Stretching with a view of the sunset sky and pictures of the sea worthy of Aivazovsky's brushes, massages, detox wraps and planks surrounded by Chinese fan palms, just two and a half hours of flight from Moscow. Before you get bored on the road, your morning coffee has already replaced a glass of beetroot smoothie with ginger and, if you are lucky with the weather, the already forgotten, blinding summer sun will appear.
True, at Swissôtel Resort Sochi Kamelia, detox is far from being a test of juices and smoothies of all stripes, but a soft impetus to keep the set course even after returning home, without hesitation giving up everything superfluous. Here they believe that you can join the healthy lifestyle and feel lightness as a result without being "extreme": for example, leaving tiger prawns, chicken cutlets and desserts in the menu.
Swissôtel Resort Sochi Kamelia © Alexander Platonov
How it works
If spa rituals at Swissôtel begin with a gong bang, then a detox program begins with fitness testing to reveal the truth about your habits. It will not be possible to deceive about two liters of water per day and hide the eaten burgers: according to body mass index, weight of fat and lean mass, amount of fluid in the body and a number of other indicators, the trainer calculates the client's successes and failures in diet and physical activity in a couple of minutes. In our shortened program, the hour of judgment, or the final weighing, is scheduled for Sunday evening - we have to bring the indicators closer to the norm and improve the overall picture in a little over a day. “You shouldn't expect the same results as from the three- and seven-day programs, but they will certainly be there,” notes Ekaterina Nikitina, Deputy General Director of Swissôtel Resort Sochi Kamelia.- Moreover, detox is not only external, but also internal - in training, great attention is paid to breathing practices that help bring thoughts in order. The fresh Sochi air also influences.
The history of the place where the "Swissôtel Resort Sochi Kamelia" is now located began in 1937, when, according to the project of the architect A. V. Samoilov, the sanatorium "Science" was built here. The historical building was recreated by the Hals-Development company - today the park with an area of 5 hectares with century-old trees, the cascade fountain and the Black Sea can be viewed from the same balconies as in the last century © Alexander Platonov
It is possible to evaluate all this in half an hour: after testing, the first workout on the street begins with elements of yoga and Pilates, lunges and planks. And then - jogging along the Terrenkur health trail outside the hotel, descending in deep squats along the cascades of stairs, exercising on the TRX simulator and exercises on the pier under the sunset and the lapping of the Black Sea waves.
You choose the menu yourself, but the chef is responsible for the first dinner. Removing the lid, I see boiled chicken fillet and rice with vegetables, and next to it - delicious fruit marmalade from the hotel confectionery (only 50 g and 92 kcal in a portion). Detox food is served directly to your room so you won't be tempted to take away some salmon pasta or a meringue tartlet from the buffet. Although this may not happen: the dishes from the program are as delicious as they are varied. Breakfast - four types of porridge to choose from plus an additional dish (from low-calorie yogurt, whipped with cucumber, herbs and ginger, to Swiss Bircher muesli with apple, cinnamon and nuts).
Baked pumpkin with honey and dried fruits © Alexander Platonov
Lunch - salad (very light, made from fresh apples, celery and carrots, or more hearty, for example with nuts, shrimps and avocados) and soup (from light vegetable purees to low-fat fish soup) plus one loaf and a small rosette of honey.
Broccoli puree soup in vegetable broth, arugula salad with tiger prawns, avocado and pine nuts © Alexander Platonov
For dinner, you can choose salmon or dorado steamed with grilled vegetables or spinach, dietary meat and poultry dishes and much more. For everyone who finds even such a meal too easy, there is a baked duck breast in honey sauce and Black Sea mussels stewed with herbs. The final touch is a dessert (each has no more than 200 kcal). Each time, a teapot of aromatic tea will be placed on the tray, and for breakfast and dinner - a bottle of smoothies for subsequent snacks. And in the middle of the day, those who wish will be poured a glass of yogurt in the spa area. Only without hunger!
Curd mousse with berry sauce © Alexander Platonov
“In order to have a detox, it is better not to order“to the maximum”, but to concentrate on plant foods,” adds Ekaterina. - Make it a rule to have your biggest meal from noon to two, when everything is digested easily. You can even pamper yourself with something, but it is best to do it from ten to twelve in the morning. Cut out complex carbohydrates and fruits after four. Cottage cheese, low-fat fish, vegetables - ideally grilled or steamed - the best option. Although it is better to avoid sweet in the evening, we have light desserts for everyone who is accustomed to it - we are for gradual changes, without aggressive effects on the body and severe restrictions. We hope that this program will become a signal for our guests to eat as much healthy food as possible, drink more water,Introduce regular exercise into your life and go to spa treatments at least once a week - they will provide the psychological detox that women especially need”.
Body essence
Before spa treatments, which will definitely be included in the three- and seven-day program, it makes sense to climb onto the upper shelf of the sauna, sit down with a book in the infrared cabin, or inhale deeply the dense steam of the hammam - after warming up there for 15-20 minutes and drinking herbal tea for relaxation -zone, go for the first relaxing massage with "mountain" essential oils. Fatigue after the flight will be relieved with slow and deeply working muscles movements, and also with fresh smells of lavender, clary sage and pine. Pürovel Spa & Sport studio works with cosmetics from the French brand THÉMAÉ and Australian Intraceuticals.
1 of 4 © Alexander Platonov © Alexander Platonov © Alexander Platonov
Among the author's procedures - a comprehensive "Rhythm of the Seasons" 120 minutes long (this is a care for the whole body, from the crown of the head to the fingertips) or a 150-minute "Journey to the East", which includes a cleansing wrap and express facial treatment. In addition to a relaxing hour-long massage, a double procedure awaits us on the second day: a THÉMAÉ cleansing detox body wrap using clay, talcum powder, rice powder and three types of tea, as well as a detox face mask, before applying which the master will perform a light peeling and Ridoki massage. To lose touch with reality for two and a half hours and be impressed by the effect - radiant and even skin, as well as the absolute lightness of the body - it is possible for 10 out of 10.
Personal result
I started competing with weight and striving for a healthy lifestyle more than five years ago. But with all the interest in proper nutrition and love for training, she is rarely ready to deny herself dessert - only the documentary "Sugar" by Damon Gamo or a successful attempt to "sit on Ducan" could affect this. Here I did not want sugar-containing and generally nothing out of the program. Despite the fact that at Swissôtel Resort Sochi Kamelia I followed all the rules (we will not take into account one small dietary cookie from the relaxation zone), the control weighing showed a figure that was only 800 g less than yesterday's, and a modest change, by minus 1 cm. at the waist. I was a little upset - especially looking at the success of my detox colleague, who lost 1.5 kg and 5 cm in the same area over the same day with a little. “Weight is an individual matter, and it is importantthat each indicator from the overestimated became at least a little closer to the norm. In addition, slow changes often lead to more lasting results ", - encouraged trainer Lianna and suggested that since the fat mass was reduced by 600 g in just one day, then in a week I could get rid of five" unwanted weight units " - not just without torment, but with pleasure from every moment.>