Last week there was a sudden barrage of photographs showing me without a shirt. They were part of the promotions
of my next film, titled I Hate Luv Storys, for which I was required to work very hard on my body to develop a certain look. Since then I’ve received a lot of queries as to how I went about achieving that look. This is in response to all of you who asked, but particularly to one person — Rahul — who wrote to me saying that he is very thin and that he would really like to change the way he looks.
Rahul, I know how you feel. I’ve been thin all my life (actually, a lot of people used to make fun of me in school because of how skinny I was) and bulking up is a major struggle for me. The way I look now is the result of eight years of diet and exercise, and people still tell me I’m too skinny to be an actor.
The first step to changing your body is changing your lifestyle. You HAVE to start eating healthy, balanced meals and . There is simply no other way. What kind of exercise you do is totally up to you, you need to find something that you enjoy. Personally, I don’t enjoy weightlifting and working out in the gym, but I do it to achieve a certain look.
While that’s a requirement of my profession, you aren’t bound by the same requirement. Consider taking up martial art (kickboxing, tae kwon do, karate) or swimming, or maybe dancing. These are all activities which will help your body become stronger, look better, and thus give you greater confidence (and will also help with other problems).
Equally important is your diet. To most people, the word ‘diet’ means “stop eating so that you lose weight”, but that’s entirely wrong. What I mean is that you need to understand the nutritional value of different foods, and eat accordingly. Also, that you need to eat your meals at regular times (just like our mothers keep telling us. They’re absolutely right.), not skip meals, etc. The thing to remember is this — it’s going to take time. A lot more time than you think. Remember, I said it took me eight years to get here.
You may hear about ‘quick fix’ solutions like steroids, etc; whether you take that route or not is up to you, but I will tell you this: any change you make in your body using a shortcut method won’t last long. You’ll get great results, but only for a few months. After that, it’ll start to fade away. However, if your body has developed naturally, not only will you always look good, you’ll be stronger and healthier too. There are no shortcuts, there is no quick way to make it happen. You’re going to have to do it one small step at a time.
Equally important is your diet. To most people, the word ‘diet’ means “stop eating so that you lose weight”, but that’s entirely wrong. What I mean is that you need to understand the nutritional value of different foods, and eat accordingly. Also, that you need to eat your meals at regular times (just like our mothers keep telling us. They’re absolutely right.), not skip meals, etc. The thing to remember is this — it’s going to take time. A lot more time than you think. Remember, I said it took me eight years to get here.
You may hear about ‘quick fix’ solutions like steroids, etc; whether you take that route or not is up to you, but I will tell you this: any change you make in your body using a shortcut method won’t last long. You’ll get great results, but only for a few months. After that, it’ll start to fade away. However, if your body has developed naturally, not only will you always look good, you’ll be stronger and healthier too. There are no shortcuts, there is no quick way to make it happen. You’re going to have to do it one small step at a time.
Replies: Varenya, I’m glad I could help you too; have fun in the hostel! Pamela, thanks for the suggestion, I will definitely watch Pakeezah. Hi Gia, thanks for writing!