Real story of obesity and weight loss from Vitaliy

Author: Khobta Vitaliy - weight loss champion.
2016-03-17

Note from Ilia Timko. The author and protagonist of this story is a friend of my friend – Vitaliy Khobta. He is 36 years old and lives in Irkutsk. He kindly shared his, in my opinion, quite epic story. You will also learn how he trained and ate all this time. I was personally blown away by some of the numbers! I think it will be interesting. Let's go.

Prologue

I must say, I was not predisposed to being overweight: neither my mom nor my dad were heavy. There were no hereditary diseases, thank God, and so on. In general, I was a pretty healthy child with a standard cold once every year or two. So, everything I achieved in gaining weight, I did, so to speak, on my own. ))) Well, let's get started.

Among my "outstanding" qualities in childhood, laziness stands out! ))) I was too lazy to study, too lazy to engage in sports, and just plain LAZY! But I was very lucky with my father, who was seriously engaged in athletics. Thanks to him, by the end of school, I had participated in several junior competitions in the 1500m and 5000m races, and I had also played field hockey for several years. In general, I had quite a toned appearance and a solid reserve of health. With this background, I entered university. And then it began… I became fascinated with programming. I completely abandoned sports and sat glued to my desk, not for a year, not for two, but for literally a decade and a half!!! This gave me a profession and, ultimately, quite decent money, but it turned me into a bag of fat.

Chapter 1: Obesity

As I said, being a person not predisposed to fullness, I never paid attention to my diet, which became the starting point for my rise or fall. Starting around 1997, I was steadily gaining weight. This was encouraged not only by food and a sedentary lifestyle but also by beer. What programmer doesn’t love beer?

The result of these processes was a sincere weight of 148 kg (2013 – photo on the left). Grade 1 hypertension. And pre-diabetes. I must say that all these years I was not worried about my weight or my health at all. Neither of them bothered me. Strangely enough, by 2013 I was already married for the second time. I mention this because my obesity never interfered with my personal life. In general, I didn’t have problems with women even at a weight of 148 kg. Well, aside from the obvious, of course ))))

And then it happened on November 13, 2013. D-day, or C-day, or X-day. In short, the day I decided that something urgently needed to change. Here’s how it went… My driver’s license was about to expire, and I went to a medical commission for a certificate. Before the commission, I had my blood taken for a general analysis, picked up the results, and headed out. The goal was not only to get a new license but also to open category A (motorcycles) because I had a wild idea to buy a motorcycle.

But at the commission, they told me that they wouldn’t grant me category A, and even category B was only extended because I had paid; in reality, I needed treatment, not to be driving a car. I was quite surprised. It seemed like nothing to be surprised about, but I was amazed!))) In the end, I ended up undergoing an examination where I was informed that I was a lucky owner of pre-diabetes and hypertension, and in general, my tests were a mess. If you disregard all the various prescriptions, the doctor’s conclusion was simple – excess weight. I needed to lose weight. No, not that way! I HAD to lose weight! I won’t say I was not pleased. In general, I understood I needed to do it, but somehow I lacked motivation. Well, I got that motivation!

Chapter 2: Weight Loss

I do not recommend applying what follows to yourself in any way!!! I’m serious!

In general, I decided to lose weight! Well, I thought, and we remember that I’ve been lazy since childhood. Losing 20 kg over an entire year, as the endocrinologist recommended, is not for me. I’ll do it my way. Being a physicist by education, I understood clearly that to lose weight, I needed to create a calorie deficit. And I did.

For 3.5 months, I ate about 700 kcal per day and additionally burned around 1,000 kcal through cardio workouts. The only cardio I could do at that time was walking. And I walked. A LOT! 15 km a day. That is, in the morning, I walked to work 5 km, at lunch, I walked another 5 km, and in the evening, home another 5 km. On weekends, I increased the distance to 20 km. When, after about two months, the weight loss rate slowed down, I started carrying a backpack weighing about 12 kg.

The result was a weight loss down to 91 kg. From 148!!!! 57 kg in 3.5 months (photo on the left).

Those were the most dreadful 3.5 months of my life. But of course, such extreme measures led to no good outcomes. I lost fat, but alongside it, I lost muscle. Well, I wouldn’t say I had a lot of muscle, but there was significantly less. Additionally, excess skin hung quite terrifyingly on my belly. Terrible stretch marks appeared on my legs. But I was happy. )))

Having gone through that journey and taking a two-week break, I took tests again. The pre-diabetes was gone. Hypertension too. Even my eyesight improved by a diopter. However, I developed liver steatosis and polyps in my gallbladder. But I weighed 91 kg!!! A somewhat unhealthy thrill emerged. I decided to keep going. I went to the gym! It was February 2014… ))

Chapter 3: The Gym

For the first six months, I trained on my own. I didn’t achieve much (in terms of muscle growth – I got stronger). I got into it and then went to a trainer. That’s when things started to click for me ))) A well-structured nutrition plan that considered my physiological traits, combined with well-organized workouts, began to yield results. In the first year, I gained back to 120 kg, but this time not just any weight, but with slow carbs and heavy strength training. In other words, those were 120 kg of not just fat, but muscle as well. After that, I "cut down" to 84 kg. Since I was cutting down without pharmacology, but with some unhealthy fanaticism, I burned off some muscle along with the fat. I became a kind of ripped skinny guy.

