Getting Beach Ready with the Pritikin Program

With summer just around the corner, I’m sure many of us are thinking back to that extra helping (or three) we had during the holidays, from the hot cocoas to the cold weather comfort foods, as well as reminiscing about our resistance for getting to the gym with the excuse being, simply, it’s chilly. So now that the weather is warming up, and we’re shedding those extra layers we’ve been hiding under—many of us are also looking to shed the extra pounds we’ve been holding on to all winter—some of us are probably wondering why we let ourselves fall into the same unhealthy routine as the year before!

What if we told you that this is the year to change your seasonal slump once and for all—that after just a week you’ll be thinking, moving, and eating so much differently (without forcing yourself) that next year, when summer comes around, you won’t be reaching for the cover-up come Memorial Day Weekend? This year is the year to take a week off to learn lifetime lifestyle changes that can guarantee you a healthier and happier life moving forward. This year is the year to consider booking a stay at Pritikin Longevity Center and Spa in Miami, Florida.

Oftentimes we go away on vacation and we come back feeling more stressed and unhealthy than before we left. Whether it’s because of the food choices we’re making or the lack of exercise, sometimes vacations can be pretty hazardous to our health. But at Pritikin, not only do you get access to the fabulous spa, you get a complete transformative, life-changing experience that will help you fight disease, lose weight, and feel great about yourself long after you leave the program. (Check out a sample day at Pritikin.) Surrounded by 650 acres of tropical gardens, waterfalls, championship golf courses, tennis courts, and inviting swimming pools, Pritikin is more than a health institute. In the words of our SpaFinder® Wellness CEO Pete Ellis, Pritikin is “spa-plus.”

Pritikin has long been a SpaFinder Wellness Readers’ Choice Award winner for “Best for Weight Loss,” but what many don’t understand is that Pritikin is not a diet. According to Hubert Weaver, Pritikin general manager, “With diets you start and will inevitably fail. Pritikin is not a diet—it is a lifestyle change program.” The program blends a healthy menu (more on that later!), with exercise and a multitude of classes designed to help you continue lessons learned in a real-world capacity—classes include practices like how to read labels at the supermarket, what to ask for when you order at restaurants, and more.

Recently Pritikin launched its “First Step Menu,” which includes a bit more protein than the first few days of the program have had in the past. This is to help guests ease into the Pritikin way of eating, which, for many guests, comes as a complete shock due to the lack of excessive sodium and fat that many of us become very accustomed to in our diets. It’s said by many past attendees that they hate the food on Day 1 and 2 because of this shock, but by Day 3 the body and palate become more open to healthier options and the improved way of eating.

On average, guests stay for a week to 12 days to obtain the full benefit of both the program and the break from their formally unhealthy lifestyle. In one week, it’s said you will see a dramatic difference. Don’t believe us? Your health charts at Pritikin will show the results in black and white! When you first arrive, you will meet with a physician to discuss what you hope to accomplish and receive a comprehensive one-hour history and physical, which includes dietary analysis, blood pressure review, medication review, and weight-loss planning. Throughout your stay you will receive on-going personal consultations with physicians to keep a close eye on your progress and to create an exercise prescription for both your use at Pritikin and at home. More than 110 studies in leading medical journals like the New England Journal of Medicine document the program’s results, including long-term weight loss; lowering of blood pressure to normal, medication-free levels; diabetes reversal; and dramatic reductions in heart disease risk factors like cholesterol and triglycerides.

Want to learn more? We’re hosting a TweetChat, Thursday, May 23, 2013, from 1-2 p.m. EST, with Pritikin on Ways to Get Your Body Beach Ready the Healthy Way just in time for Memorial Day 2013!  To find out more ways the Pritikin Program can help you achieve the cover-up-free physique you’re after, log on to Twitter.com (be sure to have an account) and follow the hashtag: #BeachReady! Remember to tweet your questions to @SpaFinder and @PritikinCenter using the hashtag. We look forward to chatting with you all!

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