For most of us, a summer holiday is an opportunity to throw caution to the winds, to slurp your way through the cocktail list, say ‘yes’ to the starter and dessert, then to party into the early hours and snooze ’til midday, with every other possible moment spent horizontal on a poolside lounger.
But for celebrities — and an increasing number of mere mortals — healthy holidays that combine a carefully-controlled diet with a barrage of sporting activities are on the increase. In fact, there’s been a 30 per cent rise in demand for wellness breaks since the end of lockdown.
The idea is that after a week of early nights, wholesome food and sporting activities in the sun, you return home relaxed, invigorated and aiming to maintain at least some of the good habits you’ve picked up while you’ve been away.
One of the most sought-after wellness breaks is The Body Camp, set on an estate in Mallorca, where every summer about 20 guests a week — including the likes of Mel C, Emma Willis, Vicky McClure and Jaime Winstone — check in to tone up together.
Booze, meat and fish are all banned — and guests are out of bed and pumping iron by 7am. It might sound like your idea of hell, but celebrities, fitness fanatics and those looking to lose weight — as opposed to piling on the obligatory holiday half-stone — swear by it.
There’s been a 30 per cent rise in demand for wellness breaks since the end of lockdown (stock image)
Can’t make it to Mallorca? Now, you can follow The Body Camp at home.
Admittedly, we can’t serve you up a swimming pool, guarantee you Spanish sunshine or pair you up with a celebrity gym partner.
But if you fancy a taste of the healthy high life, below you’ll find exclusive recipes from this year’s retreats, plus top tips from the personal trainer who helped Mel C hone those magnificent abs.
Prepare to holiday like the A-list — at home.
FORGET 5 A DAY, TRY 30 A WEEK
By Ben Whale, Nutritional Head Chef with The Body Camp
My job is to serve up nutritious meat-free meals so sustaining that guests won’t find themselves fantasising about pizza and, I hope, so delicious, they’ll be experimenting with tofu and quinoa when they get back home.
The mental and physical transformations we see provide strong evidence that just one week can make a huge impact on your health.
Unlike any other summer holiday, when you might slouch home with a huge hangover, a bit of excess belly fat, a cricked sunbed neck and aching flip-flop feet, our guests skip away fitter, stronger (mentally as well as physically), and equipped with a raft of great new health-giving practices to try.
Yes, of course, it’s easier to stick to a plant-based diet when you’ve got a professional chef like me preparing meals for you, but I think you’ll see and feel the benefits after just a week of adopting some of our healthy principles at home.
Nervous about going fully plant-based? I get it! I was vegan for a while, but I’m no activist and, I have to confess, on my days off I’m quite partial to a burger or a juicy steak! But surely you can do it for a week?
One easy place to start is by completely cutting out highly-refined foods, or dairy products, and see how it makes you feel.
The mental and physical transformations we see provide strong evidence that just one week can make a huge impact on your health, says Ben Whale, Nutritional Head Chef with The Body Camp
Far too few of us eat anything like as much fibre as we should, and far too many get most of their calorie intake from highly-processed foods. So the food I cook with is locally sourced and organic, when possible, because I’m on a mission to cut out chemicals and additives.
You should aim to eat as many different plants as possible — at least 30 a week. It sounds like a lot, but it’s the best way to boost your fibre and polyphenol intake. These beneficial plant compounds help to protect us against disease.
Each herb and spice counts as one plant ‘point’, and if you eat red, green and yellow peppers, that’s three more, because the different colours indicate a different mix of nutrients.
Extra-virgin olive oil counts, too, as do tea and coffee, nuts (choose mixed nuts for increased variety) and pulses.
Bonus points if you can reach 60!
LOOK AT WHAT’S ON YOUR PLATE, NOT THE CALORIES
We don’t encourage calorie-counting. Instead, we offer food in small, medium and large portion sizes, and encourage guests to listen to their bodies and think about what they’re trying to achieve — some may want to lose weight, while others want to increase their muscle mass.
It’s important to make active choices — to slow down and consider what you want to eat in order to meet your goals.
At home, it’s a good idea to check the portion sizes you serve for yourself at mealtimes and ask whether they’ve got bigger over the years. I bet they have.
It might be worth starting with a smaller portion than you are used to and then waiting 15 minutes after you’ve finished to work out whether you need more.
When you’re eating good, healthy food, you might find you are satisfied with less than you expect.
Eating more nutrient-dense food than you’re normally used to should fill you up — the key is to ask yourself if you really do want more.
Unless you’re an athlete I don’t think there’s much point obsessing about how much protein, carbohydrate or fats you have on your plate.
It’s far more important to look at what’s on your plate and ask yourself: ‘Is it good for me?
Is it nutritious? Are there lots of colours? Will this food help to nourish my body or not?’ Answer honestly.
Keep it simple — and keep asking yourself the questions. After all, all you need to do is try to make better food choices each time you eat.
SLEEP YOURSELF SLIM
There’s no alcohol at The Body Camp, mostly because we believe it’s a good idea to give your body a break from booze, as it stops the fat-burning process and it can affect the quality of your sleep.
We tried to ban caffeine, too, but it ended in mutiny, so we reverted to serving proper coffee — but only at breakfast because we want our guests to sleep like babies. So, on your week at home, ditch the alcohol and no coffee after breakfast.
Believe me, it’s worth it. A good night’s sleep lowers your risk of health problems, reduces stress and improves your mood; when your body goes into rest-and-repair mode it helps you recover from activity as well as maintain a healthy weight.
