Post: #26

why are you losing muscle? from the cardio? or from not eating enough protein? are you eating right? are you still only doing the morning exercise? or doing the weights/yoga in the afternoon?

I apologize for all the questions, but I am seriously considering doing this next month. Plus, the second week your body is getting used to the changes, its usually the slowest for fat loss, 3rd and 4th you should be doing better, metabolism kicking up etc.... also even if they say dont eat in the morning... its best to have an apple or something small, it will start your metabolism, and the food will actually help you burn more fat, or so I heard on the biggest loser and a few other places

Post: #27

No problem man. Honestly I am not entirely sure what is going on. Here is what my average day looks like in terms of training and diet:

630 Wake up, take energy supplement and chug water
7 - 2KM run and jump rope
730-930 - Training - pad work, hitting bags, sparring, drills
10-11 First meal - Granola, Yogurt, Two slices of toast with butter, Two Poached Eggs, Three Tomato Slices, two spoonfuls of red beans
11-1 - Shower, surf web and do some work
1-3 - nap
3-5 Training session two - same as morning (note that there is also a 5-7 class that I sometimes do instead of the 3-5)
6-7 Dinner - Chicken Satay and Cashew Chicken with Brown Rice
7-9 Do some more work, reading
10 Pass out

This schedule generally fluctuates by an hour or two depending on when I do the afternoon session. I generally skip two afternoon sessions per week due to minor injuries and fatigue.

You are right about cardio in the morning. I do not eat before I train. Let me tell you that two and a half hours of running and kickboxing on an empty stomach is not an easy thing to do.

I do weight training about twice a week, but not very intensely. I have recently switched over to kettlebells.

People are telling me that my problem is actually that I am not eating enough instead of eating too much. For your average person in the US who has a desk job, eating too many calories is generally a problem. Apparently, when you are living like a thai boxer and accumulating 5-6 hours of training in the heat, you burn a shit ton of calories.

I have recently increased my percentage of protein.

Post: #28

Clr, could you please elaborate on your theory about why my fat loss has been slowest in the second week?

I am totally baffled by my plateau.

Post: #29

ok so, my female friend had a friend on "the biggest loser" so I was forced to watch a shit ton of the episodes she tivo'ed while drinking a few beers and getting ready to go out. I remember them saying that the second week is a plateau for weight loss, and had been across all of the seasons. I know the theory behind it tho, Its just your body getting used to the change as it fights to hold on the to fat as your metabolism kicks into over drive. Generally your body is just confused, its used to holding on the the fat, you start to lose the first week then your body says WOAH buddy, I like my fat reserves... im not letting go. Third week it gives in!

I am not doc or fitness expert, but I keep myself informed ever since the military on eating and exercising correctly. Generally people are not eating enough protein when they are working out that much and losing muscle because their bodies need more protein they break down the muscle they have. Plus you have the whole fast twitch slow twitch muscles. If you look at Tim Ferris when he did HIT training, he gained 30 lbs of muscle(yeah yeah every one says it BS, thats for another thread) he said the hardest part for him was eating enough protein to build all the new muscle. He was eating 5-6k calories a day. But with HIT you work out your whole body every other day, and are doing short but very intense/heavy sets, (only 1-2 sets per exercise)

As I am sure you know, you should be eating a few smaller meals (5-6) and carb loading in the morning/afternoon to give you energy for the workouts. This boosts your metabolism and tells your body it doesnt need to hold on to the fat. As I am sure you know drink a shit ton of water all day long.

Have you been getting any massages or anything? that will help with the soreness and help flush out the lactic acid, tho with the heat and humidity there... the climate is probably helping too

Post: #30

I would go find a nutritionist but its sounds to me like you not eating enough or often enough.... just looking at what you eat, it looks good, you are getting protein and carbs etc... but you need to eat more often, and more, only 2 meals?

I would atleast take a small protein shake in the morning with your supplement, (or something small that wont make you puke) 3 1/2 hours of into the day and still not eating sounds too long to me. as soon as you wake up from your nap you should eat something else to fuel you for your 3-5 work outs... then another.... ideally you eat every 3 hours, with a nice protein filled meal after your heavy work outs cutting out most of the carbs at night. Almonds are GREAT to snack on. I used to be in good shape....

have you done the yoga at all?

When I go, I plan on taking creatine, protein powder, liquid multi vitamin, fish oils suppl EFA, all your good omegas , maybe a good energy booster, I want to build some muscle, cardio, AND burn fat.

Post: #31

All that stuff is well and good. There are no substitutes for a properly run AAS cycle. Of course properly run means precise dosages, correct use of ancillaries, and PCT.

Post: #32

Yeah definitely bring supplements from the US when you come here. Don't open any protein powders before you get to Thailand though, as bringing powder through customs is generally a pain in the ass.

I have not done the yoga but it is a good deal and the teacher is super hot.

Dr. Arete, are you a doctor? Do you know anything about the plateau phase?

If what CLR said is true, then I should experience significant fat loss this week.

Btw, I almost had a heat stroke this week. If you feel like you are overtraining, you probably are.

Post: #33

or not drinking enough water! if you are not pissing clear all day you are not drinking enough.... (outside the morning piss)

not to get all girlie on you either but, how much fat do you realistically have to lose? I know I have a mini tire around my waist at 32 that needs to go. If you can I would jump all over the yoga bro. It will help with every aspect, daily life, martial arts. I wish I took my own advice, I love the way I feel after yoga....

Post: #34

I was considering doing the yoga. There is the hot yoga that is another option...do you know if it will help me lose fat as well? If not I won't do it.

Don't worry about getting girlie, I am also very conscious of tracking my fat levels.

I don't "have" to lost fat. I am far from having a six pack though and I would like to get to that level. With two weeks left I am not very optimistic about reaching my goals.

