Its Only The Beginning

Dieting, doing cardio and Muay Thai training in the tropics will result in weight loss. But too many people are often too obsessed with immediate results in the beginning. Hence, the popularity of detoxing on an all water diet. Many people--myself included--detox specifically to see numbers drop on the scale. However, most of the weight being lost is excess water weight from a salty Western diet. Its comparable with my obsession with monitoring the amount of weight I lose after a 1-2 hour run. I can lose 2-3 kilos during that time, but its mostly water. After a meal and a bottle of water, I'm up again.

In my experience and from my own observations of others, fitness students lose the most weight in the SECOND month. At this point, our bodies have adjusted to the temperature, the food and the training. We aren't as sore, as hot or shocked by the novelty of being in a new environment.

As a result, students can do more cardio at this point. I can't overemphasize the importance of cardio. If you want to burn fat, you must power walk, jog, run, cycle or run. And its much easier to do in the second month.

In addition, cross train. Don't do the same routine everyday. PLEASE, PLEASE, PlEASE: Take Wednesday and/or Saturday off and cycle for a couple of hours, especially if you have sore ankles from too much running or Muay Thai.

In short, focus less on the numbers and more on changes in your cardio routine. Try to run further, faster and for longer periods and distances over time. And I'll try to do the same.

Lastly, remember this: training here isn't the cure to your weight issues. I lost 14 kilograms during my first 10 week stay here last year. More importantly, it set the foundation for continued weight loss after I returned home since I continued to train and diet. If I made a movie based on our weight loss experiences here, it wouldn't finish with the "THE END", but "TO BE CONTINUED."