Fitness trainer battles to lose 72 kilos while coaching others

31-year-old Anastasia Razova from Yaroslavl is a determined woman: she learned to live happily with excess weight and now helps others. Her clients are not bothered that their trainer weighs 140 kilograms (308 lbs), they know why they come to her gym.

«Sew the Girl»s Mouth Shut«

Nastya«s weight problems began in childhood. And by the age of 11, she realized that it should not affect the achievement of the goals she set for herself.

— I started gaining a lot of weight from the 5th grade, — the woman recalls. — It coincided with the beginning of puberty — it started earlier than for everyone else. And I gained about twenty kilograms (44 lbs) over the summer, even though I only ate fruits and vegetables. And every time we went to the doctors, they told my mom: «Let the girl eat less, sew her mouth shut, and that»s it.«

For years, doctors told Nastya to eat less and exercise. Of course, she wasn«t on any diets back then, but she also didn»t eat more than others. Fortunately, the girl did not face bullying at school. She«s sure it»s because she was a leader in life.

— I wasn«t bullied at school because I was always a fighter for justice, for truth, I was visible and heard everywhere, — she says. — Well, there was a time when boys didn»t pay attention to me, and I was always «one of the guys,» but I was okay. There were times when relatives could say: «Don»t you want to make Nastya lose weight?«, but at that point mom would shut everyone up and ask them not to stick their noses in. I, of course, reacted aggressively to comments about my weight. Later, understanding came, and I stopped being offended by them.

Hard Attempts to Lose Weight

Only when Nastya grew up did she realize that this couldn«t go on. She went to doctors, trainers, tried diets.

— The realization came about three years ago when I was finally given the correct diagnosis — hypothyroidism, — explains Nastya. — That is, roughly speaking, when the body doesn«t produce hormones, they just aren»t there. It«s a hormonal disorder. As it turned out, I have it chronically. I never had a properly functioning thyroid gland in principle, but they didn»t prescribe me medication. If I had been given the correct hormone therapy from the start, I would have lived perfectly and never worried about excess weight. But instead, I spent my whole life trying to diet.

And yet, over the last three years, Nastya tried on herself different diets and types of sports. She set a goal to lose 72 kilograms (159 lbs). From 142 (313 lbs). Two years of strict self-control gave a result, though not a huge one — she managed to drop to 118 (260 lbs). But then problems arose.

Maximum Weight

Things got to the point where Nastya gained even more weight.

— A month ago I weighed 145.1 kilograms (320 lbs), and now — 141 (311 lbs), — she admits. — Over the last month I lost 4 kilograms (9 lbs), and it was very hard for me. I recently got my tests done again. They need constant monitoring — every three months, but I hadn«t done them for 1.5 years. And during that time I gained 35 kilograms (77 lbs), which I had managed to lose before.

Psychological problems were added to the excess weight. Not every girl can accept that all her efforts were in vain.

— I had a mental disorder — it«s when you eat your emotions instead of experiencing them, — the girl continued. — I»m not always positive, and that also comes from hormones, when you have sudden mood swings. Some little thing can upset me. I managed without a psychologist, but I allow for the possibility that I«ll still seek one. Relatives and friends can»t help here. I still can«t say that I accept myself 100%. But the process of acceptance is underway.

Now the girl is helped by hormone control, physical activity, and a calorie deficit. And, of course, discipline. She is sure that if you want to lose weight, you must calculate your deficit and stick to it.

— There are special formulas on the internet, — she explains. — You add physical activity to the deficit and live like that for four months, and then you come out of the deficit. Our body adapts during that time. When something in our body isn«t working right, the body itself tells you: your knees hurt — you»re doing something wrong. Fitness is good, but it«s not always about quick results or even health. You can just walk, swim, do what you like. The body burns 2000 kilocalories a day with a sedentary lifestyle. The body shouldn»t immediately lose weight — that«s not normal. We all count our calories, are on a deficit, and stick to it.

Psychological Problems

Nastya is also slowly managing to straighten out psychologically. She has already learned not to pay attention to unpleasant comments about her on the internet. And there were many — after all, all the local media wrote about the determined girl when she planned to lose 72 kg.

