Weight Loss Versus Spiritual Retreats

Many people who want to lose weight will go (or dream about going) to a weight loss retreat for a week or two. These retreats are typically quite pricy and the emphasis is on low calorie meals, physical activities and nutritional counseling.

But another option that is often much cheaper and can be much more successful in the long run is to attend a spiritual retreat instead. I attended a Buddhist retreat several times a few years ago (in my pre-baby days). The objective wasn't to lose weight. At that time I didn't have any issues with my weight. My incentive for going was to work through and let go of some of my hang-ups and deeply ingrained habits and thought-patterns.

It was no holiday. It was a very rigorous schedule of group meditation for a seven day period. We had three meals a day. These meals were extraordinarily healthy and nutritious. I never failed to lose a few pounds on these retreats though I never felt hungry while there. And my physical body felt incredibly invigorated after returning home. Not to mention the mental and emotional breakthroughs that occurred at each retreat. If only I could do it again. My son just turned three so I am fantasizing about starting up a serious meditation schedule again and getting away for one of these retreats later this year.

Just as there are many different levels of weight loss retreats (some go as far as going entirely without food for a whole week, and some are quite indulgent) there are also different degrees of difficulty in spiritual retreats.

I wouldn't recommend anyone who hasn't got some experience with group meditation to the kind of retreat I went to. It would be almost impossible to handle mentally and physically if you have not had some prior practice. But there are many less demanding spiritual retreat options out there. A relaxed and easy-going scheduled yoga retreat would be a more realistic alternative.

The Buddhist sesshin I attended was non-profit and run by Zen monks. It cost only $350 for eight nights stay including meals and shared accommodation (four people to a room). The typical weight loss retreat, in contrast, would cost $3,000 or more.

So for those people who feel that a focus on mental barriers and hang-ups may assist with their weight loss struggles, this is just an idea thrown out there for your 2007 vacation plans.