VIVAMAYR Maria Wörth: Detox Diary Part I.

The older I get, the more important my own personal health becomes to me – both the mental and physical health. I have always found great interest in topics revolving around “detoxing” (or let’s call it giving your body a break), working out, superfoods and a well-balanced diet.

When Mike told me about this clinic at Lake Worth he read about back in April, I was instantly hooked on the idea. The philosophy of VIVAMAYR is simply: You are what you eat – You are what you digest.

The way we eat is essential for our good health.
Prominent physician Dr. F.X. Mayr found that long-term health stems from a healthy gut. Chewing our food between 30-50 times for each mouthful and eating the right food improves our gut health. Modern Mayr doctors have expanded the principles of Dr. F.X Mayr and the Mayr Cure to create Modern Mayr Medicine.

Fast forward to last week, where we found ourselves checking in at VIVAMAYR Maria Wörth. Because this is a clinic and not a hotel, I decided against a hotel review this time around (this is not a place of breakfast buffets and luxurious interiors, however, the massages are bomb!) and kept a detailed detox diary instead in the hopes of taking some of you along.

Wednesday, July 12th

The official check-in at the VIVAMAYR Maria Wörth clinic is at 3pm, which is why we decided to go for „one last supper“ (=late lunch) at our favorite restaurant by the lake. A glass of rosé wine sneaks itself onto the table and I have grilled goat cheese with avocado as an appetizer, followed by grilled fish and a side of potatoes with parmesan. No coffee, no dessert after. So theoretically pretty healthy, right?

Around 4pm, we make our way to the clinic (which is literally a 3 minute drive from the restaurant) and are welcomed by super friendly staff. Admittedly, it does deserve the name clinic rather than hotel, but I wasn’t expecting anything else.

We receive a water bottle, which is to keep us company throughout the stay (and can be filled up at the fountains of energized water around the clinic) and receive the first part of tomorrow’s schedule. A first consultation and check-up with the Dr. Fink at 8:30am, 50 min. massage at 11am and an introduction to the nutrition and eating guidelines at noon. We are also informed about dinner being served from 6-7pm. Super early in comparison to our regular routine, but at least we know we won’t start the “vacation” hungry with dinner only 2 hours after lunch.

Our room (or should I say villa) has the most stunning view of the lake and is huge. Not sure if we can even make use of it all, but we are definitely glad to discover 2 separate bathrooms, considering the epsom salts we will start taking daily as of tomorrow morning.

There are no doctor visits, treatments or examinations scheduled for the rest of the day, so we put on our swimsuits and head down to the lake for a dip in the water and some sun before dinner.

We show up to dinner at 6:30pm and a table has already been assigned to us. Due to the fact that we haven’t visited with the doctors yet, we get to choose our dinner. Or at least part of it. On the menu is a small bowl (comparable to the size of a cappuccino) of parsnip soup, 1 piece of the typical Mayr bread (1 day old and fairly hard) + 1 spread of our choice. We both pick herbs and egg with goat cheese. Here comes the tricky part: Little to no talking during meals, full focus on what you are eating and ideally 40 chews per bite. In other words: Chew until the food is completely liquid in your mouth. I am pretty sure neither of us got past 20 chews, but hey, it’s our first meal here and we have all week to practice. Still, dinner takes us a little over 30 minutes to finish and to our surprise, we both leave the table feeling full and satisfied. Mike didn’t even finish all of his spread, which I was very tempted to do for him, but held myself back considering the whole portion-control thing.

After dinner, we head back down to the lake for an hour. Mike goes for a swim while I read and check Instagram for a bit. Shortly after 8pm we head up to our room, where I finish some emails, edit photos and we’re in bed by 10:30pm. 

Thursday, July 13^th

The alarm rings at 7am, we hit snooze until 7:15 and get up in order to have enough time to drink the epsom salts with 30 minutes in the room (aka close proximity to the bathroom) before our first doctors consultation at 8am (Mike) and 8:30am (me). While the salts start to work for him after around 20 minutes, I wait, and wait… nothing happens except for a tummy ache that feels like I ate something bad.

The visit with Dr. Fink is informative and she takes time to talk about the idea behind the cure/detox/program (whatever you want to call it), does a few manual checks on me and after a quick glance at my stomach decides to put me on the candida diet. Apparently my stomach is inflamed (which she can tell by the area around my belly button). Candida diet at VIVAMAYR means potatoes. In my case for breakfast and dinner with a light lunch inbetween. Fine by me. Definitely sounds better than just soup or tea and I love potatoes.

After the visit with the doctor we quickly head to breakfast (= 1 potato + 1 egg) before it ends at 9:30, get our blood drawn at 10am. That’s the first time I start to “feel” something in my body. And with feel I mean cold sweats and nausea. I am not sure if it is the needle, which needs to go into my wrist since the usual spot is scared from my eczema. Luckily I am in best hands with two super sweet nurses who immediately lay me down and bring water with “gold drops” to help.

