Weight Loss Camp at a Working Texas Dude Ranch

Days at the weight loss camp follow a fixed pattern: three or four exercise classes a day, six days a week, with meals served on site and portioned by the kitchen. The ranch describes the programme as one where guests who follow it properly and don't cheat will lose weight. There is no suggestion of a spa menu, a juice bar or a wellness lounge — the work is the point.

What separates this from a gym-based weight loss programme is the setting. Rancho Cortez is a dude ranch in Bandera, Texas, in the hill country west of San Antonio and roughly five hours from Houston. Alongside the fitness programme the ranch runs horseback riding, overnight dude ranch stays, a girls' horse summer camp and day visits. Fitness guests share the property with those operations.

The programme has a long track record with repeat guests. One guest has come back four times since 2010, each stay averaging about two months, losing weight each time and regaining it over the following two years at home. He describes the difference as structured versus unstructured: at home nobody tells him when to get up or what to eat, and he eats out constantly — pizza first, then hamburgers and fries, and pasta because it's cheap and always in the cupboard. At the ranch, the schedule and the food are decided for him.

The ranch's own line, attributed to Larry, is that this is not one of those places where you show up and somebody does your push-ups for you. You do them yourself. Guests are expected to give the classes full commitment and to stick to what the kitchen serves.

There is no named instructor, certification or training background published for the fitness programme. The ranch publishes its contact details and invites enquiries through its contact page or by phone.

What's included

- Overnight stay at the ranch - Three or four exercise classes a day, six days a week - Meals served on site - Structured daily schedule

What's not included

- Travel to and from the ranch - Travel insurance - Personal expenses - Anything not listed by the ranch on enquiry