Wellfit Malibu Recap

By Lee Funke

Published 1/19/2016 • Updated 12/30/2021

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Talk about starting the year off with a bang. I just had one of the coolest experiences EVER and got to do it all with the bestie. Davida and I spent a week at Wellfit Malibu in the beautiful Malibu, CA. 7 days filled with good food, lots of hiking and working out, and TONS of laughs. We were both super excited when Amanda from Run to the Finish walked through the door on the first day because we didn’t know any other bloggers were staying at Wellfit the same week we were. Friends at first sight. Literally.

First and foremost, I want to give a big ol’ shoutout to Davida for making an AWESOME video of the trip (scroll down!). So fun to have captured these moments on camera. Second of all- a hugeeee thank you to Wellfit for this amazing experience. There’s no other way I would have rather spent the first week of 2016!

About Wellfit Malibu

Wellfit Malibu is a fitness and weight loss resort that combines hiking, exercise, healthy eating, and wellness education to help fuel healthy habits. The program runs Sunday to Sunday and is packed full of fun stuff! Some people stay for just a week and some have stayed for up to 7 weeks at a time. This program is not just geared towards weight loss, rather how to create healthy habits in your every day life. For someone like the three of us who didn’t need to lose weight, 7 days at Wellfit was a great way to start the year off on the right track. Can I just say that I have never eaten so many vegetables in my entire life?

Wellfit really focuses on creating long-lasting, healthy habits through small changes that can be made in your every day life. Ie: simple switches at dinner from white rice to brown rice or the benefits of HIIT training compared to steady state cardio. Me likey. The thing I was most impressed with at Wellfit was the staff. I literally want to be besties with every single person I met there. Everyone is super authentic and straight up fun. From the hiking guides, to the RD, to the trainers…I was beyond impressed. They absolutely love what they do and that clearly shines through the program.

Before I jump into my experience I want to mention how cool the Wellfit property is. It’s part The Calimigos Ranch in Malibu, CA which is over 100 acres and houses handful of other really cool businesses. Randy, the general manager gave us a property tour, which was actually really cool. The AMAZING Malibu Cafe is right next door and there is an adorable boutique hotel right down the road. I got like a 5 minute spiel from Davida on how this hotel is where she’s going to get married, so I guess we will be back one day 😛 The property is also home to many different movie and TV series sets such as STRONG and Wet, Hot, American Summer. Prettttty cool, right? Yup. Life goal is to own a 100 acre ranch in Malibu.

Hiking

Never been hiking in Malibu? That needs to change ASAP. There are dozens of amazing trailheads within 30 minutes from Wellfit Malibu that lead you into the majestic Santa Monica Mountain Range. This was definitely the best part about the whole trip. If I could hike/trail run every single day, I would. And- you know I don’t even like running! Hiking is such a great way to get in your exercise, hang out with friends, and be outside all at the same time. Life goal = live near a trailhead.

Some of my favorite trailheads included: China Flat Trail Head, Simi Peak Trail, Zuma Ridge, and Boney Mountain Trail. Thanks to El Nino, we only ended up hiking 4 days out of the 6 due to torrential rain and flooding. Also can I just say that people in California are hilarious. It was a highs in the low 50s and people were wearing straight up snow suits. Okay, maybe not snow suits, but they were all complaining about how FREEZING it was. Don’t even, people. I’d take 50 degrees in January ANY TIME.

I almost forgot to mention. I SAW CAITLYN JENNER’S HOUSE.

Freals?

Well, not really…but I’m going to tell you I did.

Eats

Sooooooo I don’t eat NEARLY enough vegetables. I also realized that the majority of my diet is carbs 😛 Having someone properly prep your meals and snacks for a full week can really help put into perspective what a balanced diet is and how much food you can really eat when it’s nutrient dense. The meal program at Wellfit is around 1,500 calories a day, but tailored towards your specific health goals. 3 meals a day, plus snacks, and an after dinner dessert are served each day. For someone like Davida, Amanda, and me who are already extremely active and don’t need to lose weight, we needed to add more caloric intake to our died. Thus, we added in extra snacks and portions at all meals. I was pleasantly surprised at how meat heavy the meals were, which is what I prefer. The nice thing is that there are options if you don’t like what was on the menu for that day or if you have specific diet requirements.

I pretty much had the same breakfast every day – 2 pieces of Ezekiel toast with almond butter and banana. The lunches and dinners varied, but there was always and soup and salad bar! For my snacks I stuck to hard boiled eggs, nuts, fruit, and nut butter. We also snuck in a bunch of balls, which were THE BEST mid-hike snack. Obvi.

Workouts

All I have to say is holy workouts. At Wellfit…your day is GO GO GO and that’s just the way I like it. I loved that the exercise program focused on both strength training and cardio. There were all different types of classes that you could take which was really refreshing. We’re talking HIIT cardio, circuit training, kick boxing, etc. I do want to note that I did try EVERYTHING including the aqua fit class, whichhhhhh turns out, I am not very good at. Only did that bad boy once 😛 Surprisingly my favorite fitness class out of all of them was ZUMBA, which actually turned into a hip hop class. Derrick, the instructor, is AMAZE BALLS and I want to be him when I grow up. I have never had more fun in my entire life! If you end up watching the video that Davida made, check out the last part. We made a music video.

For someone who didn’t necessarily need to lose weight at Wellfit, this was A LOT of working out. On top of a 2-3 hour hike each day, there were 2-3 fitness classes offered as well. They don’t mess around in these classes, either! Overall I really enjoyed all of the workouts. Group fitness is my jam and I love working out with other people because it motivates you to keep on going. Davida and I were definitely the woo girls, but in good spirit.

HEY! I actually shared a workout last week inspired by Wellfit Malibu. I really liked the framework of the HIIT classes that were offered, so I modified a few things to use only a piece of cardio equipment and dumbbells. Check it out —> Cardio + Strength Interval HIIT Workout.

Video

You’re gonna wanna see this. It’s an inside look to our experience at Wellfit. Plus, there’s a music video at the end. 

Giveaway

Davida, Amanda, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to offer one of our readers a week long stay at Wellfit Malibu! Check out how to enter below. GOOD LUCK!

Value: $2,595
Includes: 7 nights in private cabin, all meals, fitness classes, nutrition classes, daily hikes
TLC Limousine is also going to provide round trip transportation for the winner from LAX!
*Note: Airfare to California is not included

How to enter:
1. Via Instagram, Facebook or your blog share a photo answering the following question: Why wellness matters to me? Make sure you use the hashtag #WellnessThatFitsYou on Facebook and Instagram.
2. Make sure you tag or link to @RunToTheFinish @Thehealthymaven @fitfoodiefinds in your post
3. Read the recaps that The Healthy Maven and Run to the Finish provided to learn more about Wellfit Malibu and make sure your story shows why you’d enjoy a week there!
4. After you write it, come back here and drop a link!
5. Entries close on February 1 and a winner will be announced February 5th

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This post is sponsored by Wellfit Malibu. All opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting Fit Foodie Finds!