Fat Bob Slim's Story

I flew to South Korea in September of 2006 to teach English and to learn martial arts during my free time. I was 103 kilograms and like most westerners, lifted weights for upperbody size and strength, but was still carrying too much fat. One day while I was jogging in Korea, having dropped to 94 kilograms for the first time in a long time, I fell--and my world fell down with me. Nothing broken, just torn tendons in my left ankle, which was even worse.With 18 more months left in my teaching contract, I coundn't jog or run or even stand for long periods of time. Fat, tired and depressed, I just unhappily went to work, came home and watched TV and ate crap, lots of it. Disabled and depressed, I shot up to an unhealthy 110 kilograms, surpassing more than 30% body fat, which only made my ankle worse. A mentor, Antonio Graceffo, recommended Thailand for weight loss. Thailand? We all know who goes to Thailand. But his was a different Thailand. Not girls and beers Thailand but boxing gloves and tears Thailand. In September of 2008 I enrolled at a Muay Thai camp in Phuket to lose weight. I arrived at 107 kilograms. Beginning with a five day all water detox, I lost a kilogram a day. Then I trained Muay Thai twice a day--longer and longer every week. I also power walked at night, sometimes went swimming in the afternoon, cycled and ate healthy and delicious Thai food. In 10 weeks, I lost a total of 14 kilograms, finishing at 93 kilograms! Then, I returned to my teaching job and continued to practice Muay Thai at a local gym and ran almost daily, and lost an additional 12 kilograms, a total of 26 kilograms in 8 months! And now I'm back, down more than 30 kilograms, for some more FITNESS, maybe some FIGHTING and perhaps a little FUN.

We have all been there: nursing a hangover with fried food and a can of cola while falling in and out of sleep to annoying infocommericals about rapid weight loss. "Lose 10 pounds in 10 days.....Shed 30 pounds in 30 days....Transform your body with our 3 month program". And we have all thought the same thing. Impossible, or at the very least, highly improbable. Well, the purpose of this blog is to inform you that under the right conditions---say training in tropical Thailand, impossibility is possible and improbability is not as problematic as one may think.This is my story; a story of detoxing and training Muay Thai Boxing on the island of Phuket; a story of losing 30 pounds in a little under 3 months and a total of 30 kilograms. And along the way, we'll meet many more people with similar stories, who have had similar success.

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Back Home

Last night, after arriving back in Korea to pursue another teaching contract, I met a few friends at the local bar. Like me, they've been teaching on and off in Korea for several years. Korea can be a good place to lose weight, but given its drinking culture and fast food/stress based lifestyle, it usually isn't---actually, the opposite frequently occurs. Most foreigners leave here heavier than when they arrived.

One of my first friends in Korea---whom I met at a local gym, was overweight like me at the time and was likewise struggling to lose the extra pounds, having succumbed to the aforementioned drinking culture and his own genetic predisposition to rapid weight gain. We worked out together several nights a week and if I recall correctly, we lost about 10 kilograms in about six months time.

Being overweight is hard enough on one's self-esteem, but Koreans (and kids world wide) exacerbate this by their honest bluntness: "teacher you fat" "look at the fat guy" " you pig same" etc....Because of this, many overweight and even just chubby westerners feel uncomfortable about their bodies. As a result, I encourage many teachers (there are more than 40,000) in Korea to train and get fit in Thailand during their holidays or after the completion of their contracts.

Anyways, last night my friend and I saw each other for the first time in almost three years and he was curious about my weight loss. He remembered a much fatter Bob and wasn't aware of my experiences in Thailand. However, when I told him about training in Thailand--the food, the running, the swimming, the muay thai, the bag work, the pad work, the weight lifting---he still seriously questioned my motives for living and training there.

He adamantly argued that one can easily and quickly lose as much weight in Thailand as in their own country and vehemently opposed the idea of a fitness based vacation. Why go abroad when you can do it at home? BUT HERE'S THE CATCH. He's now heavier and fatter than when I met him four years ago. And I believe what he really needs is 2-3 months of fitness training in the tropics, just to get the ball rolling. Then, he can return to Korea, 10-15 kilograms lighter, and really watch the weight come off.

However, people will make excuses, offer alternatives and try to discredit your claims, but at the end of the day, only one thing matters: results.
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2 comments:

  1. RobJune 22, 2010 at 6:49 PM

    Mate well DOne.. I too work in Korea and find it really hard especially on the eating. That was my major problem.
    I went to Rawai lost a shit load then cam back to Korea and put most of it back on. COngrats...

    ReplyDelete
  2. amitFebruary 22, 2012 at 5:14 AM

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