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The Biggest Loser Fiasco: Tips for Healthy Weight Loss

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Recently, the hit reality TV show “The Biggest Loser” had their biggest loser ever: winner Rachel Frederickson lost an astonishing 60% of her total body mass, a total of 155 pounds in just over 3 months. Controversy is flying high in the media around the health and fitness industry, asking the question: Just what is healthy weight loss?

In this special Mountain Trek two-part blog, we will first cover what constitutes healthy weight loss, the potential health risks of unhealthy or too-fast weight loss, and the role of metabolism in all this: how our metabolism works, and how giving it a boost will help us lose weight more efficiently.

Copyright NBC

Over a short period of time, like one or two weeks at Mountain Trek, a metabolic ‘kick start’, through calorie control and extensive exercise can be a very effective way to reboot the body’s metabolism, our fitness, and, very importantly, our own psychology and mind set towards our own weight loss. During a short time frame metabolic ‘kick-start’ like this, losing weight quickly (0.5 – 2 pounds/day) is safe, effective, and encouraging. But limited calories and extensive exercise over a longer time frame can do more harm than good. When you eat severely reduced calories, your body compensates by slowing down your metabolism, allowing it to save calories for energy your body will need to handle its basic functions. Achieving healthy weight loss doesn’t mean only considering the obvious strategy of decreased calories and increased exercise, but considering a more holistic approach that includes stress reduction, detoxification and sleep improvements. This all-encompassing lifestyle approach allows us to balance our hormones, thereby raising our metabolism, and voila, we’ve got healthy weight loss. And after a 2 week intensive metabolism kick-start, all these same components would continue to be the focus for a continued, sustainable, and slower weight loss.

According to the U.S. Department of Health, dieters should aim to lose approximately 0.5 – 2 pounds/week after the first 2 weeks of their regime, for sustainable, healthy weight loss. Rapid weight loss can result in numerous health risks, including: loss of bone mass, increase in bone marrow fat, which can in turn lead to increased risk of bone fractures, heart attacks or high blood pressure, gall bladder stones, kidney failure, thyroid problems, excess estrogen, osteoporosis, and the list goes on.

Our philosophy is to promote wellbeing and fitness through healthy habits and lifestyle choices geared towards long term success – and with this comes numerous benefits (increased energy, better sleep, better body functions, etc.) including weight loss!

So here’s to a fit, healthy you! Until next week, when we look at metabolism, and its role in our weight and health.

3 Ways To Show Yourself Some Love This Valentine’s Day

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Show yourself some love this valentine's day

Romantic candlelit dinners with that special someone, heart shape boxes of chocolates from a secret admirer, mailing red and pink envelopes to loved ones…seems to us that Valentine’s Day is all about showing others we care, but what about ourselves?

We thought it high time that in addition to all the romantic gestures we will do for others this February 14th, that we do some truly loving gestures for ourselves, too!

Here are 3 ways to show yourself some love this Valentine’s Day:

1. Get yourself some flowers

Don’t wait for him or her to do it, when was the last time you bought yourself flowers? Research shows, that beyond the numerous health benefits of being in nature, bringing a little nature into the home has many of the same effects. A study by Kansas State University compared patients in the recovery wing of a hospital; those who had plants or flowers in their rooms, and those who did not. Patients in rooms with plants requested less pain medication, showed lower blood pressure and heart rate, experienced less anxiety, and were released from the hospital sooner. And, since most of us are in the middle of winter, that added vitality and pop of color inside may be just the ticket.

Buy yourself flowers

Related Article: 14 Ways To Pamper Yourself This Valentine’s Day

2. Spa treatment

At the day spa or in your own home and bathrobe, give yourself the deluxe treatment. Engage in a full-body dry-brushing. Draw a bath, and using your favorite relaxing essential oils (i.e. lavender, chamomile, rose), have a de-stress soak. Use pure oils to moisturize afterward, leaving yourself dewy and baby soft. Include a detox sauna, if you have access to one. Get or give yourself a facial / face massage. Get a full body massage or give yourself a hand and foot massage (elbows can be helpful here), spending some real-time on every part of your hardworking hand/foot. Besides offering release and relaxation, many spa treatments have numerous health benefits, including improving circulation, immune system function, and sleep quality, stimulating the lymphatic system, reducing depression and anxiety, and the benefits go on.

