I Lost 203 Pounds Using These 6 Weightlifting Moves

Zondwa Kula, 43, an auditor in London, would try to lose weight but never seemed to keep it off. His guilty pleasure was sweets, which he ate almost every day without worrying about serving size. The tipping point came when he had to buy a whole new wardrobe for a business trip after weighing an all-time high of 388 pounds. He set off to lose the weight for good. Now at 185 pounds, he reveals how he did it.

I’VE BEEN A big guy all my life. I tried the quick-fix diets, played tennis and even did CrossFit. But whenever I would lose some weight, it would always come back.

My problem is that I have a very sweet tooth. I used to eat dessert almost every day, like a whole slab of chocolate or a massive slice of cake. For meals, I ate junk food and takeout. I paid no attention to portion sizes. There have been times—COVID lockdowns being a prime example—when my weight really skyrocketed because I was sedentary. I’d walk into a room full of people and think, “Do they see me as a fat person?”

Between December 2024 and February 2025, I felt heavier than usual. I remember worrying that I wouldn’t be healthy for my two young daughters. Maybe I wouldn’t be there for them for the long haul.

I’d been on blood pressure medication for about a decade, and while I didn’t have any heart problems yet, a cardiologist told me I needed to lose weight.

The tipping point came before I flew to Egypt for a business trip. I stepped on a scale, and I’ll never forget the number I saw: 388 pounds. I had to buy shirts in a bigger size before the trip, and I said to myself, “I will never buy a bigger size again.” I promised then and there I would lose the weight for good. When I made exercise into a habit, it became second nature to me.

I Learned to Have a New Love of Lifting

A FRIEND OF mine in South Africa had a personal trainer and saw great results. I found my own personal trainer at Ultimate Performance. I started off with lifting weights, which was completely new to me.

At first, my trainer really focused on doing each and every rep with a slow, controlled tempo, rather than using momentum to swing the weights around. I learned how to go through a full range of motion rather than performing half-reps.

Even at my heaviest, my trainer and I realized I have strong legs. This meant I could really push hard on the lower body exercises, such as the hack squat and the pendulum. Doing those exercises is brutal. To this day, though, the hack squat and the pendulum remain my nemeses! For my upper body work, we prioritized exercises like bench presses and rows.

I enjoyed going to the gym. I chased the feeling of what it’s like when I finished a session. The workouts were tough. I wouldn’t say I enjoyed Bulgarian split squats, but I liked knowing what I could achieve.

The six moves I rely on are:

• Hack squat
• Pendulum
• Bench press
• Incline bench press
• Romanian deadlift
• Bulgarian split squat

Over time, my lifting personal bests included: Hack squat, 374 pounds; bench press (flat), about 176 pounds; and Bulgarian split squat, roughly 136 pounds.

I Developed a Completely New Relationship With Food

I CUT SUGAR from my diet, except for fruit. My only other carbs came from vegetables. For a typical breakfast, I would eat pineapple, grapes, or strawberries. For lunch, I would have a salmon fillet with a poached egg, avocado, spinach and broccoli. As a snack I’d have a Greek yogurt or protein shake. Then a dinner plate might include a chicken breast, sea bass, lamb with cauliflower, pepper, onions, and vegetables.

I’d eat 160 to 170 grams of protein a day, and about 2,000 calories. As my weight began to come down, my trainer would tweak my calories as the sessions got tougher, because I needed more carbohydrates to fuel my workouts. Gradually, we introduced carbs like oats, which I’d mix with Greek yogurt, protein powder, and berries.

One of the biggest changes I made was to track and log literally everything I ate. I would pre-load my meals into an Ultimate Performance app, so I knew what I was going to eat a few days in advance. That completely took away the guesswork and worry about whether I was eating the wrong things. My trainer and I worked out exactly what meals I needed to eat to hit my macros—my protein levels, my carbohydrate levels, my fat levels—and I would weigh my food to make sure I hit those macros precisely.

At first, it was quite tough. Giving up cake was hard. For the first six months, I didn’t have a single cheat meal. The first time I ate a slice of cake was on my daughter’s birthday, and she jokingly said to me: “Daddy, be careful with that cake! Don’t ruin your diet!”

What I Look Like Now

I ENDED UP losing 203 pounds in a little under 17 months, going from 42 percent to 6 percent body fat.

I feel like a different person. I feel great, and I’m no longer on blood pressure medication.

Once I locked in on my weight loss goal, I achieved it far quicker than I thought I would. I thought it might take two or three years, but it’s taken a lot less than that. My family is very proud of me, especially my daughters. I’m now their “muscly Daddy.”

At the moment, I maintain my weight by eating around 2,500 calories a day. I still enjoy the odd slice of cake on special occasions. On weekends, I’ll indulge in some chocolate. I just log what I’ve eaten, and then adjust my calories over the next few days.

I also run and walk. When I first started my program, getting 10,000 steps a day was hard because I felt as if I had to carve out the time. Now I sometimes wake up at 4 a.m. and go for a walk so I can get my steps in, and still get to work on time.

Because my weight started to come down very quickly, I could see that I was building visible muscle. In fact, when I look at photos of myself now, I can see a bit of loose skin, but to me, that’s a war trophy. It’s a reminder of what I’ve achieved and how far I’ve come. Surgery may be something I might consider in the future, but right now, I am really proud that my body looks real.

The advice I’d give to anyone considering a weight loss journey: Just take the first step. It’s the hardest thing to do, but once you’ve taken that first step, you’re on a journey toward changing your life. Stay consistent and keep showing up. If you can do that, you’ll change your entire mindset and outlook on life.