Health Farm For My Mother-in-law

[wamberal]

My mother-in-law is a wonderful person, but she is short and fat, with arthritic knees, high cholestrol and high blood pressure. She eats all the wrong things, and too much of them, and takes absolutely zero exercise.

Since we have been married my wife has become a bit of an exercise freak, and we would love to do something to get Mummy into shape.

Is there somewhere she could go for a two week programme to get her onto the right track of eating and exercising properly? I have contacted Bumrungrad to get a quote, but it occurs to me that there might be somewhere else, like a health resort.

[chownah]

I know its hard to get fat people into the pool but if you're fat and have bad knees then swimming is probably the best thing for you....except of course eating less.

[seeker108]

My mother-in-law is a wonderful person, but she is short and fat, with arthritic knees, high cholestrol and high blood pressure.  She eats all the wrong things, and too much of them, and takes absolutely zero exercise.

  Since we have been married my wife has become a bit of an exercise freak, and we would love to do something to get Mummy into shape.

  Is there somewhere she could go for a two week programme to get her onto the right track of eating and exercising properly?  I have contacted Bumrungrad to get a quote, but it occurs to me that there might be somewhere else, like a health resort.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

A few questions:

Is your mother-in-law Thai or farang?

Where does she live?

Where do you live?

One thing I am thinking is that it might be both less costly and more effective to hire a personal trainer for 2 weeks or longer.

[wamberal]

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

A few questions:

Is your mother-in-law Thai or farang?

Where does she live?

Where do you live?

One thing I am thinking is that it might be both less costly and more effective to hire a personal trainer for 2 weeks or longer.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Seeker108,

Many thanks for your response. My mother-in-law is Thai, and she lives about 1 hour south of BKK.

My wife and I live in Wamberal, which is a seaside village about 1 hour north of Sydney, Australia.

I have found a couple of so-called resorts on the internet, one in Phuket, and one in Koh Samui, but they are just hotels. There is another one which sounds slightly more interesting in Chiang Mai, which we might try to investigate further.

We both feel pretty certain that she would need to go into some sort of managed, 24 hour a day programme, for a couple of weeks, preferably with a companion, either one of her daughters or her sister. If it wasn't so outrageously expensive, Chiva-Som sounds ideal.

[seeker108]

There is another one which sounds slightly more interesting in Chiang Mai, which we might try to investigate further.

           

Which place in CM? I know many of them and actually managed one of them for a brief time.

Anyway, I still think, if you really want to help the ol' M-I-L to improve her health and not just give her a short pampered vacation then you will do better to hire (even part-time) a good trainer or nurse (who will ride her constantly)and have her regularly see some good health practioner to guide the process (I am about to do a similar process for myself). The cost of this for a year should be much cheaper than a couple of weeks at one of these resorts. Of course, in either case, a lot will depend on how committed your MIL is to the process and to getting results.

I have seen many of these resorts in both Thailand and India and most are just resorts for pampering without much true healthcare. I know of some very good Ayur Vedic clinics and doctors in India, but have not yet found anything great in Thailand (though it is my hope that Thailand will one day be a center for this). There were some clinics starting in Chiang Mai 2 years ago, but not sure what the current status is or how good they are. Unfortunately I know nothing about the area where your MIL is located.

I think this is very good of you and your wife to try to help her mom. I hope mom gets behind the idea as well. Good luck.

[chownah]

For fat people with bad knees who can't swim then water aerobics is perfect. In the US there are alot of water aerobics classes....has anyone heard of these in Thailand? A beginners water aerobics class is mostly just stretching and light movement of all the body parts...often with music. Some people who are embarrassed at how their body looks like these classes because when you are in the water your body is sort of hidden and they feel more comfortable with this. The difficult part for this is getting them in and out of the pool...both from embarrassment of their appearance and also it can be very difficult for them to negotiate the ladder into the pool....some help and reassurance is good at least for the first few times both getting in and getting out....many people find that after being helped a few time that they can manage quite well on their own and have a feeling of accomplishment at having mastered the task.

Edited August 24, 2005 by chownah

[lopez176]

I am really seeing here some great guys. who are sincerely concerned about their mother-in-laws. I am impressed. Keep up the good work to keep your mother-in-law in soud health condition. I will tell my wife about u people and I am sure she will definitely reply to your post.

