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Benchmarks: Week Twenty-Seven

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. At my heaviest weight twenty-months ago, I weighed in at 160 KGs.  I’m here at Phuket Fit to lose weight, improve my fitness and have the adventure of a lifetime. I’ve been here fourteen months so far and I’m staying indefinitely. My favorite exercises are the bicycle crunch and the medicine ball slam. Barbell thrusters, suicide planks and burpees give me nightmares.

Fueling Your Body

It’s important to remember that the food you consume is the fuel your body uses for energy. If you’re eating things that lack nutritional value, your body won’t have the basic nutrients it needs to function. Ideally, you shouldn’t even need to take vitamins or supplements. Ideally, you should be getting all the goodness your body needs from the healthy foods you eat. Fresh vegetables, lean meats and selected fruits give your body what it needs and will give you the energy to succeed on your weight loss mission. For me, I’ve been eating a very strict diet the last two weeks on my mission to hit 99 KGs by Christmas. It hasn’t been easy. Even in Thailand temptation is everywhere, but two weeks into it… I feel great. You wouldn’t believe the extra energy and vigor you can receive in life by eating the proper things.

Building Your Body

Over the last two weeks I’ve been very focused on my workout routine as well. Every day, I wake up and attend Phuket Fit’s Body Fit class. It’s a high intensity cardio-burn that also implements some strength and conditioning elements. After that I either attend our afternoon Cross Training class or spent some time lifting weights in the gym. In Thailand, even the evenings are a perfect time to workout. It’s cooler and the street isn’t as bustling. Finishing off the day with a night jog or walk is a great way to burn some extra calories and helps you fall asleep more easily.

The End Of Week Twenty-Seven

I step on the scale to discover that I weight 226.0 LBS, for a weight loss of five pounds this week, for a total of 11.6 LBS lost in the last two weeks. I’m not only eight pounds away from my goal of hitting 218 LBS (99 KGS). It hasn’t been easy the last couple weeks, but the effort has clearly been worth it. If you’re willing to eat incredibly clean and also exercise your butt off, I promise you that you will get results. Just look at the Victories we’ve posted on this blog. People come to Phuket Fit to lose weight and they succeed.

What’s Up Next?

Just three weeks left to hit my 99 KG goal by Christmas, and I’m feeling confident. It will take a lot more work, but I know that it’s possible! If I can keep up this pace, then I’ll get there a week early!

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

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Victories: Ash J Gibson Triumphing After Tragedy

A thirty-two-year-old café and customer service worker from New Zealand, Ash J Gibson has dealt with more than her share of tragedy. Losing both her parents unexpectedly only seven week apart, she found herself severely depressed and overwhelmed by grief. Stopping work, she was forced to deal with the sale of her family home and other legal issues regarding her parents’ estate. Deciding she needed both a break and a fresh start, she ventured out to Phuket Fit and in the process has discovered the warrior inside that she never knew she possessed. Having faced adversity at every turn, she has battled through it all, going from a top weight of 130 KGs down to her current weight of 80 KGs. She arrived at camp lost in life, overweight and unhealthy. When she finishes her training in a few months, she’ll return home the embodiment of Phuket Fit strength and spirit. She even plans on working toward her PT and Group Fitness certifications. This is her story…

When you were first looking at traveling, what made you choose Phuket Fit?

I just woke up one day and decided I needed to come to Thailand. I can’t explain it; I’d never really planned on traveling to Thailand before. I looked into the different options… going to a monastery, doing a yoga retreat, everything. Finally I found Phuket Fit online and it seemed to be the best fit for me. It offered more activities and things to do around than the other places I was exploring. I exchanged some e-mails with their staff and found it was easy to get information and reassurance that it was the right place for me.

When you arrived at Phuket Fit did you set any goals for yourself?

I first arrived at Phuket Fit about a year ago and trained for a few months. Then I returned home for a bit, and spent some time traveling in Australia, Ko Samui, and South America. When I returned to Thailand after that, I spent a few months at a different gym, but it wasn’t quite the same. I came to visit Phuket Fit and participate in their 12 Hour Cross Training Challenge for charity and decided to come back.

 

It made me realize that Phuket Fit’s body fit and cross training are way more advanced and strenuous then the ones I attended at the other gym. Phuket Fit is a real community. Here people will cheer you on, pushing you to finish your workout, even if they’ve already finished theirs. It can be a competition, but in a fun and supportive environment.

Since I started back at Phuket Fit in the last month and a half, I’ve lost more weight in that time then I lost the full four months at the other gym.

When you returned to Thailand did you set new goals for yourself?

I was at 103 KGs and my goal was to get down to 75 KGs. Right now I’m at exactly 79.5 KGs. I’ve got a couple months left here at Phuket Fit, so I know I can achieve my ultimate goal.

