An indulgent, tropical getaway doesn't have to include weight gain. In fact, if your objective is to lose weight, Florida is home to several destinations that will get you exercising, eating healthy and slimming down your waist.
But don't expect just drill sergeants and caloric denial. In Florida, weight loss camps can mean comprehensive wellness centers, summer camps for children, beach-side fitness vacations or health retreats and spas. Get ready to soak in the sun and drop the pounds!
Weight-Loss Centers
If you're looking for a more comprehensive approach to your weight loss goals, consider a wellness center that targets several aspects of your health. One example is Pritikin Longevity Center and Spa. The center, located in Miami, offers one, two and several-week weight loss programs that include not only exercise and healthy dining, but weight-loss counseling, educational classes, tools and planning for long-term weight loss. Guests stay in standard lodge rooms or in a luxury spa suite.
Weight-Loss Resorts
Think "boot camp retreat" sounds contradictory? Think again! Vita Vie Retreat offers just that: a retreat featuring five hours of exercise a day as well as daily spa treatment and walks on the beach meant to reduce the stress that often impedes weight-loss goals. Vita Vie boot camps are held in Delray Beach and Pompano Beach.
The Regency Health Resort and Spa is a similar approach: relaxation within the context of a healthy lifestyle. The resort offers a "Healthy Weight Management Program" that combines fitness activities, classes and personal consultations with a spa experience.
Fitness Vacation
Want a vacation with an emphasis on high-energy fitness? Along with beach boot camps, guests of Getaway Fitness Vacation in St. Petersburg enjoy kayaking, biking, strength training and cardio kickboxing. The Florida vacation destination is one of three the company offers. Fitness vacationers stay up to 14 nights at a luxury hotel and exercise for five to six hours a day.
Daily Boot Camps
Daily boot camps are a low-cost option for Florida locals looking for a high-intensity, military workout designed to whip their bodies into shape.
Operation Fitness Boot Camp, Elite Fitness Concepts is an Orlando-based program that offers one-hour fitness instruction three days a week for the duration of four weeks. The certified trainers use a scaled-down U.S. Navy Seal Team workout that teaches more than 100 exercises, including sport drills, obstacle courses and circuit training.
Beach Boot Camp Workouts are 70-minute to 90-minute classes offered every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings on the Fort Lauderdale beach. The instructor, a retired Army Reserve lieutenant colonel, conducts military-style workouts for the whole body.
Youth Weight-Loss Camps
With obesity on the rise in America's youth, it's important to offer weight-loss camping options for them as well. Two weight-loss summer camp organizations have locations in Florida.
Camp Vanguard is a New Images camp that integrates weight-loss conducive physical fitness--including a ropes challenge course, weight training with certified personal trainers, paintball, swimming, biking and team sports--into a summer camp experience. The Florida location is on Lake Pierce in Haines City, between Orlando and Tampa. Summer programs last two to six weeks.
Wellspring Florida in St. Petersburg is a summer camp for boys and girls ages 11 to 18. The program, one of several throughout the nation, claims to be the only scientifically-based fitness and weight-loss camp in Florida. In addition to providing a host of daily activities and a low-fat, low-density diet, the camp strives to achieve behavior change in campers for long-term results.
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