Mirko Rosa provided a presentation at the August 19 meeting of the Pattaya City Expats Club (PCEC) regarding how simple exercises and a change of eating habits can help solve the typical issues of weight loss which can take a toll on the body causing a variety of problems.
Mirko, larger than life in stature and personality, gave an enthusiastic run through of events in his interesting life, from his early first visits in Thailand and living here today. Mirko, from Italy, came to Pattaya many years ago to focus on his training with a view to become a Muay Thai Boxing champion. His strength of character, physical endurance and dedication to learn the techniques paid off when he secured his title of Asia Mixed Martial Arts.
Mirko explained how life can throw unexpected curve balls at us, in his case, a normal local trip on a motor bike ended up becoming a life challenging event for him. Whilst stationary at a red light, waiting to turn at a junction, a vehicle driven by a drunk driver ploughed into the rear of his motorcycle. He was thrown off and suffered multiple injuries.
Six months of pain, operations and medication luckily meant he made a full physical recovery. Although this was an outcome some are not so fortunate to benefit from, it was not without side effects. Mirko went from being a fighting fit 87kg champion to a 193kg not so fit giant. This was a demoralizing stage in his life. This massive setback also rekindled memories regarding the loss of his father, who he never truly felt he had time to grieve for. All these emotions flooded back and depression set in. His strength to recover both physically and mentally needed lot of self-determination. Luckily for him, his supportive and loving wife understood what he was going through, more importantly she knew what really made him tick and wanted to give him a boost.
She organized and persuaded Mirko to visit some wild animals. This idea was a massive turnaround point says Mirko. He was instantly motivated and discovered an inner affinity with the psyche and power of the tigers. The energy and emotion of just being with these powerful creatures along with feeling a bond of trust slowly forming, gave him a new and life changing focus. He took this to his heart to the point where he now looks after lions at his own family home. He showed an entertaining video of him in the garden playing and dancing with them. Mirko admits “he does like to feed them first though”. He mentioned they are fully fenced in and totally safe for protection of all in the neighborhood.
Another passion of Mirko’s is running his Sitpholec gym, in Soi Khaotalo 8, where he helps people become fitter and healthier using diet and exercise programs which he can tailor make to suit an individual’s requirements, lifestyle, and short/long term goals.
Mirko ran through a series of health tips and a simple daily exercise to start the ball rolling. He explained that the multitude of diets are basically all good, but the issue tends to be more involved with overcoming our human weakness to drop off them too quick. This he called “emotional eating”. Mirko pointed out that we inherently know that we are eating unhealthy food, but we consume it anyway, usually in an attempt to make up for other things we may lack in our lives. What many people aren’t aware of is the importance of not just what we eat, but “when” we eat it. Whilst a plate of carbs just before we go to sleep for the night will be converted and stored as fat, the same plate of carbs eaten just before a heavy days work will be burnt as energy and disappear. The other major tip was to make sure we consume enough water. Mirko said he drinks a whopping 6 liters per day, excluding coffee, tea, etc. It is a vital part of any diet strategy; water alone can help drop body weight, especially in Thailand’s heat.
Mirko’s recommendation is to develop a workout program based around your personal ability, age and health condition. Training around only three times per week. He adds that weight training is a fantastic way to energize and oxygenate the muscles which can improve bad posture leading to typical issues such as back, neck, and leg pain. He said that so long as you start at a correct resistance level under proper supervision, it will solve or prevent lots of discomfort in the future. He also felt it was also a brilliant way to make new friends who are all looking to achieve similar results. Being amongst a group of likeminded people able to support each other too.
Member Ren Lexander interviewed Mirko Rosa after his presentation. To view the video, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrryC28mw8k&t=3s
The meeting concluded with the MC Ren Lexander bringing everyone up to date on upcoming events followed by the Open Forum where members and guests can ask questions or make comments about Expat living in Thailand. Learn more about their activities or to subscribe to their weekly newsletter, visit www.pcec.club.
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