In this article you will learn about how Alexandra Bortich gained 20 kg for her role in the film “I’m Losing Weight” in just a month and a half, and then lost almost the same amount during filming. In the first frames of the film, fans simply did not recognize the actress: how can one change her weight in such a short time, and even twice, because at the premiere Sasha appeared slim and fit before the audience. What is this, special makeup? Lighting? Rubber pads in different places? But the truth is that Bortich did gain and lose weight. There is definitely some kind of secret here, which we will deal with now.
Why did Alexandra Bortich gain weight, and who is she anyway?
Alexandra Bortich, if you didn’t know, is one of the most attractive young Russian actresses. Nika from “Policeman from Rublyovka”, Alena from “Dukhless 2” and Rogneda from “Viking” - all these are Bortich’s roles.
Nika from “Policeman from Rublyovka”
In 2021, right on March 8, a new film with her participation was released - a light but not stupid comedy “I’m Losing Weight.” The plot of the film is based on a drama familiar to many: the girl Anya loves to eat delicious food and does not like training, but at the same time she is in love with the handsome athlete Zhenya, a fitness freak, who eventually abandons her because of her figure and laziness and goes to a fitness girl. Anya worries for a long time, but in the end she decides to prove to her ex that she is also capable of much, and begins to fight excess weight. An old friend helps her in this adventure, and also a new friend who is also trying to lose weight and is simply radiating rays of motivation.
The picture turned out to be vital both because of the excellent acting, and thanks to the experience of director Alexei Nazhny, who at one time also had problems with excess weight and lost 28 kg, and then decided to make a film about it.
How to lose weight is more or less clear. Eat healthy and give your body positive exercise. But how to gain weight for the role of a “big boned girl” is a higher level.
Fast transformation
Losing weight turned out to be not so easy, since all the excess goes away for a very long time. But for the star, the timing meant a lot. She had to recover 1.5 months before the start of the film. But she also had to lose weight just as quickly, because the process of her transformation was being filmed. Therefore, in just over a month, Alexandra got rid of all the excess weight. Sounds unreal? No, it's quite possible!
“I didn’t take anything. Don't trust charlatans. Strict diet and gym!” - writes Sasha Bortich on his Instagram.
Sample menu for weight loss
The slimness of the body directly depends on a properly structured diet. To get rid of extra pounds in the shortest possible time, the girl forgot about all the junk food that she ate to gain weight. Fatty foods have been replaced by a menu with the right diet, aimed at quickly burning accumulated calories.
In all interviews, Alexandra carefully emphasizes that she has no secrets in losing weight. Only sports and proper nutrition - no magic.
Sample menu for the day:
| Breakfast | Oatmeal porridge steamed in water. |
| Snack | Grapefruit. |
| Dinner | Lean chicken broth, sliced vegetables. |
| Afternoon snack | Apple. |
| Dinner | Vegetable stew. |
The actress ate small meals, her last meal ended at 18-19 hours. All the dishes that Bortich ate were low-calorie - these were vegetables, fruits, berries, lean meats and fish.
The actress’s diet consists of only proper, but strict nutrition, which limits any consumption of sweets, flour, and fatty foods. It was this kind of food that helped Bortich lose weight in a short time. She had to forget about everything tasty and harmful, although the star was happy about it.
Tips from Sasha
Alexandra gives some useful and simple tips for losing weight:
- don't be upset if you gain weight. During this period, motivation and a positive attitude are important;
- learn to accept yourself in any body;
- try not to overeat and follow a routine.
It was these principles that bore fruit during emergency weight loss.
Now Alexandra’s menu includes only the right dishes, because the girl knows that any indulgence will affect her figure. She envies her co-stars in films; they can afford any food while maintaining their chic shapes.
The filming of the comedy “I’m Losing Weight” consisted of 2 parts. First they filmed the plump Sasha, and then took footage of her gradually losing weight. It was difficult for the actress both physically and psychologically. But the work paid off with great success!
Sport as a blow to excess weight
At the gym, Alexandra Bortich became a regular client, because she visited it as many as 6 times a week. Without daily training, the actress would have to forget about her slim figure, so she gathered her will into a fist and began to achieve her goal.
The workouts helped her burn fat faster and transform her figure. The actress did not forget about the loads even during filming, so she squatted during breaks. She tried different types of exercises - cardio, strength training, fitness and running. All together gave quick results. As the girl admits, the main tool in the fight against excess weight is sports, and Sasha tries to lead an active lifestyle.
Before this, exercise and healthy eating were not a constant part of Alexandra Bortich’s routine. She admits that she was not friends with sports and was not a fan of a healthy diet.