Enjoy a spa treatment

3. Do something you enjoy

This may seem like a simple one, but really, in the everyday scheme of things, when do we make the time for ourselves to do one of those things we really love that truly recharges our batteries? Schedule an appointment with yourself, and keep it like a real appointment, no interruptions (after all, your time is valuable), and have guilt-free you-time. A time for you to pick up that novel you’ve been dying to sink your teeth into, try that new yoga studio you’ve been meaning to get to, refurbish that beautiful old chair you bought last year, write poetry. Whatever it is you truly enjoy and will leave you feeling relaxed, and fulfilled.

Do something you enjoy

With this inspiration, we hope that you feel the love from everyone around you, including yourself – maybe not just today, but year-round! Happy Valentine’s day, from all of us at Mountain Trek!

What is Mountain Trek?

Mountain Trek is the health reset you’ve been looking for. Our award-winning health retreat, immersed in the lush nature of British Columbia, will help you detox, unplug, recharge, and roll back years of stress and unhealthy habits. To learn more about the retreat, and how we can help you reset your health, please email us at info@mountaintrek.com or reach out below:

Not Another Passing Fad: Health and Fitness Trends for 2014

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Top Trends for Fitness in 2014Trends, unlike fads, are cultural flows or tendencies. Fads pass and often with nothing more than surface style or quick money in mind.

Think of pop star Miley Cyrus and twerking, a dance she recently popularized in which an individual dances in a sexually provocative manner involving thrusting hip movements while in a low squatting stance. Sure twerking raises the heart rate, burns calories, works certain muscle groups, and adds fun to fitness, but it will never become more than a passing fad. Like the Charleston dance of the 1920s, lava lamps in the 70s, Rap-Rock music of the 90s, or Segway scooters in the early 2000s, Miley’s dance will soon be relegated to pop culture’s, dusty half-price bin.

Mountain Trek pays no attention to passing fads. Instead we invest our time and energy into researching which new or revived trend is synonymous with the healthiest, happiest, most inspiring lifestyle possible.

Go ahead and twerk all you want, but the following is a list of what we’ve found to be the biggest trends in health and fitness for 2014.

Metabolism Boosting Exercises: Renowned personal trainer Jillian Michaels, predicts that high intensity interval training (HIIT), a trend popular in 2013 will continue on throughout 2014. “Current research suggests that HIIT is the best way to achieve training improvements and body change results,” she says. “Programs that challenge the body to incur a higher calorie burn during and post-workout (after burn) by using a variety of total body training methodologies will prove to be winners when it comes to game changing workouts.”

Corrective Exercises: How many of us suffer from chronic low-back pain, arthritis, neck or shoulder issues? The growing number of people who experience aches and pains on a regular basis has inspired a movement in the world of personal trainers to help their clients by using corrective exercise techniques for pain management and postural issues.

In many cases, the pain you’re experiencing now is often the result of a series of small events that, when looked at as a whole, leads to the real reason you’re experiencing pain. Muscle imbalance and movement issues are often the root cause of chronic pain.
The idea behind corrective exercise is to use simple exercises that address any muscle imbalances and misalignments and relieve the stress in your body.

Corrective exercise is based on the simple fact that each muscle is connected to another. By reintroducing proper structure in the body, structure can improve and you can move freely and with less pain as time goes by.

Digital Wellness: Most of us are shackled in one way or another to our digital gadgetry, whether it’s cell phones, laptop computers, or tablets. And even though there is a growing trend toward people living tech-free lives (or at least dedicating one day a week to this lofty goal), there is an even bigger trend toward digital tech wellness. From fitness tracker apps that monitor everything from caloric intake to heart rate and running distance, to online fitness classes, the mobile health movement is here to stay.

Brainpower Boosters: Another trend that was big in 2013–exercise that incorporates cognition-building challenges and specific movement patterns to improve brain function–will also fuel 2014’s fitness devotees.

