Actor Arjun Kapoor says he still feels overweight in his mind. He bares his vulnerabilities in an account of how he lost 50 kilos in four years
When you are touted to be the next big star, the pressure to look good never ebbs. So what if Arjun Kapoor has lost 50 kilos in the past four years. Arjun says, “It’s a thankless profession in that sense.” Sitting in a jeans and a black shirt, you’d never think that this is the same obese industry-kid who hardly ever made any social appearances. Here he is confident, fielding questions with his co-star Parineeti Chopra like he was born to be on camera. The journey to reach here has been long, and treacherous, with booby traps full of food all around. He lets us in on to how he found a way around the ambushes:
Arjun Kapoor After Weight Loss
Arjun Kapoor Befor Weight Loss
When you are touted to be the next big star, the pressure to look good never ebbs. So what if Arjun Kapoor has lost 50 kilos in the past four years. Arjun says, “It’s a thankless profession in that sense.” Sitting in a jeans and a black shirt, you’d never think that this is the same obese industry-kid who hardly ever made any social appearances. Here he is confident, fielding questions with his co-star Parineeti Chopra like he was born to be on camera. The journey to reach here has been long, and treacherous, with booby traps full of food all around. He lets us in on to how he found a way around the ambushes:
The start
Most people think, aaj diet shuru kiya, kal patla bana. You can lose 10 kilos in 30 days if you don’t eat, but you are losing muscle. You can put that weight back on with five days of overeating. I realised early on that it’s not about a short term goal. I had to lose 50 kilos. So I had to make peace with the fact that it’s not going to happen overnight.
Salmanbhai [Khan] inspired me. He is the one who told me that I had acting talent in me, that I should not squander it just because I am this big lard of fat. He doesn’t miss going to the gym regardless of what his timings are. He works out early in the morning without fail. Initially, I used to work out a lot with him, cycle from his house to film city. When you live with a person who is so aware of his body, you get inspired.
I suppose the decision to lose weight happened when I decided to make acting a profession. Ultimately, 50 kilos is just a number. If I lost 40 and I looked as lean, then I’d be happy with it. I still want to lose five more.
When you are so overweight, your body responds to any kind of physical activity. First, your body drops the water. And you drop the weight like this (snaps his fingers). In the first month I lost about 10 to 11 kilos. It was kind of shocking initially.
But then I was so happy that I had lost so much weight that I put on all of that by eating more. I didn’t lose weight consistently. I used to lose five then put on three, then lose some more and eat again. I was always working against myself.
Lifestyle change
Losing weight isn’t only about hitting the gym every day, or keeping a check on your diet. It is a combination of the two. I recognised that I have to make adjustments to my diet and if I ever overeat, I need to work it off in the gym.
You reduce the number of yellows you put in your eggs in the morning. I don’t have zero yolks. Because I think the gelatin makes your hair better. Also, it tastes bloody good. I’m a foodie at the end of the day, so I offset this with a workout.
I think diet is a trial and error process. I live on rice, but it bloats me up immediately, so I’ve replaced it with quinoa, the South American grain. It’s actually pure protein. You can put in more chicken too. Chilla is made of aata and that is also something I use. These are small things that go a long way when you realise how your body reacts to certain foodstuffs.
The bad days
When you start losing weight, it leads to many bad days. When you are sitting in front of the TV and realise that you are looking at these guys with six packs and they are ripped, you really don’t see yourself getting there. You have to keep the will power and fight through. There is only one person you can look at in the gym for inspiration and it’s yourself. Anybody’s reassurance will not matter if you aren’t mentally strong enough.
Gym bean
In the first year, with weights and cardio, I lost a lot of weight. But the fourth year was the toughest. I had to lose only five more kilos. That’s when I wanted to get my jaw line sorted, stomach as plain as possible. That’s where CrossFit came in. I started training under Deepesh Bhatt. When you stabilise yourself with your own core, then you can lift anything in the world.
You activate smaller muscles through CrossFit. I hear Hrithik Roshan does CrossFit in the morning and then does hardcore body building through the day. Now, I haven’t reached that level in the gym.
Eating and cheating
I would be lying if I say I don’t have a diet plan. I have one toast with four to six eggs. One or two yolks depending on how many eggs I’m having. If I train in the morning then I have a protein shake. I have lunch and am still trying to cut down on carbs. At home, I have dal, sabzi, and chicken. I also have either bajra ki roti which is more filling or two phulkas. In the afternoon, depends on where I am and what I’m up to, I nibble on some rubbish or the other. I love food and I like eating. If anyone offers me good food I tend to have some. But I can afford to because I know I am training that much. I tend to avoid meetha generally, but nowadays I realise even that has become difficult because I’m travelling so much.
My dinner is as light as possible — just protein. Because I am a meat lover by nature, it’s easier to follow a protein-based diet. The evening time is the worst time in the day. Between lunch and dinner I am tempted by a million things. I tend to have a lot of black coffee. It keeps you feeling fresher and gives you a false high. I stopped liking milk in my coffee a long time ago.
Self-esteem
You obviously have self-esteem issues when you are fat, but I never let it bog me down. You deal with it internally. Then you hit McDonalds, have three burgers and you are happy again. I used to go to McDonalds, order three burgers, one strawberry milkshake, French fries and pack one burger for on my way home. I was a grumpy kid who hardly ever smiled and just wanted to make films.
Now that I’ve lost weight I am more conscious of my weight than before. If I look at pictures when I was fat, I just smile. But when I see the posters of my film, I think ‘S**t, I have put on weight, I was so thin back then.’ I don’t look at myself in the most positive light. That’s why I hate posing in front of the camera even now.
Find Here: Pictures of Arjun Kapoor before weight loss and after weight loss
Find Here: Pictures of Arjun Kapoor before weight loss and after weight loss
