The latest travel trend? A 'starvation vacation'

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If you wanted to lose weight, would you embark on the latest travel trend being dubbed the 'starvation vacation'?

Of course, the industry prefers the term detox retreat, but thousands of women are signing up to put themselves through their paces - for fast weight loss results.

Von Essen hotels have created a three-day 'wellness break' where guests are invited to lounge in five-star luxury and consume nothing bit a few pints of a drink made from water, lemon juice, natural tree syrup, and cayenne pepper.

Although we're pretty sure she's never been one of these retreats, Beyoncé once famously lost 20lb on this slimming cocktail combo.

PR director Julia Perowne tried out the Mayr Clinic in Austria three times. The regime, tried and tested by the likes of Fergie, is intended to give the digestive system a break.

Julia told the Daily Mail: You get up at 7am, drink Epsom salts and exercise for an hour. Then they give you tea or bouillon broth and bread for breakfast,' says Julia.

'We just sat in silence, chewing every mouthful 50 times to break down the food to its most easily digestible form.

'You spend the rest of the morning exercising or having cleansing treatments such as hot and cold baths or a hot hay compress on your liver.

'Then it's broth or tea for lunch and a bit more bread with protein paste made from blitzed turkey or ham, or goat's milk yogurt.

'They have a lovely terrace overlooking the lake where you can sunbathe. I don't know how else you'd pass the hours.

'Dinner is at 6.30pm - tea, a tiny bit of bread and paste. There's so little to do that everyone's in bed by 9pm.'

Nestled in the hills of California, The Ranch at Live Oak Malibu, is one of the trendiest wellness retreat, where guests are fed a varied menu prepared by a renowned chef, but restricted to 1,500 calories a day.

Nicky Kinnaird, 46, founder of beauty retailer Space NK, is a devotee. But she was drawn to the ranch because of the activities rather than the food. In fact, she considered the portions generous for a wellness retreat.

'My husband thinks I'm crazy, but I love the challenge - the sense of escape,' she says. 'Of course, on day two or three, you're begging for time on a sun lounger, doing nothing, eating whatever you like. But you get through it.'

And the results? 'Everyone loses 10lb to 12lb. You end up in great shape, but if weight loss is your only goal, you wouldn't survive.'

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So, would you go on a 'starvation vacation'? Let us know below.

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