Stamie Giallourakis was on her deathbed in early 2021 when she made herself a promise. At the time, she was over 200 pounds and hospitalized with severe COVID-19.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI swore that if I survived \u2014 and I\u2019m not being dramatic \u2014 I would try to once and for all be as healthy as I could be,\u201d Giallourakis, now 60, told The Post.<\/p>\n
She followed through. After her hospital discharge, Giallourakis overhauled her diet and exercise habits and, within a year, was prescribed a GLP-1. She\u2019s since lost over 100 pounds. \u201cI\u2019ll look in the mirror and I can\u2019t quite believe it\u2019s me,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But the work is ongoing. Giallourakis is now on a maintenance dose of a GLP-1 and continuously tweaks her routine \u2014 more yoga here, more protein there \u2014 to keep the weight off. \u201cI am doing all the things to maximize\u201d the medicine\u2019s impact, she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So when she came across Hilton Head Health\u2019s new program for GLP-1 users<\/a>, she wanted to give it a try.\u00a0<\/p>\n Stamie Giallourakis (pictured) spent about $6,000 for a weeklong stay at Hilton Head Health to take part in its new program for GLP-1 users. Courtesy Stamie Giallourakis<\/p>\n A South Carolina-based executive in nonprofit and university development, Giallourakis had been to the wellness retreat twice before \u2014 once to heal after her mom\u2019s death and once as a respite from work stress.\u00a0<\/p>\n The new track, which rolled out in March 2026, promised to help \u201cstrengthen metabolism, rebuild healthy habits and rediscover confidence in your body \u2014 so your results feel as good as they look.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a little bit of everything: It\u2019s nutrition, it\u2019s your body\u2019s strength, it\u2019s yoga, meditation, it\u2019s walking on the beach. It\u2019s a community of experts supporting you,\u201d Giallourakis said. \u201cI like that approach, and I was like, \u2018What can I learn?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n So for what\u2019s advertised as about $6,000 for a weeklong stay \u2014\u00a0plus $700 for the specialized programming\u00a0\u2014\u00a0she registered to join the April 2026 cohort. She was the only one.<\/p>\n Have shot, will travel\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Over the past two years, the number of Americans on GLP-1s \u2014 or the class of diabetes and weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Mounjaro \u2014 has nearly quadrupled<\/a>. In 2022, an estimated 3% of adults were giving themselves the jab; this year it\u2019s 11%, a Gallup survey found.<\/p>\n At the same time, more travelers are booking vacations to glow up, not bottom out. Some reports<\/a> project the fast-growing wellness tourism industry to become a $1.4 trillion market by 2029.\u00a0<\/p>\n GLP-1s, with their ability to squelch the desire for poolside pi\u00f1a coladas and fries, are helping to fuel the trend.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIn the past, the idea of going on a vacation or a cruise [involved] gaining the 10 pounds and splurging,\u201d said Amanda Gossett, Hilton Head Health\u2019s director of marketing. \u201cPeople that are on these medications really have no interest in doing that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Hilton Head Health is one of several places offering a GLP-1 program. Their programming pampers visitors with protein-packed provisions, muscle-building exercise plans, and psychological and social support. Hilton Head Health<\/p>\n Instead, the all-inclusive resort and spa believes, they\u2019re interested in pickleball courts, life coaching and fine-dining menus featuring as little as 1,200 calories a day. It\u2019s not the only one.\u00a0<\/p>\n Skyterra<\/a> in North Carolina offers a GLP-1 support program for people considering, continuing or weaning off the meds (cost: $3,850 to $4,900 per week for the standard program). Unite Fitness Retreat<\/a> in Utah advertises a \u201cmedical weight loss\u201d arm of its curriculum for an extra $1,500 on top of the signature, weeklong, $4,650 program. Pritikin Longevity Center<\/a> in Florida announced a two-week package for people on weight loss drugs last year, with their standard rates starting at $5,900 per week.<\/p>\n While the latter property launched 50 years ago largely to help people get off drugs to prevent heart disease, it\u2019s now catering to a population that wants to get (or stay) on drugs to slim down.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cOver the years, as we have new medications, new patient goals for their health, we\u2019ve adapted,\u201d said Maria Teresa Anton, MD, an endocrinologist and educator at Pritikin.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIn the past, the idea of going on a vacation or a cruise [involved] gaining the 10 pounds and splurging,\u201d said Hilton Head Health\u2019s director of marketing. \u201cPeople that are on these medications really have no interest in doing that.\u201d\u00a0 Hilton Head Health<\/p>\n That means programming that pampers visitors with protein-packed provisions, muscle-building exercise plans, and psychological and social support because, as Hilton Head Health says, GLP-1s \u201cchange biology, not behavior.\u201d<\/p>\n The resorts often offer cooking classes, before-and-after body composition scans and group discussions on life after food noise. Some guests deliver their first shots under the supervision of a clinician like Anton; others practice lifestyle strategies that may allow them to titrate off.\u00a0<\/p>\n There\u2019s journaling, sunrise yoga and, like any hip health destination, almost certainly Pilates and a cold plunge.