We’ll see more experiential fitness classes that involve an elevated approach to the mind-body-brain connection. A yoga-flow-play class, that offers a music sampling experience and explores how certain vibrations and sounds impact yoga flow and poses, is one example.

Brain-boosting exercise may sound complex, but it can be as simple as working on your balance or coordination

Good Old-Fashioned Hot Springs: Soaking in a natural hot spring is something that humans have been experiencing for thousands of years. It is in fact our original spa encounter.

With today’s rising costs of living, an inexpensive, social and therapeutically beneficial soak in a thermal spring is hotter than ever. And the best part is, you can find a natural hot springs all over the world.

Nutritious Food: Will good, nutritious food ever not be a trend? We don’t think so, and neither does Sandy Todd Webster, editor in chief for the IDEA Health and Fitness Association. She says, “Empowering people to break the chain of crazy fad/yo-yo dieting by educating them to eat sensibly is an immeasurable benefit. If you can teach a person how to eat well and stop putting unnecessary additives and chemicals into the body, their system will breathe a sigh of relief and start metabolizing the way it’s meant to. It will finally recognize the ‘information’ they’re putting in rather than getting inflamed and fighting unrecognizable processed substances.”

Wellness Spas and Retreats: With the recession now in our rear-view mirror, many people are beginning to travel and spend again. Destination spas and health retreats, like Mountain Trek’s Nelson, British Columbia and Baja Mexico (Rancho La Puerta) locations specialize in what increasing numbers of people are seeking out in 2014– personalized, transformative and immersive wellness programs.

Holiday Health and Fitness Challenge: a wholesome head start for 2014

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[portfolio_slideshow id=6078] A hearty congratulations are in order to us all. We made it through the toughest, most temptation-filled, overindulgent part of the holidays!

Sure, there’s still one more epic night of jubilation, but New Year’s Eve is less about stuffing ourselves with delicious food, and more about celebrating (with possibly one-too-many drinks) what was hopefully a healthy, happy and bountiful 2013, while wishing the best to each other for the year ahead.

As we start thinking about our resolutions for 2014–whether it’s quitting smoking, eating healthier, exercising more, or a host of other healthy lifestyle improvements–now is a good time to also start taking the initial steps towards achieving those resolutions. Why wait until January 2nd to reboot a healthy lifestyle?

Whether you’re still scuttling between the final few office parties and family gatherings, or you’re on a sun-filled vacation, Mountain Trek has come up with a manageable way to reset your perspective and kick start a fresh, healthier you.

Join us for our Holiday Health and Fitness Challenge– seven days of effective tasks to improve your overall health. Complete the challenge and we think you’ll find that sticking to your New Year’s resolutions will be that much easier.

We’d love to hear about your experience during the Holiday Health and Fitness Challenge. Keep us posted on your progress, the hurdles that you face and how you feel at the end. Good luck!

December 29, 2013: 
Day One: CORE

Challenge: We start our challenge by focusing on our core. Functional movements are highly dependent on the core, and lack of core development can result in a predisposition to injury. The major muscles of the core reside in the area of the belly and the mid and lower back, and peripherally include the hips, the shoulders and the neck.

Task: There are many core-strengthening exercises you can do, from knee fold tucks, to ball routines, to plank exercises. Find a few that you feel comfortable with and try them out at some point today.

December 30, 2013: 
Day Two: DETOX

Challenge: Our lifestyles put our bodies to the test. Rising stress levels, lack of exercise, constipation, poor diet and poor lifestyle choices – not to mention the ever-increasing levels of toxins in our environment – push our bodies to their limits. While it’s impossible to avoid toxins completely, it’s important to support your body so it can get rid of them.

Task: Today we challenge you to an infrared sauna. An infrared sauna uses infrared heaters to emit infrared light experienced as radiant heat, which is absorbed by the surface of the skin. Taking a 20-minute infrared sauna is a great way to sweat out toxins, with a side benefit of weight loss.

