Alex Orlov: Deaf diet guru passing on his knowledge to others

Juliet England meets deaf health, nutrition and exercise coach Alex Orlov

Like many of us, Alex Orlov put on a little weight during those stressful months of the lockdowns. He then did something about it, and he is now sharing his enthusiasm for a healthy lifestyle with others.

His help could be needed; research from SignHealth has found that while Deaf people have generally healthier lifestyles than the rest of the population in terms of smoking and alcohol, we’re more likely to be overweight. Additionally, high blood pressure was almost twice as common in deaf people as in the rest of the population.

And even when they’ve been diagnosed, deaf people are less likely than hearing people to be adequately treated for conditions including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Orlov, 42, who lives in Cardiff and is deaf and uses BSL and a cochlear implant, ran communication support agency cSeeker with his brother Guy for four years, and the pair’s business was previously mentioned in Limping Chicken. Guy remains at the helm of the agency, but Alex decided to forge his own path in 2018.

Jobs and business ideas came and went, but the roots of his current company, Orlov Nutrition, can be found in the lockdowns of the last two or three years.

“Call it a midlife crisis, but I was reflecting on life quite a lot and wanted to lose weight after putting some on when we were all locked down,” explains Orlov, who is of Israeli heritage.

“I know everyone found that time tough. As a single deaf man, I found it particularly isolating. I got on my bike as much as I could and did a fair bit of physical activity. I also read a lot.

“But even the days on the bike didn’t work – I once rode between Worcester and Birmingham to visit Guy. Yet nothing seemed to work – I kept piling on the pounds (around 10kg in all) because I was overeating, sometimes whole cakes or chocolate bars at a time.

“I’d never had any proper education on nutrition, either at school or home. So to be honest I didn’t have a clue about the right things to eat, or how much my intake should be. Eating just eased the depression of having to be in all the time, even if in some ways the break from everything and the chance for a reset were among the upsides.”

Through his sister-in-law Karin, Orlov was introduced to someone who had helped her to lose weight.

“I’d reached a low point, and knew it was time to invest in myself. Israelis are well known for their strong proactive mindset, and this guy was also from Israel, called Dekel. We worked together online, and I just started doing everything he told me to.”

But there was no complicated calorie counting. Instead, Dekel worked out the macronutrients used daily, and the specific portion sizes. So that could be, for example, six protein portions.

Orlov had to record all this in a food diary, as well as following a specific (and frequently tweaked) training regime including cardio work, time on the treadmill and lifting weights. There were daily tips and suggestions, as well as close monitoring of progress.

This was nearly two years ago – and in the first four months Orlov shed 26kg.

“My starting weight was 92kg – so I was a big guy! And I’m not that tall at 5″7. Having someone monitor my progress made all the difference to my motivation. I didn’t touch a single carb for four months except at New Year! I measured and tracked what I ate – which included just about anything in moderation. Of course, my cakes allowance was not huge!

“And there was no magic answer – it was all about hard work and trusting my coach and his knowledge and that he knew what he was doing. I still work with Dekel now – every coach has their own coach! My aims have changed though, so for me now, it’s more about gaining muscle mass rather than losing more weight.”

Orlov adds that he had what he calls an ‘aha!’ moment when his father visited, asked for some advice and was impressed. Then he noticed his local college, Cardiff and Vale, was running very cheap courses so was delighted to sign up.

“I’ve now completed a Level 2 Fitness Instructor qualification and will be starting Level 3 this autumn to gain Personal Trainer status. Some of the course was via Zoom, the rest in the college gym. I think it’s important for anyone to keep learning.”

There was a tough time when the college didn’t provide an interpreter, but Zoom had subtitles and all the necessary information in class was in the presentations.

Alex founded Orlov Nutrition a few months ago, and now has several clients who have already started shedding the pounds. Although all his current clients are hearing, he is also keen to help deaf people.

“Knowledge is often lacking, and there are very few deaf trainers and coaches. Some deaf people have asked me for advice – and of course I am deaf myself, so I think I can help  a lot.”

A local deaf acquaintance in Cardiff asked Orlov if he could run workshops at Wales Deaf Hub (Cardiff Deaf Centre). He’s now running drop-in advice sessions there every Tuesday in September. He’s also been offered a free stall at Deaf Wales Pride, at the end of August.

And he has set up a Deaf Nutrition UK Facebook group as well as moderating an online deaf professionals network, which anyone is welcome to join.

He says: “I am really passionate about this – and couldn’t do it if I wasn’t. I love the buzz of running business so it’s, good to get back to it. When I was doing the diet myself, I managed to impress myself with my willpower and mindset, so I really wanted to use that. I work very closely with people as individuals, communicating daily in the way that best suits them. The diet also made me more organized and improved lots of other stuff in life…so it is useful.”

• Follow Alex Orlov on Twitter – (@orlovalex79) – there are plans for his website to go live in the New Year.