A weekend at a Weight-loss Retreat in Costa Rica

In January, a friend mentioned a weight-loss retreat in Costa Rica and how she lost 10 lbs.   I looked at her and said a “fat farm” and suddenly I was intrigued.   Would this “fat farm” be similar to the Biggest Loser?   What would it entail?

After doing some research, my friends and I decided to sign up for a 4-days/3-nights in Samara, Costa Rica.  Before I get into the retreat, let me give you some background of Samara.   Their motto is “Pura Vida” meaning pure life.   When you are ready to retire or don’t give a insert explicit, you go to Samara.   It is pretty much a chilled atmosphere living near the water where the cost of living is relatively inexpensive.

Okay, now back to the weight-loss retreat.   The website stated that we would be working out 3 to 4 hours day and our meal would consist of juicing or salad.   They were not lying.  Our typical day was

6:45 am                1 hour Power walk which included the beach and trails

8:00 am                Breakfast Juice

8:30 am                Strength Training

9:30 am                Detox drink

10:00 am             Cardio

Noon                     Lunch Juice

1:00 pm               Stretch/Yoga

2:00 pm               Detox Drink

2:00 pm               Free Time

5:00 pm               Dinner Juice or Salad

Breakfast juice of Pineapple and Orange
Detox – Apple Cider Vinegar, Honey, and Lime
Lunch was mango, avocado, and chia seeds

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner of romaine lettuce, avocado, grated beets and carrots. Dressing is oil and vinegar

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stairs with 100 steps

Walk on the beach
Strength Training

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I do consider myself an active person who tries to eat healthy about 80% of the time, but the retreat kicked my butt.   I found out that I am not used to hiking.  Okay, hills!  I don’t like inclines!   I live in Florida and we are so flat that we can see Georgia.  The morning walk nearly took all my strength to continue.  There were times I just wanted to call an Uber and be done with it.

After climbing/hiking to see the view. You noticed that I needed to catch my breath

Now as for the juicing and no real food.  By Saturday, I had a doozy of a headache.  Thank God, I packed some Advil.   The detox was working and my body was expelling the toxins.  I am going to admit one thing, on the first day of juicing, I was begging for something to chew.  A banana!  An apple!  They said no.   However, they offered to make me a salad for dinner.  Our host said I will make you a kale salad that has avocado, cucumber, cilantro, sunflower seeds with a lime dressing.   I literally thought it was Christmas.  I imagined this big bowl of salad.  What she presented was barely 3 oz.  I ate it and went to bed at 6:30 pm.

My dinner salad

Overall, it was a great weekend of being disciplined.   In total, we all lost between 3 to 10 lbs.  Was this a great option for weight-loss?  Yes, but not for long-term.  It is definitely a way to detox our body to start you on your weight-loss journey.  Of course, the best part of this journey is with friends interNATionally.

 

 

 

 

(11) Comments

  1. Jasmine Eclipse

    What an awesome idea for a retreat. This looks like so much fun, and motivated me to kick my butt into gear! (Starting tomorrow haha)

  2. Donah @ SJB

    You had a very wonderful weight loss idea! This is a lot better than staying a gym. It is hitting two birds with one stone. Keeping fit while enjoying life! Great one there!

  3. Amber Myers

    Oh nice, I would go to a place like this. I could stand to use a few pounds. What a lovely area!

  4. Krysti

    Wow you would have to be so disciplined to last! I don’t know if I could! Good on you, looks like a beautiful area too.

  5. Lily @militaryfamof8

    This looks like such an awesome way to get the inspiration to last, I am certainly inspired by your post 😉

  6. Blair villanueva

    If someone isn’t inspired to loss weight in this beautiful place, i dont know, hahha. I love it! The sea, the foods, and training of course, and fun all in one 🙂

  7. Aireona- Nightborn Travel

    Looks like a lovely location, but I feel like I would get a migraine on that food for sure. XD I need to eat protein. Looks very fresh and wholesome though!

  8. Jennifer

    I usually need A LOT of motivation to workout, but if someone were to invite me to Costa Rica for a weight loss retreat, I would not hesitate at all!! That is so cool that you were able to attend the retreat! The workout schedule looks really good and based on your photographs, it looks like it was an amazing experience!

  9. Leigh Anne Borders

    It sounds like you had one amazing experience to remember for a lifetime. I am definitely inspired to work my way to better health!

  10. Raluca @ Playful Notes

    What a great idea! It seems that you all had a nice experience! 🙂

  11. Casey

    I love the idea of doing this with friends…great support!

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