December 31, 2013:
Day Three: NUTRITION

Challenge: Today we want you to eat breakfast. And not only that, we want you to eat breakfast within a half hour of waking up. So many of us skip breakfast altogether. Not today. Eating breakfast kick starts our metabolism, supports our circadian rhythms and keeps our livers from initiating the “famine” response.

Task: Make yourself a fruit and veggie smoothie (or prepare it the night before and keep it in the fridge), enjoy a bowl of muesli, scrambled eggs, or broccoli and smoked cheese frittata in the morning. Whatever your choice try and include equal volumes of complex carbohydrates, protein, vegetables or fruit, as well as a teaspoon of omega oil.

January 1st, 2014:
Day Four: SLEEP

Challenge: This one shouldn’t be too much of a challenge, especially if you’ve been up celebrating the night before.
As an adult, our being needs between 7.5 and 9 hours of sleep in a 24 hour period, in order to maintain a healthy, growth-centered metabolism.

Task: The challenge on this night is to go to bed early (get cozy in bed between 9 and 10pm) and sleep relatively undisturbed for 7 to 9 hours.
If, like so many of us, you spend too many hours on your computer, download justgetflux.com. During the day, computer screens look good—they’re designed to look like the sun. But, at 9PM, 10PM, or 3AM, you probably shouldn’t be looking at the sun. The f.lux software fixes this: it makes the color of your computer’s display adapt to the time of day, warm at night and like sunlight during the day.

Have a good night…

January 2nd, 2014
Day Five: STRESS

Challenge: For some of us, today’s challenge may be the toughest… a gadgetry detox. Try one full day without a technological gadget or social media platform that usually has you so absorbed in it that you feel a sense of panic when that thing is temporarily taken a way from you.

Always being available to answer an email or take a call from someone at work has made our workdays 10 to 14 hours long (in some cases longer).

Task: Just for today, turn it all off! Your heart rate just went up didn’t it? You’ll be okay.

If it’s absolutely not possible to turn it all off, try one gadget at a time. Turn off your cell phone, or try no emailing, or no television, or no Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. And substitute the dopamine fix that you usually get from the gadgets, with a healthy dopamine boost. Shut your cell off, go for a hike. Substitute a no-social-media-day with a day of visiting friends and family. Turn it all off and fill your day with yoga, meditation, and healthy cooking.

 January 3rd, 2014
Day Six: WILLPOWER

Challenge: Admittedly, if you successfully went through a gadget detox the day before, then your willpower is on the right track. But now it’s time to strengthen it even more, because today is the day you engage one of your resolutions for 2014.

Task: Pick a healthy habit and embrace it. Today is the day you start yoga classes, or begin healthy cooking classes, or reconnect with an estranged loved one, start writing that novel you’ve always wanted or find some way to love yourself a little more every day. Whatever it is, seize the day with open arms, open mind and open heart.

January 4th, 2014
Day Seven: NATURE

Challenge: Has it been a while since you’ve explored and enjoyed the great outdoors?  On this, the final day of our Heath and Fitness Challenge, we urge you to get outside and play. We don’t need science to tell us that doing some form of healthy activity outdoors is good for the soul.

Task: Take your dog for a long walk along the beach, go for a hike with your son, snowshoe with your daughters, cross-country ski with an old friend, swim in the ocean with your spouse, stroll through the neighbourhood with your grandchild, or ride bikes with your mom. Whatever it is, get out there, breath the fresh air and be thankful that you’ve made it another year!

Once again, let us know how you do, we’d love to hear from you and good luck!

8 Tips to Manage Temptations during the Holidays

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christmas holiday decorations

It’s impossible not to indulge, and in many cases, overindulge in all the treats on display around you during the holidays.

Absolutely everywhere you go – from office parties to dinners at your in-laws, there are juicy, buttery, sugary food items tempting you. It can be challenging to stop the parade of plump turkeys, Swiss chocolates, endless eggnogs, mountains of mashed potatoes, and seasonal micro-brew ales from sliding down into your warm, inviting belly. Heck, you’ve worked hard all year; you deserve some downtime and a few treats. After all, food and festivity is the essence of the holidays.

