Rostov resident Oksana Leonova spent 13 weeks on the project of the STS channel “Weighted People” and lost 38 kg. Oksana told Woman’s Day how she lived two years after the broadcast and what it cost her to reach her current weight. Perhaps her experience and fighting spirit will help current participants.
Oksana came to the project weighing 118 kg
What did the project give you, what new things did you discover?
Most importantly, I finally felt that the possibilities of my body were limitless. How? My personal training with Irina Turchinskaya lasted 1 hour 40 minutes and almost all this time I walked on a treadmill with an incline of 20 degrees! And before that I had a main training session that lasted four hours. You see, in ordinary life we often feel sorry for ourselves and do not reach the point where we can say: “I did everything I could”! I had such a moment, which I am very happy about. I am proud of this victory over myself. I came to the project weighing 118 kg, and left with 80 kg.
What was the most difficult thing for you?
Perhaps the most difficult thing was and remains running! I won't be a Kenyan runner (laughs). It was also very difficult to “lose” friends. It’s impossible to get used to the fact that every week someone leaves the project.
How has your life changed after the project?
Yes, I have a new job, a new lifestyle. I used to work in the catering industry, and now I am the administrator of an aesthetic medicine center. But most of all I like the new feeling of myself. At 39 years old, I fell in love with myself and accepted myself for who I am, and I regard this as a big breakthrough in my own consciousness. Just so you understand, fat people don't like themselves. I hated myself, and my body responded in kind. All changes occur first in the head. That's why working with psychologists was so important to me.
After returning from the project, did you continue to lose weight?
I was absolutely happy with my new image, and I actively enjoyed the new me. Over the course of these years, I alternated between losing weight and gaining weight, but by exactly three kilograms. Still, sometimes I indulged myself and seasonal fluctuations took over. But in the summer of 2016, the body suffered a hormonal imbalance, and the weight began to increase. I immediately turned to an endocrinologist, who found the reason for my weight gain. I am currently undergoing therapy with a doctor. Comprehensive efforts (diet, sports and hormonal therapy) are beginning to bear fruit. According to doctors, I will be back to normal in eight months. But the most important thing is that after this period I want to consolidate the result of 75 kg! My life experience has taught me that it doesn’t matter how many times you fall, the main thing is how many times you were able to get up and move on towards your goal. Now I get up and move on.
How much do you weigh now?
91 kilograms, but the weight changes downwards weekly.
What do you like most about the new figure?
The opportunity to choose items in the store, rather than having them sewed to special order!
How do you keep fit? Sports, nutrition?
First of all, I stick to proper nutrition. I haven’t fried anything for a long time, I don’t eat flour, fatty foods, potatoes, pasta, very salty foods, mayonnaise (it was the hardest thing to give up) and anything that contains sugar. I completely gave up processed foods, fast food and carbonated drinks. I hardly drink alcohol. What do I eat? All first courses, but without potatoes and with meat broth as the second course. As a side dish I like stewed cabbage or buckwheat without salt and low-fat fermented milk products. This is just enough to maintain weight. Well, to lose weight, you need to add sports and not eat five hours before bedtime.
How many times a week do you exercise?
I was lucky: a gym was recently opened near my house. Now I have the opportunity to train every free minute. Lately I’ve been working out mostly at home – planks, abs, exercises with dumbbells, but that’s not enough for me now. I'm now at the stage where I need to study more intensively.
How many times a day do you eat?
As our nutritionist Yulia Bastrygina said: “If you want to lose weight, eat five times a day. If you want to lose a lot of weight, eat seven times a day!” I have a golden mean, I eat six times a day. Moreover, kefir at night also counts as a meal.
Do you allow yourself days when you can eat everything? How often?
When I really want it, sometimes I allow myself a piece of dark chocolate. Apparently, it really brings happiness, and it’s hard to give it up. Another prohibited item I can afford is a glass of red wine. But the next day should be a fasting day. I am not drawn to cakes, pies, kebabs.
Favorite recipe?
