Fitness influencer dies after eating 10,000 calories per day to do extreme weight loss challenge

Russian fitness coach Dmitry Nuyanzin died after undertaking a binge-eating challenge where he consumed 10,000 calories per day in an attempt to showcase his weight loss program.

30-year-old Nuyanzin was a popular fitness influencer and nutrition coach based out of Orenburg, Russia, whose Instagram account touting his diet plans and workout routines had garnered over 43,000 followers.

Russian news outlets state that Nuyanzin had graduated from the Orenburg Olympic Reserve School and the National Fitness University in St Petersburg, and even worked as a personal trainer for “elite” Russian citizens.

He’d been in the business for 11 years, and wanted to show just how effective his weight loss regimens were with a unique, self-imposed challenge to gain 50 lbs and quickly shave it off using his nutrition plans and fitness techniques.

Russian fitness coach dies in attempt to quickly gain 50 lbs

He advertised this challenge in an Instagram reel on October 21, recording himself eating foods like mac and cheese, chocolate cake, pizza, and hamburgers, increasing his weight from 95 kilograms (209 lbs) to 106 kg (233 lbs).

The influencer even offered to pay $100 to anyone using his program if they were able to lose 10% of their body weight by New Year’s.

His last video, posted on November 18, shows the influencer chowing down on Lay’s potato chips, going from 103 kilograms (227 lbs) to 105 kg (231 lbs).

Local outlets reported that Nuyanzin began to feel unwell sometime near the end of the month, causing him to cancel his training sessions with clients. He expressed his intentions to see a doctor, but three days after this, he died in his sleep from cardiac arrest.

Fans of the influencer were left shocked and saddened by his sudden death, with one writing on Instagram, “It’s a nightmare! I am in shock ! I refuse to believe this. What happened? Condolences to [his] family and friends, give them strength to survive such grief.”

“An excellent coach and a wonderful mentor, and simply a good person… the news was shocking… Condolences to his family,” another wrote.

“God, how short life can be. Young, beautiful, sporty…. and in one second, the person is gone,” yet another remarked.

Nuyanzin isn’t the first social media star to suffer from serious health problems due to such conditions. Earlier in November, Korean mukbang star Tzuyang revealed that her teeth had literally worn down from eating 30,000 calories a day in her YouTube videos.

And in March 2025, beloved 24-year-old Turkish mukbang star Efecan Kultur died from multiple obesity-related health complications resulting from his eating habits, which he shared online to his 178K TikTok followers.