How I lost 4 lbs while on vacation last weekend!

It certainly wasn’t the most comfortable way for me to lose weight, but I did.

I’m not proud of this and neither do I recommend anyone to do this. But nonetheless, I am going to tell you how I painfully managed to lose 4lbs over the weekend while on vacation.

I was on a four day trip to Bangkok, Thailand last weekend. Having just recovered from stomach flu, my digestive system was still feeling a little sensitive. I know I’m no Wolverine, but I always believed body’s recovery prowess has always been better than most people. So I was feeling pretty confident that I could resume my usual diet.

On the morning that I was supposed to take off for Bangkok, my stomach started to feel a little bloated – a sign that I should still layoff foods that are too intense. Not wanting to ruin my vacation mood, I simply rubbed some ointment on my belly and made my way to the airport.

The Aggravation Begins

“Sawadikap!”

Three hours later, I landed in Bangkok and shortly arrived at my hotel. By then, it was already past lunchtime. I wasted little time and headed over to the first place on my itinerary for lunch which was just 10 minutes away from my hotel. It was a famous Thai Restaurant that served homemade traditional Thai dishes. I ordered a plate of stir fried morning glory (always have to have fibre), sweet and sour chicken and their famous curry crab with egg yolk.  I later washed down this sumptuous meal with some cool and refreshing coconut juice.

As I was about to leave the restaurant, my stomach started growling. Before I could make my way out of the restaurant, I got a stomachache and had to go to the washroom.

That was my first diarrhea. But hey, I felt a lot better afterwards. So I resumed my tour of Bangkok.

Most of the food in Bangkok is very safe to eat with exception to some of the roadside stalls. The reason why I got diarrhea is because I already have a pre-existing condition of stomach flu prior to travelling to Bangkok. The rich spices used in many authentic Thai dishes inevitably aggravated my condition.

One beverage that you must try when you’re in Thailand is their Thai Ice Tea. There happened to be a stall right outside a BTS station (Bangkok Mass Rapid Transit System). So I ordered a Thai ice tea and observed how the lady prepared one of Thailand’s signature beverages. I noticed she put in two types of milk: condensed and evaporated. Hmmm… not really such a good idea to have milk after diarrhea and now I’m having two different types. Nevermind. I’m on vacation and I’m indestructible!

I savored my Thai Ice Tea while travelling on BTS to my next destination.

Soon it was dinner time. Between the time I had my Thai Ice Tea to dinner time, I visited the toilet once more. Worried that I might get overly dehydrated as a result of the diarrhea, I tried to look for a sports drink or any isotonic drink to replace the lost fluids and electrolytes. Strangely, none of the convenience stores in Bangkok have any! I couldn’t find any Gatorade, 100 Plus or H-two-O. I had to stick with water.

For dinner, I went over to Chinatown for their famous Shark’s fin, healthy steamed sea bass with spicy lemon sauce and some steamed vegetables. For dessert was a nice bowl of top grade bird’s nest. During the course of the meal, my stomach was making all sorts of weird noises. Now on hindsight, I think that if my stomach could speak, it would tell me to “stop forcing food down dumbass! One more swallow and I swear I’ll make you suffer!”

Made me suffer it did. Because in the middle of the night, my stomach hurt so bad that I had to visit the toilet again.

Sometimes things get worse before it gets better

The following day, I went straight to the pharmacy and asked for some medication for diarrhea and some electrolyte sachets. If I was at home, I would go on a soft diet or not eat anything at all to give my stomach a rest. But I was on vacation! It seemed such a waste to spend your vacation in the hotel room. So with painkillers, charcoal pills and diarrhea relief medication on hand, I continued with my scheduled itinerary. But I was more careful with my diet now and ate only the plain and easily digestible foods.

Over the next two days, my condition worsened. My eyes were bloodshot because I couldn’t sleep well. My skin was dry from the dehydration. My muscles felt flat and I desperately need to find some sports drink to get myself properly hydrated before my condition deteriorated into fever. At that point, I was surprised I even had any energy to get out of my room at all let alone walk around Bangkok.

On the third day, I went to “Big C”, the biggest supermarket in Bangkok. Lo and behold, I found the one thing that I have been looking for since day one – GATORADE! I swear this is the only place in Bangkok that has Gatorade. I was so relieved to find it I immediately bought four big bottles. It came at such an opportune time as well because my electrolyte sachets was running out and honestly, those didn’t taste very well at all.

That final night was the most excruciating of all. My painkillers seemed to have lost its effectiveness. My cramps hurt so bad I couldn’t even stand straight. All I had for dinner that night was some vermicelli with soup and pork slices. For the rest of the night, I downed two bottles of Gatorade, continued with my charcoal pills medication and had an early night.

The last day

I woke up on the morning of my last day in Bangkok to a stomachache – yet again. Just when I thought it’s going to be another painful day, that diarrhea turned out to be the last one hopefully for a very long time.

Thereafter, I felt so much better. I continued with my Gatorade and charcoal pills treatment and within a few minutes my appetite returned and I was finally able to get my money back on the breakfast buffet that I’ve missed for the past few days. But I was careful this time not to eat anything fried, oily or anything dairy.

As I was flipping through the newspaper on my flight back, an ad caught my eye. It was an ad about 100 Plus – one of the isotonic drinks I’ve been desperately searching for in Bangkok – and its announcement that they will finally be making it available in Thailand. Such irony… I’m not sure whether to laugh or to cry.

Throughout these entire four days, I lost 4 lbs. Most of which I believe is water and some of it, muscle.

In the unfortunate event you are stuck with diarrhea while in a foreign land and don’t have a doctor around or if you feel your condition is relatively mild and don’t really require a doctor, follow the tips below to avoid aggravating your condition:

1. Go to the nearest pharmacy and ask for diarrhea medication. Describe to the pharmacist your condition. Charcoal pills and electrolyte sachets are a must.
2. Go on a “soft diet”. Preferably something easily digestible like porridge, vermicelli with minced pork. Nothing too spicy, oily, fried, acidic, alkaline. Absolutely no dairy or alcohol.
3. Keep yourself hydrated throughout the day. Diarrhea can easily deplete your body of all your fluids quicker than you know. Get a few bottles of isotonic or sports drinks to sip throughout the day. This is important to keep your body hydrated and avoid you going into fever. Also, with the reduced calorie intake due to the soft diet, your body will need an alternative source of energy. This constant supply of simple carbohydrates from the energy drinks will stop your body from burning your muscle for energy.
4. Get some rest. Diarrhea is very draining on the body. (pun intended)
5. If your condition worsens or does not improve after a day, see a doctor! Don’t be like me! It’s better to spend a day recuperating in a hotel room than possibly ending up at a hospital for three days!
6. Soon after you’ve recovered, you will have ravenous appetite for all junk food! As tough as it sounds, try to control your cravings and continue eating healthy. (I treat myself to only two sticks of ice cream after I recovered)
7. Once you feel better, try to resume light training until you are back 100%.

While diarrhea and any form of illness is a fast way to lose weight, it is certainly not a recommended way to lose weight at all.

For the record, I do not advocate any form of self-induced diarrhea, food poisoning or food regurgitation as a means of weight loss. Weight loss through these methods are temporary and most importantly unhealthy.

There is however a healthy way to lose up to 5 lbs in the first week. If you haven’t signed up for my newsletter already, enter your email address on the top right corner of this page now and sign up for your free fat loss starter kit where I’ll reveal to you the quickest way to lose weight in just one week, without all the cramps, diarrhea and discomfort.