Ontrack Retreat - a new Luxury Weight Loss Resort in the Blue Mountains ...

By Mischa Keddie

We speak to Ontrack Retreat's hostess-with-the-mostest Sarah White about the experience of going to a luxury weight loss retreat, which is now accessible to all Australians since they recently opened ...

When a new client arrives at Ontrack Retreats, what sort of diet have they typically been on?

Our clients have a wide range of eating habits prior to their arrival, from fast food addicts, to people with relatively healthy diets.

However feedback is always that they learn something here, whether that is understanding better portion control, a better understanding of relative portions between proteins, carbohydrates and fats, or a better understanding of how they particular body reacts to food, everyone leaves with help for the future.

Are they likely to have withdrawals during that week as they are switched to eating foods that are more healthy?

At OnTrack we try to detox people from a number of things, including caffeine, salt and refined sugars. Some people go through this process easily, for others there are a few detox symptoms that are experienced such as irritability, slight headaches etc.

What do you recommend people drink while they are staying at Ontrack?

Coming to OnTrack is a great opportunity to practice the art of drinking water which is highly encouraged! Generally we should all be drinking at least the recommended two litres a day, but here at OnTrack we have a busy exercise programme, so this level of water intake needs to be increased. For a little change, we also have a selection of herbal teas for our participants.

What can people expect to eat on their first day and night at Ontrack?

Our menu program runs to a four week cycle so every lunch and evening meal is different. This helps our participants understand the wide variety of choice they have. However an example of the type of food we might have in a day would be as follows:

Breakfast is a low sugar carbohydrate cereal, such as Weetbix or Shredded Wheat.

Mid morning we might have a selection of fruit available.

For lunch we might serve a nutritious wrap, with some form of protein and salad vegetables.

Afternoon tea could be a yoghurt.

And for dinner we have some source of protein with vegetables.

All our meal plans are made available to our participants at the end of their stay, and we provide recipes for all meals in the four week cycle so they have lots of opportunity to recreate their favourites.

Can you accommodate for clients who are lactose intolerant, or coeliac, or have diabetes?

We definitely cater to all these requirements.

Do you have portion control in place at Ontrack?

Some meals are fully portion controlled, and at other meals there are opportunities for our guests to practice what they are learning and exercise their own portion control to some degree.

What would be a typical amount of exercise that a new arrival at Ontrack could be expected to do?

At OnTrack we work in a small group training environment, this allows the trainer to work with each person individually to ensure they get the most out of each training session. We ask participants to attend each training session and give it the best they can personally. Our exercise can last between 4 and 6 hours a day, broken down into manageable sessions, using many different exercise options to keep it interesting and achieveable.

What's the hardest part of the retreat - the 2nd or 3rd day?

This really depends on the individual. Some find the second and third day hard, as they may be hitting the symptoms of detox, others find day one the hardest as the exercise can be something they are not used to. Other people get tired towards the end of the week and really look forward to their rest days on Saturday afternoon and Sunday, to recharge for the next week.

How long will a typical guest stay at Ontrack?

We have guests that have booked in for anything between 1 and 12 weeks. We recommend a minimum of two weeks though to complete our education programme, and if you have some habits to break and really want to change your life over the long term we would recommend a 4 week stay.

What are some of the main reasons people overeat? Boredom, depression, loneliness, lacking the intimacy of a relationship?

People can overeat or undereat for many reasons. People who hold weight often suffer from overeating at certain times, and could undereat at others, and this can damage the metabolism and lead the body to store and hold onto fat more. There are many reasons why this can occur and these questions are explored with our participants. Depending on your driver for your poor eating habits, we try to discover strategies and options for our participants to overcome these patterns that have been created over time.

Is addiction to poor quality foods also an issue, eg sugars, poor-nutrition carbs?

Our bodies reach to different foods by producing different chemicals and hormones in the body, and these can lead people to become addicted to poor eating habits, such as sugary sweets and drinks, or low nutrition white carbohydrates. While at OnTrack participants eating habits are adjusted so those addictions are broken during their stay at OnTrack. Also we spend time understanding our bodies reactions to these certain foods, and through this knowledge we empower participants to recognise what is happening in their bodies, and so enable them to more easily break away from these cycles before they take hold in the future.

On that subject, many people eat foods that lack essential nutrients - therefore they have almost-perpetual cravings - what are important nutrient-rich foods that are a core part of the Ontrack food aspect?

At OnTrack our philosophy is to eat a wide variety of naturally found foods, those foods that you would be able to find as a hunter/gatherer, ie meats, fish, fruits, vegetables, legumes and nuts and seeds, and supplement this where appropriate with some nutritious wholesome products for energy such as wholegrain cereals and breads etc. By having a varied, more natural and less manufactured diet, you can achieve a strong balance of nutrient rich food that your body requires, reducing those constant cravings that get mis-interpreted and lead us down a path of poor food choices.

Once people finish their time on the retreat, what feedback do they report later about being able to maintain a more health-oriented approach to food?

Part of the OnTrack approach is to stay in touch with past participants and help and encourage them as they move forward. During these discussions we've received great feedback from our past participants. They are more conscious and considerate of their food choices, they understand the impact of those choices verses their health goals and so can make considered and balanced food choices. They are able to maintain the healthy eating habits they started at OnTrack as the new habits learned are simple and easy to follow. Some have learned a lot more about nutrition, while others leave with this knowledge more simply understood to allow easy use in their everyday lives. Also many leave with a greater personal understanding about themselves and their relationship with food, and new strategies to manage their food behaviours more positively.

In additional to this the great results achieved while staying as motivated participants to continue along their weightloss path towards their goals. Here is what Amanda who stayed with us for one week had to say:

"Thank you for the recipes, they are great! I'm doing very well, 11kgs gone as of this morning! And I'm keeping up the measuring! I can not thank you guys enough for the fantastic retreat you have created. I didn't know what I was getting myself into but I kept telling myself that I was going to take one thing at a time and guess what, it has been the best weight loss experience of my life. I have joined the gym and am doing 2 classes a week plus going and doing a circuit by myself for 2-3 days a week. Don't worry, I'm still walking the dog! I've followed on your meal plans and now feel much better about eating. I've discovered that it is much better to eat 3 meals a day and 2 snacks if needed than to starve myself and then binge! I feel so much stronger physically and mentally!"

What's your personal motivation for being involved in the Ontrack Retreats project?

My angle is I have struggled with my weight for most of my life - I am on my own weight-loss journey, I can therefore understand and empathise with people's individual challenges, and use my personal experience as well as those of other retreat guests to help people hopefully overcome some of their particular hurdles, and if not overcome them we at least identify them more clearly for people to ensure they seek appropriate support over the long term to help them drive their success.

And your personal trainer here at Ontrack - Sam Laskey - apart from being a bit of eye candy for the ladies, is he experienced dealing with people who have chronic weight issues and obesity?

Sam has been in the fitness industry for over 10 years, and comes to us with significant experience in personal and group training, having worked in the UK for retreats focused on weight loss also.

Want to find out more about Ontrack Retreats? Check out the website of this new weight loss retreat near Sydney by clicking here: www.ontrackretreats.com.au