— I realized that you just need to accept the fact that some people like me, and some don«t. Every person who writes nasty things on the internet is actually writing about themselves. I live with that fact. Why would I be offended by narrow-minded people? I get more anonymous hate. First they see me in a cafe, and then they write nasty things about me »eating for three.«

Nastya also takes care of herself, constantly changes her hairstyles, gets fashionable manicures, and wears a hoodie with the inscription «I love myself.»

— This is very important for me, — she assures. — When apathy sets in — I urgently need to go get a piercing, a tattoo, put on makeup, change my hairstyle. That is, to switch gears, to attract people«s attention to myself. But it»s not like I«ve put a crown on my head: I get embarrassed when I»m recognized. I only have 2000 followers on Instagram (an extremist organization banned in Russia), and it«s strange to me when people say I»m a star. But I do love to look bright, extraordinary.

Other Trainers Condemn

Over the last three years, Nastya has tried different diets and types of sports on herself. Now she gives her knowledge and skills to others — she works as a trainer.

— I don«t initially set the goal of making someone thinner and I don»t really like it when people come to me with that mindset, — she says. — Because losing weight is a short-term goal. It won«t work for long. If you come and say: »Nastya, my back hurts, my knees hurt,« then I»ll take you, that would be very interesting to me. I didn«t initially recruit girls to »lose weight.«

— How do other fitness trainers treat you?

— They discuss me along the lines of: «She hasn»t put herself in order, but she calls herself a trainer.« Some people lose the desire to train, sometimes one look is enough.

— How do you convince people to train?

— When girls come to me, I immediately say, don«t expect any results in the first month. We work on strengthening muscles, understanding what you can do, how you can do it, and then we increase the load. The training is fun, lively. During the sessions we become friends and then communicate 24/7.

Training is Nastya«s main income. When clients come regularly, the income is quite enough to live on.

— My price for training is average, — Nastya says. — It«s not a cheap price, but it»s not inflated either, like in fitness centers with other trainers. I think I know quite a lot, I know how to apply it in practice. I«ve been through everything myself, I»m constantly learning. Many people say they come for the energy, but then they realize it«s not for that. I»m very glad that they now evaluate me as a specialist, although you can learn to be a trainer endlessly, because the body«s biomechanics are a really cool thing. I charge money for my knowledge and constant communication. There have been times when I was so tired during the day that I walked around in silence for two days afterwards. It takes a lot of energy when you worry about everyone.

It is believed that a trainer should be a girl with «six-pack abs.» This story is not about Nastya, but the people who come to her know that she herself has come a long way and continues to learn.

«You Are Not Numbers, You Are Personalities»

For Nastya, every client is an achievement. She does not evaluate results by numbers.

— It makes me happy to see people who come to my training and change, — she says. — It«s cool when a person comes, burdened with their problems, and within 15 minutes we»re laughing, dancing. And they leave happy. I tell my girls: «You are not numbers, you are personalities.» When we lose weight, we look at measurements. I worry about their state during these moments of waiting for other numbers. I tell them: «You must think with your feelings.» Every week I make them write down what the pluses were, what the minuses were. Boys come to me too. My girls are swallows, and the boys are falcons. The training is no different at all. We all have the same biomechanics, it«s just that everyone has different endurance. My work is with posture, strengthening the muscle corset, muscle tone. Yes, we lose weight, but I tell them: »You go to the gym — that«s great, but if you drink a lot, gorge on fast food, then there won»t be good results.«

Even though she doesn«t like to evaluate results in numbers, her clients do have results.

— I have a girl on a nutrition plan now, — Nastya summarized. — We took the starting point in January — 110 kilograms (242 lbs), and now she has lost 7.5 kilograms (17 lbs), and she has very big losses in measurements. Almost 10 cm off her waist. Well, again, it«s not about the weight, but about the transformation of the whole body. I get requests like: »I want to lose 20 kilograms (44 lbs), do you guarantee it?« I say no, I don»t, no one can. If you follow the recommendations — you will have a loss, how much — I don«t know, because everyone has a different body, different processes happen in the body.

She Says the Right Things, But What Does She Do?

Tatyana Seleznyova, dietitian:

— Nastya says everything correctly. The question is, does she do everything herself that way? Hypothyroidism, of course, affects metabolism, slows it down, but is not the sole cause of obesity. The main causes are still overeating and a sedentary lifestyle. The fact that Nastya maintains a positive attitude, works on herself, and inspires others — that«s praiseworthy! But it»s still better to lose weight with the guidance of a specialist.