out and staying active. Among the wide range of recreational sports and exercises during the three week challenge, each found a new way to get active.

"I like working on the abs and wall-sits," Bergara said. "You push your back against the wall, and you pretend you're sitting in a chair, but there's no chair there."

Edmonds, on the other hand, enjoyed lifting weights the most. "I really like to train myself in the weight room, and tried to double how much I did every time with heavier weights," he explained.

Lyas found kickboxing in the water to be the most effective form of exercise for her. "Water aerobics helped me so much because you burn twice as much calories doing what you're doing, and you don't even feel it," she said.

Each teen's diet also underwent a complete overhaul. "We don't fry anything, there's no soda, everything is portion control," camp director Tony Sparber explained. "My philosophy is to give the kids normal food. We have barbeques Friday nights. We have hamburgers and hot dogs. But you get one hamburger. You don't get two or three. We have pita pizza. You get one pizza; you don't get two or three."

Lyas says she's learned to eat just the right amount to feel full, then stop. "We still eat the same foods, it's just controlled. You get enough and learn not to engorge yourself."

And Bergara too has learned that three meals amounting to 1,600 total calories per day makes sense. "I'd learned not to overeat, and I'm gonna eat healthier stuff."

The camp also provides a range of nutrition and cooking classes throughout the session so campers learn how to eat smart and cook healthy meals. "The key to our program is giving the kids foods that they will enjoy not only here, but also at home," said Sparber.