Have you met our co-founder Julie Brealy?

The quieter, more reserved side of the Body Retreat team. Not one for self-promotion Julie is rarely seen on our social media pages but everyone who books a Body Retreat will speak with Julie before they join us.

You may not know this but Julie is one of the UK’s premier residential health retreat developers.  10 years ago almost to the very day Julie designed and then managed not one but Two of the UK’s first ever non-military residential weight loss camp in the South West

Julie back in the day

Knee injuries meant the end of Julie’s 20 year career in Womens Football having been told by an orthopaedic surgeon that she would never run again and if she did not have some major surgery even walking might deteriorate.

This was the catalyst for a career change.  Determined to avoid the surgery and still lead an active life Julie went to college and studied Sports Therapy, Sports Massgae and Personal Training with a view to her creating her own rehabilitation.  She even had her Dad make her some rehab equipment in his shed that would help her build strength in her legs and knees.

Julie has now run 6 marathons

It was this passion and dedication that lead Julie to work in the health fitness world.  Julie was approached by a local businessman seeing a gap in the market and asked her to design and run residential weight loss camps in the South West

Encouraged by her own journey back to health Julie was excited to be able to support others, especially those whom society has pushed to the margins, those whom GP’s have offered little or no help, those who are recovering from illness or injury and needed personalised support to achieve their goals.

Julie with one of her first weight loss groups

However, four years of increasing group size (at their highest the group size was 35!!!) and with negligible follow up or client care Julie’s dream of making a difference was being eroded by the push for profits.  Julie was spending less and less time with clients and her courses were being reduced to a “sheep dip” with everyone following the exact same programme.  It was soul destroying.

It was time for something different.

Julie and Juls

A chance meeting on holiday brought Julie & Juls together and the germ of an idea for the best ever women-only health retreat was born.
No big groups, no sheep dip approach, instead personalised service, a team of female instructors and trainers and therapist who are at the top of their field, breathtaking locations, luxury accommodation, mouthwatering food, spa facilities…the list went on and on and on.

Fast forward SIX whole years and Julie’s passion and dedication are fully rekindled.

Having furthered her studies in weight loss and obesity management, strength & conditioning coaching, Nordic walking instructor, running coach, Master Kettle Bell Instructor, and even now studying endocrinology and phlebotomy Julie is always pushing forward to understand more about how the body works and how in particularly women’s health can be understood and improved.

Julie Brealy

It’s very fitting that as she celebrates this milestone that Julie is back in the South West on our Weight Loss Retreat, enjoying doing what she does best.

One of the achievements that Julie is most proud of is that some of her very first weight loss camp clients from 2007 are still joining us today now at The Body Retreat.  Women who achieved the results that they wanted and who found in Julie a real partner to support them improve their health and wellbeing in so many ways.

Summer 2012

But what does this mean for you????

Well if you are looking to work with someone to help you reclaim control of your health and wellbeing, if you are tired of being told that it’s your fault that you are not achieving the results you want, if you are fed up of being stuck in a health rut and really cannot see a way forward then Julie Brealy is exactly the kind of woman you want to work with.

Come and see for yourself why Julie’s 10 years of expertise make her one of the best trainers/coaches around.