Nestled into lush rolling hills 40 minutes south of Buffalo, is a peaceful wellness resort known for its world-renowned weight loss, stress management and wellness programs. This 300-acre resort is a frequent backdrop for stunning weddings and immersive conferences. But year round, it plays another role.
As the only location in the world officially affiliated with television’s "The Biggest Loser," it is a place where people go for a reset. Whether this is triggered by a health concern or emotional evolution, The Biggest Loser Resort Niagara has the tools to offer a life-transforming experience for those who arrive on the property ready for change.
“This is a place where people change their lives,” says Sandy Schoellkopf, The Biggest Loser Resort Niagara’s executive vice president of marketing. “Certainly, most guests will lose weight while they are here, but it’s not the program’s sole focus. We provide information they don’t have, the support required to reevaluate their choices, and the safe environment and motivation needed to try something that for many is either new and intimidating, or for some, a scenario where there’s discomfort from past attempts that didn’t work out.”
Here guests learn about macros, not just fat grams or calories. They gain life skills, cooking techniques and information about transforming food with spices to create healthy but delicious meals such as a creamy alfredo sauce made of cauliflower.
The fitness program utilizes a combination of options, from hiking or walking the grounds to using the Independent Health Fitness Village and Indoor Aquatic Center for HIT workouts, kickboxing, spinning, yoga and more. But guests also learn how to work out at home with limited time and equipment.
The program not only reeducates guests, but also supports them with options that work regardless of what they do for a living, how much time they have to devote to a new lifestyle or what facilities they have access to at home.
Jim DiBattista was the winner of the 18th season of USA Network’s "The Biggest Loser." His story is one many are familiar with. As a busy professional who once played football, he’d grown up as “a bigger guy,” working hard to accept that role until he considered it part of who he was. Once it began impacting his health, he started a series of diet and lifestyle changes. No matter how successful he was or what method he tried, he always gained back more than he’d lost.
Sandy Schoellkopf of The Biggest Loser Resort Niagara with Jim DiBatttista, the season 18 winner of USA Network's "The Biggest Loser."
“After I did keto, I was under 300 pounds, but I put on so much weight as I tried to return to a normal diet, I was soon over 400,” he recalls.
On the show he weighed in at 385 pounds; he’s the first to point out that he was one of the oldest and biggest contestants on his season.
“I worked as a prep cook as a young man, so I knew my way around the kitchen, but I had a lot to learn about nutrition. I realized that it was my discipline and my cooking that would help me win the show. As an old guy it wasn’t like I was out running anybody! I won by out cooking and out disciplining everyone.”
DiBattista left the show a winner at 241 pounds, having reduced his body mass index (BMI) by 19 points.
He and Schoellkopf met shortly once the season aired. After he spent several days immersed in the Niagara program to see how it compared to his experience on the television program, he was a fan.
“Sandy and her team just get it,” he says. “It’s the most beautiful, scenic place, and the staff is solely focused on giving you skills and abilities that you can take home. Honestly, this program is even more comprehensive than what the show’s contestants experience.”
“We look at stress, sleep and mindfulness,” says Schoellkopf. “We’ve all gone through heavy things in our lives. We look also at our burdens and the ways in which we cope that aren’t always good for us.”
Having opened in 2012, the resort has seen diet fads come and go, but its core principles remain founded in compassionately supporting people with science-backed information, tools, an adaptable skill set and, often, a new-found confidence.
“Listen, you can go on a vacation, but it’s not going to be about you. It’s going to be about the scenery or the beach or having drinks. Why wouldn’t you spend that time working on you, for you,” asks DiBattista emphatically. “Why not go somewhere beautiful, somewhere with kind, wonderful people where you can find out who you are while you’re learning how to take care of yourself? Where else in the world can you find that?”
