Everything you need to know about Weight Loss Retreats

Weight Loss Retreat Guide 

Just about everything in life is easier to do when you do it with someone. Having the personal support of another individual helps not only keep you on track but it helps with your mindset. That is why a weight loss retreat might be perfect for you!

If you are trying to lose weight you know just how difficult it can be, especially if nobody else around you is trying to do the same.

You go to the gym, exercise, and eat right when you can, but when you hang out with friends they might want to go to restaurants with no healthy options or indulge in a few cocktails, which can complete derail your weight loss attempt (one night of drinking will often undo all the work you put in at the gym throughout the week).

Is a Weight Loss Retreat right for you?

So where can you go for help with your weight loss journey? You need a location where people are looking to achieve their weight loss goals just like you, where they need to adjust their diet and workout together.

These kinds of destinations do exist. They are known as a weight loss retreat. Weight loss retreats come with a number of benefits, all of which are designed to help improve your ability to reach your weight loss goals. 

What Is A Weight Loss Retreat?

A weight loss retreat is something you will go to, away from home, and spend a set amount of days there. It might be for a weekend, a week, a month, or any length of time.

During the retreat you will partake in a number of activities and eat specially designed meals designed to help you lose weight. In a way, a weight loss retreat is like a summer camp you went to as a kid.

Everything will be planned out in advance and, typically, you can look over the information of the particular retreat to see what you have in store for you. 

The idea of the retreat is to get you away from all the triggers and issues that might cause you to eat what you want to avoid. It is also there to help educate you on what you should and shouldn’t be eating.

It’s a great opportunity to separate you from what is causing any kind of overeating issues or for you to slip up with your diet. It also helps develop a pattern.

The more of a pattern you fall into, whether it is working out or dieting, the more likely you will follow through with it.

This is why going to the gym is so difficult the first few times, but after a few weeks of regularly going to the gym it becomes second nature (and it gets to the point where you almost feel strange when you don’t go during the day). 

Important Questions To Consider With a Retreat

Before you just open up Google and sign up for any retreat you need to ask a few questions ahead of time.

There are so many varying reatreats out there you don’t want to just sign up for any random offering. It is better to know what to look for before sifting through the hundreds of retreat options. 

First, determine a budget for your retreat.

Retreats can cost anywhere from a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands of dollars. This way you will know exactly what kind of retreat you can or cannot afford. Then, when you’re looking through the different retreat options you can eliminate the ones you have not budgeted for. 

You should also look at the retreats to see what is covered. Most retreats are all-inclusive, but there are other retreats that come with additional fees for any number of add-ons (such as for special classes, excursions away from the regular retreat, transportation when needed, testings, and so on).

You will also want to look at what kinds of services are provided by the retreat. This includes specific meal plans for any allergies you might have.

You should also look into seeing if the recipes are options you may realistically prepare when you return home. Some are easy enough, while others might require specific ingredients that are nearly impossible to find (or extremely expensive). 

If you have any kind of medical issue it is crucial to know if the retreat provides any kind of assistance for this.

If the retreat is in the middle of nowhere (there are plenty that go off into the wilderness, are in a cabin miles away from anything, or are on a secluded island) will the facility have any kind of staff doctor.

After all, if you suffer from the occasional seizure you will want someone on hand who can assist with this. 

An important point of interest you should look into when considering different retreats is just how large are the retreats.

Yes, it is nice to have people around you who are looking to obtain similar weight loss goals as you, but you also want it to feel like a retreat.

So, chances are you don’t want to go to a retreat that has 100 or more people involved (then it really does feel more like summer camp).

A smaller, intimate retreat might be more expensive, but you may get more out of it. Just something to consider when selecting a retreat option. 

The last question you’ll want to ask yourself is how long can you go on a retreat. It would be nice to attent longer, more extensive retreats, but you may not be able to drop everything and leave work for months on end.

A number of programs are available that last two weeks. Four week programs are also available as well. Some programs may offer what is known as a “graduate program.” This can be for returning retreat members or for those who want to stay a bit longer than the standard class length. 

A Medical Weight Loss Retreat

Have you taken part with a medical weight loss program before? What did you think?

If you liked it there are specific medical weight loss retreat programs available. These specific diets are not fad based. Instead, everything you do and eat will revolve around a scientific approach.

