70-40 Touchdown!

[TotallyOz]

In December of last year I took at look at my life. I have lived an incredibly amazing adventure from day to day for many years. I have also been lucky as hell when it came to health issues. I knew that I was going to turn 40 in a few months and I have never had any health issues. Luckily, I have never contracted any STD or HIV. That is quite fortunate I guess as counting the number of guys I have been with over the years, even Heidi Fleiss would blush. I have also not had any other major issues other than one heart attack scare. The doctors told me bluntly: loose the weight, lower your blood pressure and lower your cholesterol or you will die earlier than you should. That was about 2 years ago and I did not heed their advice. My most vigorous exercise of the day when I was in Pattaya was walking from the motorcycle parking to the gay beach area. LOL

 

When I sat down in December with my family I told them I was going on a juice diet and would try to get off 70 pounds this way. I had decided that I needed a life change. I needed to reevaluate my friends, my work, my body and my life. I am not sure why I choose some of the friends I have over the years. Or, why I drank 20 diet cokes every day for years and could easily sit at Come In Bar and eat a whole pizza from the little Italian place on the same Soi. Or why I retired, got bored and then started working again. All in all, there were many things in my life that needed changing and I had a long haul ahead of me not just with the weight but also with other things in life.

 

So I set 3 stages that I needed for the change. I only talk about Stage 1 in this post but I have been busy on the other stages as well.

Stage 1: Body and Health

Stage 2: Business

Stage 3: Personal Relationships

 

I did my research, ordered my juicer and books to learn and started my plan. On a Thursday, I was talking to a doctor friend who suggested that there were other ways than juice that may be healthier to loose weight. I agreed with him and I started looking over the Internet. My goal was to loose 70 pounds before my 40th Birthday. It was really a goal that I did not believe I could accomplish in 3 months but I think I wanted to set myself up for failure.

 

I found the place that made the most sense to me. http://www.camptechnique.com This was not a spa but a full fledge boot camp for overweight. It prides itself on shocking the body of those who attend and getting them into shape fast. I knew I wanted to loose a lot and I called them up on a Thursday. I enrolled for the following Monday and booked my tickets to Marina Del Rey, California.

 

When I got there, it was more than I expected. A chauffeur who took me to my fully furnished apartment where the director was waiting for me greeted me. He gave me a little tour and chatted and then he was ready to take me to the gym. The gym was small and quaint. There are never more than 10 people there and they have 4 personal trainers and a massage therapist and a nutritionist on staff.

 

The owner took my measurements and weight totals and we talked about goals and plans. Then off to the gym we went. My first day I didn

[Guest travelerjim]

Congratulations GT...

 

I am very proud of you and what you have challenged and are doing ...

and I am sure you are just as proud and happy :-)

 

Keep your focus on your goals ....and you will achieve them....one meal and one day at a time.

 

I look forward to personally greeting and seeing the "new and improved" GT when you are next in Thailand...and please allow me to "buy the first bottle of spring water" :-)

 

Your sharing of the challenges you have faced head on ... hopefully will encourage others to take up the "battle of excess pounds or kilos" which many of us carry....yours truly included.

 

Again, CONGRATS GT ....

and best of luck as you continue your quest... for better health ...for life.

 

TravelerJim

 

 

 

 

[Guest BKKvisitor]

Congratulations and thanks for sharing a heartening personal experience. What you did took a lot of courage and commitment.

 

I guess tomorrow is the first day of the rest of your life.

 

Go for it!

[Guest mildcigar_2001]

It is nice to occasionally see an insperational story such as yours. Good luck on your journey.

[Guest namjai]

Wow! That is great! I also started a plan, but it has not been that great due to my lack of understanding that I am 61 and not 24. After 42 years of smoking, I quit cold turkey last October...easy to do....

 

Jan 1, I started on a diet and exercise plan and lost about 17 pounds. Excited with the fantastic results, I went the limit and pinched a back nerve which put me out of commission for a bit over a month and screwed up my left foot.

 

Last Sunday, I was feeling good again and decided that I would start my exercise program again. Then with my lack of grace, I fell off a ladder and screwed up my other foot.

 

So now, I am being very careful as it is less then two weeks until I am back in Thailand again and really don't want to be in a cast. Of course, I am sure I could find a great looking Thaiboy to nurse me to health.

 

Keep up the great work!!

[TotallyOz]

Thank you guys. I appreciate the nice responses. I received many Private Messages and e-mails as well. I greatly appreciated them.

