Swedish traveler André Helgesen spent 28 days at a Shenzhen weight-loss camp for under $1,000. The program includes 3 daily workouts, strict meals, and shared rooms. Ideal for travelers seeking intensive fitness routines in China.
Tags:Source: OT-Team(G), Mirror
29-year-old Swedish traveler André Helgesen began his Asian adventure in Shenzhen, where he spent 28 days at a weight-loss camp after already losing 50 kilograms.
For many travelers, the first stop on a backpacking trip through Asia might be Tokyo, Bangkok or Bali.
For 29-year-old Swedish man André Helgesen, it was Shenzhen.
After quitting his job as a systems technician in Sweden, Helgesen began backpacking around Asia. But instead of starting with sightseeing, he spent his first 28 days in China at a weight-loss training camp, following a strict schedule of exercise, controlled meals and communal living.
What makes his story particularly unusual is that he had already lost 50 kilograms before arriving in China.
He Came to China to Lose the Last Few Kilograms
Helgesen once weighed around 138 kilograms. Over roughly two years, he changed his diet and increased his physical activity, bringing his weight down to about 88 kilograms.
Despite losing 50 kilograms, he said he still wanted to lose the final few kilograms and put a clear end to his long weight-loss journey.
While researching his planned trip through Asia on Reddit, he discovered Chinese residential weight-loss camps, which he said were relatively uncommon in Europe and North America.
The idea appealed to him, so he made Shenzhen his first stop in Asia.
He paid around 9,000 Swedish kronor for the 28-day program, equivalent to less than US$1,000 at the time. The fee covered accommodation, meals and daily training.
Three Workouts a Day in Shenzhen
Life at the camp was highly structured.
Helgesen's daily schedule generally ran from around 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., with three exercise sessions a day, six days a week.
Training varied from physical conditioning, running and gym exercises to group activities such as badminton.
One thing that surprised him was the way the Chinese coaches worked with participants.
Rather than simply standing nearby and giving instructions, trainers often exercised alongside the group. They ran together, demonstrated movements and completed the workouts with participants.
Helgesen said the language barrier was manageable. He did not speak Chinese, while many of the trainers and participants were not comfortable speaking English, but translation apps and demonstrations helped.
He particularly praised the staff for being friendly, humorous and willing to help.
He also said that despite the demanding schedule, he felt relatively safe. Participants had stretching and rest periods, and those who felt unwell or suffered an injury could take time off.
The Hardest Part Came After 5 p.m.
The diet proved more difficult.
Helgesen said he consumed around 1,300 calories a day and followed a strict eating schedule. Dinner was served at around 5 p.m., with breakfast not until 8 a.m. the following morning.
After three workouts during the day, going through the evening without another meal could be difficult.
He admitted that he occasionally bought an apple when he became too hungry to stick completely to the plan.
But the experience also taught him that the camp could not make every decision for him.
The schedule was prepared, the food was provided and the coaches were there, but nobody could force him to follow every rule.
For Helgesen, that became an important lesson: the camp could provide the environment, but the discipline still had to come from him.
A Very Different Kind of Life in China
The experience also meant adapting to communal living.
Helgesen shared a room with other participants and had to deal with different sleeping schedules and habits, including smoking and other inconveniences that come with sharing personal space.
After a full day of training, returning to a shared room was certainly not the relaxing end to a holiday.
Still, he did not regret coming.
The four weeks gave him an experience of China that was very different from that of a typical foreign traveler. He interacted closely with Chinese trainers and staff, ate meals prepared locally, used translation technology in everyday communication and spent nearly every day following the same tightly organized routine.
Another 5 Kilograms Gone
According to figures Helgesen personally shared online, he lost another 5 kilograms during the 28 days, bringing his weight from around 88 kilograms to 83 kilograms.
That put his total weight loss at approximately 55 kilograms, or 110 jin, from his highest recorded weight.
Most of that transformation, however, happened before he came to China. The Shenzhen camp was the final stage of a process that had already taken him about two years.
After leaving, he did not continue following the same strict schedule, but said his weight remained relatively stable rather than immediately rebounding.
More importantly, he said he finally felt satisfied with his appearance and no longer saw himself as the person he had once been self-conscious about.
For Helgesen, Shenzhen was therefore more than just a place to lose weight.
It became the starting point of his Asian adventure — and, at the same time, the final stop in a personal journey that had begun years earlier in Sweden.
After completing the 28-day program, he continued on to South Korea and Japan, leaving China with 5 fewer kilograms and, by his own account, a very different view of himself.
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