I learned about this salad during the project. Add 80-100 g of baked meat or boiled shrimp to the lettuce leaves. Season the finished dish with a mixture of lemon juice and olive oil. For added spice, you can add a mixture of spices and, if desired, a handful of pine nuts. Both tasty and healthy! I recommend it. I also love broccoli soup. Throw cabbage, carrots and onions through a blender into boiling water, add two processed cheeses and salt to taste. After 15 minutes the soup is ready. It's very tasty!
If you are 20 years old and you are not satisfied with the reflection in the mirror, go to the gym or just go outside now. Move, don't waste time! If you are 30 and you understand that it is time to change something, change now! Don't wait another month, a year... Start now! Not even tomorrow, but today. Consider that this day has come when it’s time to start changing your life for the better. If you are 40 and your appearance is depressing, then you should have started yesterday. And one more piece of advice for everyone. If you really make every effort, and the result is not what you expected, turn to professionals and listen to their opinion. In matters of health, I was convinced from personal experience that if weight loss is to be significant, then only under medical supervision you need to get rid of the hated kilograms. The reasons may be different, but the cure is the same for everyone - sports, proper nutrition and self-love. Be sure to believe in yourself and your strength!
Participant name: Peter Vasiliev
Age (birthday): 15.09.1986
City: Bagrationovsk (Kaliningrad region)
Job: showman
Family: not married, no children
Height and weight: 184 cm, 155 kg
Final weight: 97,1
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Peter was involved in sports from a young age and devoted himself to judo. He often appeared as a participant in many competitions, in which he often became a winner.
After Peter graduated from high school, he left sports. He began to devote a lot of time to his studies in college, and at night he worked part-time in a club as an MC.
When sports became a thing of the past, the guy’s weight began to grow. Peter didn’t pay much attention to this, but only until the girls stopped getting to know him. True, it was already too late; he couldn’t cope on his own.
Excess weight negatively affected not only communication with his girlfriend, but also at work. Peter noted that living with excess weight is incredibly difficult; you have to feel disadvantaged in almost everything.
I came to the project “Weighted People” not only to lose weight, but also to regain lost health and become a happy person. Plus, Peter noted that he wants to prove by his own example that it is possible to change your life, you just need to take the first step.
During the project he had an affair with Vesta. The young people fell in love with each other so much that Peter even decided to take his chosen one as his wife. True, after the show the wedding never took place.
Returning home, Peter continued to play sports, promotes sports and a healthy lifestyle, bought himself a Mercedes coupe, as well as a short leather jacket, which he could only dream of before.
Peter confidently walked towards the final, showing the participants his determination. In one of the competitions, when participants lost more than 40 kg, they were asked to remember how heavy they lived with before participating in the project. The hardest thing was for Peter, who carried half a hundredweight on himself.
In the final of the “Weighted People” project, the winner was Peter Vasiliev, who proved to everyone that it’s never too late to start living again!
After the project, I met a girl, they had a son, they named him Matvey.
Petr Vasiliev became the winner of the “Weighted People” show on the STS TV channel.
3 heroes reached the final - Pyotr Vasiliev from the Kaliningrad region, Vesta Romanova from St. Petersburg and Maxim Nekrylov from Nizhny Novgorod.
According to the results of the final weigh-in, the winner of the show and the owner of a cash prize in the amount of 2,500,000 rubles was Peter Vasiliev.
In total, the young man lost 57.9 kg or 37.35%.
A whole year has already passed since the end of filming of the reality show. Peter turned out to be worthy of the title of winner - after the project he did not return to his old habits, and training and healthy eating became part of his new life. In addition, with another participant in the show, Maxim Nekrylov, they organized the group “I can do anything.”
Petr Vasiliev spoke about his life after the project, popularity and plans for the future in an interview with the STS TV channel. Anyone could ask their question to Peter inofficial group of the reality show “Weighted People”.
— Petya, did the project push you to do something else in life, did it give you more confidence?
