Spas Advocate Healthy Weight-Loss

Well, it's the new year and I'm tipping the scales at my highest-ever weight. Don't ask! If you want a spa to lose weight , this will help you sort through all the various options out and choose the right spa for you.

But on a recent and very wonderful visit to Rancho La Puerta (see photo), health and fitness expert Joe Sweeney made a compelling case for throwing away the scale.

Instead, he said, focus on feeling healthy. Notice how your clothes fit and how energetic you feel. People who take this approach tend to take the weight off and keep it off. Or they may stay the same weight but drop a size or two since muscle tissue is heavier than fat. Dieters lose weight, but tend to gain it back and feel like a failure.

I'm actually going to try Joe's approach in the coming months. Since listening to his talk, I've noticed that starting the day with a "weigh-in" creates a bad feeling: "I'm fat!" And that really isn't a good way to start the day. Right now I'm more interested in saying positive things and feeling good about myself.

One caution: even if you go to a spa to lose weight, don't expect to lose ten pounds in one week. Destination spas have dramatically changed their food philosophy since the "fat farm" days, when everyone was on 800 calories a day and rigorous exercise. This approach may cause rapid weight loss, but it also slows down the body's metabolism so that you gain weight rapidly when you return home. And some of the loss might be muscle.

The emphasis now is changing your lifestyle, learning healthy habits you can live with, and taking them home where you continue the process.