I definitely hope you are right about your theory regarding the first two weeks plateau.

Post: #35

someone posted on here that doing the hot yoga skyrocketed his metabolism..... just the sweating with use up tons of energy...... just have to be care to hydrate, you would have to constantly be drinking water, think a few gallons a day with everything.

Post: #36

You're definitely not eating enough. Judging from your average meals, you can't be getting more than 1,500 to 2,000 calories a day. And I imagine you're probably burning almost that much just from your training. Unless you're like 5'4" and 130lbs, this isn't nearly enough food. When your caloric deficit is TOO big, it can fuck with your results, not to mention energy levels and mood swings. I also imagine if you ate more, you'd recover faster and have more energy. So up the protein, and if you're trying to lose fat, cut back on bread, rice, etc.

Eat tons of meat, tons of nuts, tons of fruits and veggies, and then just eat carbs (Bread, rice, etc.) in the morning or immediately after you workouts. You should definitely be eating breakfast, a larger lunch, an afternoon snack after your nap and then a bigger dinner. This shouldn't be hard, you should be STARVING every day after these workouts. That's your body trying to tell you something. It needs fuel! Listen to it!

I could go on and on about insulin sensitivity and glycemic index shit, but the short story is, if you're working out a shitload and not losing fat, it's because your body is insulin insensitive and you need to cut back on carbs. The build muscle/lose fat at the same time could be true if you've never really worked out much before. Fitness newbies will lose fat and build muscle at the same time, but honestly, with the small amount of protein you're getting, I can't imagine this being the case.

Also, drinks TONS AND TONS of water. If you don't drink enough water consistently, your body actual RETAINS water weight. It's completely counter-intuitive, but the more water you drink, the less water weight you hold. That might be 2-3lbs right there by itself.

And like CLR said, if you don't eat more protein you'll lose muscle along with your fat. Stuff yourself on chicken and nuts at night.

I don't know anything about week two plateau's, but it could be true.

So to recap: eat more and more often, eat more protein, only eat bread/rice in the morning or after your workouts, and drink water like it's going out of style. It really sucks that more emphasis isn't put on nutrition, because people like you can go and kill yourself training and working out and not see great results. Trust me, I've been there. And it wasn't until I learned a lot about nutrition and fixed up my eating habits that I started getting awesome results with half the amount of effort.

Switching gears...

How rigorous/personalized is the training? Are you learning a lot? Do you feel yourself advancing really quickly, or do they just kind of throw you into a class and have you fend for yourself? I'm seriously considering this place this fall. Been wanting to learn Muay Thai or another form of martial arts for a long time now. How happy are you with the training and attention you're getting?

Post: #37

For sure, I definitely have not been watching my nutrition too well. Nearly had a damn heat stroke the other day because I'm not hydrated enough.

I'm going to cut all the carbs except for pre/post workout fruit, and increase calories in the form of chicken breasts and eggs.

Can anyone else vouch for hot yoga? I only have two weeks left here, getting kind of desperate.

The training is rigorous, even if you are not trying very hard. I would say it is personalized in that you spend about a total of an hour each day getting personal pad work and sparring from the trainers in a 1 on 1 setting. My technique has definitely gotten much better since I've been here.

If you are a newbie they will put you into a separate class for about a week so that you can figure out the technique. Muay Thai is pretty simple so you should catch on pretty quickly.

And yes, don't go until autumn unless you want to have a fuckin heat stroke. I am sitting in an air conditioned PC cafe right now and feel like I'm going to die.

Post: #38

Yeah. It's not a big deal if you eat a little bread or rice here and there... in fact, after workouts, it's probably good for you. You're probably burning such a massive amount of calories, that it doesn't matter so much. But just make the bulk of your diet chicken, veggies and nuts.

My guess is that your lack of weight loss is a lot of water retention, and the second you leave and get to a normal climate, you'll drop 2-3lbs immediately.

Post: #39

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Post: #40

Was she a hooker/"semi-pro" bar girl?

Post: #41

Funny! and how is the training going? You change things up? notice any more differences?

Post: #42

I'm not sure, but the fact that she works at a bar makes me pretty sure that she is semi pro.

I changed things up a bit in that I've lowered carb intake and started to do more yoga.

Overall I have clearly leaned up a bit. The scale has not changed much but my friend who has not seen me since my first day of training has told me that I'm clearly fitter.

It is possible that I have gained muscle and lost fat, which would explain the non-movement on the scale. I know we should not take the scale too seriously as long as we are losing fat, but it is a bit discouraging to not see my weight go down at least a bit.

Post: #43

(06-23-2010 12:53 AM)youngmobileglobal Wrote:  I'm not sure, but the fact that she works at a bar makes me pretty sure that she is semi pro.

Good job.

The mama probably sent her girls out to keep her regular customers happy. Especially the guys that run the Muay Thai camp.

Do they have you kicking banana trees in half?

Aloha!

Post: #44

I would be happy staying at 6ft and 200lbs if it was muscle! Fuck, some how I must have gained a few more lbs in the last week. Im a big fattie and I need to hit the camp hard, its all belly fat, probably from beer. DAMN! I will be there, but I think I am going to hit up a Chang Mai one for more local normalish girls.

Post: #45

Good stuff YMG, keep us updated on how it goes as this is somethig I'd like to do in the near future.

Post: #46

edit

Post: #47

yeah I am not fat fat its a tease on myself..... I only need to lose 15-20 lbs really.

Post: #48

when i was training muay thai 3 or 4 times a week i was in the best shape i have ever been in but i was also heavier. i have a lean frame and put on some solid muscle. dont worry about the scale, your body is much better off then it was before

Post: #49

Phuket rules.

Post: #50

i might be in phuket next week