- In fact, I didn’t even expect that so many new interests would appear. Of course, before participating in the show, I understood: if I manage to lose weight, my horizons will expand. But I didn’t realize how enormously things would change! I have already participated in CrossFit competitions several times. At home in Kaliningrad, out of fifteen participants, he showed the eighth result. And I don’t want to stop there. My plans are to graduate from a specialized institution, where I can get a medical education in order to become a coach.
— Are there any difficulties in communicating with people now?
- No difficulties. First of all, there is nothing wrong with people recognizing me. Secondly, this is not pointing a finger: “Look how fat and ugly a person is walking.” And, on the contrary: “Look how much he has achieved and how great he looks.” I am pleased to become an example for others. For example, one mother wrote that she could not force her son to walk outside and work out with the guys on the playground. After the program was shown, she could not bring the child home! Now the boy has an active, mobile life.
When I have time, I always answer. Everyone who is for a healthy lifestyle is on the same wavelength with me, these are my like-minded people. I didn't realize before how important it is to share information with people. I would like to hold a meeting in Kaliningrad to communicate live.
— Would you like to meet again with the participants of the show “Weighted People”?
“I have a huge number of emotions associated with them, which are divided into positive and negative. We overcame difficulties together, and, of course, I am in favor of seeing each other.
— Do you maintain a relationship with someone after the project?
— I communicate with a good half of the participants on social networks and by phone. We constantly keep in touch with Maxim and Vesta. We are united by common interests - various sports projects. I communicate with Mitya Kudryavtsev, sometimes online with Anya Grivkova, Vlad and others.
- Do you have a dream?
— Maxim and I created the group “I can do anything.” I would like this movement to grow into an annual sports festival where everyone could take part. Including people with disabilities. We want to show that any person, to the best of his physical abilities, can develop and become better.
— What did you do in your free time on the project?
— We were completely limited: we didn’t even have a TV. And, frankly, I belong to the small category of participants who could not afford a vacation. Those who allowed themselves to do this did not reach the end. During the entire project, there were several walks around the territory of the house, which, by the way, has a large area. And yet it was a movement.
— At the beginning of the project, didn’t you have a desire to give up everything and not change?
“The first two weeks were the most difficult for me. But I was always guided by the thought: if I give up now, it means that fate has made a mistake on my behalf. Several thousand came to the casting, and only eighteen lucky ones were given a chance. I couldn't afford to feel sorry for myself because it might never happen again. And I understood that I had to go through this path from beginning to end.
— What is the most valuable advice you received from the coaches on the project?
— Everything that Denis and Ira said were mega professional recommendations. But most of all I remember this: if you want to feel sorry for yourself during training, then this is a signal - you need to double the load.
- How much do you weigh now?
- 104 kilograms. Everyone knows that muscle weighs much more than fat. (At the finals Peter weighed 97.1 kg - approx. ed.) These are completely different criteria - now I evaluate myself not by weight, but by appearance, endurance, amount of muscle mass, by the time it takes to do the training complex. I feel great now!
— How did you deal with the problem of sagging skin?
— When you lose weight extremely, it is immediately visible, especially in the areas of the abdomen and arms. I encountered this problem only after the project. Returning home, I went for treatments where I received wraps and massages. Afterwards I reinforced the effect in the gym.
— Do you have overweight friends to whom you showed by your example that anything is possible and motivated them to go in for sports?
— During the time that I have been away from the project, several people from my circle have achieved good results. The minimum effect is 12 kg, and the maximum is 20. For example, one of my friends lost weight from 86 to 68 kg. Everything happened evenly: proper nutrition, sports three times a week, a swimming pool, plus my recommendations. I'm not an expert, but I can advise something. It all depends on the desire! For example, Olesya Smirnova did not stay on the project for long, but we see that after that she achieved her goal. And this is a completely different Olesya.
- How do you eat now?