<\/p>\n \u201cBy combining this intense, personalized nutrition, muscle preservation and movement, mindset and behavioral support \u2014 and all supported by looking at your blood work and your InBody scan \u2014 it really does set them up for success so when they go home, they can continue this journey in a very positive, healthy way,\u201d Gossett said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cBy combining this intense, personalized nutrition, muscle preservation and movement, mindset and behavioral support \u2026 it really does set them up for success so when they go home, they can continue this journey in a very positive, healthy way.\u201d (Pictured: Hilton Head Health) Hilton Head Health<\/p>\n Medical care \u2014 or marketing ploy?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n From a skeptic\u2019s lens, GLP-1 retreats are capitalistic overkill: If the drugs, as they\u2019re known to do, make weight loss easier by making food less appealing, why would someone want expensive oversight to essentially achieve the same aim?\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI certainly know a lot of people personally, professionally, who are kind of like, \u2018Well, I don\u2019t really need to work out anymore. The GLP-1s are doing that for me. I don\u2019t need to eat healthier because this just helps me not eat as much,\u2019\u2019\u2019 said Sera Lavelle, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist in New York City who specializes in habit change.<\/p>\n She worries that some destinations targeting GLP-1 users may be taking advantage of a vulnerable population \u2014 or just taking advantage of GLP-1s\u2019 popularity as a marketing tactic.\u00a0<\/p>\n Pritikin Longevity Center in Florida (pictured) announced a two-week package for people on weight loss drugs last year.\u00a0 Pritikin Longevity Center<\/p>\n After all, there\u2019s likely significant overlap between the people already abusing the meds to lose five or 10 pounds and those well-off enough to shell out thousands to optimize their looks in a luxe locale.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think anyone needs it \u2014 it\u2019s a luxury,\u201d said Amanda Kahn, MD, a board-certified internist and longevity specialist in Manhattan.\u00a0<\/p>\n On the more charitable hand, GLP-1 getaways understand what many Americans do not: That most people can\u2019t just procure a prescription and watch the pounds melt away. They need to implement health-promoting habits, too \u2014 especially if they want to preserve muscle mass, limit side effects and prevent weight regain in the case they ever want or need to be medication-free again.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThose are the aspects that I think would be very positive: They\u2019re trying to get the word out there that it\u2019s not just the GLP-1s alone; that you should look at this as part of your whole health,\u201d Lavelle said.\u00a0<\/p>\n The resorts often offer cooking classes, workouts, before-and-after body composition scans and group discussions on life after food noise. (Pictured: Pritikin Longevity Center) Pritikin Longevity Center<\/p>\n Indeed, experts and resort reps agree, what happens after the visit matters more than what smoothies guests slurp or weights they lift on-site. That\u2019s why some venues outfit guests with workbooks and the option to extend their stay virtually, and why healthcare providers urge travelers to keep their local doctors in the loop.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s easy to use the retreat as a starting point,\u201d Kahn said, \u201cbut then the real work happens when you get home and you\u2019re creating routines with your local health team to make them sustainable.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s personal\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n When Giallourakis arrived at Hilton Head Health in April, she was disappointed to be the lone attendee there for the GLP-1 agenda.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI was hoping to be around not just the professionals at Hilton Head, but others that are on the same journey and learn from them because I don\u2019t have that community\u201d at home, she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Stamie Giallourakis is pictured. (Courtesy Stamie Giallourakis) Courtesy Stamie Giallourakis<\/p>\n Whether the sparse roster reflected a lack of demand or a lack of awareness remains to be seen. But Giallourakis was still glad she went.\u00a0<\/p>\n She connected with other GLP-1 users who had joined one of the property\u2019s other tracks \u2014 think \u201cLife balance\u201d or the \u201cBlue Zones Experience\u201d \u2014 and enjoyed trying new activities like the Pilates reformer, a drumming-inspired workout and yoga on the beach.\u00a0<\/p>\n She also received individualized attention from nutrition experts who advised her to front-load her daily protein and drink more water, and from fitness pros who defaulted from group to personal training. \u201cThat wouldn\u2019t have happened if there was a group there,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Once home, Giallourakis continued gratitude journaling and joined a yoga studio. She could see herself returning to Hilton Head Health for a tune-up every few years.\u00a0<\/p>\n Anything to prevent revisiting her pre-2021 way of life: one that involved an inability to wrap a hotel towel around her waist, enjoy food without emotional turmoil or pose for a group picture without slinking toward the back.<\/p>\n Now, the lingering stigma she faces is the misperception that GLP-1s are the easy way out. She hopes boosting the visibility of places like Hilton Head Health can help demonstrate that they\u2019re not.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The resort is \u201creally looking at the whole person \u2014 not just one part of things \u2014 and I like that a lot because that\u2019s what it\u2019s taken,\u201d Giallourakis said. \u201cIt\u2019s taken all components to make this work.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Stamie Giallourakis was on her deathbed in early 2021 when she made herself a promise. 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