Social media can be a valuable space to find information and motivation, helping you to reach your health and fitness goals, but it can also be a place of dangerous extremes. The recent death of budding social media influencer, Dmitry Nuyanzin highlights the importance of carefully managing your diet.
The Russian fitness trainer, known as “Dmitryfit” had built up almost 50,000 followers on Instagram before passing away in November. Apparently, the 30-year-old had been on a mission to gain 25 kilograms as part of an attention seeking stunt to show how quickly he could slim down, and this wasn’t the first time he’d tried it. Back in July, Nuyanzin posted that he’d slimmed down from 105 kilograms to 91 kilograms. Later that month he explained that he’d “specifically gained weight to show the weight loss process form a personal example.”
Dmitry Nuyanzin Died of Heart Failure After Extreme Yo-Yo Diet
In September, Dmitryfit appeared to be back to his extreme bulking, posting “What happens if you eat 10,000 kCal in a day?” and drawing concern from some followers who felt his yo-yo approach could lead to negative side effects. Then in October, the Russian gave followers a glimpse of his gratuitous gorging, snacking on cakes and fast foods like cheeseburgers and a heavily fried potato bun, made to his own recipe.
On November 18, Nuyanzin announced that he was back up to 103 kilograms but sadly, this would be his final post, with multiple outlets reporting that the popular trainer had died in his sleep as a result of heart failure. According to the Daily Mail, obtaining information from the Ostorozhno Novosti Telegram channel, Nuyanzin had felt ill three days before his passing, cancelling a gym session and expressing his intention to visit a doctor.
His tragic death comes as a stark warning to influencers or members of the public who embark on extreme weight loss challenges in the name of health and fitness. While individual requirements differ, the average woman only needs around 1,600 to 2,200 calories and the average man should aim for around 2,200 to 2,600 calories per day. Ramping up your calorie intake at a dramatic rate places additional pressure on the heart and nervous system, putting your health at serious risk.
The loss of Dmitry Nuyanzin is made all the sadder because he’d turned his life around through fitness, previously serving time in a Russian penal colony for drug possession in 2022 before returning to coaching. When it comes to tweaking calorie intake for weight loss, experts suggest that cutting around 500 calories per day is a great place to start while the act of increasing daily calorie intake should be calculated inline with energy or muscle recovery requirements, rather than attempts to gain fat as quickly as possible.