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Benchmarks: Detox Part Two

Welcome to Phuket Fit’s weight loss and fitness blog. I’m your host, Aaron Rowland. I’m a 27-year-old writer from Los Angeles, California. I’m at Phuket Fit to lose weight, improve my fitness and have the adventure of a lifetime. I’ve been here nine months so far and I’m staying indefinitely. My favorite exercises are the bicycle crunch and the medicine ball slam. Tire flips, suicide planks and burpees give me nightmares.

What’s This?

Phuket Fit & MMA and Atmanjai Wellness Center are now working together to offer combined programs for those interested in detoxing at Atmanjai prior to the beginning of their training (or after their training has finished!) For the next seven days, I’ve started participating in a week-long cleanse at Atmanjai to help get a better understanding of the services they offer and discover how a cleanse might just be the perfect way to accelerate the weight loss process!

What Are My Goals For Detoxing?

Detox 2

I have three main goals participating in this detox. The first goal is to clear my system of unhealthy toxins. As a result, I will hope to train and diet more effectively. My second goal is to reduce unwanted cravings. I don’t have much of a sugar tooth, but I have to resist strong temptations when I’m around salty or oily foods like pizza and nachos. I’m hoping by detoxing and avoiding unhealthy foods, that I’ll be able to reset or refine my palate away from salt, sugar and fat. My final goal is to continue to lose weight, as I have been the last nine weeks. Individuals on the “Eat Well” detox have been known to lose up to 1KG (2LBs) a day, but as I’ve been eating healthy and avoiding toxic foods, I’ll be very happy if I lose half a KG per day (1LB) while detoxing.

Who Would Benefit From A Detox?

After having only spent a few days at Atmanjai, it’s already my belief that everyone who comes to train at Phuket Fit would benefit from a detox. There are countless health benefits; you feel lighter and a strong sense of clarity whilst on the detox, and luckily the negative side effects from toxin release have been minimal. Some fighters or fitness enthusiasts might be reluctant to detox, but I would encourage them to do some research online about how a simple seven day detox can assist in rebuilding your body and mind into a better and more effective machine.

Detox 3Three Days Into My Cleanse

Day three is finished, and I’m feeling great. I was greatly concerned about feeling headaches, dizziness, cramps and other symptoms often associated with detoxing for general wellness. I’m on the Eat Well programs, which includes small salads and other raw vegetable meals as part of the program. Some of the other clients at Atmanjai are part of the Ultra Cleanse program, which allows you to only consume supplement shakes and teas, no solid food at all. Not to mention colemas twice a day. One of the girls currently staying there is on the Ultra Cleanse program for a full twenty-one days! Needless to say, that makes me value and enjoy my veggies and salads even more. Three days down, another four to go.

Check back on Monday for my latest weigh-in and to see how the rest of my detox goes. Also, check back during the next few weeks to find out about the exciting packages Phuket Fit and Atmanjai are working together to develop!

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Benchmarks: Detox Results

 Posted July 17, 2013 by Aaron Rowland in Benchmarks

Detox 1Welcome to Phuket Fit’s weight loss and fitness blog. I’m your host, Aaron Rowland. I’m a 27-year-old writer from Los Angeles, California. I’m at Phuket Fit to lose weight, improve my fitness and have the adventure of a lifetime. I’ve been here nine months so far and I’m staying indefinitely. My favorite exercises are the bicycle crunch and the medicine ball slam. Tire flips, suicide planks and burpees give me nightmares.

What’s This?

Phuket Fit & MMA and Atmanjai Wellness Center are now working together to offer combined programs for those interested in detoxing at Atmanjai prior to the beginning of their training (or after their training has finished!) For seven days, I participated in a week-long cleanse at Atmanjai to help get a better understanding of the services they offer and discover how a cleanse might just be the perfect way to accelerate the weight loss process!

The Second Half

Detox 2

After a strong first half of the detox program, I felt more than prepared to take on the second half. By day four, some of the stronger craving I felt had started to dissipate. The smells of roasting chicken each day as I rode to Atmanjai no longer cause instant salivation. During a couple evenings, the most extreme food withdrawal symptom I experienced was a small headache at the crown of my skull. Even that, though, was only mild and went away quickly. As the detox progressed, the supplement drinks became easier to tolerate and most of the daily activities became second nature. By the end of day seven, I felt incredibly refreshed and prepared to restart my training and continue on my weight loss journey.