You’ll find all kinds of retreat options, ranging from destinations in Dallas to North Carolina, Miami to Southern California.

You can use this as a semi-vacation opportunity, or maybe you just want to go to a destination that is warmer or free of humidity. It’s up to you. 

The Destination Weight Loss Retreat

Have you been wanting to visit Thailand but haven’t ever had the opportunity?

Maybe there’s a beautiful beach in South America that looks nice, or you’ve been itching to take in Nepal and take the world in from there.

If so, why not combine it with your weight loss desires and turn it into the ultimate weight loss retreat?

If there is a destination you’ve been wanting to visit, chances are there is also a weight loss retreat. Some of the most popular destinations include Bali, Mexico, Italy, and so on.

There are also special work out and diet retreats where you will take part in local workout activities. This can include trips to Thailand where you learn Thai kickboxing, or to Japan, where you might go through some ancient samurai-like training. 

These are probably the most expensive options simply because you will be traveling to another part of the world, but you’ll be getting something out of it every day, which is what makes it so incredible.

Before you sign up for any of these retreats though make sure you look fully into how strenuous the workouts are.

Sure, going with a group to reach the base camp of Mt. Everest sounds pretty cool, but if you are not in good to great shape physically this might not be something you should do. So keep everything in mind prior to booking one of the retreat camps. 

Luxury Resort Retreat

Want a way to distract you from losing weight? Why not go to a resort retreat?

These spa resort retreats often take place in high-end hotels where you are pampered from head to toe. With this kind of retreat you can relax at the spa, receive a facial, massage, and take advantage of all kinds of other activities.

With this kind of a retreat you will come back after not only losing weight, but your skin will be glowing and you’ll probably feel happy and relaxed. 

There are some ups and downs with these kinds of retreats. Because you are so pampered it is easy to distract yourself, but when you return home you won’t have these kinds of distractions.

For some this makes it difficult to avoid returning to their poor diet habits. You know yourself the best so you’ll need to make this decision. 

These retreats often cost more, due to the kinds of services you have access to. But if you’ve been eyeing a chance to get away from everything and to really pamper yourself while also losing weight, it’s hard to beat this kind of a retreat opportunity. 

Holistic Retreat

There are these kinds of retreats found all over the world. You can probably find an offering somewhere in your state, or there are other destinations found in India, Bali, Montana, Malaysia, and all kinds of other locations.

When you want to combine weight loss with a holistic and meditation approach, this is a good way to go. These kinds of retreats focus not only on improving your ability to lose weight and keep it off, but it also targets your mind.

One of the main goals of these camps is to silence all the fog that goes on mentally, which might be blocking your ability to succeed physically. 

These sorts of retreats are generally on the shorter end. You might find some local retreats that last for a few days or a week. Other international retreats may last a few days longer, but in general these are some of the shorter options. 

Outdoor or Wilderness Retreat

Love to get outside and spend time in nature?

An outdoor or wilderness weight loss retreat may be right up your alley. This is a kind of retreat where you’ll camp outside, hike, swim in local rivers, and do all kinds of activities in the great outdoors.

You might learn how to fish, how to cook with a campfire, and even some basic wilderness survival skills. For these kinds of camps it is a good idea to look into just how intensive the camp is. Some are not for the faint of heart.

Many of the more experienced camps will give you some basic tools and then send you out on your own for several days (if not longer). It’s an intense way to lose weight, and it’s only for those who have the necessary survival skills already.

There are others that will teach you these skills before turning you lose, but these kinds of camps may take several weeks, if not more than a month. 

Whatever you decide to go with, there is a weight loss retreat that will fill your needs and allow you to have fun at the same time. 

Conclusion

If you’re struggling to put off weight, want to jump start your weight loss goals, or simply want to be around like-minded people, one of the best ways to go about doing this is with the aid of a weight loss retreat.

And, thankfully, there are a number of retreat options available.

You can stay nearby as there likely are several offered in your home state, or you can take part in a retreat that goes to a far off area in the globe. It really comes down to what you’re looking for and how much you are willing to budget for it.

Whatever you decide to do, just know that there are all kinds of weight loss retreat options available. You just need to track down the one best suited for your personal needs. 

-Terry Asher