Related Article: How To Stay Healthy During the Holidays

But there is a way to enjoy all the deliciousness that the season has to offer, without gaining 10 pounds of excess weight and guilt along the way.

Here at Mountain Trek, we’ve come up with some simple, effective tips to help you avoid the dreaded overindulgence, while still having fun and enjoying the festive season.

8 Tips to Manage Temptations during the Holidays

1. Keep exercising

You don’t need to maintain the same schedule as you did throughout the rest of the year, but you don’t need to stop exercising altogether as well. Often you’ll find you do have some extra time over the holidays, try snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, jogging or to a yoga class. Ask your relatives to go for a walk with you. That way you’re getting some exercise and so is your favorite uncle.

2. Stick to your regular meal times

Healthy snacking is good but it’s easy to eat full meals at every party you attend. Try eating dinner at one party and then a few hours later, desert at another party. Spreading out your meals will mentally help you to avoid overindulging.

3. Make healthy food choices

With all the delicious treats around you it’s easy to forget about vegetables, salads and fruit. And if you’re the one doing the cooking, try using fresh, lean, organic ingredients. Instead of frying, grill your food. And remember, there is a host of low-fat, vegetarian and vegan dishes (including desserts) that can compliment the usual turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoe dinners.

4. Leave what you don’t want

Despite what our parents may have instilled in us as children, don’t feel obliged to clear your plate. When you’re feeling 80% full, stop eating. Simple as that.

5. Budget your food choices

If you can’t stop yourself from overindulging on turkey and stuffing, then skip the ice-cream and apple pie.

6. Be mindful of your alcohol intake

Remember, drinks have calories too. Alcohol can make you hungry and weaken your ability to say no to overindulging. Alcohol is a depressant and can add to feelings of stress or sadness, thus leading you to make poor food choices. And if you drink too close to bedtime it can interfere with getting a good night’s sleep.

7. Stay strong

Be assertive. Don’t feel as though you have to say yes to everyone that offers you food and drink. If you are not hungry, then politely say so. Do not let yourself be bullied by your auntie or grannie, into eating something that you really don’t want.

8. Don’t over schedule yourself

While this may not necessarily stop you from overindulging, it will help you to focus on what’s most important about the holiday season–spending quality time with loved ones. And remember, everything in moderation.

Happy holidays from everyone at Mountain Trek!

What is Mountain Trek?

Mountain Trek is the health reset you’ve been looking for. Our award-winning retreat, immersed in the lush nature of British Columbia, will help you unplug, recharge, and roll back years of stress and unhealthy habits. To learn more about the retreat, and how we can help you reset your health, please email us at info@mountaintrek.com or reach out below:

Embracing an Attitude of Gratitude

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thank you written in tiles on a wooden table with a hand holding a heart tile

A steaming hot mug of peppermint tea. Sharing a good laugh with your best friend on the phone. Going for a hike on a crisp, clear, fall day. Thanksgiving; a time to reflect on all we have to be thankful for! But is putting gratitude on the calendar one day a year enough to embrace this attitude?

In a recent study, two groups of people were asked to journal 5 things each day over a two week period: group one, 5 things for which they were grateful, and group two, 5 things that were a hassle. The benefits for those who jotted down their daily appreciation were clear. These grateful people showed more alertness, optimism, enthusiasm, energy, and determination. They showed lower cortisol (stress hormone) levels, lower blood pressure, and reported less depression, better sleep, and a higher likelihood of achieving personal goals. Not to mention the positive impact on the way they think and feel! In essence: expressing gratitude regularly contributes to overall happiness in a big way.

Seems like recognizing our blessings is a worthwhile activity! But how can we go about feeling and showing our thanks? Here are some simple ideas to get your attitude of gratitude flowing.

How to Make Space for Gratitude

Gratitude Journal

Just like Oprah suggested way back when, get yourself a journal, and as a great addition to your morning or evening ritual, jot down 5 (or more!) things for which you are grateful. This gratitude can be for ANYTHING, big or small! Your loving partner, the particularly delicious apple you ate earlier, existence, the kind smile from the old lady in the line up at the grocery store, anything. If you’re short on time, this needn’t be a hassle – keep a small notebook with you, and in those in between moments when you’re waiting for your dentist appointment or your daughter’s Judo lesson to wrap up, make that time count by writing some notes of thanks.

