From 128kg to 71kg: Nathan’s Weight Loss Journey and the Kombat Group Experience

On New Year’s Day 2025 I weighed 128kg. Today I weigh 71kg. What finally worked was changing the way I think, and Kombat Group is where that started to stick.

Ten years of crash diets

If there was a diet fad, I had tried it, from carnivore to water fasting. Some worked for a while, but none of them lasted, and the weight always came back with extra on top.

So at the start of 2025 I made the same New Year’s resolution as everyone else: lose weight and get fit. By mid-year it was failing like every diet before it, and I started searching online for a quicker fix. Medication and surgery both came up, but the costs and possible complications put me off.

What I really wanted was a magic pill, the one we all want but doesn’t exist. 

I felt lost.

That year I started reading a lot of books: “Atomic Habits” by James Clear, “Can’t Hurt Me” by David Goggins and “Discipline Equals Freedom” by Jocko Willink, which will sort you out quick smart. I came to see that stress was driving my eating, and that I was hooked on sugar and processed foods. Food had become a crutch.

That shifted how I thought about the whole problem. Losing weight was never going to fix anything on its own, because the weight was the result of how I was living. I had to fix my lifestyle and figure out what was making me eat in the first place. The weight loss would follow.

One line from Goggins stayed with me:

“The most important conversations you’ll ever have are the ones you’ll have with yourself.”

So I made my own Accountability Mirror and covered it in sticky notes with statements like

• Athletes don’t eat at McDonald’s.
• Athletes eat real food.

I felt a little stupid standing there at 128kg calling myself an athlete, but over time those notes changed how I saw myself. They helped me rewire my brain, sort out my habits and start making the decisions that would lead to the person I wanted to be.

The mirror got my head in the right place, but I was still in the same surroundings, with the same old habits all around me.

I needed to get away from all of that, and I knew I couldn’t do it alone.

That’s when I found Kombat Group’s weight loss program in Thailand.

The guest testimonials looked positive, and I figured if they could do it, so could I. I booked a 30-day stay for July 2025 and ended up staying seven weeks.

I was nervous walking into my first Muay Thai session. Obese people don’t go to gyms, and I was no different; it must have been my first time in a gym in 20 years.

That first session was a real wake-up call. You never realise how far you’ve drifted from healthy until someone asks you to jog.

I couldn’t run more than one lap around the boxing ring before I was bent over and out of breath.

And the floor exercises were an exercise in pain and futility. The negative thoughts came rushing in. I couldn’t kick a bag properly. I couldn’t run. I couldn’t do a push-up. I can’t do this.

But Barbara, Kombat’s general manager, and the trainers knew exactly what to say: “Believe in the process” and “Give it time.”

The other guests were just as welcoming; there were no cliques, and everyone backed everyone else.

Each day had two Muay Thai sessions, 9:00 to 10:30 and 17:00 to 19:00, with Saturday afternoons and Sundays for recovery. Twice a week I added a 60-minute personal training session, and I believe that was key to some of my success.

There’s no hiding in PT.

It’s you and a coach watching your every move and pushing you to succeed.

Slowly, I learnt to push past my mental and physical barriers. Somehow the coaches at Kombat know how to push you without breaking you, and when they get the best out of you, you level up. The weekly weigh-ins showed the program was working, which is why I extended my stay.

The food is amazing too, and the dining area is where you meet people. I photographed every meal and learnt how to eat properly just by paying attention to what I was served.

When I arrived at Kombat I weighed 123kg. Seven weeks later I left at 110kg.

Going home was the real test. Before I left, Barbara told me:

When you get home, you’ve got this. You know what to do. Keep it simple and you will be fine.

I was so afraid one bad meal would undo everything that I skipped the plane meal on the way home. I needn’t have worried about one meal. The old habits were the real danger, and they did sneak back in. The first week home was a real struggle, but this time I could spot them.

That’s where the three-second rule comes in. When an old habit kicks in, like reaching for the wrong food, you have about three seconds to decide what to do. In those three seconds you make the right choice or the wrong one. I knew what the right choice was, so I’d count to three and go!

I based my meals on my Kombat photos and started running, and running became the key: to run well, I had to eat well. My self-talk was no longer negative.

I got to 100kg, then 90kg, then 80kg, and finally 73kg. I’ve run three 10k races and I train several days a week at a local Muay Thai gym.

In May 2026 I returned to Kombat still at 73kg. I’d kept the weight off, which I’d never managed before.

I got down to 69kg before levelling off at 71kg, where I am today, and Kombat’s InBody scans show my body fat has gone from 45% to 11%.

I’m a different person now. With the support of Kombat, together we did it!

Kombat isn’t a magic pill.

You have to show up and do the hard work. What Kombat gives you is everything around that hard work.

The trainers know exactly how hard to push you, and they keep you going on the days you’re sure you can’t do it.

The kitchen team serves food that fuels your training and shows you what eating properly looks like.

And from Barbara down, the staff are behind you the whole way, from the first question you ask before booking to the last check-in before you fly home.

Trust me, it’s hard work, but it’s been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life, and I’ve grown as a person because of it. It’s worth it!

You arrive as a guest, and you leave as part of the Kombat family.

— Nathan Austin

Nathan’s results are personal to him. They don’t represent a guaranteed outcome or an expected amount of weight loss for everyone who attends Kombat Group.

However, his experience highlights several important things worth considering if you’re thinking about joining a residential weight loss program.

You don’t have to be an experienced athlete to begin. Nathan arrived without having trained in a gym for around 20 years. He struggled in his first sessions, but the supportive environment helped him continue.

Training and recovery need to work together. His routine involved regular Muay Thai classes, additional personal training and time to recover. Training volume should always be appropriate to someone’s starting fitness and individual circumstances.

Your daily environment matters. Having structured training, prepared meals, coaches and other motivated guests around him helped Nathan practise new routines away from his usual distractions.

What you do after camp matters just as much. Nathan lost 13kg during his first stay, but his progress continued through the habits he maintained at home.

Above all, his story demonstrates that the value of a weight loss retreat doesn’t have to end when your stay is over.

The most useful things you take home may be the routines, skills and confidence you’ve developed along the way.