--- title: Weight Loss Milk Farm Retreat: Photos from LIFE in the 1930s description: In the 1930s, women attempted to lose weight by spending time at a dairy farm. canonical: https://time.com/3883353/weight-loss-milk-retreat/ author: Eliza Berman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-05-29T12:00:57.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:47:33.853Z og:title: When Shedding a Few Pounds Meant Reaching for Some Milk og:description: In the 1930s, women attempted to lose weight by spending time at a dairy farm. og:url: https://time.com/3883353/weight-loss-milk-retreat/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt633e970531c8eaf8/69884d0d5f570f723cb1b2d9/150518-milk-farm-01.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: Weight Loss Camp 1938 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: When Shedding a Few Pounds Meant Reaching for Some Milk twitter:description: In the 1930s, women attempted to lose weight by spending time at a dairy farm. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt633e970531c8eaf8/69884d0d5f570f723cb1b2d9/150518-milk-farm-01.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # When Shedding a Few Pounds Meant Reaching for Some Milk > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement.  by [Eliza Berman](https://time.com/author/eliza-berman/)  ## Eliza Berman Berman is a senior editor at TIME. May 29, 2015 12:00 PM UTC  Caption from LIFE. Gym class at Rose Dor Farms is conducted by Swedish Physical Director Steve Finan whose ministrations have modified the embonpoint of many a famed operatic star. Rose Dor customers pay $5.50 a day for this sort of thing. Caption from LIFE. Gym class at Rose Dor Farms is conducted by Swedish Physical Director Steve Finan whose ministrations have modified the embonpoint of many a famed operatic star. Rose Dor customers pay $5.50 a day for this sort of thing. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  by [Eliza Berman](https://time.com/author/eliza-berman/)  ## Eliza Berman Berman is a senior editor at TIME. May 29, 2015 12:00 PM UTC In recent years, rich dairy foods haven’t exactly had a reputation as fad-diet favorites. [That may be changing](http://time.com/2863227/ending-the-war-on-fat/), and it wouldn’t be the first time that foods like butter appealed to those hoping to get healthy. In fact, dairy was so central to a women’s weight loss retreat in the 1930s that the camp was situated on a milk farm. Rose Dor Farm, located up the Hudson River from New York City, was run by siblings Bob, Rosalie and Doris Taplinger. A ten-day stay came with a strict diet—three days of what today would be called juicing, followed by a week of cultured milk and vegetables—as well as gym classes. As LIFE described the farm: --- > “” --- If many of the women in Alfred Eisenstaedt’s photographs don’t appear to have much weight to lose, it’s because the farm attracted “not only stylish stouts but many a young girl who wants to work off a few pounds to get that modeling job.” Some women, like one Mrs. Remer of Kansas City, couldn’t resist the temptation to cheat (“she sneaked fried chicken till caught”). Barring lapses from the milk-and-veggies diet, women could expect to lose a pound per day. _Liz Ronk, who edited this gallery, is the Photo Editor for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter_ [_@lizabethronk_](https://twitter.com/LizabethRonk)_._  Caption from LIFE. Gym class at Rose Dor Farms is conducted by Swedish Physical Director Steve Finan whose ministrations have modified the embonpoint of many a famed operatic star. Rose Dor customers pay $5.50 a day for this sort of thing. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Passive exercise for indolent clients permits them to lie quietly while Steve Finan deftly manipulates their limbs. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Steve Finan directs mat exercises calculated to reduce hips and remove "widow's humps" which form at back of neck. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Steve Finan directs mat exercises calculated to reduce hips and remove "widow's humps" which form at back of neck. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Steve Finan directs mat exercises calculated to reduce hips and remove "widow's humps" which form at back of neck. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. A good hard sweat under hot blankets, with only the face exposed, following a herbal massage, may take off as much as three pounds per treatment. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Woman getting a massage at Rose Dor Farms, a weight loss camp. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Treatment at Rose Dor Farms, a weight loss camp, 1938. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Women resting at Rose Dor Farms, a weight loss camp, 1938. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Advertisement for gym classes at Rose Dor Farms. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  A woman's waist is measured at Rose Dor Farms. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Exercise takes many forms. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Gym class includes jumping rope. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Exercise and stretching include use of a ship's steering wheel. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Camper at Rose Dor Farms takes a break for a cigarette. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Scene from Rose Dor Farms, a weight loss camp, 1938. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Typical "milk farmer": Mrs. Remer of Kansas City who sneaked fried chicken until caught. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Weigh-in at Rose Dor Farms. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Typical "milk farmer": Jewel Mau Claire of New york who lost 13 lbs. in five days. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Scene from Rose Dor Farms, a weight loss camp, 1938. 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