Have you faced many challenges along the way?

A lot. Now and then the emotional stuff still comes up and affects the way I’m training. Loneliness can be a problem; being here so long and missing home. I also used to have really bad cravings, but I’ve found that now they don’t happen as often. You just have to power through.

Can you think of anything fun or memorable that you’ve been through here at Phuket Fit?

The Halloween BBQ Beat Down last year. I missed this year’s one, but I had an incredible time last year. It was so much fun dressing up as a zombie and cheering on the fighters. I also enjoyed learning how to drive a scooter for the first time, snorkeling for the first time and even driving a jet ski! Ive been able to do lots of little island trips, which have been great.

 

What are your favorite and least favorite exercises you’ve encountered at Phuket Fit?

I hate doing any kind of squat. I have weak knees, so I have to be careful when doing them. I really love medicine ball slams, but I think my favorite exercise is when we drag tires with barbell weights on top of them. Dragging all that extra weight I used to carry on my body helps me realize how far I’ve come in my own journey.

What advice would you give to someone thinking about coming to Phuket Fit?

I have a lot of friends and strangers messaging me asking me about how I’ve gotten my results and I’ve been sending them all to Phuket Fit. It’s got the best range of choices and the best community feeling. Just look at my photos and my progress. If you’re willing to put in the work at Phuket Fit, you will succeed.

When you finish your weight loss journey in February, do you think you’ll ever return to Phuket Fit?

Once I leave, I have to start getting settled at home, so it might be a year or two before I return. I will definitely be coming back, though. I feel like I’ve almost achieved my goals here, but I would love to bring a group of people to Phuket Fit who are dealing with loss, or even a group of fellow LGBT Kiwis, to work with them and train. It would be nice to give back and help other people on their journeys. It would also be a great way for me to keep fit.

I have never really been into sports in my life. My parents tried putting me in Kung Fu and gymnastics, but it never really worked out. I used to be bullied throughout school and never really felt supported by most my extended family because of some recent misunderstandings.

I love my family, though, and all the incredible friends Ive made on my journey. My parents were incredibly health conscious and always wanted me to lose weight. I know they would be proud of me.

Thailand is an incredibly spiritual place. Its beaches and sunsets brought me back. It feels like home.

 

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Benchmarks: Week Twenty-Five

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. At my heaviest weight twenty-months ago, I weighed in at 160 KGs.  I’m here at Phuket Fit to lose weight, improve my fitness and have the adventure of a lifetime. I’ve been here thirteen months so far and I’m staying indefinitely. My favorite exercises are the bicycle crunch and the medicine ball slam. Barbell thrusters, suicide planks and burpees give me nightmares.

A Long Burn Workout

Sometimes it can be great to get a quick intense workout in; twenty to thirty minutes of non-stop pulse pounding sweatiness. If you’re looking for a bit of a slower burn, a long walk can also be a great workout. I know what you’re thinking. A walk? Does that really count as a workout? Absolutely! Back when I was at my heaviest, walking was my primary source of exercise and now that I’ve lost some weight I still love to take long walks. From Phuket Fit to the top of Big Buddha is a little under 10KM, which makes it 20KM round trip. Walking at a steady pace the entire way takes about four hours, and trust me, you’ll feel the burn when you’re finished. A 20 KM Buddha walk can be an excellent way to relax and distress during an intense week of fitness, while getting a great workout at the same time!

Setting Goals

In weight loss, it can be hard to look at the bigger picture and not be overwhelmed. You might have 10 LBS, 30 LBS, 50 LBS, 100 LBS or even more weight to lose, and you know it’s going to be a slow process. Sometimes the best thing to do is set small goals for yourself to work towards. Don’t focus on the hundred pounds you need to lose, but instead on the fifteen or twenty you can lose this month. I’ve set a personal goal to reach 99 KGS (218.2 LBS) by Christmas morning. What better present could I give to myself than health and fitness? It won’t be easy, but I’m confident I can achieve it. By training at Phuket Fit, I know I’ve put myself in the perfect environment for success.

The End Of Week Twenty-Five

I step on the scale and see that I weigh 237.6 LBS. That means I have about nineteen pounds to lose over the next month to hit my goal. If I can lose a little over four pounds a week, then I will have succeeded. Just because your weight loss might have slowed or stalled, its always important to keep perspective and not lose hope. Just keep moving in the right direction and you’ll eventually achieve you goals. Don’t let someone else dictate your pace, lose weight the way that works fro you and your life.

What’s Up Next?

Now is the time to buckle down with my training and refocus my eating habits. To accomplish this, I’ve teamed up with a friend of mine also training at Phuket Fit and we’ve developed a buddy system to keep each other accountable. Training and eating with like-minded friends is a great way to help you achieve your goals.

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