Les Prés D'Eugénie


Shed the pounds at a Michelin-starred table in France


French superstar chef Michel Guérard is famous not just for his fantastically refined food but for something that seems wholly at odds with fine dining: weight loss. At his deeply chic manor-house hotel in Gascony, foodie guests sit alongside those who flock for the anti-ageing and anti-stress retreats and, most popular of all, the Minceur Essentielle slimming programme. Guérard's vision for shifting the bulge is simple: combine a delicious, low-calorie diet with a personalised exercise plan and sculpting treatments using sulphur- and magnesium-enriched water from the nearby hot spring. Crucially though, this programme aims for sustainable slimness by delivering a take-home strategy covering nutrition and physical activity, with medical consultations and follow-ups - a truly expansive approach.

The spa, which from the outside looks more cosy French farmhouse than hi-tech facility, really packs a punch. All the body-shaping hydrotherapies are taken while naked as the needle-fine, high-pressure jets of water break down fat cells more efficiently when blasted directly onto bare skin. It stings - just a little. But not all the prescribed cures are such a shock to the system. Baths in solid marble tubs in front of open fires envelop limbs in the pungent spring water (sulphur and magnesium are known for their anti-inflammatory and diuretic effects), while for the signature white clay bath, which aids digestion, you wallow in toffee-coloured mud the consistency of thick cream. On the nine- or 12-day regime these hydro treatments are scheduled four times a day, alternating with mineral and vegetable infusions. Repetition is key.

In between trips to the spa there is time to exercise. This can be one-on-one with a personal trainer, alone in the pool or gym, or out exploring the cycle paths that crisscross the estate. The aim of the activity is to train the body and engage the mind while assisting with weight loss. It all feels very doable and therefore easier to maintain later. As does the calorie-controlled diet. The food is limited, but still mouthwatering. A three-course lunch of tangy white bean and tomato salad with soft pear followed by sea bass in a vegetable-and-herb tea is just over 500 calories. And that includes the chocolate-cream pudding. The spa list extends to facials, manicures and pedicures, and more, so while Les Prés d'Eugénie offers a hand-held, step-by-step way to lose weight it is also somewhere to indulge a little.

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A reflexology session with spa manager Cécile Ledru is both relaxing and uplifting. Her diagnostic ability is uncanny.
Weight Loss, Anti-ageing, A Total Escape, ﻿﻿Detoxing
A nine-night Minceur Essentielle programme costs from about £4,280 per person (+33 5 58 05 06 07; michelguerard.com).