Gratitude Rock

A gratitude rock is a small keepsake or memento, and the idea is that when you touch it or see it, you take a moment to feel gratitude and say thanks. You can keep it in your pocket, your purse, in the console of your car, the table in your entranceway where you drop your keys when you walk in the door, anywhere that works. And of course, this doesn’t need to be an actual rock! It can be a small figurine, your key chain, anything that works for you to initiate those thankful thoughts.

Consistently acknowledging and appreciating the people who make a difference in our lives

Sometimes we feel gratitude towards someone for doing a special something for us, or just for being who they are. Instead of keeping this feeling within, why not take a moment to express this gratitude, and let them know we appreciate their presence? As William Arthur Ward said, “Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” This can be in the form of a phone call, a quick email or text, or even taking the time to write a thank you note or card. And by the way, acknowledging the people who make a positive impact in our lives includes appreciating yourself!

It seems as though we could all benefit from counting our blessings and adopting an attitude of gratitude! So, as we celebrate Thanksgiving this year, what are you thankful for?

Happy Thanksgiving from Mountain Trek!

What is Mountain Trek?

Mountain Trek is the health reset you’ve been looking for. Our award-winning health retreat, immersed in the lush nature of British Columbia, will help you detox, unplug, recharge, and roll back years of stress and unhealthy habits. To learn more about the retreat, and how we can help you reset your health, please email us at info@mountaintrek.com or reach out below:

Mountain Trek on xoJane.com

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Photo credit: Margarita xoJane.com

Photo credit: Margarita xoJane.com

Mountain Trek was recently featured on xoJane.com – a sassy New York based online publication written for women by women.

Writer and Mountain Trek guest Margarita, shares her personal experience of leaving NYC for the mountain ranges of British Columbia.

“There was an introductory lecture, which included words like “tonic,,” “fat flush” “hydro therapy,” and, everybody’s favorite, “toxins.” We concluded the evening with some goat’s whey and a probiotic. I set off for my room, wondering what I got myself into.”

To read the full article:  IT HAPPENED TO ME: I WENT ON A SMOKE-FREE, CAFFEINE-FREE, SUGAR-FREE “WELLNESS” RETREAT DESPITE BEING FULL OF TOXINS click here.

 

Q&A with Kirkland Shave, Program Director at Mountain Trek – Part II

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Kirkland ShaveIn this sixth installment of our Q&A series we bring you part two of our interview with Kirkland Shave, Mountain Trek’s intrepid Program Director, hiking guide, and esteemed lecturer. In our last post, we left off with Kirkland discussing the reasons behind Mountain Trek’s high guest return rate (30-40%).

Kirkland: I had this expectation that once they (guests) come, they’ll get it and they’ll go home and they’ll change. I was so naïve. And then I realized we’re more like a trainer for an Olympic athlete, they still need tweaking and adjusting.

MT: And the tweaking and adjusting is better or easier done back at Mountain Trek?

It’s just so hard out there in a dominant work culture for people to be able to adjust their life to keep a regimen of fitness, nutrition and overall healthy living going all the time. People need to start by incorporating one thing and turn that one thing into a healthy habit. Through my research on will power and habit making I’ve come to realize that habits are formed and work better incrementally. Very few people are at that threshold where they’re ready to just grab onto new information, or habits, or lifestyle changes, and go.

The majority of guests will go home from Mountain Trek and change an eating habit – they’ll start eating breakfast every morning, for instance. And then they’ll return, maybe a year later and when they get back home they’ll start walking after dinner or join a yoga studio. And it’s these incremental habits that they weave into their lifestyle that then become a tipping point that changes their life.

It’s really easy for us to slip into old and sometimes unhealthy habits isn’t it?

