Program Information

Wellspring California is located on a beautiful 68-acre campus, halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco. Wellspring California is California's only scientifically based weight loss summer camp and is designed exclusively for teens, ages 11-18. It's also California's most famous weight loss program, having been profiled in two different reality shows over the past two years.

At Wellspring California, young people lose an average of four pounds per week and continue losing weight after camp ends. The Wellspring approach is based on decades of scientific research on weight-loss techniques that are proven to work. Unlike traditional weight loss camps or fat camps, Wellspring has documented its effectiveness at scientific conferences, in journals, and in the media year after year.

Although the food at camp is healthy and nutrient-dense, it is also delicious. Campers enjoy traditional favorites as well as new recipes prepared with minimal fat and maximum nutrition to help them lose weight and keep it off. The Wellspring diet is simple and sustainable - eat as little fat as possible and write everything down in a self-monitoring journal - and can be easily maintained when eating out at restaurants and after campers return home.

Wellspring California campers take advantage of a range of sports and fitness facilities on campus while taking trips to the California coast for surfing and mountain biking, and into the Sierra Nevada for whitewater rafting and hiking. The level of activity is unprecedented for each and every camper, and so is the weight loss. Campers average a weight loss of 4 pounds per week, and 70% of Wellspring campers maintain or continue their weight loss at home.

Unlike fat camps that promote rapid, yet unsustainable weight loss, Wellspring California is a weight loss program for those seeking long-term results. A team of master's and doctoral level cognitive-behavioral therapists work with each camper and their family to make their changes in diet and activity permanent by learning stress management and coping skills and working through any underlying issues. Campers explore new activities that nourish the body and mind as well as improve in the activities they already love - all with the goal to stay healthy and active for the rest of their lives.