Chapter 4: Diet and Training at This Time

The entire cycle is divided into 3 main stages. The duration – approximately 1 year.

1. Mass Gain

Mass gain is gaining weight))) Any weight. Fat and muscle. The purity and quality of the muscle is not the focus here. The diet during this period is measured not in kcal but in the number of macronutrients, i.e., carbohydrates, proteins, and fats (BJU).

I focused on the following numbers per day:

• Carbohydrates – 500 - 750 g (PREDOMINANTLY SLOW)
• Proteins – 350 - 400 g
• Fats (healthy saturated) – 100 g

In practice, this was roughly my daily menu:

1. 1 kg of nearly undercooked pasta made from durum wheat
2. 0.5 kg of buckwheat
3. 1-1.5 kg of boiled chicken breasts!!!
4. Sports nutrition – complex protein. I drank Matrix by Syntrax, but there are now opinions that it’s not great, yet I drank and still drink it. It works for me. BCAAs and Amino acids. Separately before workouts, I took 2.5 g of citrulline. This is an amino acid. The pumping effect on muscles is unreal. An analogue of arginine, but cheaper.
5. Butter with 82% fat (not less) added to pasta and porridge.
6. 200-300 g of whole grain bread.
7. 2% cottage cheese – 3-5 packs.
8. 100 g of walnuts.
9. Vegetables: tomatoes, cucumbers, or ready-made dietary fibers from the pharmacy.
10. At least 3 liters of water.

I divided this entire horror into 8-10 meals a day. No chocolate or sweets at all; otherwise, it would explode like a barrel of gasoline on fire. The mass gain lasted from early October to mid-May.

Workouts (4 times a week):

• Chest
• Legs and glutes
• Back / Shoulders
• Arms / Shoulders

Pre-workout supplements were light. I took guarana and creatine. The workouts were at maximum weights. Additionally, I used micro-periodization. That is, 2 weeks of volume training followed by 2 weeks of strength training. There was no cardio at all.

2. Cutting (8-9 weeks)

The reverse process. BUT! It is important to understand that you can burn not only fat but also muscle. Therefore, we proceed with caution.

We sharply restrict carbohydrates to 400 grams in the first week and then gradually bring it down to 100 or lower if the body can handle it. Gradually means 3-4 weeks out of the 9. EXCLUSIVELY SLOW CARBS.

Proteins should be around 300 g. But cautiously. With a high amount of protein and low carbs, I experienced terrible constipation. I had to use enemas.

Fats must be 30-40 grams a day MANDATORY!!!!

For the first 6 weeks, drink from 3 liters of water, then for a week – 5 liters, and then gradually reduce to a minimum. No diuretics.

Approximate daily ration:

1. Oatmeal starting at 200 g and reducing it to 80 g. Divide into several portions. I chose oatmeal that could be soaked in water easily.
2. 0% cottage cheese – 5 packs a day.
3. Sports nutrition. Low-fat and low-calorie protein, something like Trophix from Syntrax. I used a complex one. Although it’s clear that an isolate would be better. BCAAs, an awful lot of BCAAs in tablets. Whey protein hydrolysate in tablets. BCAAs starting from 30 g a day. Hydrolysate from 7.5-10 g.
4. Light vegetables: cucumbers, tomatoes, or fibers and dietary fibers from the pharmacy. I had terrible constipation. Enemas were essential.
5. 82% butter added to oatmeal.

This quantity was also divided into 5-6 meals. Obviously, you can’t divide 100 g of oatmeal like that, so carbohydrates were consumed twice a day at 10 AM and 4 PM. After that - NOT ALLOWED.

Workouts (4 times a week):

• Chest
• Back
• Arms
• Shoulders

The pre-workouts were intense. I took Methyldrene with ephedrine. Legs minimum with shoulders, or I would completely skip them. The weights were light because energy would always be lacking.

Cardio was 7 days a week. Elliptical. On strength days, 40 minutes before training and 30 minutes after. On regular days – at least 65 minutes. Cardio was periodized based on heart rate zones. A week in the lower fat-burning range, a week in the upper range.

3. Rest (at least 2 months)

• Carbohydrates 200-250 grams (EXCLUSIVELY SLOW)
• Proteins 250 grams and above
• Fats 40-50 grams

Approximate ration:

1. Oatmeal 100 grams.
2. Chicken breasts 300-400 grams.
3. Dietary bran.
4. Sports nutrition: the same complex protein matrix. BCAAs and hydrolysate. Doses are smaller, but still a lot.
5. Vegetables.
6. 82% butter in porridge.
7. Porridge also twice a day at 10 AM and 4 PM.

Workouts (3 strength days a week and 7 cardio):

1. Chest / Back
2. Arms / minimum legs
3. Shoulders

Medium pre-workouts. Jack 3D based on geranium, caffeine. Cardio in low and medium ranges. On strength days 50 minutes, on regular days - at least 65 minutes. In short, the goal is to maintain shape.

At ALL stages, sports vitamins are MANDATORY sports vitamins. I took Opti Men. Sleep 8-10 hours. Throughout the period, I took and still take testosterone boosters. Based on tribulus and Korean ginseng.

Epilogue

In the fall of 2015, I decided to repeat the cycle of gaining/cutting by January. I gained back to 116 kg. Now I’m cutting again, but more carefully and not so fanatically. My current weight is around 99 kg, and I need to get to 90 kg. That’s pretty much it.