“I was afraid that when I returned, it would be difficult to resist sweets.” But I soon realized that there was no attachment. To avoid fat deposits, I completely eliminated sweets, preservatives and foods with chemical additives. I try to follow all the advice I received on the project. My morning starts with a hearty breakfast: porridge or yeast-free bread, oven-baked chicken, or sandwiches or a light salad. Everything we ate on the show, just in different proportions. I eat about 1800-2200 calories per day: I eat small portions four to five times a day.
— Advice for those losing weight from Peter: how to deal with temptations during feasts, holidays, and corporate events?
- It's a matter of choice. If you want to be beautiful and slim, you must understand: if you have a predisposition to be overweight, you need to limit yourself. Nobody says you can’t eat anything. You can choose what suits you best: light salads or low-fat foods.
— If you were on the other side of the screen, who would you root for?
“I thought about it and analyzed it many times, because I know all the participants well, I know who they really are. Most likely, for those with whom I reached the final: for Mitya, Maxim, Vesta, Vlad, Anya and Oksana.
— What was the most valuable lesson you learned on the project?
“They took me away for 120 days, thereby, as if they crossed out my entire biography and completely rebooted my brain. I returned as a completely different person, as if I had been born again.
The main thing I would like to convey to people is that you need to move as much and spend as much energy and calories as you consume. Before the project, I did not have such an understanding. Now I know why weight is gained, why people feel sorry for themselves, why they don’t realize that they have gained 20-30 kg. And the most important thing is that they not only explained to us how this happened, but also helped us fix the problem.
— Have your relationships with family, friends and colleagues changed after the project?
— Relatives also remained close people. But their attitude towards food has changed: I no longer see fried potatoes, sausages, or sausages on the table. Now everything is baked in the oven. A very significant moment: when my mother visited me for the first time, she weighed 115 kg, but in the finals it was already 103. After I returned home, her weight dropped to 90 kg.
My friend and I have more common interests. He is an athlete, he works out, and now I do crossfit. And now we constantly exchange experiences.
— What advice can you give to the participants of the second season of the “Weighted People” project?
“I want them to understand that this is a one-way street.” It doesn't matter who wins. If you have taken this path, you need to go through it. The person who reaches the end will change his life. After which many things will become available: you can safely buy clothes in stores, drive a car. There will be a huge amount of entertainment in life, and thousands of pleasures will become possible.
How are your relationships with the opposite sex now?
—During the project, I had a warm relationship with Vesta. Many believe that everything was for the sake of ratings. In fact, when a man and woman are in a confined space, this can happen. After Weighted People ended, we decided to remain friends. Now we have common interests related to sports. And soon after returning home, I met a beautiful girl. I didn’t even think that everything would turn out so wonderfully. Now we live together, and we have joint plans for life. I understand that I don’t need anyone except her.
— Did life become easier after the project?
“This is a completely new life, a different awareness and understanding of it. Such a thrill! Previously, everything was a burden: bad mood, poor physical condition, constant depression. Now I enjoy everything, and for this I am grateful to the creators of the show “Weighted People” and those people who worked with me.
Yulia Kovalchuk about Peter's victory on the project "Weighted People":
“I think that many TV viewers, coaches and everyone involved in this project understood that in the end the main battle was fought between Peter and Maxim. Just as much as they were rivals, they helped each other in the fight. Until the last moment of the weigh-in, no one, including me, knew that Petya would win. I understood that the result could differ by a few hundredths of a gram, so I, just like the participants, stood on stage with bated breath and waited to see who the winner would be. And the fact that Petya became him is fair and deserved. I saw perfectly well how he broke himself, gave all his strength to the “Weighted People” project and his victory. I don’t know what was primary in his urges - the desire to win, lose weight or earn money, but, in any case, he did it with dignity!
The “Weighted People” project, broadcast on the STS TV channel, is gaining more and more popularity. The end of the third season is approaching, soon the whole country will again see an amazing transformation: from 100 and 200 kg participants, the “weighted” ones will turn into slender people who have forever changed not only their body, but also their habits and beliefs. Last season, Orenburg resident Margarita Bogatyreva managed to reach the final, who came to the project weighing 111 kilograms. The editors of ProOren did not stand aside and decided to find out how the show “Weighted People” changed the life of our fellow countrywoman.
