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Parents & Campers Talk About Their Experiences

Following are unsolicited e-mails received from Wellspring Texas families.
Full references are available upon request.

Wellspring Weight Loss

We will be forever indebted to your program and the professionals who worked with our 16-year- old son this summer at camp. Harrison was excited about the possibility of learning a healthier lifestyle and loosing weight. However, he also had some fears as he contemplated attending camp. Mainly the fear of failure. "What if he couldn't or didn't lose weight?" This feeling motivated him greatly to commit his total effort into doing what the program had to offer, even if it was hard or uncomfortable. However, he didn't find it to be hard, just an exciting challenge. His comment last week after being home from camp for a couple of months was, “This is successful because I am never hungry." He has lost a total of 65 lbs. and still losing.

Because the Wellspring approach is focused and simple to understand, our whole family has lost weight and we love the foods we eat. We love the time we spend together being active. The best conversations happen on our walks.

Our son found the summer camp to be full of fun activities, wonderful new friends, and confidence building. The tools that he was given will go with him for the rest of his life. He has understanding now about the relationship between genetics, metabolism and the role of food and exercise. He has tools to be successful in making healthful selections at parties, movies, restaurants and when shopping at the grocery. Our whole family is so much more educated in this area.

Thank you for having this program!

Nan and Carl Stocker, Denton, TX

I had to think for several weeks about what I wanted to say in my letter because this is such an emotional subject for me. When I had initially contacted the camp I saw some glimmer of hope for my daughter who in a short two-year span gained 66-pounds on her small 5’1 stature. My daughter gained this weight attempting to deal with the stress of my divorce. When I initially spoke to Isabel about this, she became very angry and was even verbally hostile towards the wonderful staff at the camp who attempted to contact her and discuss the camp with her. I saw any hope of her being able to address the weight issue and her emotional issues slowly dwindle away.

We counted the days before camp, we counted the days before she would start High School, and we counted the days until she was to begin a new life. I promised my daughter we would never again cry while we were doing something as fun as shopping for school clothes.

When she left I had this weight lifted off of my shoulders. I knew I had done the right thing for her; but it was a hard eight-weeks. The last day of camp, my beautiful daughter ran up to me and told me how sorry she was for not wanting to go and how happy she was that she did. It meant the world to me. To see my daughter’s self-esteem reappear after disappearing several years earlier and to hear her complain that she could not keep her pants up because they kept falling off was music to my ears.

The days of having to shop via the Internet are gone; the days of having her cry because her size 16 pants are too tight are gone. When we returned home, the stress level for all of us was unbelievable. We followed the camp’s guidelines for a fat-free kitchen and printed up the shopping list. Isabel returned home weighing 159 pounds. She lost 20 more pounds. She has continued to work out and is on the softball team at school. She has so many more friends and has a new confidence. Her anger has disappeared and she just seems to be a different and much happier Isabel.

She has become someone completely new. I loved the old Isabel but the new Isabel is just as wonderful and much happier. Thank You for changing my daughter’s life, giving us the tools, and teaching us the skills to make those changes.

Angella Mudd, Katy, TX

I decided to send my grandson to Wellspring when I acknowledged his obesity, fatigue and sense of sadness. It was difficult for him to even walk around the block, much less play soccer with his sister or play football for his school. His sadness was due to his low self-esteem. He was at Wellspring Texas for only 30-days but there was a fabulous transformation happening to him.

When we went to the Family Workshop, we discovered not only a slimmer young man greeting us, but he had a zip in his step and his head was held high. He was talking to many students as he walked toward us, smiling constantly. He had lost 34 pounds in those 30 days and found his self-worth. The weight loss was amazing and so appreciated, but his smile and purpose were what we noticed the most!

He continues to work on staying active, eating healthier and logging in at night to continue his program. There is an added benefit- his Grandfather and I lost weight too! After our grandson came home, I lost 15-pounds in six weeks and Gramps lost 40! To help him continue the program, we decided to eat what was healthier and read labels to help him continue his new way of life. This is a continuing change in the way we live. It's not meant to be a diet. And it is easy, sound nutrition and tastes good. I didn't even know you could buy buffalo meat at the grocers!

