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.

Learning New Habits

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.

Dramatic Results After One Week

After just one week, the three campers were shocked by how much weight they'd lost.

"I lost eight and a half pounds the first week. I was super excited. I was speechless. I went to my counselors and they made me feel so good about myself. I can't explain it," Bergara said.

Both Lyas and Edmonds lost even more weight, eleven pounds each. "I'm still shocked about it, because people only dream of losing that much weight," Edmonds said.

"I never thought that was even possible," said Lyas. "I called my mom and my grandmother, and they screamed so loud, they were so happy, and so proud."

But the weight loss for all of them tapered off the second week. Lyas lost six pounds, while Bergara and Edmonds each lost three and half pounds. Edmonds began to lose heart and thought he had hit a wall with his weight loss. He was also struggling with the intense daily regimen and feeling homesick, and he nearly quit the program.

"I just said, 'I don't want to do this anymore. Like, I really don't care. Like, I wanna go home,'" Edmonds remembered.

When Sparber saw Edmonds feeling so distressed, he decided to call the boy's mother and explain what was happening with her son. "She was very clear that he was not going home under any circumstances, and she would not allow him to quit," said Sparber. "And once we got over that, then it was smooth sailing."

Overcoming Obstacles

Edmonds said he decided he wanted to prove to everyone that he could complete the program, and no matter how tired and frustrated he felt after the first week, he was determined to finish.

"I felt very badly about almost giving up. If I went home I would be, like, a failure and a quitter. And that's what a lot of people at home called me. But I am not!" Edmonds insisted.

For Edmonds, the lesson not to give up was reinforced when he challenged himself to try the camp's climbing course. Afraid of heights since a child, the tasks at the climbing center seemed too overwhelming for him at first. He timidly watched other campers crawl on their hands and feet to the top of the climbing aparatus, take one tiny step at a time on the small wooden planks dangling forty feet above the ground, before swinging back down to ground.

Two instructors accompanied Edmonds every step of the way, and before long, he had completed the course. "I'm so happy I did it. Well, it took me 30 minutes while some people might have done it in five minutes. But I did it!" Edmonds proclaimed proudly.

"It really built my character within me. You need to face your fears when it comes to losing weight. Just like I was stuck up there and I couldn't get down, it's like once you're losing weight, you can't really go back," Edmonds explained. "Why stop when you can keep on going?"

Camper Bergara echoed that sentiment when she successfully finished the course at the climbing center after several failed attempts.

"I just learned that you can't go back after you've started something. You have a harness on. If you fall off, nothing will happen. You can just get back up. So far, the weight loss it, helps me because...once you start something, you just can't turn around. So that helped me a lot," she related.

Peer Support

Another key to weight loss for the teens was teamwork. Each attributed their success to the constant positive feedback they receiveded from their camp counselors and fellow campers.

Edmonds said there were so many times when he was running out of steam, but his camp buddies kept cheering him on. "It was a pain in the butt. Hands down. It was so annoying at times when I would just tell them, 'please, just go away.'" Edmonds admitted. "But I'm glad they didn't listen to me. I now look at the mirror every day and I notice the difference in me, and they play a big part in this."

Lyas agreed. "Even when I wanted to stop and couldn't go on, they say, 'keep going, you have to do this. Think about weigh in. Think about how much you'll lose,'" Lyas said.

Lasting Healthy Lifestyles

On the last day of camp, Bergara was the first to step onto the scale. "OK, Poqui, you're down to 162 pounds. You'd lost a total of eight inches from your chest, waist and hips since day one of camp. Congratulations!" Sparber said.

Bergara's face lit up, and she exclaimed, "I can't believe this, this is great!"

When it was Edmonds' turn, he looked nervously at Sparber when he stared intently at the scale and said, "Shae, you're now 204 pounds. You've lost a total of 23 pounds over the past three weeks. Good job, very good job."

Finally, it was Lyas' turn. When she stepped onto the scale, she was stunned to learn she'd lost 29 pounds in three weeks, bringing her weight down to 307 pounds, and her jaw dropped to the floor.

The teens were involved in a friendly competition against one another, and the winner was determined by the percentage of body weight lost. Lyas lost nine percent of her body weight, Bergara lost 10 percent and Edmonds was declared the winner by just 0.1 percent, with a total loss of 10.1 percent body weight lost.

"This challenge has given me extra motivation to lose weight," said Edmonds of his victory. "I'm so happy I had gone through it," said Edmonds.