10 Reasons why a Fitness Retreat will Kickstart your Healthy Lifestyle

A fitness retreat is where you pay money to remove yourself from your everyday life and immerse yourself into a world of healthy living that includes eating clean and exercising. Some are more brutal than others and whilst some last days, others can last weeks. But the whole point of them is to give you a taste of what you can achieve if only you ate and exercised as healthily as possible.

I tried out Hillmotts Fitness Retreat and Bootcamp with Alice Baxter and eight other women. You can find out how I got on over at 30ish.me > Over half of the women I spoke to said that their main reason for going was to get them back into a healthy lifestyle. If you’re not convinced, this list is for you:

Kickstart your healthy lifestyle with a fitness retreat

1. Once you’re there, all decisions and control is taken away from you. You don’t want to do burpees? You’d rather have a tuna panini dripping with melted cheese, rather than the salad? Sorry, you don’t have a choice. As long as you just give up on the decision-making and let the trainers take control, you’ll see results. Follow the time-table, eat what you’re given and it’ll get easier.
2. All good fitness retreats should give you the information you need to know about nutrition and exercise so that you’re able to implement a healthy lifestyle into your everyday world. Fitness retreats are perfect for educating you to make better food and fitness choices. Out with the cheese, in with the hummous.
3. You’re surrounded by inspirational people. As well as the personal trainers, the other people on the fitness retreat, whether they’re there for weight loss, because they’ve been sent there by their GP, or because they’ve got an upcoming physical challenge, each one has a story to tell and a valid motivating factor for being there. Ride off their enthusiasm and dedication if you’re not feeling it just yet.
4. You realise how much you’re overeating. When presented with the ‘right’ portion sizes and after you’ve gotten over the initial indignation that these people aren’t trying to starve you, it’s amazing how quickly your mind and body will adapt.
5. You achieve things you never realised your capable of. Is the thought of doing 100 burpees enough to make you want to run in the other direction? Or the thought of doing an hour’s boxing unbearable? It maybe, but once you’ve started, it’ll soon be over and you can have a few minutes rest to bask in the fact that YOU DID IT.
6. You’ve had a taste of a healthy lifestyle. Yes, it may have only been for a few days at bootcamp, but trust me, it’ll be enough to make you understand what small changes you can make to achieve a better lifestyle.
7. You leave with a new sense of challenge. You’ll be knackered but also energised with the thought of eating better and getting fitter. Suddenly you look forward to chicken salads and mackerel on wholemeal pitta bread.
8. You feel great. Everything’s aching but it’s a reminder of the hard work you’ve put in. You don’t feel bloated, sluggish or tired all the time and it’s amazing.
9. You make new friends. Every group is different but it’s likely that whether you go on your own or with a group, you’ll click with others who are there. Who knows, they may be your new training partner.
10. You make time for your healthy lifestyle. Once you’ve realised how much you can get done in a short space of time, it’ll be easier to fit it into your lifestyle, no matter how busy it is. Now that you’ve realised how important it is to eat well and be more active, you’ll enjoy fitting it into your schedule.

And don’t forget, it’s not about dieting or weight loss – weight loss shouldn’t be what you aim for as it’s not an indicator of health. Aim for feeling great, eating well and enjoying being active.