slimming
and fitness holidays at Three Owls Farm, Blakeney Norfolk
Susan
Susan's self-esteem was at an all-time low and her weight at its highest
when she stumbled upon the
Slim For Life holidays while browsing on the internet.
She had suffered a weight problem since she was about 10 years old,
triggered by problems with her parents' marriage which had led her,
in her words, to 'cope with unpleasant feelings by eating'. This comfort
eating had continued into adulthood and despite trying numerous diets,
none of them had achieved any long term success.
Susan felt a Slim For Life holiday was exactly what she needed and
in no time at all had booked a four-week stay, arriving mid-September
2006. She lost some weight before her stay with Annie's pre-arrival
advice, lost considerable pounds and inches during her time at Three
Owls Farm and returned home with her energy levels higher than she could
remember and with total commitment to her healthier, slimmer future.
Apart from having a great time, making a lot of good friends and feeling
pretty good about herself, Susan managed to shed her addiction to fried
chicken and learned to enjoy cooking healthy food. Four months later,
things are still going well, she has lost more than four stone in weight
and is totally focused on her new lifestyle. You could safely bet on
her achieving her goal.
Here are Susan's comments:
I was feeling pretty hopeless when I contacted Annie. I had tried
practically every diet going, and had ultimately dieted myself into
obesity. I stayed a month at Three Owls Farm, and would recommend an
extended visit for anyone with a substantial amount of weight to lose.
Although the first two weeks were quite a hard slog for me, I had made
a promise to myself that I would stick with the programme. I finally
began to enjoy the exercise by the end of the third week and knew for
sure that this time was different.
For the first time in my life, I believe I will be a slim person. My
journey to slimness will be a long one, but I have already achieved
great benefits from the changes I have made. I now have a positive outlook
for the future, and bags of energy. Annie doesn't put you on a diet.
She teaches you what your body needs and gives you the tools to change
your life. I highly recommend you get off the diet roller coaster and
get on with changing your life. Annie can certainly help.
Susan
Liverpool
Rachel
Rachel is from Glasgow. She was steadily gaining weight and decided
that something had to change. She spent three weeks on a Slim For Life
holiday in the Summer of 2006…and achieved more than just weight
loss.
Here is her story, so far.
" I've always had a weight problem but, over the past three years,
it had gone from a slight problem to a major problem. I was the biggest
and heaviest I'd ever been! I tried loads of fad diets for a quick fix
but, as I've come to realise, there is no such thing as a quick fix.
It has to be done properly, no cutting corners, and that's where Annie
comes in.
I decided something had to be done. I looked for ages on the web for
an answer. There were camping holidays, walking and trekking holidays,
adventure courses but they did not seem appealing because they did not
offer the whole package. I could have gone on one of these holidays,
had a good time and probably lost some weight but I knew that, when
I got back home, nothing would have changed. The weight would creep
back on.
Annie's website had me wanting to know more, it sounded the perfect
solution. She was offering a service like no other - nutrition, personal
training and support, comfy accommodation and a great location.
I decided to phone Annie for more information and a brochure.
It took me no time at all to decide this was for me. I booked as soon
as I could and for three weeks. I have never been able to stick to any
food and exercise regime for more than two weeks so I was hoping three
weeks would be enough to change my bad habits.
Annie emailed me a detox to try two weeks before going. It was hard
at first but I stuck it out and then started enjoying it! I managed
to lose a couple of pounds while on the detox but, more importantly,
felt energised and ready to face the challenges ahead.
* * *
Annie collected me from the airport and took me for lunch at a lovely
vegan café. That lunch was so tasty, full of colour and different
flavours. That's when I started to realise what I had been missing out
on all these years.
When we pulled up at Three Owls Farm I was so excited. It looked lovely,
idyllic with chickens and ducks running around outside and beautiful
views. The cottage had everything I could need, even a Jacuzzi bath
(which I tested out that evening - lovely!)
Annie had left me my exercise and food itinerary for the first week,
along with a couple of recipe books. Having everything planned out made
it easy to stick to it, all I had to do was eat what was on the list
and turn up for the classes. She doesn't take this approach with everyone
but had decided that I needed the discipline!
Nordic Walking was the first class I attended. It was great
fun. Annie said I'd like Nordic Walking and she was absolutely right!
What I did notice was that the majority of the class were considerably
older than me but had far more stamina. I just wanted to be like them,
to feel what they felt.
The nutrition sessions were such an eye-opener. I
had always thought in my dieting days that the less you eat, the better
but in fact it is the complete opposite! Finally it all started to make
sense. I could see why all the diets I had tried in the past had failed.
I also discovered a new love for beans which I had hated before I
came. You can add beans to almost any meal. Not only do they make the
meal more interesting but they are so good for you too!
That first week I learned so much about food and eating and it was
then just a matter of putting it all into practice. I started to listen
to my body and began only eating when I was hungry. During the day I
focused on eating foods which would be good for my training and in the
evening I made sure I ate only nutritious foods.
Interestingly I found I was no longer obsessing about food, in fact
I hardly thought about it at all. The only time I thought about food
was when my body gave out signals that it was hungry. I also learnt
that some apparent hunger signals were actually thirst so drinking water
would often stop the hunger pangs and, if they came back, I would then
eat something.
I discovered I had some strange eating patterns. I only actually need
two main meals a day, plus a few snacks. I found I was not hungry enough
for a main meal in the evening so instead I would have a snack early
evening and, if I needed one, I would have another snack a few hours
later.
****
At the end of the first week I had lost 4lb - and I had been eating
everything I needed! This was more than we had expected but it was
proof this new lifestyle was working well for me.
I really enjoyed the training sessions and it was fab meeting so many
new people. I never tired of the sessions because each day was different.
No matter where we walked, we were surrounded by great views which kept
me going. The beech trees at the top of the field were a great landmark
and sometimes a great relief to see. They always made me push a little
harder because I knew I was on the home stretch.
Exercising gave me so much more energy and such a natural high. On
a couple of occasions, after an evening training session, I was so hyper
when I came back to the cottage that I found myself starting to dance
to music (by myself!). I just couldn't sit still. Of course I closed
the curtains first, just in case!
Annie lives close to the cottages with her family and that was reassuring
particularly on one occasion when I was joined in my cottage by a huge
daddy-long-legs. Son Jos came to my rescue - my hero!!
In my three weeks at Three Owls Farm, I lost a total of 8lbs in weight
- and 5 inches off my waist. My clothes were positively hanging off
me!
The whole experience was nothing short of life-changing. It
far exceeded my expectations. I now know that I CAN and WILL be slim
because I have the knowledge and confidence to do so, thanks to Annie.
Rachel Glasgow
This is by no means the end of Rachel's story. A few months later
she returned to Three Owls Farm to take a Nordic Walking instructor
course held by Annie, who is also an INWA National Coach. She passed
with flying colours and is expected to start holding classes in Glasgow
in Spring 2007.
Of course, the journey goes on as Rachel continues to move steadily
towards her weight goal. We will continue to provide details of her
progress in the coming months.
