Why an Ayurveda Retreat Can Make You Gain Weight

Over the years, I have seen many people come to India for Ayurveda with one very clear objective: they want to lose weight.

If you are coming for a serious Ayurveda weight-loss programme, you have probably already committed at least 14 days - and quite possibly 21 days or longer.

That is a meaningful investment of time, money and effort.

You are prepared to undergo treatments, take medicines, change your routine and make sacrifices.

And yet, sometimes the biggest thing standing between you and the result you want is not the Ayurveda.

It is you.

Panchakarma for Weight Loss Requires Submission

If you come to an Ayurveda retreat for weight loss, the doctor will usually ask you to follow a fairly disciplined routine.

That may mean eating less than you normally would, taking medicines you may not enjoy, accepting ghee, resting when you are told to rest, reducing activity and eating according to the doctor's instructions rather than according to appetite.

Self-sabotage begins when you know what the doctor has asked you to do, but you keep negotiating with it.

The doctor says one thing. You decide you know better.

That is where the trouble starts.

Ayurveda Should Help You Manage Your Compulsions - Not Punish You for Them

Most of us struggle with something.

It might be food. Coffee. Alcohol. Sugar. Shopping. Constant activity. Our phones. Or simply the need for stimulation.

When you enter an Ayurveda retreat, many of those things disappear overnight.

You are already giving up some of the things that provide pleasure, comfort or dopamine in your normal life. You are changing how you eat, when you sleep, how much you move and, in many cases, how you spend almost every hour of the day.

That is already a significant adjustment.

Ayurveda should help you cope with those compulsions. It should not punish you for having them.

And that is where the environment matters.

If food happens to be one of your weaknesses, putting twenty delicious dishes in front of you three times a day and expecting willpower to do all the work may not be the best therapeutic design.

The purpose of a plated meal is not to punish you.

It is to remove one more battle you have to fight.

Why the Ayurveda Buffet Can Become a Problem

The buffet itself is not the problem.

A well-prepared Ayurvedic buffet can be one of the pleasures of a long stay. The food may be fresh, varied, beautifully cooked and completely vegetarian.

But when you already feel that you are being disciplined in so many other areas, being slightly undisciplined at the buffet does not feel so bad.

You almost feel you deserve it.

You still need some pleasure. Some reward.

And good food becomes that reward.

That is perfectly human.

The problem is that if weight loss is one of your main objectives, those small rewards can quietly work against the reason you came.

"I'm Only Sampling" Can Still Work Against Weight Loss

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I once watched a guest who stayed considerably longer than the usual Ayurveda programme and came with a very ambitious weight-loss goal.

He did not believe he was overeating.

In his mind, he was being quite restrained.

He wasn't necessarily piling huge helpings onto his plate.

He simply wanted to sample many of the dishes because the food was delicious and beautifully prepared.

But eating one too many helpings adds up to many helpings.

And many helpings prevent weight loss.

The doctors tried to move him onto plated meals. He resisted.

There was an almost rebellious reaction to somebody else deciding what should go on his plate.

At times he accepted plated meals. At other times he would still return to the buffet for a few tasters.

That is self-sabotage in its simplest form.

Early Success Can Make Self-Sabotage Worse

What makes this particularly interesting is that he initially did very well.

In the first month, he lost around 10 kilos - roughly 22 pounds.

He was delighted and hoped to repeat that progress month after month.

But he didn't.

Over the following two months, despite remaining at the resort, he lost only another two or three kilos.

There were still genuine improvements.

He became more flexible. His mobility improved. He felt physically better. He lost inches.

Those are real results and they should not be dismissed.

But there is also a danger here.

Qualitative progress can become an excuse for not confronting the quantitative result you originally came for.

If you have committed 14 days or more specifically to lose weight, the result should not only be something you feel.

Over time, it should also become something you can measure.

Plated Meals Are Not a Punishment

For someone with a volatile relationship with food, plated meals can be extremely valuable.

The resort is not trying to deprive you.

It is trying to protect the programme.

More importantly, it is trying to protect you from having to make the same decision three times a day.

That matters because willpower is not infinite.

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If you are already adapting to new food, new treatments, new medicines, less stimulation and a completely different routine, there is no particular virtue in forcing yourself to win another battle every time you enter the dining room.

Sometimes good therapeutic design simply removes the temptation.

The question is whether you are willing to submit to that degree of discipline.

If you have excellent restraint, a buffet may present no problem at all.

If you do not have that restraint - and particularly if you have persuaded yourself that you do - then unlimited choice can quietly run counter to your objectives.

The Best Ayurveda Weight Loss Retreat May Protect You From Yourself

When choosing an Ayurveda weight loss retreat, people naturally look at the doctor, the treatments, the room, the food, the location and the level of comfort.

I would add another question:

What does this resort need to protect me from?

For some people, the answer is boredom.

For others, isolation.

And for some people, particularly those coming for weight loss, the answer is simply themselves.

The best environment is not always the one that gives you the most choice.

Sometimes it is the one that understands your weaknesses, removes a few unnecessary battles, and makes it harder for you to sabotage the reason you came in the first place.