Ice therapy, cutting out the veg and a ‘chewing trainer’: how I lost five pounds in seven days at the ‘midlife MOT’ Austrian retreat that Sachin Tendulkar, Naomi Campbell and Rebel Wilson all swear by, RICHARD GIBSON reveals

As someone who routinely disguises herself to avoid excessive admiration, it is no wonder that the solitude of a week’s reset at the Vivamayr clinic appeals to Sachin Tendulkar.

When you’re the most famous sportsman India has produced, and still perhaps the most famous living Indian, my time is rationed, but it was here in the tranquil southern Austrian haven that a player who rewrote the history of Test cricket by turning 50 centuries earlier this year he was able to relax his mind and rejuvenate his body.

Achieving such a balanced situation, however, requires discipline, as Tendulkar made his trademark during an incredible 664-match international career.

Mayr Therapy is one of the most challenging detox programs known, but also one of the most rewarding, according to the A-list celebrities who flock to the alpine lodge – where the best suites cost £1,000 a night – located on the shores of Lake Wörthersee, 16 km from Klagenfurt, half an hour’s drive from the Slovenian border.

Liz Hurley, Naomi Campbell, Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, Rita Ora and Tracey Emin all support the health benefits of home ownership. It was here that Australian actress Rebel Wilson shed her first pounds in a dramatic 36kg weight loss. Malaika Mihambo, the German Olympic and world long jump champion, attributes her post-race recovery to subscribing to her program.

My own motivation was to follow in Tendulkar’s footsteps, having recently completed half a century of my own. To get a reality check on how my 50-year-old self was really doing. Call it a midlife MOT.