 

The Camp was a wonderful experience for me. Several suggested that it was one of the weight loss fads that pop up and down all the time. I have done the Atkins, the Potato Soup Diet, the South Beach Diet and many others. I did loose some weight with them but the camp I went to was not about a diet, it was more about a life change. It was not about starving yourself but learning to eat healthy. Every doctor I spoke to said the same things, good food and good exercise and you will get healthy. It is really that simple. We did eat lots of food. We just did it in a very healthy way. There were no sugars, no caffeine; no salt, etc so we did give up a great deal. But, we were fed every 3-4 hours and I was never hungry. It was a equal balance of carbs and protein. A certified nutritionist made our food each day to our own needs. We were taught how to eat right, how to cook right, how to eat out right and how to shop. The nutritionist spent 3 hours with each individual every week. One of those was an eat out lunch with her and you learn how to order in various environments. Yes, I even ate at McDonalds. All in all, I was never hungry. I didn

[PattayaMale]

I wonder if a program like this is available in Thailand. I know friends that have gone for a week or so to ??Hua Hin?? for bowel detox programs. Anyone know?

[TotallyOz]

I wonder if a program like this is available in Thailand. I know friends that have gone for a week or so to ??Hua Hin?? for bowel detox programs. Anyone know?

 

http://www.spasamui.com/

 

There are many out there. I have friends that went to the one above and it was something I was considering. I have heard they are great for detoxifying your body. If you do a google search you will find many. Try Detox and Thailand.

[Gaybutton]

I, for one, could do with a program like that. How much do they cost? Probably beyond my means, but you never know.

 

I've about had it with diets. The most I've ever lost was on Weight Watchers. The trouble is, once I go off these diets I always gain the weight right back, and then some. I'm not ready to spend the rest of my life on some sort of diet, so I'd like to find something that actually works and is easy to go back to if you find your spare tire inflating again. I've seen several people who have spent quite some time taking fat burning pills, but they don't look any leaner to me.

 

I've spent most of my life battling weight problems and, quite frankly, I'm tired of of the battle. I see so many people who eat more than I do and/or eat the very same foods I eat, get no more or less exercise than I do, and they're thin and I'm fat.

 

So, if something like this works and is available in Thailand, I'd like to give it a try. I'm going to do something, that's for sure, but not yet another bizarre diet that I know I won't stick with.

 

[Guest wowpow]

Pattayamale : http://www.fairtexpattaya.com/ seem to offer weigh loss programmes and colonic irrigations.

[TotallyOz]

Pattayamale : http://www.fairtexpattaya.com/ seem to offer weigh loss programmes and colonic irrigations.

 

Thanks for the link WowPow. I have not seen this place. Have you been there? Is it nice?

 

I also know that one of the large hotels on the way to Jomptien has the colonics at their spa. I think it was done under medical supervision and was fairly expensive. I'll try to find the rates.

[PattayaMale]

Sorry I did not make myself clear about colonics. I gave that as an example. I was wondering really about a weight-loss program that would be similar to what GayThailand went through but in Thailand. And at a smaller fee.

 

Thanks wowpow, I have sent sent and email to Fairtex asking if they have a similar program. I hope GT can get some rates posted. .....Maybe another business opportunity for GT, or ...Monty

[Guest travelerjim]

 

Thanks wowpow, I have sent sent and email to Fairtex asking if they have a similar program. I hope GT can get some rates posted. .....Maybe another business opportunity for GT, or ...Monty

 

I can see it now:

 

Monty's advertisement for the

 

NEW... "The Full Monty" for that NEW You!

 

a NEW Monty's Enchanted Hut Colonic and Irrigation Service -

at Monty's "We aim to please!"

 

TJ

[Smiles]

" ... In December of last year I took at look at my life. ... When I sat down in December with my family I told them I was going on a juice diet and would try to get off 70 pounds this way. I had decided that I needed a life change. ... why I drank 20 diet cokes every day for years and could easily sit at Come In Bar and eat a whole pizza from the little Italian place on the same Soi. ... I did my research, ordered my juicer and books to learn and started my plan. On a Thursday, I was talking to a doctor friend who suggested that there were other ways than juice that may be healthier to loose weight. I agreed with him and I started looking over the Internet. My goal was to loose 70 pounds before my 40th Birthday. It was really a goal that I did not believe I could accomplish in 3 months but I think I wanted to set myself up for failure.

 

...When I got there, it was more than I expected. A chauffeur who took me to my fully furnished apartment where the director was waiting for me greeted me. ... "

Is a chauffeur really a good start?

 

So ... how's this going? Has the weight stayed off? Are you still exercising? Are you still eating the smaller quantities necessary as well as getting rid of ALL the junk food and the artery-cloggers etc etc etc? How about the Coke habit? Broken it?

 

You may have guessed that I am incredibly sceptical about not only your choice of method, but anyone's ability to carry this kind of regime over into everyday life after the original high wears off.

