WEIGHT LOSS
Alice in weight-loss wonderland
Our regular weight-loss columnist and type-1 diabetic Alice Dogruyol jets off to Montenegro to experience one of Europe’s premier health retreats, finding out more about her body’s vital stats and undergoing a detox with a difference.
LOCATED ON THE ADRIATIC coastline at the entrance to Boka Bay in Herceg Novi, Montenegro, near the medieval towns of Perast and Kotor sits One&Only Portonovi Resort, one of the region’s most luxurious hotels. Famed for its stunning setting, sandy beach, and ultra-luxurious accommodation, it is also home to one of the world’s leading and most exclusive wellness retreats: Chenot Espace.
The retreat is named after Henri Chenot, a man who is considered the godfather of wellbeing. Throughout his life he was deeply involved in the study and practice of alternative and holistic therapies and obsessed with detoxification, disease prevention and longevity. He developed his own wellness approach, combining principles from traditional Chinese medicine with Western medical practices, and created the Chenot Method, which is used in every Chenot centre in the world. I was eager to see what I could achieve in just a few days…
They don’t normally take on people with serious health conditions such as my type-1 diabetes but after a thorough medical consultation with the brilliant Dr. Gordana Rajovic, a highly accomplished cardiologist, she deemed my disease well-controlled enough to embark on their three-day detox programme. She made two significant adjustments for me: increasing my daily calorie count to 1,200 and adding lean animal protein – this is their Biolight programme. Most people will follow the fastingmimicking plant-based diet of 850 calories.
The biggest challenge for me was going to be coming off caffeine. The only beverages I could have over the next four days would be still mineral water, lemon water and Chenot herbal teas. Dr. Gordana warned me I might get a headache and she wasn’t wrong!
THE CHENOT METHOD
As soon as my initial assessment was complete, I was guided through the opulent mirrored archways of the spa to a darkened room with a large bath filled with warm water at precisely 37 degrees. I was offered a glass of water and a sachet of magnesium to drink before I stripped down and submerged into the tub for 20 minutes of hydro-aromatherapy massage, with jets gently massaging every part of my body. Lights changed the water from blue to green to pink. It was the start of what would be my daily Chenot ritual.
Next, I was taken for a phyto-mud treatment. The therapist slathered a generous amount of smooth, warm, g