It totally is. Up until the 1970s most of us still worked with our bodies. It’s only been a very short time that we’re not able to get our movement needs through work. And with expanded work hours and commute times, it’s almost impossible to find the time to exercise. In the meantime, Mountain Trek is here for people to come in, gain some insights learn about healthy choices.

And rebuild or reboot a healthy lifestyle from there?

Absolutely. Some returning guests come for a reboot and some come for a deeper immersion – a couple of weeks where they can really anchor certain patterns and help set up new habits.

Would you say most guests come to Mountain Trek for weight loss?

Hmm…you could say consciously most are but underneath that many guests are coming because they know that something in the big picture is not working. Weight gain is often a symptom of stress or chronic lack of movement and exercise. Everybody that’s come here has gained weight and lost weight at different times in their lives. People don’t come here and think, okay I’ve got to lose ten pounds just to fit into a wedding dress next week. It’s more to start to create a new, healthy direction for themselves, with the bonus or motivator of some significant change in their weight.

Is there an overall Mountain Trek experience, some special thing that sets you apart from other fitness and weight loss programs?

What I think sets us apart from all the other choices out there around health and weight loss retreats or spas, is our significant immersion in a complex natural world.

Kirkland Shave, Program DirectorWhat exactly do you mean by complex nature?

There’s a lot of research out there about what’s being coined, “the green brain.” This research states that when someone is out in nature there is a drop in the stress hormone cortisol and an increase in the feel-good hormones oxytocin, dopamine and serotonin. They bathe the brain and help fight that edgy, depressive, vigilant state that cortisol puts us in. This happens by being in, or even just seeing nature. Even having a picture on your office wall of jungle or complex nature creates a sense of fascination, lowers cortisol and increases oxytocin.

Would you say complex nature is Mountain Trek’s secret ingredient?

Yes! At Mountain Trek we’re outside four hours a day in a complex, ever-changing natural environment. And then our gym and yoga studio and even the drives to the trailheads, all look out at beautiful, green, abundant nature. This is definitely our secret ingredient. Other retreats have gyms, they do yoga, they offer detox, calorie control or sleep health, but they don’t have as complex a natural environment that creates a high level of fascination and hormone adjustment as we do.

How many staff work at Mountain Trek and would you consider them top in their field?

We have about 30 staff and I’m definitely prejudiced when I say they’re top in their field for where we live. But the unique thing about our staff is that they’re not in their 20s or 30s and fresh out of a university health and fitness program. Our staff are mature mountain people.

What do you mean by ‘mountain people’?

People that have chosen to live in the Nelson area for long periods of time because of lifestyle. They ski, mountain bike, hike and climb. They live and breathe being in nature and living a healthy lifestyle. We all eat more plant foods than meat. Some of us are vegetarians. Some have their own yoga practices. So the staff that I’m able to pool here are all highly trained in their disciplines, they all have wilderness first aid certificates, and they all live the type of lifestyle that we try to infuse our guests with.

I know you’re a busy guy, Kirkland, so one last question. Are some guests unable to make it through the program and if so why?

No. There isn’t anybody who can’t make it through. I’ll be honest, there have been one or two that have left prematurely because they didn’t feel that they could make it through, as much as we tried. And they usually leave after the first day because it’s too much of a shock or they’re coming to stop smoking or something that they just weren’t ready to do. Why we have two staff to every one guest is to ensure that each individual person’s needs are met. Even if someone hasn’t exercised in eight years and they’re carrying an extra eighty pounds, we accommodate them.

Okay, great. Thanks for your time Kirkland and good luck with the rest of the season at Mountain Trek.

My pleasure. Thank you.

Q&A with Kirkland Shave, Program Director of Mountain Trek – Part I

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Kirkland Shave Program Director Mountain TrekIn the fifth instalment of our Q&A series we veer slightly from the path and, instead of interviewing a Mountain Trek guest, we thought we’d give you a peek behind the curtain and sit down for a chat with our very own Kirkland Shave.

Kirkland is a Nelson, BC, resident and has been Program Director and Manager of Mountain Trek since 2004. Not only is he a hiker extraordinaire he also plays bass guitar in his son’s band and he’s one of Mountain Trek’s most popular, poignant and engaging lecturers.