The upbeat staff at Wellspring kept the kids moving, understood when it was hard, and cheered them on when they did well for themselves! My grandson did things he never dreamed he could do like kayaking, rock wall climbing, hiking three miles in a morning and being proud of every motion along the way. He made long term friendships from all over the States and changed his life. He continues to lose and is still smiling! Thanks Wellspring! This program is so worth it!

Barbara Harris, Bullverbe, TX

We cannot express how much your program has affected our lives.

Morgan has continued on with what she learned at camp this past summer as well as gotten our family started on a different way of eating. She has lost 12 additional lbs. since she returned home. She has been doing a lot of exercise and jogging as well; she even had us get her a treadmill so she can walk and watch TV along with it. She probably has been walking an average of 30,000 steps a day.

This has made such an impact on a lot of her friends and also our lives here at home. Michelle (Mother) has been talking with several people in the school system here about the program and the way you operated the camp. They realize how much change there is in Morgan’s attitude and appearance since she came home. I cannot THANK YOUR SYSTEM and staff enough for what you have done this past summer at San Marcos.

TC Evans, Jr., Wharton, TX

The Continuing-Care refund is a wonderful validation of the hard work of many - you, the great counselors, program developers and, of course, our son Spencer. He is a new person - more confident, happier and healthier.

Wellspring taught him such a valuable life lesson – that stretch goals are achievable with support, commitment and practice, practice, practice. Every day challenges Spencer to live his program and utilize the tools in his Wellspring toolbelt. From the bottom of our heart, we thank you!

Wayne & Debbie Stargardt, Dallas, TX

Billy is doing fantastic! We took up bike riding - you should have seen him when he completed the Tour de Pink! He is having his best year EVER in school, last report card was all A's and one B. He is in the Boy's Choir, Theatre and Speech and Debate and is about to star in his first play.
Wellspring Texas did a lot for Billy. It pushed him beyond his comfort zone and helped him to realize that he could achieve things that he would never try. It also taught him that there are limits, something that I had not been good at doing for him before camp.

I have been going through family pictures the past couple of weeks, sorting and filling frames to hang in our new house. He gets very angry and refuses to let me use any of the "old" pictures from "when he was FAT!" I have told him that as I accumulate new pictures of the "new" Billy, I will replace them. I will have to send you one so you can see how handsome he is becoming.
He is still at 178-pounds and yes, he still needs to lose some. (He has also gotten almost a FOOT taller!) But at least he's not just lying around all the time anymore eating junk. He does make healthy choices and he knows when he needs to get out and ride his bike or go for a walk instead of grabbing a snack. I don't think he would do that if he hadn't gone to Wellspring.

He learned the tools and the skills to be able to choose to be a success, both at getting his weight and his health under control, but even more importantly, to be more self disciplined in making good, healthy choices for himself.

We are all very grateful to Wellspring for where Billy is today. Even more importantly, Billy is grateful for his Wellspring experience for so many different reasons besides just the weight loss. He is so much more confident and sure of himself and he knows that he can be a success, without setting himself up for failure and without pushing everyone around him, beyond the limits.

Thank you to Ondrej for his help, support and guidance. Thank you to Dr. Kirschenbaum for his program and for his personal input and follow up after the program. We are SO grateful for that in so many ways.

Tina and John Crichfield, Katy, TX

Leeann's experience at Wellspring Texas was absolutely one of the best. She was born with Hoshimoto's (thyroid disease) and Diabetes Insipidus and has always had a weight problem since the day she was born. Wellspring re-taught her how to eat sensibly by eating the right foods and exercising on a daily basis.

All of the camp counselors were wonderful and informative and Leeann had the best time. She participated in lots and lots of activities and had great support. I encourage anyone who has an overweight child to consider Wellspring. It gives your child control over his or her body so that that at the end of camp they realize that "they can do it." It is a life changing camp.

Joanie Burkett, Lexington, TX

I want to thank you and all of your staff for helping Sarah so much this summer. She has expressed to me the high regard she has of your counselors and behavioral coaches. Having been to a number of other camps (one weight loss camp, various girl scout camps, Outward Bound course, etc.), she has quite a few counselors to compare your staff with, and she places yours at the top of her list. One comment she made is, "they really do care about the campers. It's not just a job to them."

Thank you, Linda Hyman, Tyler, TX