Transformation Of Bollywood Star Hrithik Roshan

How I got my body back in shape: Hrithik Roshan

That Greek God body didn't just drop into his lap. Those six-pack abs didn't develop overnight. Months of training, discipline, healthy eating did that. The word `sexy' is synonymous with Hrithik Roshan, yet there was a phase when his waist had gone to waste.That's when he decided to turn his story around. Here's how he went from fat to fit.

The magic words
When it comes to fitness, I'll propagate just two magic words, which have helped me tremendously. First is `initiative'. You need to take that first step. Even if it's a baby step, you need to take and work towards the change. Use all the resources you have at your disposal. Believe me, we all have resources. People might say that I am Hrithik Roshan that's why I can afford all these trainers.But even when I was 16-17 -when I didn't have the money and the star power -I'd make use of every resource available.

The second magic word is `consistency'. Even if you are taking baby steps, take it every day.Do something for five minutes, but do it every day.

Unhealthy me
I sank into an unhealthy lifestyle a while ago. I was doing too many things at a time - a TV show, a huge film. All that stress ended up becoming toxic for my body. I have a back problem too, and I've always planned my life in such a way that my body isn't stretched beyond a point; except that this time, things went out of hand. I had developed a double slip disc. It eventually progressed to bed rest for a couple of weeks. Then there was the stress of shooting another film. I began smoking. It's a vicious cycle.Once we get into a zone where we don't want to be, we tend to inflict pain on ourselves and dig ourselves deeper into the grave. I put on a lot of weight. There was a time when I was so out of sorts, so unhealthy that I couldn't even lift my son Hrehaan. I used to be de pressed with the thought that I won't ever be able to jump and play football with him.

"One day, my son came into my room and asked me - `Dad will you play with me or are you in pain?' That hit me. I never told him that I was in pain. He still under stood. He said, `Are you too tired?', and it shocked me that my son had an image of his father as someone who was al ways in pain. It was time to change. And the initiative to turn things around had to come from me.

Time for action
So I searched for help. Books, Google, Youtube... I spoke to every single person I met. At that time, Kris Gethin (trainer) happened to come to India from the UK. I was just a mess at that time. I told Kris that I'm living off a myth of be ing one of the fittest actors around, and it was high time I became that myth. As actors, we create a persona... an illusion to sell dreams. I didn't want to hide anymore. I wanted to be the person people thought I was. That's where we started.What he (Gethin) brought to the table was basic mathematics. It sounded like rocket science but he nailed it down to some very basic rules.

Getting fit
The idea was to get my metabolism high in the beginning. Our bodies are like engines. If our engine is running smoothly, our car will face lesser bumps on the road at high speed. In the initial days of training, I was force fed till I was stuffed and my body was digesting a lot of food. I would eat a lot of proteins and carbohydrates... my metabolism became high. Because my metabolism was high, I started losing weight. I was burning calories faster. I did that for four days, then re moved certain foods from my body and on the fifth day, I reloaded myself with carbs. Every week, my weight was coming down and my inches were decreasing. The last time I felt that kind of energy was in school.

If you want to make a change in your physicality, your perception has to change. You should eat only when you're required to. Follow a timetable. The beauty is that when I have food inside me, I think better, feel stronger and last longer on my feet. We make a mistake when we starve ourselves. We forget to eat and then we take pride in saying that I haven't eaten for eight hours. It's the most foolish thing in the world. Food in our stomach is the fuel that makes us work better. Follow the simple rule - eat at regular intervals and exercise, even if it's for 10 minutes a day.

From Hrithik's fitness diary
Fitness begins with initiative and continues with consistency. The six pack abs is a byproduct of being healthy.

Stress is toxic for the body. Once we get into an unhealthy zone, we dig ourselves deeper into the grave. You have to snap out of it.

Discipline sets you free. If you want to party, you can party. If you want to binge, you can binge because the rest of the time you stay restricted.

Getting your metabolism high is the key. Eating at regular intervals increases the metabolism.

Ninety per cent of the job is done through your diet. The other 10 per cent is exercise. You are what you eat.

If you miss meals and stay hungry for hours, you tend to go for pizzas or burgers and that is what messes up your body.

Street food, packaged food and readymade meals are bad. Anything with preservatives is unhealthy.

Addiction!
Packaged food is addictive, like cigarettes. addictive, like cigarettes. Nicotine is more addictive than cocaine. It gives you withdrawal symptoms in such mild ways that you believe you are smoking by choice. But it's an addiction. That one puff will go down as poison and create withdrawal symptoms. It's the same with packaged food.