We are very blessed to have a very high return rate on our retreats.  Over half of our retreaters return to us again and almost a third come every year.  I was proudly sharing these statistics at an event recently when I was asked a question that quite shocked me.  I was asked “so did the retreat not work for them first time?”  Wowzers…. It had never occurred to me that our return rate could be construed negatively.  But then it stuck me …if you don’t get it, then you don’t get it.

The Body Retreat is unashamedly not about a quick fix, we do not offer a magic bullet, we do not dictate what shape, size or weight you “should” be, we do not offer shameless boosted results, we do not pass everyone through the same old programme. We are about working with every one as an individual, making sure that she gets the results she wants. With us its personal as well as professional.

Some of the women who join us on our women only Weight Loss Retreats for example are on a journey to claim the body, health and fitness they want and deserve, for some that may take months and for others years.  Likewise we have women who come every year to our Health & Fitness Holiday because its their holiday, time for them to be active and eat clean while they tan.  Other retreaters have worked through the entire portfolio of retreats we offer.  So many women, so many results, so many reasons to return.

I’d like to introduce you to Wendy.

Wendy is one of our repeat returners, Wendy comes to retreat every year, sometimes more than once a year she is a real part of The Body Retreat family.  Wendy is even in the photos on our website as she volunteered to model for us along with other retreaters.  This summer Wendy went to another retreat…shock horror…it’s ok it happens :-)  We only had one retreat over the summer and it was sold out…anyway I digress…back to Wendy.

When she returned from her trip Wendy sent me the email below,  after almost 4 years Wendy wanted to give us a testimonial for our website.  Her trip had made her reflect on why she liked to return time and again to The Body Retreat.  I was very touched, she told me I could use it in any way I wanted and could amend if I wanted.  Actually I don’t want to amend a single word.  Thank You Wendy xx

I have been going to The Body Retreat for a few years now. Every time I go I absolutely love it.

I have not, until now, had experience of other retreats, as I don’t really consider going anywhere else! This year circumstances lead me to another retreat (available dates and desperation). I was absolutely open minded and ready to embrace the week and why not? Why pay all the money and not get absolutely the most out of it?  I’m not here to criticise the other retreat – it had really great bits and not so great bits – but it got me to thinking about what makes The Body Retreat just so special. So here it is:

• Unpretentious, down to earth real women with a passion for changing the lives of real women.

• Realistic, reasoned, practical advice for real women in their REAL lives – not the lives that they are “supposed” to have.

• Real food! Actually fantastic real food prepared by the food genius Juls. No “detox” (the body can do this itself thank you very much given the right, clean foods!).Real, clean food that you can (and do) eat when you get home.

• You actually experience what it feels like to eat the food you would genuinely eat at home. This differs from the so called “detox breaks” where you are strictly limited with food or given only juices, then expected to then do something different when you go home.  These do have their place I am sure but it seems to me so important for real women in real life. It really is odd to watch someone refusing surprisingly utterly delicious, beautiful prepared dipped kale crisp (quite the most delicious thing I’ve eaten in a while) because it may muck up his or her juicing detox!

• The Body Retreat works with your mind as well as your body. Juls and Julie, the real women behind The Body Retreat understand real lives and the reasons why some of us overeat, over drink and eat rubbish. Therefore understanding what drives certain behaviors and techniques to help with this is one of the key pillars of The Body Retreat. You learn about self esteem, being kind to yourself, learning to love what your body does for you.

• The women who go!  Now, I love the company of men (after all I’m married to one) and would have blanched at the very idea of a “women only” retreat. But there is something very special that happens at The Body Retreat with the small groups of women who come. It just feels caring, trusting and safe. I’ve been many times and it’s an utter pleasure and privilege so see so many women (some really beaten down by life – me included) simply blossom in The Body Retreat’s nurturing hands.

It’s not easy! And that’s the good bit. Julie knows just how hard to push you to do just that little more than you think you can and those are the bits that make the difference.  It’s hard at times but you are lifted along by the group dynamic so skillfully guided by Juls and Julie. Pushing through the hard bits and then realising that you CAN do it, you ARE strong enough does wonders for your self esteem and your body confidence.

You do get real results. You may have noticed that all the reasons above are not about how much weight I lose! But… you really do loose the pounds! More importantly for me is that my clothes feel more comfortable, my body feels more comfortable and I am more comfortable with myself. I feel like a real women again.