Considering myself a plus-size with almost zero daily physical activity (I walk from the office to a Transjakarta bus stop, a mere 700 meters away), I found the program a bit intimidating. What if I was unable to follow the program? What if I had to eat tasteless, plain meals that mainly consisted of vegetables?

Held once a month over the weekend, the program intends to improve participants’ wellbeing mentally and physically. It also monitors participants’ nutrition by serving healthy foods tailored to their condition. The hotel collaborates with experts to ensure that each activity suits each participant’s ability.

On the first day of the retreat, I had my body composition analysis measured. Sport nutritionist Emilia Elfiranti Achmadi who guided me throughout the process said that body composition analysis depicted someone’s “hardware” components, including muscle mass percentage, bone density, water levels and fat levels.

The analysis also provides information on one’s body mass index (weight divided by the square of his or her height), from which the kidney and heart functions can be monitored. The data is combined with the participant's age, gender and physical activity, which will act as a guide to determine their meal plan. At the end of the program, Emilia would give us a handout that explained about our body composition analysis, including our meal plan and serving size. 

“We often get used to eating emotionally,” Emilia told The Jakarta Post on Feb. 8, at Fairmont Jakarta hotel. “What we eat, when we eat and how much we eat aren’t often based on what our body needs. I call it emotional eating. People tend to eat when they’re happy, angry or bored.”

Emilia also wanted to change people’s behavior and shift their habit from eating emotionally to eating functionally. For instance, all participants had to join swimming sessions at 6 a.m. on the second and third day. Emilia, who prepared our meals throughout the program, included proteins and antioxidants in our dinner on the nights before to boost our energy in the morning.   

On our first dinner session, she served us lightly-fried barramundi with carrots, asparagus, sweet potatoes, beets and cauliflowers. On the second session, we had mixed salad and steak. All of which was delicious. The cooking process was able to bring out each of the ingredients’ flavors and the vegetables’ textures were excellent.

The serving portion was based on our body composition analysis result and it was satisfying. I didn’t crave snacks at night, though Emilia had provided us with bananas, snake fruit and apples in our rooms in case we got hungry.

One of my favorite activities in the retreat was swimming as I had the chance to learn from Gadiza “Yaye” Volare Hartawan, who won bronze medal in the 2019 Bosphorus Cross Continental Swimming Race.

As a beginner in swimming, I was nervous. But Yaye was patient to teach me the basic techniques. She often said, “It’s okay, I’ve got you,” while reaching out to my hands whenever I accidentally swallowed the water in attempt to “breathe out” underwater. It was encouraging and comforting at the same time.

Other challenging activities during the Fairmont Fit Retreat were indoor bike and running sessions, both under the supervision of program director Budi Danuningrat and sports director Igo Nugroho.

In the indoor bike sessions, I was introduced to the virtual reality experience of becoming a professional cyclist on a real bike. The bike was connected to a program and a laptop that displayed an outdoor cycling competition. The pedals would feel heavy as I rode the bike to the top of a slope, while they would feel light as I glided down the hill.

In the running session, we were taken to Gelora Bung Karno (GBK) Stadium in Senayan to practice the basic techniques in running, such as dynamic stretching and ABC running drills.

According to menshealth.com, dynamic stretching is performed to stretch the muscles and prepare the body prior to certain physical exercises, while the ABC running drill consists of exercises to do as running preparations and one of its benefits is to form a good posture while running.

I wasn’t a fan of running and I often missed the stretching movements, but both Igo and Budi kept encouraging me to push myself – and I did that.

“Our main goal is for people to enjoy running without getting injured,” said Igo.

Budi added that many people wanted to run, but they didn’t know the proper way to do it. “Sometimes people who have competed in marathons don’t know about dynamic stretching either,” Budi said.

Igo said anyone could join the Fairmont Fit Retreat. “I think this program is good for people to learn about sports, at least before they enjoy the activities and make them a part of their routine. It’s for everyone who is open-minded and wants to do sports.”

Richard Kyle, one of the participants who was far more physically active than I was, said the hotel’s sports facilities were already good to support the program. “But I wish the coaches explained to us in the beginning the reason why we did these exercises, why they’re important. Sometimes I felt we’re just doing it but we didn’t know exactly how it connected,” Kyle said, adding that hopefully the program would provide activities for children in the future.

The next Fairmont Fit Retreat will be held on March 20 - 22. Those who are interested in joining the program can contact Fairmont Jakarta hotel at +6221-2970-3333. The price for the program starts from Rp 12 million. (wng)

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