Type of Counseling:  one -to-one and small groups

Typical Cost:  ranges from about $2,000- $10,000 (1-4 week stay)

Type Program:  residential weight loss facility

Type of Foods Used:  regular grocery store food

At-Home Direct Mail Plan Available?  Not applicable

Headquarters

Green Mountain at Fox Run

Box 164 Fox Lane

Ludlow, Vermont 05149

800-448-8106 or 802-228-8885

website:  www.fitwoman.com

email:  info@greenmountainfoxrun.com

Alan H. Wayler, PhD, Executive Director

Green Mountain at Fox Run is the oldest residentially based weight and healthy lifestyle program for women in the U.S. It has been in operation for 33 years. One of the key differences between it and the other residential facilities in the United States is that this is the only retreat for women-only and the oldest non-diet approach. Due to its small size, it can also offer a highly personalized program.

For all of these years, Green Mountain at Fox Run has been helping women achieve healthy lifestyles and long-term weight loss through a practical, healthy eating, non-diet approach to fitness and weight loss. The program leans toward a "mindful eating" approach and they advocate being healthy at every size.

Green Mountain at Fox Run began in the summer of 1972 when founder Thelma Wayler, M.S., R.D. (current Executive Director Alan Wayler’s mother) took over an empty dorm at Vermont’s Green Mountain College. There she began telling women that diets don’t work, almost three decades before the idea became accepted as it is today. Ms. Wayler is a registered dietitian, with a strong background in diabetes education and weight loss. Her professional textbook, Applied Nutrition, (MacMillan) is considered a classic in the field.

Continuing the Green Mountain at Fox Run tradition of sound science, current Executive Director Alan Wayler has a PhD from MIT in nutritional biochemistry and metabolism, and was previously on faculty at Harvard Medical School, as well as Tufts University School of Medicine. He contributes his unique perspective, blending science and current research with real life.

Today, participants learn and experience the Green Mountain at Fox Run program in a former ski resort, nestled in the Green Mountains and surrounded by state forests, hiking trails, golf courses and Nordic ski facilities, as well as the natural beauty of Vermont.

Up to 35-40 women can be accommodated in single, double and triple rooms. Staff at Green Mountain at Fox Run, interviewed by BestDietForMe.com, stated that the common factor among the women attending is that they have struggled with their weight (or with food) repeatedly. They also tend to be "veteran dieters," and while successful in many areas of their lives, have not been able to maintain a healthy weight. Whether struggling with 20 or 200 pounds, the same principles of re-patterning chaotic eating into normal eating and physical activity apply. Women of all sizes, shapes, weights and abilities can feel comfortable and confident with the staff and safe and non-judgmental Green Mountain at Fox Run environment. Some women who attend the program have a variety of orthopedic conditions, including knee, hip, ankle and shoulder problems, type 2 diabetes and limited cardiovascular problems. Approximately 500 women attend Green Mountain at Fox Run each year.

Recently, this facility's staff reports that an increasing number of clients are young women with chaotic eating patterns such as compulsive overeating and binge eating. They report seeing more "dieting casualties" as well – women with poor long-term success losing weight. These clients typically have self-esteem and body image issues as well as being confused about how to eat and exercise to support long-term healthy weights. They want to learn how to create a successful pattern that fits with their home life.

Though the program deals with issues of weight loss, binge eating, emotional eating and body image, Green Mountain at Fox Run is not a medical facility or a program designed to meet the needs of women with anorexia.

Green Mountain at Fox Run has built a team of professionals that specialize in women, weight and wellness. In addition to Dr. Wayler, the professional staff includes registered dietitians, exercise physiologists, psychologists, therapists, stress management therapists, and mental health professionals, as well as consulting physicians. Most of the professional staff has been with the program for over 15 years. An after-care program includes access to the professional program, online counseling, and special programs that ensure long-term success.

The minimum stay is one-week but many participants stay two-, three- or for the full 4-week program. Summer is the most popular season. Four-week "alumnae" qualify for a 20% discounted rate on all future stays. `

Following are some goals of the program:

• Get back in touch with your body’s natural signals for hunger and satiety – "intuitive eating"

• Learn how to cope with stress without overeating

• Find out how to manage food cravings with healthy eating strategies that are more realistic than typical healthy diet recommendations.

• Develop an individualized "take-home" fitness program that fits your lifestyle

• Get a fitness and health assessment to develop a personalized fitness program

Fully 90% of the women who come to Green Mountain at Fox Run want to lose weight, from a few pounds to 100+. Every participant has an initial evaluation by an exercise physiologist to determine fitness and activity levels. Vegetarian and kosher options are available to all participants and the professional nutrition staff can accommodate food allergies and specific medical conditions.

A typical day at Green Mountain at Fox Run includes exercise and activity classes each day, with at least two workshops/lectures per day, plus one behavioral session. It’s basically a 6-day week, with Sundays off for shopping or anything you’d like to do on your own (no structured program that day). For the other six days, the schedule might look like this:

• early morning walk or yoga or cardio circuit
• breakfast
• fitness walk
• workshop ( "Eating Scary Foods", Managing Emotional Overeating, Metabolic Basis of Weight Gain and Loss , etc.)
• activity class (cross-country skiing, step aerobics, hiking, buns, thighs, abs)
• lunch
• workshops (Exploring Family Relationships, Finding Your Fitness Soul)
• behavioral workshop
• activity class (Cardio Dance Party, Step Kick Boxing, etc)
• snack
• activity class (aquasize, hiking, snowshoeing, etc.)
• behavioral workshop or mindful meditation classes
• dinner
• movement/dance/relaxation class

There is a Core curriculum for each week, plus many optional classes. The core curriculum is built on the college model, so each week a different set of workshops are offered in sequence that "builds" on previous work completed. This includes the behavioral, eating re-structure, metabolism and mindful workshops.

Unlike spas that offer classes or activities, Green Mountain at Fox Run's program is driven by its unique non-diet, lifestyle philosophy, specific to women, weight and wellness.

Fees

Insurance reimbursement is relatively rare. Most insurers consider programs like this to be educational and preventative in scope. However, participants with a primary medical condition other than obesity such as hypertension, diabetes or orthopedic complications, may be successful in obtaining insurance coverage.

Fees include the room, all meals, seminars, speakers, and fitness evaluations, workshop materials, individual nutrition and fitness consults, taxes and gratuities. Each room has a private bathroom. A la carte spa services are available, and include massage therapy, reiki, reflexology and other services. Private sessions with a behavioral therapist or personal trainer are available at additional cost.

Fees for:

January 7-March 31 and November 18-December 15

• One week stay: $1,950, $2,400, $2,915 (triple, double, single room)
• 2 weeks: $3,600 -5,315

April 1-May 26 and October 14-November 18

• One week stay: $2,150, $2,530, $3,035 (triple, double, single room )
• 2 weeks: $3,900-5,565

May 27 - October 13

• One week stay: $2,310, $2,860, $3,150 (triple, double, single room )
• 2 weeks: $4,150-5,740

BestDietForMe.com analysts’ opinion is that this is an excellent facility and program that has the added feature of being the only women-only residential specialty weight loss facility in the nation. If you seek an intimate, highly personalized environment in a beautiful natural setting, combined with professional support, this may be the program for you. The facility also offers special programs for diabetics and young women, and the all-important psychological support is integrated into the program. As with any specialty weight loss facility (only five in the country that we know of), the one drawback may be the relatively high cost compared to commercial outpatient or other weight loss programs. If you’ve struggled with maintaining your weight, and are willing to invest the time and money, this may be your kind of program.

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