If you have, then all the more power to you, but the fact remains that the success history of faddish methods such as you have chosen is pretty abysmal, in fact almost always doomed to failure.

 

The success rates for permanent weight loss and a healthier life in general are much higher if the methodology chosen is kept simple and clean: i.e. eat better, eat less, exercise longer and harder and do it at least 4 times a week (5 or 6 times ever better). If you can get to a place in your own mind where you can successfully accomplish those few simple things then the pounds will slip off as easily as overly-lubed condom.

 

But, I don't mean to preach. The point of bringing this thread back to the top is to get a progress report. How are you maintaining, and are you finding your new life easy to maintain . . . or are you struggling? Have you fallen out with it completely?

Has your weight gone down dramatically? Has it leveled off? Has it gone back up?

 

Cheers ...

[TotallyOz]

Is a chauffeur really a good start?

 

But, I don't mean to preach. The point of bringing this thread back to the top is to get a progress report. How are you maintaining, and are you finding your new life easy to maintain . . . or are you struggling? Have you fallen out with it completely?

Has your weight gone down dramatically? Has it leveled off? Has it gone back up?

 

Cheers ...

 

Yes, I think a chauffeur is a good way to start. It gives a good impression of the camp and made a tense trip easier.

 

I am maintaining and loosing slower. I have kept all 70 off and lost a few more than that. I have not been struggling as much as the beginning. I have not fallen off the wagon. I have kept up with the exercise and do not look it as a pain in the ass but as a way to relax and enjoy life more. I still work out with a trainer 3 days a week and do cardio 5 days a week. I also run 5.2 miles 3-5 days a week. Overall, I am still very happy with the results and have no regrets. I do eat out a bit more than I did 2 months ago but I watch what I eat. I ate at Ruby Tuesdays today with a bf and I had the turkey burger.

 

I realize that many are skeptical of many things and do understand that. I am as well. For me, this has been a very good experience and as I said it was life changing for me. I hope to keep it off for a long time but only time will tell. I don't know what the future holds but I do know that I will keep exercising for a long time to come and that is half the battle.

[Smiles]

" ... I also run 5.2 miles 3-5 days a week. ... I don't know what the future holds but I do know that I will keep exercising for a long time to come and that is half the battle ... "

Then congratulations ... how about if we check back in 6 months? Actually, it's more than half the battle.

 

That 5 mile run 3-5 days a week (5 is best!) will go a huge way to keeping you on track, and in fact will easily allow you to eat pretty well anything you want except for over-indulging in fat-laden food. You can probably also toss the personal trainer now as well.

 

I'm not being facetious GayThailand, I'm very happy to hear that you are keeping to your plan. So many don't.

I started running in 1977 (30 years ago this year, and still at it), and to tell you the truth (and looking back on it) it's probably the #1 best thing I ever did for myself. I wasn't overweight then, but certainly out of shape.

I like to think that if I'm unexpectedly faced with the prospect of being mugged or robbed or raped (well ... that might be OK ) one dark night, it'll take the f*cker 10 miles at a decent pace to run me down

 

For those who can manage it (you have to have good knees, and a good back) running gives the best bang for the buck in terms of cardiovascular health. You're on the right road, so good for you and keep at it. It's good to hear stories like yours.

 

I'm sure your boyfriend(s) notice!

 

Cheers ...

 

[TotallyOz]

Then congratulations ... how about if we check back in 6 months? Actually, it's more than half the battle.

 

That 5 mile run 3-5 days a week (5 is best!) will go a huge way to keeping you on track, and in fact will easily allow you to eat pretty well anything you want except for over-indulging in fat-laden food. You can probably also toss the personal trainer now as well.

 

For those who can manage it (you have to have good knees, and a good back) running gives the best bang for the buck in terms of cardiovascular health. You're on the right road, so good for you and keep at it. It's good to hear stories like yours.

 

Thanks. I don't mind if you check back in 6 months. I may be up and I may be down. I haven't really been worried about the weigt as much as the fat percentages. But, I do believe in a doctor checkup every 6 months so I guess I don't mind a Smiles one as well.

 

I agree that running is the best thing in the world. It is a killer on the knees but the pounding on the pavement, pounds the pounds aways as well. When at the camp, they tried to get us on the road to running and that mantra stuck with me. I fought it there but the more weight that came off the more I enjoyed it. I can't imagine running 5 months ago as I was carrying so much extra poundage, but now, it is easier and even enjoyable. The one thing I miss now is swimming. I am not at a place where that is conducive. I look forward to being back at a hotel in Thailand with a pool. But, not for a long time as I have the business part of my agenda to work on.

 

Cheers!