Losing weight the boot camp way

Excessive eating and an aversion to exercise have been a lifelong bugbear for me so when I heard about a 'boutique' boot camp that promised to change my life for ever, I was excited to try it out.

Tucked away on hill in a small town in Devon, NuBeginnings is a boot camp with a difference. You'll find no Spartan dorms, military men or gruel here. Rather than beating you into a new regime, the team at NuBeginnings prefer a rather more holistic approach that aims to tackle your mind and body issues with a concentrated burst of nutrition, exercise, hypnotherapy and much-appreciated luxury.

Getting there

Having eaten my own weight in cakes on my train ride from London to Devon, I was more than ready for someone or something to shake my life up and turn it around. But as this was the umpteenth time I'd embarked on a life changing mission to lose weight and become the super sexy woman I'd always wanted to be, I didn't really hold out much hope for success.

Having disembarked the train lugging a massive suitcase (you wouldn't believe how much stuff you are required to bring), I found Dave, one half of the NuBeginnings management team, surrounded by several nervous looking women, ready to transport us to our ultimate destination: NuBeginning's Westwell Hall in the seaside town of Ilfracombe.

Unfortunately for us, Dave looked like a cult leader, stood there with his suspicious looking sign and monogrammed NuBeginnings people carrier. I clocked several apprehensive looks from passers-by, possibly worried we were giving ourselves over to some suicide pact.

First night

Arriving at the mansion, we were greeted by the rest of the NuBeginnings team and told to change into our gym clothes for a quick fitness assessment. The house itself was rather handsome, with large windows, wooden floors and a gorgeous grand staircase. The en-suite bedrooms were also a treat: beautifully decorated and complete with lusciously comfortable beds and super duper power showers... but no TVs (shock, horror).

After having our weights and measurements taken and our agility tested, we were shipped into an extravagant looking dining room for a tasty dinner of salmon, leeks, peppers and mushrooms, bathed in a delicious sauce.

Once we'd eaten, we were sent straight into a relaxation and meditation class and then the evening was ours. Most of us went straight to bed once we'd seen our scarily jam-packed timetable for the rest of the week.

Day one (a typical day)

After a courtesy wake up knock from management, we had 15 minutes to ready ourselves for a gruelling one hour Bums, Legs & Tums class. A breakfast of muesli was swiftly followed by an hour-long lecture on Mindful Eating which laid out five easy-to-follow rules that would allow us to not only lose weight but also turn meal times into an occasion to be savoured. I won't ruin it by revealing all of NuBeginnings' secrets but I will tell you that part of their Mindful Eating master plan is to make sure you eat five times a day - three main meals and two snacks. The aim being to keep your blood sugar levels even all day to relieve you of naughty food cravings.

Straight after our lecture we were ushered back into the studio for a gut-busting two and a half hour fitness session that flitted mercilessly between bursts on gym machines (cross trainers, bikes and rowing) and circuits, which included everything from burpees (surely the worst kind of exercise) to star jumps. We did get a snack break in between, but by 'eck it was tough work and I felt utterly nauseous by the time we wrapped up for a lunch of goat's cheese salad.

Following that we were off to another lecture of sorts, this time to learn how to walk. We learned that the hike we were to set off on in half an hour's time would be done Nordic style, complete with walking poles, to encourage a full body work out.

I won't deny I hated the walking poles at first and was ready to throw the damn things over the hill we found ourselves climbing up shortly afterwards. But it wasn't long before I found my Nordic stride and realised I was enjoying myself immensely. I'll put that down in part to the good Devon air and our hiking guide's two lovely dogs Snert the springer and Percy the pug.

Less than two hours later and we were back at the mansion and had just enough time to squeeze in a shower and a snack before we could surrender ourselves to some much needed therapy sessions.

First up, a full body massage, followed by a revelational hypnotherapy session during which we worked on my many food 'issues' including, stress eating. Afterwards I felt exhausted, but relieved and dare I say it, kind of healed.

With barely a moment to pull my emotional self together, I was being called down to another excellent dinner of chicken, spinach, peppers and couscous. Dinner was followed by our final lecture of the day, Aromatherapy Delight, during which we learned all about the many different aromatherapy oils and how we could use them to our benefit.

By 8pm we were finally free of our captors. I managed to read one sentence of my book before I fell heavily to sleep.

What else can you expect?

Plenty of hiking, massage and hypnotherapy, fitness sessions on the beach, yoga, Pilates, qigong, boxersise, running (optional), dancing classes, acupuncture, a neuro-linguistic programming session, a lecture from a professional nutritionist, a cooking demonstration from NuBeginnings own chef, and a great 'planning for home' session - in which you'll get help to figure out how to fit everything you've learned into your day to day life, and last but not least - a packed lunch on your last day to see you off safely.

Results

By the time the week was up I felt amazing. My skin looked fantastic, my clothes felt looser, and my energy levels were through the roof. For the first time in a long time I felt confident that I could control my eating habits and felt armed to go back home and make lots of positive changes.

NuBeginnings isn't just a great place to lose weight and get fit - it's a great place to revaluate your whole life. Although I was constantly on the go, I found the whole experience very relaxing. A week free of TV, temptation and stress and the need to think for myself completely removed, meant I had plenty of time to concentrate on myself and what was important to me.

I left Devon feeling like some internal war I'd been waging with myself for years had finally been won. I may not have quite reached the level of 'super sexy' yet but I felt that it was only a matter of time and effort before I did.

The results

Weight loss: 8lbs. Inch loss: Bust: 5cm, Waist: 8cm, Hips: 3cm

Two weeks later...

Sticking to the NuBeginnings regime has been a lot easier than I thought and I've managed to integrate most of what I learned into my home life. I've lost another 5lb and made lots of changes since returning home - and my world is a lot better for it.