Hi Kirkland. Thanks for taking time out of your busy Mountain Trek schedule to talk with us. Let’s start with your professional and personal background and what led you to Mountain Trek?

A culmination of a variety of work and life experiences led me here. Let me back up a bit though. As a teen I started looking at alternative ways of living. I started meditating, I became a vegetarian, and I started shifting away from team sports to outdoor recreation activities. I did martial arts, yoga, and later I became a yoga instructor. I have a teaching degree and a degree in Anthropology, and for a long time I was a local British Columbia Park Ranger. Following that I started running my own wilderness and primitive skills school. Then, about 11 years ago, the original owner at Mountain Trek hired me to come out and teach these wilderness skills one day a week for a few summers. From there, because of my ranger and yoga experience, I became a hiking guide and yoga instructor at Mountain Trek.

Soon thereafter, the owner asked a dietician, kinesiologist and myself to build a weight loss program. Back around 2000 the obesity epidemic was in the news a lot so we got rid of our recreation program at Mountain Trek and started this weight loss program. But through our own knowledge base we basically turned it into a metabolism-raising program with weight loss being a by-product. It became popular very quickly and just took off from there.

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Would you say that your job with Mountain Trek has been your most fulfilling one?

Absolutely because I’ve always loved nature and working outside and now I get to take people into nature… and I get to introduce people to a healthy consciousness about their body and what it means to possess emotional well-being. I’m also trained as a life coach so this is where I can focus in on what’s stressing people and how this affects their well being.

You love working with people in the outdoors, and the Mountain Trek lodge is certainly surrounded by breath-taking nature. What would you say is the profile of the average Mountain Trek guest?

They are all primarily urban, corporate North Americans. About 75% women and 25% men. The average age for a woman would be 42 and for men about 50. Men tend to be a little bit slower in paying attention to their body or health concerns, whereas women are a bit more finely attuned that way.

Are the guests already familiar with the great outdoors?

Most of them have not hiked before. I would consider them hard working professionals and traditionalists. And by traditionalist I mean they don’t regularly eat tofu, for example, or practice yoga. In fact 90% of our guests have never done yoga before. So we’re taking these professionals and opening the door, so-to-speak, so they can see other ways of living that promote more health and longevity for them…ways of living that they can weave into their lifestyle.

Does this mean that relatively fit young men and women need not go to Mountain Trek?

Not necessarily. What happens is that through sendentarism, sitting at work, commuting in a car, etc, our bodies move into a catabolic state – we become slower and suffer chronic inflammation that affects our hormones. This domino effect on all aspects of our health starts to build as we age so that people in their 40s and 50s start to feel the cumulative effects of this sedentary work life more so.

People in their 20s and 30s still have an anabolic metabolism. But even with this age group we’re noticing that the catabolic shift is happening at a younger and younger age. People come out of university and get right into a job where they tend to sit all day. We gain weight, have chronic sleep issues, less energy and vitality and on and on to worse things like type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and thyroid problems.

So, to answer your question, we could target younger people but they don’t quite see the need as acutely as someone who’s a little bit older. Nor do they typically have the money. You know, it’s a health investment and a lot of 20 or 30 year olds would rather go on a trip to Paris for a week or two…

Or Thailand…

Yeah, or Thailand.

A one or two week program at Mountain Trek is rewarding but it takes dedication. People seek out the program not only to lose weight and change their metabolism but also to kickstart an entire lifestyle makeover. That can be emotionally challenging. Do your guests ever come back, or is once enough for them?

Actually, we get a big return rate – 30% to 40% are returnees in any given week. Going back about six years though, I thought something about the program was failing. I wondered why our guests kept coming back. I had this expectation that once they came, they’ll get it and they’ll go home and they’ll change. But now I realize it’s important that people “check in” with us regularly, and get back on track. They need what I call “Mountain Trek’s magic ingredient.”

In part 2 of our Q&A with Kirkland Shave, we find out the reason for Mountain Trek’s high return rate, discover whether guests have ever left the retreat without completing the program and learn more about the retreat’s “magic ingredient.”