The star gained her maximum weight by the beginning of filming, when the mark reached a record 75 kg.
How did Alexandra Bortich gain weight for her role in the film?
In an interview, Alexandra admitted that she was able to gain weight and then lose weight in a matter of months thanks to financial motivation. According to the contract, if she had not done this, Bortich would have faced a huge fine, and the filming would have been disrupted. As a result, she had no choice but to quickly gain weight a month and a half before filming, and then lose weight. Money is the strongest whip.
There are different ways to gain weight, but it is almost impossible to quickly gain weight in a healthy way, just like losing weight. Therefore, Bortich gained weight not in the healthiest way: she began to eat a lot of fast food.
Sasha gained weight by eating high-calorie foods - pizza, burgers and other fast food. In order for the arrow on the scale to creep up and not down, she had to eat constantly. In the first week it even seemed funny, but then it turned into a real nightmare. The food was quickly absorbed, and Bortich had to eat again immediately. Food, food, everything revolved around food. At some point, Sasha began to feel sick even from the smell of food.
With weight gain came health problems. Bortich herself says that this happened about halfway to the target weight. Everyday cheerfulness disappeared, it became harder to move, and when climbing several floors, shortness of breath appeared. The actress was helped not to become discouraged by all this by her beloved man and her parents, who supported her in everything. Thanks to this, Alexandra Bortich managed to gain weight by 76 kg and turn from a slender girl into a natural plump one.
How did Alexandra Bortich lose weight during the film?
Alexandra Bortich also spoke about what it was like for her to lose weight. Rapid weight loss is no less harmful to health than rapid weight gain. At the same time, various difficulties arose every now and then. Remember the scene at the beginning of the film, where after dancing at a wedding the heroine pounces on Olivier salad, and her lover tries to say that he is leaving? The scene was filmed in several takes, and during this time Sasha had to eat a huge amount of salad, and it’s hard to do this in a state where you’re really sick from eating. But... art requires sacrifice, and Alexandra Bortich would not be a professional actress if she could not overcome this.
To lose weight, Sasha was given a 28-day break from filming. During this almost month, she had to lose at least 15 kg in order to look slim in the second half of the film. Now remember the doctors’ recommendations that proper weight loss is no more than 1-2 kg per week, and calculate how much Bortich lost per week? I sincerely hope that this rollercoaster of weight gain and loss did not affect the actress’s health.
This was a much more difficult period in Alexandra’s life than the time when she was gaining weight. The recipe for success is a strict diet, painful massage and a lot, a lot of exercise. During this time, Sasha broke down more than once, and only the support of her relatives and director Alexei Nazhny helped her finish filming. She lost 15 kg, and after the film she continues to return to her original weight, but in a more relaxed manner.
The birth of a new star on Russian television screens
Alexandra Bortich appeared in the world of cinema several years ago, so many may not know her. To fix this, we will briefly talk about how a simple girl became a promising actress.
The future celebrity was born outside of Russia, in a neighboring country - Belarus. When Sasha was a child, her parents divorced, and she and her mother moved to Moscow. Here, in addition to regular school, she attended music school and also studied in an acting studio. As you might guess, after school the future artist planned to enter a theater university, but did not qualify for the competition. And instead of the stage, a waitress job awaited her.
But the girl did not give up and began going to various castings, which bore fruit. In 2014, she received the lead role in the drama What's My Name. After participating in this film, Alexandra’s demand increased. She starred in a number of such famous films as “Spiritless 2”, “The Elusives”, “Viking”, and in the series “Policeman from Rublyovka”.
Despite Bortich's young age, she is only 23 years old, she is growing quickly and reaching career heights.
Role in the film “I’m Losing Weight”
Let's step back from previous film works and talk about the recently released comedy “I'm Losing Weight,” where Sasha played the role of fat Anya. The film is dedicated to friendship, love, female complexes and body image problems. Before filming, the scriptwriters surveyed passers-by on the street to find out if they were concerned about the topic of losing weight.
Initially, the authors wanted to see Irina Gorbacheva in the leading role, but she refused and played the fat woman’s best friend.
Sasha has admitted more than once that the comedy genre is not her thing, she is the queen of drama.
How to gain excess weight
Alexandra transformed beyond recognition, she had to gain weight and become a notorious girl for the main role. According to the terms of the agreement, Bortich gained 20 kg. in just 1.5 months. This is, indeed, a short period of time, and with a sharp change in weight, the body experienced a shock, which the artist herself later spoke about.
As the star admits, she constantly sent photo reports to her management, who tracked every gram added to her figure. The artist managed to recover, but the directors were worried because the girl did not look plump.
