That sounds great, but how do we accomplish this?

Camp Shane has a unique stepwise program to help campers get through the mental barriers that often get in the way of healthy living. 

CBT is taught to small groups in a short time. Weekly CBT sessions, along with nutrition and cooking classes, give our campers the tools for long-term success.   
What’s special about Camp Shane’s program?

Camp Shane is a traditional camp, emphasizing fun and friendship, camp activities, special events. We provide an environment where kids don’t have to feel self-conscious - they are free to join in the fun, free to be themselves, free to be kids.

This component of our program is in place to give our children another tool in their long-term weight loss goals. It’s equally important to feel that weight, and weight loss, does not define who our campers are.   

1. Self-monitoring
“Self-monitoring” is a buzz word you’ve probably heard. It means recording what you eat and drink and any exercise you do, along with your thoughts and feelings at the time, in a journal.
Self-monitoring is crucial.  It helps you become more aware of your eating and activity patterns. It gives you a basis from which to plan changes. It helps keep you focused on your goals and allows you to look back and see how things have changed over time. Writing it down gives you the chance to think twice before you act so you are encouraged to make conscious choices about what you eat and do.  This is probably why people who keep a food diary and monitor what they eat actually consume 15% less food than those do not.

2. Stress management
We learn stress management skills to help us cope more effectively with daily hassles in lieu of eating while we are upset. Stress management skills include relaxation and breathing exercises as well as strategies for decatastrophizing events and avoiding the tendency to be self critical. We also teach problem solving, effective communication and developing improved self esteem.

3. Identify specific strategies for healthy eating and exercise
Examples include:
• keeping temptations out of the house
• having a good supply of healthy foods
• developing a regular eating pattern
• not skipping meals or snacks
• focusing on what you eat
• restricting where you eat
• putting down your utensils and pausing between bites
• creating rewards for healthy eating
• creating a list of alternate activities to eating
• timing meals and snacks to deal with special situations
• wearing comfortable clothes and shoes so you can be more active in your daily life

4. Education
We can all benefit from knowing the answers to these questions:
• What is a healthy weight?
• What is a healthy way to lose weight?
• What is the science of how your body gains and loses weight?
• How much do you need to eat to lose weight?
• How much do you need to eat to maintain a healthy weight?
• How much activity is good for you?

Who created this program at Camp Shane?
Camp Shane collaborates with Dr. Stephen Josephson, a clinical psychologist who holds Diplomates in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Behavioral Psychology. Dr Josephson specializes in anxiety/stress management and behavioral medicine and is an Associate Professor at Cornell University Medical Center-New York Hospital and Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. He currently directs Behavioral Medicine Associates, a private group practice that specializes in services for psycho-physiological disorders.