[Dara]

Seeker108,

                Many thanks for your response.  My mother-in-law is Thai, and she lives about 1 hour south of BKK.

              My wife and I live in Wamberal, which is a seaside village about 1 hour north of Sydney, Australia.

              I have found a couple of so-called resorts on the internet, one in Phuket, and one in Koh Samui, but they are just hotels.  There is another one which sounds slightly more interesting in Chiang Mai, which we might try to investigate further.

            We both feel pretty certain that she would need to go into some sort of managed, 24 hour a day programme, for a couple of weeks, preferably with a companion, either one of her daughters or her sister.  If it wasn't so outrageously expensive, Chiva-Som sounds ideal.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It is great that you and your wife want to help her mom get into better shape. Please don't take this the wrong way, but did she actually express an interest in taking better care of herself? The reason that I ask is that I have seen many people who have gotten into bad eating habits and neglected physical fitness all their lives who now have the desire to do better, who are still struggling day-to-day to create a new, healthier lifestyle. People who are being guided or forced into the concept of healthier living are not likely to maintain it after any brief session.

So, if your mother-in-law actually wants to get healthier, find her a great program, then make sure that she has a good support system to help her sustain the commitment. Otherwise, send her on a nice, healthy vacation, but don't expect too much afterwards. It takes a life time for people to form a habit, a couple of weeks aren't going to be enough to change it, unless, of course, they are faced with a life or death situation - and even at that, a strong will is a must......

[wamberal]

It is great that you and your wife want to help her mom get into better shape.  Please don't take this the wrong way, but did she actually express an interest in taking better care of herself?  The reason that I ask is that I have seen many people who have gotten into bad eating habits and neglected physical fitness all their lives who now have the desire to do better, who are still struggling day-to-day to create a new, healthier lifestyle.  People who are being guided or forced into the concept of healthier living are not likely to maintain it after any brief session.

Firstly, thank you to everybody for your constructive and useful posts.

Mother-in-law absolutely does not have the willpower to change her lifestyle. She is probably fairly typical of her age and class. Father-in-law had a fairly good job, and Mummy never had to work, in fact would have been discouraged from doing so.

She is in her mid-sixties, and we hope that we can find some way to get her onto a healthier lifestyle.....she will not do it on her own. We thought that, if she could get into a health farm for a couple of weeks, lose a couple of kilos, and start some gentle exercise, that she might be motivated to continue.

We would dearly love to bring her out to Australia for a few weeks holiday, but I could not take the risk with her health. I could just imagine her developing a blood clot or worse on the flight out.

There are no facilities in the village where they live. We would buy her an exercise bike, even put in a pool, if we thought that would help. Money is no problem, will power and motivation are the key.

[Dara]

Firstly, thank you to everybody for your constructive and useful posts.

  Mother-in-law absolutely does not have the willpower to change her lifestyle.  She is probably fairly typical of her age and class.  Father-in-law had a fairly good job, and Mummy never had to work, in fact would have been discouraged from doing so. 

  She is in her mid-sixties, and we hope that we can find some way to get her onto a healthier lifestyle.....she will not do it on her own.  We thought that, if she could get into a health farm for a couple of weeks, lose a couple of kilos, and start some gentle exercise, that she might be motivated to continue.

  We would dearly love to bring her out to Australia for a few weeks holiday, but I could not take the risk with her health.  I  could just imagine her developing a blood clot or worse on the flight out.

  There are no facilities in the village where they live.  We would buy her an exercise bike, even put in a pool, if we thought that would help. Money is no problem, will power and motivation are the key.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Wam - perhaps the next time you all go back to Thailand, you can take you mother-in-law back with you. Your wife can help taking her for a stroll while in flight so that whe won't sit in one place too long. Then you can take her sight seeing & walking around a little after dinner just to get her going.

As for when she's in her village in Thailand, if your wife could get a group of her friends together to go to a program and provide them with an incentive of some kind to continue afterwards, it may work. IMHO people tend to do things with their peer group better than being on their own.

