Team PokerStars Pro Eugene Katchalov Featured in Men's Fitness
In only 14 months, 31-year-old Eugene Katchalov lost 63 pounds to change his life both physically and mentally. Katchalov's journey, which saw him drop from 230 lbs. to 167 lbs. before bulking up by adding 13 lbs. of muscle, is now a feature in Men's Fitness' latest Success Story.
In the article, Katchalov credits nutrition and exercise for his weight loss. “Now when I’m at the poker table,” Katchalov explained in the piece, “I feel like I have much more concentration, much more energy, and I just feel healthier and more mentally aware.”
One story overlooked in the piece that no doubt contributed to Katchalov's success was the 118-kilometer bike ride from Cannes, France to Sanremo, Italy he took with Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier, trainer Lincon Rodrigues and his girlfriend Petra Janssen van Doorn. Here's a brief snippet from the feature on Katchalov:
When Katchalov was being considered for the Ukrainian version of The Bachelor, he didn’t sit around waiting for producers to make up their minds. Instead, he evaluated the situation and concluded that he’d better lose some weight. “I realized it wasn’t going to look too good if I was overweight on the show, and I wanted to increase my chances,” Katchalov said. With that one decision, he immediately dove into an intense training regimen. “In the end, I didn’t get selected,” Katchalov recalls, “but at the same time, I felt so good and I saw so much progress—even in just three or four weeks—that I really wanted to keep going.”
From there he soon discovered he’d need to drastically alter his diet too if he was going to continue to see results. Previously he’d eat everything and anything he wanted, which included lots of fried potatoes, red meat, rice, white bread, and very, very oily and buttery foods. “I think food made me happy,” says Katchalov, “and that kind of resulted in me starting to gain weight after my teens.”
Combining both his new and long-standing passions helps keep Katchalov in the gym and his eye on the goal. He works out six times a week for as long as two hours per session, where he makes sure to hit every muscle while performing a lot of everything, including CrossFit. So far he’s won two of the three bets. The stipulation of the wager he did lose? Katchalov had to perform 1,000 pushups, a feat he ante upped and completed in around three hours.
For a look at the entire piece on Katchalov, check out mensfitness.com.
*Photo courtesy of mensfitness.com
Get all the latest PokerNews updates on your social media outlets. Follow us on Twitter and find us both Facebook and Google+!
PR & Media Manager for PokerNews, Podcast host & 2013 WSOP Bracelet Winner.