After a good night’s sleep, you will be better able to moderate your appetite and make healthy food choices. It’s all about setting yourself up to succeed, not fail.
We serve dinner early, at 6.30pm, which means food is properly digested before you go to bed so it won’t interfere with your sleep, and you get the health and fat-burning benefits of a 12-hour fasting window. This is such an easy way to drop weight — you’re asleep for eight of those 12 hours after all!
And if — like many people — you usually have a light breakfast and a large dinner, why not try reversing your normal pattern of eating?
It’s always healthier to eat more at the beginning of the day and save your lighter meals for later, because that helps control hunger pangs, so you won’t experience cravings and you’ll be less tempted to overeat.
WANT TO TONE UP? BAFFLE YOUR BODY
By Rick Parcell, Master Coach at The Body Camp
Talking about breakfast — all our guests take part in a fun group workout before breakfast at 8.30am.
‘Fasted exercise’ like this increases the amount of fat burn.
My aim is to provide a practice ground for better behaviours. I’ve got a few days to introduce people to as many life-enhancing practices as we possibly can, and to show them just how much fun they can be, before we pack them off home with everything they need to continue those behaviours in their non-holiday lives in the hope that something sticks.
When it comes to movement, my mission is to create ‘muscle confusion’ by getting guests involved in a wide variety of workouts, from boxing to yoga, interactive pool games, running, cycling, hikes and weight training, all of which use different muscle combinations.
Rick Parcell, Master Coach at The Body Camp says they introduce guests to ten factors which ‘hold the key to optimal health’
The reason? Confused muscles gain more size and strength than complacent muscles, which are just going through the same routines. So you should always aim to mix up your exercise routine, doing something different every day.
We introduce guests to ten factors which hold the key to optimal health. Try running through this checklist before you start to set yourself up for a strong week:
- Mental health: Are you paying too much attention to a negative inner voice? Can you give yourself some credit?
- Love: Can you love yourself and others a little more?
- Movement: Are you doing something active — even for just five to ten mins — every single day?
- Breath: Are you practising breathing techniques and mindfulness exercises? (Spend a few minutes each day breathing deeply and slowly through your nose: breathe in for a count of four, hold for four, then exhale for four).
- Quiet: Are you giving yourself a few minutes of peace and quiet? (This includes time away from your mobile phone).
- Fun: Is there fun in your life?
- Pipes: Are you looking after your internal pipework? Regular exercise will keep your heart, lungs and vascular system healthy, and a fibre-rich wholefood diet is what your intestines love best.
- Nutrition: Are you putting the best possible fuel into your body?
- Nature: Are you spending time outdoors in green spaces?
- Hydration: Are you drinking plenty of water? (Start each morning with a glass and aim to drink three litres a day.)
- The Body Camp 30 Favourites is available for £12.99 from thebody camp.com. Body Camp Mallorca runs each week until October 28. Prices for a week’s stay start from £1,650.
Try Ben’s vegan recipes below — we promise they’ll convert you
Breakfast: Sugar-free jam on seeded bread
Sugar-free jam on seeded bread
Quick sugar-free jam
- 500g frozen or fresh berries of choice
- ½ tbsp psyllium husk powder
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Blend two-thirds of the berries with the psyllium and vanilla until smooth. Add the rest of the berries and mix, keeping some whole fruits.
Seeded bread (Makes two small loaves)
- 4 cups sunflower seeds
- 2 cups flax seeds
- 2 cups nuts of your choice
- 6 cups oats
- ¹/³ cup chia
- Good pinch of salt
- 4 tbsp maple syrup
- ½ cup melted coconut oil
- 26 cups water
Mix together all the dry ingredients and then add the wet ingredients. Mix well and put into baking tins, cover and leave on the counter for 12 hours. Do not refrigerate! Bake at 180c/gas 4 for 20 mins, reduce the heat to 160c/gas 3, for a further 40 minutes.
Lunch: Vegetable fritters with ‘ketchup’
Vegetable fritters with ‘ketchup’
For the batter (makes 12 fritters)
- 1 cup water
- 1 ½ cups corn flour
- 2 cups chickpea flour
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tbsp baking powder
To add to batter
- 2 courgettes, grated
- 4 corn cobs, corn chopped off
- 1 cup peas
- 1 red onion finely diced
- 1 bunch coriander chopped
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
Blend batter ingredients until smooth, add the veg, then add a small ladle of batter to a hot pan with a little avocado oil and pan-fry over a medium heat until golden-brown.
Ketchup
- 200g tomato puree
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp maple syrup or honey
- Pinch of salt and pepper
Mix ingredients together and place in fridge until needed.
Dinner: Sticky tofu with orange sauce and brown rice
Sticky tofu with orange sauce and brown rice
Serves 2
- 400g smoked tofu, cut into small cubes
- 2 tbsp cornflour
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp salt and pepper
Orange sauce
- 125ml orange juice
- 2 tbsp tamari sauce
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 garlic clove
- ½ thumb-sized piece of ginger
- ½ tbsp cornflour
- 4 tbsp water
- Pinch of chilli flakes
Mix the cornflour, onion and garlic powders, salt and pepper, then dip tofu in it and pan-fry in coconut oil until golden-brown. For the sauce, blend ingredients, pour over tofu in pan and cook for 1 min until sauce thickens. Serve with brown basmati rice.
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