Next up is a 50-minute massage, which includes foot reflexology that focuses on the digestive organs and the second half on my upper back against the severe tightness. Towards the end I am asked to sit up as Christina continues to work on my shoulders, which is when the second flood of nausea hits. Again, she lays me down, brings me water and I feel better.

Before lunch we have our introduction to the nutritional guidelines with Karl (who has been with VIVAMAYR for over 25 years) and then get to have delicious chicken breast, stuffed portobello mushroom and steamed kohlrabi for lunch. Mike also gets a potato soup, I don’t. But that’s fine by me as I have the feeling I’ll be eating plenty of potatoes these next few days.

Right after lunch I have a 30-minute body detox electrolyte foot bath scheduled at 1:50pm. First my legs are put on a vibrating plate and then into the bath, which turns a disgusting yellow/brown in the next 20 minutes. I am not 100% sure what exactly the foot bath does, but it is supposed to help with detoxification.

For the rest of the afternoon we lounge around the room, I do some work on the laptop while Mike sleeps a lot. Before dinner I head to the gym for a quick 20-minute uphill session on the treadmill and after the shower I notice a slight feeling of hunger for the first time.

We eat dinner at 6:45pm and I get a cup of soup, 1 potato, linseed oil, chopped herbs + a spread of my choice. I pick the “Asian spread” with walnut, honey and tofu but unfortunately I am not a big fan so I only have two bites and leave the rest. I am full from the potato and soup anyway. This time around, Mike only gets soup + a piece of the Mayr spelt bread.

After dinner we read down by the lake for 1 hour and head up to the room shortly after 8. He watches Netflix and I prepare a new Editor’s Pick for The Daily Dose.
Before bedtime we drink our alkaline powder in warm water, do a liver compression with a hot-water bottle and turn off the lights before 11pm.

Friday, July 14^th

Once again, we wake up around 7:15am. This time it’s not epsom salts but magnesium citrate to start the day, which we were both put on by the doctor. I have to admit, it tastes amazing in comparison to the extremely bitter drink from the day before. Basically just like lemon and water. Next up is oil pulling for 10-15 min.

My day starts with breakfast at 8am (1 potato + ½ avocado) followed by a nasal reflex therapy by Röder at 8:35am. Remember how your mom told you not to stick Qtips up your nose when you were a kid? Well, they stick it up your nose. Way up there! Drenched in essentials oils, the Qtip goes in 3 different nasal paths on each side. Definitely weird but also clears up the nose and sinuses SO good. Next on the agenda is the “Körperimpendanzanalyse”, which is a super exact measurement of your body mass including body fat, water percentage, BMI, and all sorts of good stuff. I have always wanted to do that, so I am kind of excited about this one. The results are good and I am basically exactly where I should be, my tummy circumference (measured at the bellybutton) is 5cm below average which is great news to start the day with.

At 11am I have another doctors appointment for applied kinesiology (AK) scheduled:

„which is also know as muscle strength testing, a method of diagnosis and treatment based on the belief that various muscles are linked to particular organs and glands, and that specific muscle weakness can signal distant internal problems…“

Those great news about the 5cm below average are now quickly drowned by the outcome of the AK. With the diagnosis of a very weak and infected gut and various temporary (!!) food intolerances, including fructose, the only thing in my head right now are fresh berries and mangos…
*I don’t want to get into the actual medical stuff too much since I know it is a topic that can be very emotional and divisive – especially with people who study medicine.

Right after the AK I have my first medical manual abdominal treatment. I read that this can be very uncomfortable, and while some areas of my stomach do feel tense, I generally don’t mind.

At 12:30pm I have a 25-minute massage, which focuses on my legs this time around and is absolutely blissfull.

I meet up for lunch with Mike shortly after 1 and we are both in love with the food! Lunch is definitely the best meal here! Originally I ordered the veggies with poached egg and truffle, but due to the new discovery of “no egg whites”, I give Mike my second egg and get another half avo from the friendly waitress instead. Honestly, I wouldn’t even have needed the Avocado since the veggies are incredible and the portion the biggest we’ve had.

In the afternoon we don’t have anything scheduled and since the weather is not great we head back to the room, where we both fall asleep for a few hours.

When we wake, it is almost time for dinner (soup, 1 potato + avo spread) and the sun comes out for a bit. Reason enough to grab some fresh air and go for a drive towards Slovenia. We don’t cross the border but we drive all the way up Loiblpass, which is a ton of fun! Also, on the way we spot a poster for a Elton John concert that takes place tomorrow, so we end our evening by browsing for tickets online.

Click HERE for Part II.