A few years ago, doctors gave Aleksandr a grim warning: if he didn’t make a drastic change, he wouldn’t live more than two years. At the time, he was in his early thirties and weighed almost 270 kilograms. His body was giving up on him, and deep down, he knew it. But this wasn’t something that happened overnight — it was the result of years of habits, pain, and neglect.
Aleksandr had struggled with weight since childhood. After a serious illness when he was young, doctors recommended a strict, medically supervised diet. But like many families without proper guidance or support, Aleksandr and his parents didn’t take the warning seriously. Junk food, sugary drinks, pastries, and convenience meals slowly became part of his daily life. They were comforting — easier than facing the bigger issue.
As he entered adulthood, the numbers on the scale continued to rise. At first, he brushed it off. He tried to stay cheerful, made jokes about his size, and told himself that things weren’t that bad. But by the time he hit 270 kg, his health had already started to unravel. His right leg was swollen with visible varicose veins, he had frequent liver pain, his hemoglobin levels were dangerously low, and even sleep had become a challenge — he could only rest while sitting upright. Lying down made it feel like he was suffocating. His world grew smaller. Physical exhaustion turned into emotional isolation, and eventually, he stopped going out altogether.
Then his marriage began to crack. His wife had been by his side for years — she had even married him when he was already overweight. But over time, the strain became unbearable. She told him she couldn’t live like that anymore. She took their son and left. The divorce left Aleksandr devastated, not just because of the heartbreak, but because he lost the two people he cared about most.
With no stable job and a shattered sense of self, he tried to pick up the pieces. He applied to dozens of places, but his appearance became a barrier, even for jobs where it shouldn’t have mattered. Eventually, he scraped together enough money to buy a used car and began working as a taxi driver. For nearly a year, he sat behind the wheel, driving strangers through the city, quietly sinking into himself. The hours were long, the food was fast, and the thoughts got darker.
He tried to lose weight a few times — restrictive diets, popular online challenges, brief successes followed by crushing relapses. Nothing seemed to stick. But then, one morning, something shifted. “The day came when I was tired of dying,” he later said. It wasn’t about looking better anymore — it was about survival.
This time, Aleksandr started small. He swapped soda for water. He walked around the block even when his knees ached. He began researching nutrition, visited a dietitian, and joined an online support group for people struggling with obesity. Progress was slow at first, but it was steady. And that made all the difference.
When he felt ready, he signed up for a gym. The first few visits were humbling — ten minutes on the treadmill left him drenched in sweat and breathless. But he kept going. One week became a month. A month became a year. By the end of that first year, he weighed 130 kg. Six months later, he was down to 90. Along the way, he rebuilt more than his body — he rebuilt his confidence, discipline, and purpose.
Not only did Aleksandr reclaim his health, he took it a step further. He went back to school, earned a second degree, and became a certified fitness trainer. Today, he specializes in helping people just like he once was — people who have lost hope, who feel trapped inside their own bodies, who don’t know where to start.
His story is no longer one of loss — it’s one of resilience. Aleksandr is proof that it’s never too late to change, and that sometimes, the hardest journeys lead to the most meaningful transformations.