- Margarita, by the time of our last conversation, which took place six months after the final of the “Weighted People” project, you had already managed to lose weight well and rethink a lot. Now, a year later, what has changed in your life?
Since our last meeting, I have lost another five kilograms. When I returned from the project, I couldn’t understand: losing weight means not losing weight further. Now I already felt that everything suited me, I felt self-confident. I come to the store and can buy any thing I like. There is no longer a complex: I’m fat, this doesn’t suit me. Of course, there are moments that I don’t quite like in my image, but nevertheless they leave me indifferent. I can’t say that I go on diets and dream of weighing 45 kilograms. I feel comfortable at my current weight. I continue to play sports.
- During this time, were there moments when you felt that you were starting to return to old habits?
Certainly! I have said more than once that excess weight is a disease. Food addiction can be compared to alcohol and tobacco addiction. This is a big bad habit that is ruining you. Of course, overeating happens in any case, I can say this frankly. I know that this also happens to other people who struggle with excess weight. I used to overeat, and the next morning I would just beat myself up and scold myself for it. And now, if this happens, I ask myself the question: “For what reason did I overeat?” As a rule, this happens when I lack emotions. It doesn't matter whether they are happy or sad. Emotional silence leads precisely to the fact that you try to saturate yourself with at least some emotions and eat.
- On the project, all participants eat properly. Have you managed to establish a diet at home?
Honestly, I'm very lazy. And, besides, I realized that I don’t know how to cook. And it’s even more delicious to cook. But I found a way out and now I order healthy food, in which the calories have already been counted. At first I thought it would be expensive, but then I realized that no matter what they say, that’s what it turns out to be. When I go to the store, I buy a lot of products, since the habit of buying for future use remains. Then I simply throw away half of the products. Therefore, such a system, where everything was already prepared and calculated for me, turned out to be suitable for me.
- What did you bring into your daily life in terms of nutrition that you acquired during the project?
After the project, I don’t eat sunflower oil at all. About three months ago, some friends gave me this oil to season a salad, and I was surprised at how unpleasant its taste and smell was to me. It is better to choose, for example, olive. Of course, healthy food costs more. But here you can save on quantity. Yes, you eat expensive food, but by eating right, you eat much less. I noticed that if there is a lot of protein in my diet, I no longer crave sweets. In this case, you can save on cakes (smiles). If I'm full, I don't want to eat harmful things.
- Do you maintain relationships with any of the project participants?
I am friends with Alenka Zaretskaya. During the project we went through fire, water and copper pipes. This is a person who understands and supports me. I can call her at any time and I know that she will understand and support. We also communicate closely with Yulia Kishenkova. When I'm in Moscow, I see Yan Samokhvalov.
- Did your friendship with Alena begin on the project? 
No. Now that time has passed, we can already talk about it. During the project, Alena and I literally hated each other. We had conflicts, because of which they often tried to kick me out of the project at a vote. Many people supported Alena, but I remained alone and went against everyone. But when the individual struggle began, we began to communicate and found out that all our so-called conflicts were nonsense, a feign. Other participants in the show invented this conflict so that there would be some kind of protection during the vote. And when Alena and I discussed this point, it turned out that we were not guilty of anything to each other.
Now, in the third season, there is the same trend: people unite, weave intrigues in order to kick an unwanted participant out of the show...
Everyone groups together to find support. One is heavier, easier to remove. But in reality TV there are no guarantees that the person who is smiling at you now will not vote against you in five minutes. I've had moments like this. Outside the door they said to me: “Rita, what are you doing! I will never vote against you!” And I thought that at least one person from this crowd would not vote against me. And exactly at this moment this man takes out a sign with my name. The only person I trusted on the project was Sasha (Alexander Podolenyuk - editor's note). At some point we came together, realizing that we needed each other's support. If we talk about lies, of course, there were a lot of them on the project. Everyone fought for their place in the sun. I realized that reality TV is a good test of both a person and a friendship, because people express themselves in completely different ways. And it’s surprising that in life all these people are completely different than they were there. I admire the work of the organizers. How it was necessary to recognize all of us, to understand that this particular person would reveal himself in this way on the project. Alena and I, remembering this show, jokingly say: “There were no normal people there” (laughs).
