May 7, 2026, 12:59 pm | Read time: 5 minutes
Once the “strongest man in the world” and an Olympic champion: Matthias Steiner weighed around 330 pounds during his active years. The former weightlifter won gold in the super heavyweight category at the 2008 Beijing Olympics–and reached the top of the world despite having Type 1 diabetes. After ending his weightlifting career, he lost an impressive 110 pounds. At the OMR in Hamburg, he revealed to FITBOOK Editor-in-Chief Nuno Alves on stage how he achieved this–and offers tips for anyone looking to lose weight.
Body Weight as a Sports Strategy
Why does a professional athlete weigh 330 pounds? Steiner explains that it was no accident but part of his sports strategy. Initially, he was “as lean in 2010 as I am now, with about ten percent body fat, a model athlete, but I was extremely hungry,” the Olympian explains. The result: “Then I stood on stage like a wet sack.” Time for a strategy change–moving up to the next weight class. “I had to gain 88 pounds, which was quite a challenge,” says the former weightlifter. To reach and maintain the high weight, large amounts of carbohydrates were on the menu. “It was a must-eat situation: three plates of pasta, carbohydrate shakes.”
“I Lifted About 100 Tons a Week”
Health-wise, Steiner looks back on this phase with a nuanced view. Such a high weight is generally not healthy, at least if you’re not exercising. His situation was different: “But I was a high-performance athlete. I trained about six hours a day and lifted about 100 tons a week. That means the weight had a different effect on me.” So it wasn’t that unhealthy. And from a diabetes perspective, even less so.”
Still, he was aware that this phase couldn’t last forever. “I also knew: I would do this for a maximum of eight years in this category.” In competitive sports, you think in Olympic cycles. For him, it was clear: “Beijing, maybe London, and then it’s over.”
The First 44 Pounds Disappeared Quickly: “Instead of Three Plates of Pasta, You Just Eat One”
After his career ended, losing weight was initially easier for Steiner than many would assume. He no longer had to strategically eat a lot to maintain his high competition weight. “I knew: I ate a lot of carbohydrates to maintain the high weight. If I cut that out, the weight would drop.” At 330 pounds, with a lot of muscle mass and less training, the first 44 pounds disappeared relatively quickly. “Instead of three plates of pasta, you just eat one,” Steiner describes the beginning.
Then the Weight Loss Journey Became Tougher
Eventually, it became more difficult. At around 286 pounds, he realized: “This can’t go on.” He changed his diet more significantly: more meat, more salad, fewer carbohydrates. And from this point on, the weight loss journey became primarily a mental challenge: “I believe losing weight is fundamentally more of a mental challenge,” says Matthias Steiner. Because everyday life becomes less attractive with strict dieting: “That’s when life stops being sexy enough.” During this phase, Steiner looked for foods that were low in carbohydrates but still tasted good.
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“I’m Not a Low-Carb Guru”
His diabetes has sharpened Steiner’s view on carbohydrates. Through his insulin pump, he visualized how different meals affected his body. For a pizza, for example, he had to press the pump ten times–much more insulin than for vegetables or eggs. “If the insulin pump was empty earlier at the end of the week, I was a kilo heavier,” he emphasizes the impact of carbohydrates.
Still, he emphasizes: “I’m not a low-carb guru.” It’s not about demonizing carbohydrates but about handling them more consciously–and regularly incorporating low-carb meals.
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Steiner on the Biggest Dietary Mistake
“I think everyone would agree with me when I say: ‘We live in a high-carb society today.'” He doesn’t necessarily see the biggest mistake on the plate, but in the glass. More precisely: in soft drinks. If you drink them during the day, insulin is constantly released, and the pancreas never gets a rest. “The more insulin we produce, the less fat burning we have. When people hear fat burning, there’s always a connection with insulin. The body needs an insulin rest, a break.”
His advice: Drink water, tea, or coffee. If you don’t want to give up sweetness, opt for diluted juices, but only with one meal. “That’s where the biggest lever is,” emphasizes the former competitive athlete.
Achieving Success with Photos, Exercise, and Sleep
If you want to lose weight, you should first look at the status quo. What do you really eat? Steiner’s tip: Note or photograph meals and snacks for a week. Then you often already see where calories unconsciously add up. “We humans are very good at suppressing things,” says Steiner.
Exercise also remains central for him–but not as a rigid obligation. It’s important to find a sport that is fun and regularly incorporate it into everyday life. Steiner himself continues to train weightlifting twice a week and endurance twice. And there’s another factor he long underestimated: sleep. For him, getting enough sleep is an “absolute game changer” because it noticeably affects metabolism, performance, and eating behavior.
In the conversation at the OMR, the discussion also covered factors for healthy aging, topics that Nuno Alves addresses in his book “Highway to Health – In 7 Steps to a Healthy Long Life,” which will be released on January 4, 2027.