Bortich had to put on a lot of weight, and the most high-calorie food helped her with this. Alexandra’s diet during such a “diet” looked like this: burgers for breakfast, fast food for a snack, pizza for lunch, and a calorie bomb from the day’s dishes for dinner. The actress had to sweep away all the food in her path. This menu would be the envy of those on a diet. However, Bortich quickly got tired of this regime, and she began to turn away from fatty, sweet foods. But there was nowhere to retreat, she continued to eat and gain weight.
Alexandra had to become plump in a short time, so she could not avoid health problems.
As a result of all efforts - plus 20 kg. The artist achieved her goal, and in the frame we see a really plump girl. First of all, the star’s excess weight began to accumulate on her stomach, then on her legs and arms.
Sasha had to get used to her new body, because from a slender beauty she turned into a 70-kilogram fatty.
However, as Alexandra herself says, it didn’t take long for her to get used to it, because there was a stage in her life when the mark on the scale reached 70. At the age of 16, the girl lost weight due to unrequited love. To stay in shape, the actress constantly takes care of herself, as she easily gains weight.
After rapidly gaining weight, the girl began to be compared with Hollywood stars, for example, Charlize Theron or Renee Zellweger, who also had to gain 15 kg. for filming a film. The uniqueness of Alexandra’s case is that no one has ever gained weight or lost it so quickly. The history of cinematography does not yet know of films in which the actress would shed pounds in real time.
Sasha's weight loss on screen is a unique case for the film scene.
But what if I also want to gain weight, like Bortich?
In my opinion, Sasha’s situation is not the best example to follow. There are a few things to consider here.
Firstly, Bortich needed to look unhealthy at the beginning of the film, and she looked that way. Excess weight due to huge portions of fast food - this was exactly the problem of Anya, the main character. Except that the movie Anya gained this weight over the course of several years, and Bortich, who plays her, gained weight in a month and a half. And the Bortich diet is not suitable for you if you want to maintain health and the ability to live a normal, active life.
Secondly, in terms of physique, Bortich is far from skinny. As a child, she was a plump girl, and her ideal “adult” shape is the result of sports and diets. Accordingly, if you initially have a thin physique and are not inclined to be overweight, then you will not be able to gain weight quickly even at fast food.
The key word here is “fast”. If you want to quickly lose weight, or quickly, like Bortich, gain weight, then do not expect quick results. If you are ready to wait and work on yourself, then gradually you will achieve your goal.
Childhood and youth
Alexandra Nikolaevna Bortich was born in Svetlogorsk, Gomel region in September 1994. Sasha's zodiac sign is Libra. The parents divorced when the baby was 3 years old. Mom went to Moscow, leaving her daughter with her grandmother in Grodno. Alexandra lived with her until she was 10 years old. But then the mother married a second time and moved her daughter to the capital. Sasha went to Moscow and enrolled in a music school. Alexandra Bortich successfully graduated from her and the general education institution. She plays the saxophone very well.
At a young age, Sasha was not only interested in playing a musical instrument, but also made friends with bikers. The result of this friendship was the ability to drive a motorcycle and a love of hard rock: Alexandra enjoyed attending concerts by Iron Maiden, Deep Purple and Robert Plant.
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A post shared by Sasha Bortich (@bortich) on Jul 16, 2021 at 2:27am PDT
Alexandra Bortich in childhood
And the blue-eyed girl dreamed of studying to be an actress. For this purpose, Alexandra attended a theater studio in the nearby Palace of Pioneers. In addition, from an early age she had an excellent memory, she constantly learned poetry and was not afraid to perform recitations in front of guests.
Sasha claims that as a child she weighed 75 kg, but began to actively lose weight for the sake of her dream of becoming an actress.
After graduating from school, Bortich took the documents to a theater university, but failed to enroll on the first try. Therefore, the applicant went to a pedagogical institute, where she successfully passed. But she only lasted 2 months of study and dropped out without completing her education. To earn a living, she got a job as a waitress in a bar, and at the same time went to auditions for any film projects that she found.
How to gain weight?
I wrote about how to gain weight in the article Is it possible for a thin person to gain weight and how to do it?, and in the near future I plan to publish several more more detailed articles on this topic.
In short, you can gain weight from fat, but in the end you are unlikely to like the result. Since you want to lose weight, I can assume that this does not mean that you want a protruding belly and folds on the sides. You want a more harmonious figure. A harmonious figure is achieved through muscle mass, not fat. And muscles come from eating natural foods with plenty of proteins and healthy fats, as well as training. In general, read the article about weight gain on this site.
I hope the story about how Alexandra Bortich gained weight and lost weight in a few months was interesting for you. Good health to you!
PS And the film is really great
