LIVE IN BOOTCAMPS: WHY THEY WORK

         Of all the results of the weight loss approaches we have available today, there is one thing that is a common occurrence, and it is not weight loss. While we have a litany of ways to lose weight, we also have one thing that describes what these ways result in for us, and that is lack of success. To be sure, the most common effect, or result of a weight loss program is failure. There may be several reasons these programs do not work, but basically, the majority of them do not. Perhaps the best rationale as to why they do not work is that they do not have any mechanism to manage setbacks. As with most new challenges we take on, inherent in the process of weight loss is setbacks. No learning process is immune to these things, and in fact, they often precede periods of increased learning. In fact, in learning theory, setbacks are characterized as periods of decreased training intensity, length, or duration, giving way to the term “periodization.” However, in weight loss, the idea that there will be no time in which the person decreases their “weight loss intensity” is fallacious from the outset. Being that it is, when it happens, there is no capacity to manage it, either with the individual, or those that are attempting to help her. This is the point at which most approaches fail. But these are also not live in bootcamps.

There are several differences that separate live in bootcamps from typical weight loss programs. For one, live in bootcamps are equipped to manage setbacks. As they employ the live in setting, the participant is surrounded by an environment that not only represents weight loss, but also provides tolerance for the parts of the person that is resistant to weight loss. The concept of resistance in weight loss, is not only a highly avoided topic, but also the root of setbacks. Where resistance represents the purpose of setbacks, the setbacks themselves represent the mechanism through which this resistance is manifested. In the live in bootcamp setting, however, the concept of resistance is something that is acknowledged and accepted in the approach to weight loss. What this essentially means is that those who work at the live in bootcamp recognize that everyone wanting to lose weight, will at some point be resistant to it. This resistance I am describing is a normal part of any change we make in our lives, and is a healthy part of any human condition. Were it not for resistance, we would be prone to any change without proper evaluation. So it is through this resistance that we are actually able to internalize the changes and integrate them into our experience. If we were not to do this, the weight loss itself would feel unnatural to us, like something that has been imposed on us, rather than something that we chose to do.

When this resistance happens in a live in bootcamp, the fact that the very environment that the participant finds herself in represents and supports weight loss, helps to provide a space within which the participant can explore this resistance, in a healthy objective setting. Where people and situations in her life are prone to subjectivity and biased opinions, there may not allow her this space to explore her resistance. Further, people’s lives often do not allow for exploration in general, as obligations, responsibilities and expectations often threaten the very safety that is necessary for this exploration to occur. We often say to ourselves, “I don’t have time” in reference to reasons we do not explore ourselves. Maybe what we are really saying is that we do not have safety to do so. We may not because others depend on us, so we can’t “let down” to do this self exploration. In a live in bootcamp setting, however, there is no person that depends on you, except you, as you are away from these responsibilities, obligations, and expectations. The very act of coming to a live in bootcamp involves the delegation of all of the responsibilities, obligations, and expectations away from participant. Essentially, she has to put her life on hold, to give herself the time to explore her resistance to weight loss. When she does, she will discover all of the things that may have been holding her back from being the weight she wants to be. Perhaps her attitude toward exercise has always been one of incompetence, where she feels she does not measure up. Maybe her attitude toward thinness has always been one of deprivation. Or most likely, there are larger life issues, festering in relationships, life challenges, past emotional residue, or fears about change.

Clearly, there can be as many ways to resist weight loss as there can be ways to achieve it. That being said, without exploring this resistance, any weight loss approach will be the equivalent of applying a bandaid to an open flesh would. It may be a temporary fix, but the long term result will most likely be an infection. In this way, a live in bootcamps understand that the root of the problem is more important than the problem itself. In order to understand this, then, setbacks need to be not only prepared for, but also utilized, as a way to understand resistance. Once the resistance is understood, the real weight loss can begin.