Fat Camp Retreats focus on women changing their lives

Fat Camp

Registration is open for a three-day “Fat Camp” experience in Indiana in June. For more information on Fat Camp and Tri State Adventure Boot Camp, go online to www.FatCamp Retreats.com.

WEST CHESTER TWP. — Since opening their business in December, Kristi Reed and Ryan Vaught have seen a few dirty looks over its name.

But the business partners said the name says it all: Fat Camp Retreats.

“We’re tired of people being nice about being fat,” Vaught said. “It’s not a dig at people who are severely overweight, because everybody has fat in their body.”

But for women who are serious about shedding the pounds, Fat Camp Retreats require participants to completely turn over their lives to professionals for three to 14 days of intense individualized workouts in natural settings. A nutritionist coaches women, prepares all the meals and teaches how to cook them.

The past four years, Vaught has been running Tri State Adventure Boot Camp in West Chester Twp., and recently, Reed joined him, starting a class in Harrison.

But after each of those morning workouts, the women go home to make their own choices, good or bad. Not so at the retreats.

“We want to have more control of their lives for a short period of time, so we can force them to change their lives,” Vaught said.

No fad diets, expensive exercise equipment, self-help books or gym memberships are needed.

“You just learn a new way to live, a new way to eat, a new way to take care of yourself,” he said.

The camps have attracted participants from across the country of varying ages, weight loss goals and abilities. Often, he said, participants have given up or have underestimated their capabilities. Fat Camp Retreats give them the confidence to change.

While the concept has been compared by some to the television reality show, “The Biggest Loser,” Vaught said their programs are very different.

“We feel like we can do it better,” he said. “I think the biggest thing is we’re outdoors. We use the environment as our tools.”

Women should not expect a spa experience when they come, Reed warned.

“There’s going to be blood and tears and sweat,” she said. “More importantly, you are going to see results. Instead of a fad diet, you come away with something that is real. It’s a fast track to something you can incorporate every single day of your life.”