Detox 3How I Feel Now

Returning to camp after my cleanse, I’ve been told by a number of friends how refreshed I look and seem. I’ve been told my skin seems clearer and that the whites of my eyes seem whiter and less irritated than they previously had. I have to say, though, that the biggest change is my energy. I finished my cleanse on Monday and got back into training immediately on Tuesday afternoon. Having been only eating fruits and vegetables for the last ten days, I was performing burpee box jumps with the same vigor and strength I had been before embarking on the cleanse. Who knew fruits and veggies gave you energy? Apparently so!

Next Steps Forward

Detox 4

I can’t emphasize enough what a great experience this cleanse has been and how strongly I recommend it to my fellow Phuket Fit guests. It’s a great way to supercharge your batteries and cleanse your body of toxins. Losing weight is all about calories in vs. calories out. Most people know that. What they don’t consider are the different ways they can maximize the calories they burn and minimize the calories they take in. By eliminating unhealthy and unnatural toxins from your body, you’re putting it in the best possible position to burn the most calories it’s capable of. Also, by ridding your diet of high-fat, high-salt and high-sugar foods, you’re helping to limit the cravings you’ll feel for those foods in the future. Arriving at Phuket Fit isn’t the solution; it’s just the first step. You have to push yourself during training sessions, eat healthy natural foods and do as much as possible to put yourself in the best position to succeed. I believe in you and I know you can do it!

Tune in next Monday to find out the results from this week’s weigh-in and check back over the next few weeks as Phuket Fit and Atmanjai announce the package deals they’ve created!

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Benchmarks: Week Ten

Benchmarks 1Welcome to Phuket Fit’s weight loss and fitness blog. I’m your host, Aaron Rowland. I’m a 27-year-old writer from Los Angeles, California. I’m at Phuket Fit to lose weight, improve my fitness and have the adventure of a lifetime. I’ve been here nine months so far and I’m staying indefinitely. My favorite exercises are the bicycle crunch and the medicine ball slam. Tire flips, suicide planks and burpees give me nightmares.

Cleaning Up

After a decent week of weight loss, I had to start preparing myself for the week to come. Instead of intense fitness classes and a high-protein diet, I would be relaxing all week surviving on just raw fruits and vegetables. The time had finally come to do a cleanse. With my cleanse set to start on Tuesday, I had to spend the next four days after the weigh in preparing my body. No more dairy. No more meat. Pretty much, no more fun.

Benchmarks 2For four days I needed to only eat raw fruits and vegetables. If I wanted something to drink, no more reaching for a Diet Coke. All water and juice, all the time. It wasn’t bad, but I think I relied on juice too much. I think I might have even gained a pound or two during the pre-cleanse from a huge increase in natural sugars. I wasn’t too concerned about that, though. I knew I’d be losing it quickly over the week to follow.

Getting Adjusted To A New Routine

It feels a bit weird to go from a hectic schedule of training to a relaxed flexible schedule. It almost takes a day or two just for the mind and body to slow down it’s pace. During the first few days of the detox at Atmanjjai, things went very smoothly. Doing the pre-cleanse helped me avoid many of the severe withdrawal symptoms people often associate with wellness detoxes. No headaches, no stomach cramps and I also didn’t suffer very strong cravings for salty and fatty foods.

Benchmarks 4That’s not to say certain things didn’t require some patience and dedication. As any dieter knows, it’s hard not to be able to eat the things you crave. Plus, while the colema is beneficial to your digestive health, it still isn’t the world’s most pleasant experience. That having been said, the first three days of the detox had gone well and I was excited to step on the scale.

The End Of Week Ten

I step on the scale and discover that I’m at 109.4 KG, which means I’ve lost 1.1 KGs (2.4 LBS). Not terrible, but not as much weight as I’d been hoping considering how cleanly I’d been eating. As I said above, I think I probably put on a pound or two during my pre-cleanse. So I’m not too disappointed in the results. Upward and onward.

Benchmarks 3What’s Up Next?

Tune in on Wednesday for an article summing up the rest of my experience detoxing at Atmanjai, and then check back next Monday for my Week 11 weigh-in to see how the second half of the detox affected my weight! We’ll also be presenting an interview with a current Phuket Fit guest on Friday, so be sure to check that out.

Have a great week of weight loss! If you set your mind on it, I know you can do it!