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Wellness by the Water Retreat

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Hi, I'm Tina!

I’m the owner of Carrots ‘N’ Cake as well as a Certified Nutrition Coach and Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner (FDN-P). I use macros and functional nutrition to help women find balance within their diets while achieving their body composition goals.

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Yesterday, I had the pleasure of attending the Wellness by the Water Retreat, which is a one-day event with fitness, yoga, nutrition, spa services, and wellness. The organizers, Kendall Covitz and Celeste Platt, actually invited me last year, but I wasn’t able to attend, so I’m so glad Kendall reached out again. The retreat was such a nice way to spend the day!

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The event was held at the fancy-schmancy Lenox Hotel, located right in the heart of the city, which made it easily accessible via public transportation, especially for those of us coming from the ”˜burbs.

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The actual retreat was held on the second floor of the hotel in a gorgeous space with a huge, beautiful dome in the center, which was especially nice to gaze up at during yoga.

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The event kicked off with a warm welcome from Kendall and Celeste, who, I must say, are two of the nicest people I’ve ever met through blogging. They’re both incredibly sweet people, and they’re so passionate about health and wellness. I could tell they were super excited about hosting the retreat yesterday.

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Our first activity of the day was an hour-long bootcamp class instructed by Celeste. It was high-energy and a lot of fun.

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All of the exercises were done without equipment and some were done with a partner.

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The class concluded with some team ab exercises. Check out the photo below””we all linked arms and then did crunches together!

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[image via @BAUMSawayy]

Sarah and me post-bootcamp!

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After the bootcamp, we had a few minutes to catch our breath and then it was time for yoga with Kendall. She instructed us in a Vinyasa-style class, which included a bunch of (much-needed for me) hip openers.

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The pose below (firestarter?) was no bueno for Sarah and me since we both had super tight hips. I guess you could say it “hurt to good.”

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After lunch, it was time for lunch at City Table, which was located in the Lenox Hotel.

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It was a quite a fancy lunch, especially for a health conference!

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We started with a roasted beet salad with goat cheese, arugula, and candied pecans. It was fresh, flavorful, and delicious, and I gobbled it right up.

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Our entrée was grilled salmon with roasted ratatouille, tomato broth, and orzo salad. It was also really delicious, and I ate almost the entire portion. Food for the Wellness by the Water Retreat = A+.

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After lunch, there was an “Open Market” where we could learn about local health and wellness companies and their products and services.

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Some highlights for me:

Perfect Fuel Chocolate, which is a Boston-based start-up company that makes dark chocolate for active lifestyles. Basically, it’s intended to give you a natural boost without refined sugars or other crazy ingredients.

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It’s made with high-quality organic raw cocoa and tastes really delicious. I received a sample in my goodie bag from the event and ate it for dessert last night.

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Core Power, which is a “natural” high protein milk shake.

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I’m usually not into these kinds of protein drinks because they’re typically loaded with all kinds of weirdo ingredients. I actually avoided this table on my first lap of the Open Market, but then I decided to keep an open mind and see what it was all about. Plus, why would Kendall and Celeste have a bad product at their event, right? Well, I was REALLY surprised to see the ingredient list. I was expecting a mile-long list, but the honey shake only had a handful of ingredients: filtered low-fat milk, honey, and less than 1% off green tea extract, natural flavors, lactase enzyme, carrageenan (stabilizer), vitamin A Palmitate & vitamin D. Not too bad, right?

I’m not planning to drink these shakes all the time or anything like that, but if I was in a situation where I really wanted some quick protein to refuel my muscles, I’d definitely buy one of these over a similar kind of product. Taste: Really good! It was lightly sweetened and not super thick like some of the other bottled protein shakes out there.

The final part of the retreat included spa treatments. Oh, yes! There were all kinds of services, including massage, acupuncture, reflexology, energy healing, styling, medium readings, and more. Prior to the event, we picked our top choices, so there wasn’t any confusion or long waits for the services.

First up for me: acupuncture! Remember when I tried it a couple of years go? Acupuncture is so cool.

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Since we only had about 30 minutes for each spa session, we didn’t have time to undress and do a full treatment, so our acupuncturist focused on two points in our ears that were intended for relaxation.

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The needles look kind of scary, but they don’t hurt at all. I barely felt the prick.

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I’m not sure I felt any different after having a little acupuncture, but it was still a neat experience!

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My next session was Astro Therapy, which was so interesting. I love astrology. Jennifer Marie Forchelli read my birth chart, which was based on the day, time, month, and year of my birth, so she explained my behavior, relationships, goals, ambitions, and why I react in certain ways. She was accurate with just about everything she said. Some things that rang true:

  • I’m extremely adaptable and go with the flow.
  • I’m most happy and balanced at home.
  • I’m a worrier. (Her exact quote: “Oh, honey, you worry, worry, worry.” Haha!)
  • I enjoy time alone.
  • When people first meet me, they sense a controlling energy, not my easygoingness.
  • I have a really good balance between dreams and reality when it comes to goals, plans, and ideas.

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Another treatment that I enjoyed was a “cupping” facial from Face Facts Healing Spa in Boston. The cupping/sucking increases circulation and drains stagnant fluid from the face to decrease puffiness. The woman giving me my facial only cupped (sucked?) half of my face, so I could feel the difference, and I totally did. One side of my face definitely felt lighter. It was weird, but really cool too!

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Kendall and Celeste did such a great job with the Wellness by the Water Retreat. They created such a nice day away. I left the event feeling renewed, re-energized, and at peace with the world. I’m so glad I had the opportunity to attend!

Question of the Day

Have you ever attended a health or fitness conference or retreat? If so, what was your favorite part?

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