UK Women's Wellness & Weight Loss Retreat: Nutrition, Mindset & Movement in Dorset

The Body Retreat runs week-long weight loss and wellness retreats for women in Dorset. The programme is built around four areas: mindset, menus, movement and maintenance. Mindset sessions are led by Juls and use hypnotherapy and NLP in small, confidential groups. These are aimed at the habits and thought patterns that make losing weight hard — not just what you eat, but why and when you eat it. Menus is about learning to choose food rather than restrict it. Movement is about finding activity you'll keep doing after the week ends, with every class adapted to your body. Maintenance is the follow-up: recipes, meal plans, and ongoing support once you've been on a retreat.

Days are structured but not packed. You'll usually have a movement session in the morning and another in the late afternoon, with workshops and meals in between. The movement might be a guided walk, a low-impact fitness class, aqua session in the private pool, or stretching and mobility work. There's no military-style PT and no one shouting at you. Julie and her team adjust each session to the group, so a woman returning from injury and a regular exerciser can be in the same class and both get something useful from it.

The food is a big part of the week. Meals are freshly prepared each day and tailored to dietary requirements. You'll eat real food — soups, salads, cooked meals, breakfasts — and you'll get recipes and meal plans to take home. For many women it's the first time in years they've eaten well without feeling deprived. The retreat also covers sleep, stress, rest and play, because those affect weight and energy as much as diet does.

The venue is a stylish private house close to the Jurassic Coast. It has beautifully decorated rooms, a private pool and extensive gardens. It's about two hours from London by train or car. The setting is quiet and countryside, which is part of why it works: there's space to think, sleep and reset without the distractions of normal life.

Groups are small and women-only. The company has been running since 2010 and has worked with thousands of women. The retreat is multi-award-winning, and it's run exclusively by women for women. If you've tried diets, gyms or quick fixes that didn't last and you want a week that deals with food, movement, mindset and stress together, this is the format. If you want a hardcore fitness camp or a juice cleanse, it's not that.

What's included

- 7 nights accommodation at a private house in Dorset - All meals and snacks, freshly prepared to your dietary requirements - Daily movement sessions adapted to your fitness level - Group mindset sessions using hypnotherapy and NLP - Nutrition workshops and practical food sessions - Recipes and meal plans to take home - Use of the private pool and extensive gardens - Ongoing support after the retreat

What's not included

- Travel to and from the retreat - Travel insurance - Personal expenses - Optional treatments or extras - Alcohol