The #bestme weekend retreat

I heard about the best me retreat from blogger and trainer Tally Rye who I follow on Instagram. I first met Tally at a self-love and body confident talk, I attended last summer. I loved hearing her views on body confidence and inner happiness. When I saw her post about the ‘best me’ retreat I knew I had to attend. In a couple of months I will be turning 30 and I'm still not living the best version of myself. I was running on empty, giving time and energy to everyone but myself. This retreat was a chance for me to relax and reconnect with myself without the outside influences (family, friends, work etc).

I decided to attend the retreat solo but had so much doubt about attending. What if the other ladies don’t like me ?, what if I don’t like them?, would I enjoy the food ?, would I actually like the place or the events organized ?

The closer the retreat got, the more scared I got. I even considered not attending but the retreat was already paid for and since there was no refunds.... my butt was going ! Goodbye Essex. Hello Somerset.

When I got to the station, I was lucky enough to meet one of the ladies who would be attending the retreat. We were able to locate a cab; it was only a 6 minute drive from the station. As the car pulled up to the country manor house, I was in awe. This place looked amazing 17 acres of countryside. I could already feel all my anxiety and stress floating away.

As we entered the house we were welcomed by the organizers Tally and Megan who gave us all thank you cards. I was really impressed that Tally carried my (23k) bag with one hand up the stairs. When I was shown to my room, I found out that, I had the master suite all to myself ( result! ) . The suite was a large king size bed (with goodies on top including a fluffy bathrobe ). The room included an ensuite bathroom with a free standing roll top bath and separate shower. At home I sleep in a single bed and share a bathroom with 3 other people, so the suite was just what I needed.....luxury! Once I settled in and more of the ladies arrived, we were given a tour of the manor ( manor sounds quite posh right ?). Well I kid you not this place looked like a set from Downton Abbey.

The house had 2 receptions, a games room , dinner room, kitchen with seating area, 8 bedrooms, hot tub, swimming pool, cinema room, games room and sauna just to name a few.

I started to wonder how I was going to part from this place, when the weekend was over.

Food

One of my favorite things to do is eat. I love looking at food, I love talking about food, I love smelling food, I love eating food. I just love foo !. The retreat included 2 breakfasts, 3 lunches and two 3 course gourmet dinners made by private natural health chef Ceri Jones assisted by Vicky. To be honest this was the part I was dreading the most. Due to my IBS and dairy intolerance my diet consists of mainly vegan dishes.

I assumed this meant I would be given salad all weekend and the other ladies would be eating meat and fish. I didn’t plan to go hungry this weekend, so I made sure I packed loads of snacks in my suitcase.

The only problem with this plan was, I arrived back home with all my snacks. Not only did all the food look fabulous, it tasted delicious and was filling. I got to eat loads of chocolate, stews, salads and radicchio chips (didn’t even know what that was until the retreat) just to name a few. I got to make raw chocolate and drink blood orange and rosemary sparklers (yum!). I will definitely be trying these dishes at home. Anyone who says food can’t make you happy hasn’t had a dish prepare by Ceri or Vicky!

Workouts

I am a frequent gym goer. I do Zumba and 3 sessions of spin a week so I don’t consider myself to be unfit. In fact I was quite smug, thinking the workouts were going to be easy but boy was I wrong. Tally really kicked my butt with the sculpt & sweat and circuit training! I thought I could hide at the back -no such luck- Tally checked on each of us throughout the sessions to make sure we were doing the right moves and to give us support. It was like having my own personal trainer and cheerleader all in one. I even got to release my stress during my boxing session with Megan. Attending these sessions highlighted the need for me to vary my routine. I have no core or upper body strength; I couldn’t even do a press up ! Instead of feeling defeated, Tally gave me suggestions of classes to attend that would help me strengthen my upper body.

To say I was sore would be an understatement but I also felt ready to conquer the world !

Group session/country walk/ free time

We had an intimate group session with Tally, in which we discussed work, life, nutrition, fitness and what was stopping us from becoming the best version of ourselves. This was such an eye opener for me. Here I was with a group of woman, all at different stages of our lives but willing to work on becoming the best version of ourselves. Things did got emotional but that tends to happen when you are speaking from your heart. We did a country walk during our stay. I felt like I was on Emmerdale (well apart from the drama). Thank God Megan advised us to bring wellies. The amount of mud and poo I walked through was beyond crazy. Who knew sheeps could poo so much! However the view and company made up for this.

All the events were optional. But Tally made it so fun you didn’t want to miss anything. One of my many highlights ( besides relaxing in the hot tub with the ladies, having delicious meals, my own suite, workout sessions, relaxation sessions, country walks) was in siting in the cinema room with all the ladies watching ‘first dates’ and eating homemade popcorn in our bathrobes.

What I learned from the retreat

• We all have fears but we shouldn’t allow this to stop us from being great !

• Sometimes we need to switch off and focus on ourselves for our health and wellbeing

• Natural food can look and taste fabulous

• There are many people going through similar journeys to you

• Work on yourself from the inside

• If you are not happy with your life....change it

• You should vary your workouts so your whole body can benefit from being healthy

• Morning workouts are not awful

• Going to an event solo is not a bad thing; you could end up forming relationships with amazing people.

• Your vibe attracts your tribe

Would I recommended the retreat to friend and family ? is the pope catholic ? yes not only would I recommend it, this will the first of many for me.