- What changed in your life and character after the project?
I became more confident. The complexes that were there before are gone. After the project, I began to understand myself, I realized that I can exist with myself. Previously, I couldn’t do this; I would become depressed and start eating away at my problems. Now I’m not saying that you need to be 90-60-90, no. Be in settings where you can, for example, safely go to the beach. Or, looking at the photo, easily say: “I like myself.” When you can simply look at yourself in the mirror with pleasure. Previously, I did not perceive my reflection and my photographs at all. Now I calmly take photographs and also calmly look at the resulting photographs.
Did Irina Turchinskaya, with whom you trained during the project, help you learn to live in harmony with yourself?
Irina is a teacher in my life. Every time I go to the gym, I remember her workouts. When I experience some kind of pain, even the most basic one, for example, in the dentist’s office, I remember Irina and understand that this pain does not kill me, I can live with it. It's only the brain that says you can't do it anymore. He says: “You’re going to kill me now.” In fact, you will kill if you stop and don’t do something. Sometimes you need to turn off your brain. This is what Irina Turchinskaya taught me, for which I am very grateful to her. I would really like to meet a coach in our city who is at least 10% like her. So far I have not met such a person.
Have you ever thought about becoming such a person yourself? Some participants in the show, having solved the problem of excess weight, are now helping other people do the same.
I think what I'm doing now (the beauty industry - editor's note) suits me best. I don’t see myself in the area of excess weight. I am satisfied with what is happening here and now in my life. In the year after the project, I did much more for my business than two years before. There were many ideas and strength to implement them. I practically never show up at home, although before it was a real utopia - how can I not show up at home? I really like my busy life today.
- If there was a chance to return everything, would you repeat this experience again?
Four months of the project gave me more than 20 years of my life. These four months changed everything. Now I know that participation in the project was not easy, but I would still repeat this experience, because it is a breakthrough. And not even in excess weight, but in the head. There is a change in the quality of life. I had a choice: give up, take it all back, or move forward. You could gain 20 kilograms this year and say that after the project your metabolism deteriorated, for example. Probably, if I chose the path forward, it means that in some way I am a strong person.
Over the weekend, the final of the show “Weighted People” took place, the winner of which was Peter Vasiliev, who lost 58 kilograms during the entire project.
Throughout the project, Peter showed interest in a girl named Vesta Romanova.
As a result, the young people fell in love, so much so that Peter even proposed marriage to the smiling blonde.
As we understand, the show is filmed long before what we see on the screen. All this time, the participants were silent and did not reveal who the winner was. But the audience was even more interested in how the romance between Vesta and Peter unfolded.
Imagine their disappointment when it turned out that...no way... It turned out that after the project the couple broke up. Vasiliev commented only once on this “event” and asked not to disturb him anymore.
“So, people, I’m making an official statement))) Now we read carefully and don’t ask any more questions, ok?)) Petya and I did not have a wedding. For especially gifted smart people, I declare that the love story was not invented by the producers and was not made on purpose. I don’t know how to “play love.” I’m not going to discuss why, who left whom, etc. I don’t like this topic either. " - wrote Peter.
As a result, fans of this couple were so offended by them that they accused them of pretense. Many wrote that this romance was just for show.
If someone watched the program, did you believe in the sincerity of Peter and Vesta’s feelings?
And for those who haven’t watched it, I recommend it. I myself looked with rapture at people who were able to “pull themselves together” and lose an unrealistic amount of kilograms.
This is what Vesta Romanova was like before the project:
This is what Vesta became after losing 40 kilograms.
This was Peter Vasiliev:
And this is what he became after the project:
And other participants:
Someone might find this table useful:
