Weight Loss Spa Vacations

Weight loss spa vacations are designed to give you nutrition and lifestyle tools to use when returning home, not act as "fat camps" for rapid weight loss. The programs offered at many spas range from a few days to more than eight weeks. You can expect to lose some weight on your spa retreat, but the goal at most establishments is long-term weight loss success. Professionals monitor each aspect of your lifestyle change at these spas.

Consultation

• Schedule a private consultation with professionals at weight loss spas. Consultants meet with you and customize a health and wellness regimen that fits your goals. The regimen outlined by professional consultants includes the schedule that you will follow during the time of your visit. Canyon Ranch Life Enhancement Center staffs physicians, nutritionists, exercise physiologists, movement therapists, life management therapists, a healing energy practitioner, and other certified and licensed health care professionals.

Nutrition

• Weight loss spas serve properly portioned healthy meals for people staying at the resorts. Many spas have specialized meal plans if you suffer from health conditions such as diabetes and heart disease. The nutritionist gives you tools to prepare quick, healthy meals when you return home. Hilton Head Health Weight Loss retreat in South Carolina has cooking demonstrations and workshops at its facility. You learn how to make healthy substitutions in your favorite recipes. They also have Smart Cart sessions where you learn how to shop for staples and seasoning for your pantry and refrigerator and make healthy choices when you go down the grocery aisle. Look for weight loss spas that follow guidelines established by the American Heart Association and American Diabetes Association.

Fitness

• You get personalized fitness instruction at weight loss spas. You should never get bored because fitness activities include indoor and outdoor activities. Canyon Ranch, in Tucson, Arizona, takes advantage of the mountainous terrain, creating a number of trails for hiking, biking, rock climbing and fitness walking. Fitness professionals assess your fitness level to create a challenging but appropriate jump-start program. You can schedule personal training sessions at the spa. The exercise program you begin at the spa is your blueprint when you return home.

Stress Management

• Meet with certified and licensed therapists at the spas. These professionals look at the psychological reasons for overeating and give you tools to manage stressful situations that trigger the overeating. The Red Mountain Resort and Spa in St. George, Utah, offers the Re-energizing Weight Loss Program that includes a session with a life coach and a healthy emotional eating event. Spas provide other stress-relieving amenities like massages and other spa treatments.

Group Sessions

• Weight loss spas encourage you to attend group sessions to interact with other guests who are also trying to lose weight and start a healthy lifestyle. Hilton Head's spa has interactive group discussions that include discussions about stress, self-defeating thoughts and behavior, overcoming obstacles that cause overeating, body image, social pressure to eat and relapse prevention. These groups promote honest discussion among attendees. Some weight loss spas provide online forums to use after your stay is over and you return home.