Eating healthy in Thailand can be difficult, but not impossible. Your wife might want to find supplements for her to take daily - not only would it help rounding out her intake, but may be a daily reminder about living healthy as well. Your wife can also ask the cook to keep the menu healthier each day.....

[zzdocxx]

Just wondering if anyone might provide the names/locations of some actual health type resorts.

I am interested in this personally, just a week or two to get away from everything and focus on eating healthy food, exercise, meditation, that sort of thing.

I figured that such a place might be alot less costly in Thailand that in the US, where I live.

Anyone know of any places like this? In the US sometimes these places are called "fat farms", if they are mainly for obese people.

[zzdocxx]

Thanks for posting the info.

Funny I always imagined this type of place to be located in the countryside or at the beach somewhere. Hiking, enjoying nature, that sort of thing.

[wamberal]

Any updates on the Wellness Centre in Sukhumvit?

[lopburi3]

I would have wife talk with doctor at a local hospital and then bring mother in for consultation. Being told to lose weight by the man in white will make a much bigger impression than from daughter. Have her learn proper exercise routine from hospital and perhaps pay a nurse overtime after she learns to keep her at it at home. I am sure this would be much less expensive than a pay to starve hotel and have a much longer lasting result.

Pools, outside of hotels, are not common in Thailand so unless you build one there is not much opportunity for aquatic exercise.

[wamberal]

I would have wife talk with doctor at a local hospital and then bring mother in for consultation. Being told to lose weight by the man in white will make a much bigger impression than from daughter. Have her learn proper exercise routine from hospital and perhaps pay a nurse overtime after she learns to keep her at it at home. I am sure this would be much less expensive than a pay to starve hotel and have a much longer lasting result.

Pools, outside of hotels, are not common in Thailand so unless you build one there is not much opportunity for aquatic exercise.

Lopburi3,

Thanks for that. Getting start is the thing.......I hoped that if she had a couple of weeks not only on a reduced food intake, but also learning the benefits of an exercise regime, that it might kick-start her on a road to improvement.

We really want to bring her down to Australia for a few weeks, but I am sh*t-scared about DVT, or other health complications. It would be impossible to get adequate travel insurance, due to her pre-existing medical condition.

[lopburi3]

Really believe small hospital setting would be much better for her to take it seriously as those 2 week getaways are designed for the rich and pampered and would not likely be viewed as anything but a vacation getaway (and she probably would not be comfortable with all the attention in any case). Getting a doctor to recommend physical therapy I believe would be the best method and if the hospital expense is not that much perhaps keep it there (they are happy to make money) or if she develops a relationship with someone perhaps on outside income would be welcome.

[wamberal]

Really believe small hospital setting would be much better for her to take it seriously as those 2 week getaways are designed for the rich and pampered and would not likely be viewed as anything but a vacation getaway (and she probably would not be comfortable with all the attention in any case). Getting a doctor to recommend physical therapy I believe would be the best method and if the hospital expense is not that much perhaps keep it there (they are happy to make money) or if she develops a relationship with someone perhaps on outside income would be welcome.

Lopburi3,

Many thanks for your further thoughts. I actually emailed Bumrungrad a couple of months ago, to see whether they offered anything appropriate, but haven't heard anything back.

Perhaps I asked the wrong question. I would be pretty sure that they would offer some kind of fitness/rehab programme? Can you think of any other hospitals that I can approach?

Again, many thanks for your input.

Regards

Wamberal

[Nam Kao]

Sending her to fat farm is not going to help long term.

If it was me i would say ok - u lose X lbs in a month or we will stop sending you money.

And you have to remain under X pounds etc etc.

i know this sounds harsh but it will work, trust me.

regards

nam

[lopburi3]

I would look for a public or private hospital as close to her home as possible. You surly do not need to use the most expensive hospital in Thailand for this (unless she is only comfortable among the Bangkok elite and foreigners).

[wamberal]

Lopburi3,

Many thanks, again. I guess we want to give her the best possible treatment, which is why I thought of Bumrungrad. But will consider your suggestion of approaching local hospitals (south side of Bangkok).

My wife and I are off for a few days to New Caledonia, flying ex-Sydney today. We will have a think about it while we are away.