Five years ago, July Ackerman never thought they could buy a mass wedding dress. At 5-feet 10-inch was the software-company executive of Newport, Calif., then 40, 280 pounds. Her weight had always fluctuated, but they decided that they wanted to slim down once and for all.
They stumbled upon the website of Hilton Head health, a self billing "weight loss spa retreat center" in South Carolina, and have signed. "I went there not knowing much about what I was in for," she says. "I wanted to get spoiled; I wanted to get healthy. "
Weight-loss retreats, spas and resorts for adults — the adult version of fat camps — have been around for decades. But now, fed by becoming more aware of the health risks of obesity and the popularity of weight-loss shows like "The Biggest Loser", they seem to be on the rise. But do they work?
Yes, according to Ackerman. After two weeks of swimming and fitness classes she lost 11 pounds. "It was a great jump start for me," says Ackerman, which returned to Hilton Head health twice and went on over 100 pounds to lose. Last year, married on the beach; She weighed 165 pounds and a trim and confident size was 12.
But as they say in Jenny Craig ads, "results not typical." Experts caution that these retreats are not for everyone and not always work. Weight loss may take can not, and it is not worth the cost, which can reach several thousand dollars per week.
Nicole McLaren, a 26-year-old student from Washington, D.C., signed up for a month-long stay at Hilton Head, hoping to shed 30 pounds. They lasted only two weeks for throwing in the towel in July 2007.
' I had this whole concept in my head of ' The Biggest Loser ', ' she says, referring to the intense (and mandatory) training which the participants get. That was not what they found when they arrived. "Everything was optional, so a lot of people went around and talked about losing weight. The only thing you had to keep was [that] they pre-portioned your food to approximately 1200 calories per day. "
The structured environment, exercises and prepared meals had sounded promising, but the price tag of $ 2.400-a-week seemed too high when she discovered that meals were limited to one option, she had to share a room with strangers, and exercise classes focused on legacy clients of the resort. "I think I lost eight pounds, but that's only because you starve them," said McLaren. "When I left, was what I wanted to do eat!"
"Weight loss camps are not an easy or quick fix," says Jennifer Hester, sports training and education researcher at the University of Leeds Metropolitan, in the United Kingdom "the short-term investment of time and money is not automatically the same as healthy weight management in the long term."
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