Run as slow as possible

Tasked with shedding the 10 kilos he had gained for his next, Kunal Kemmu on how his year-long journey enabled him to return to shape in the healthiest way possible

Kunal Kemmu’s gym shenanigans can make popular wellness routines appear uninspiring. Neither the way he uses pull-up bars nor his use of a treadmill is traditional, with each new stunt displaying his enviable command over his movements. For someone with decades-worth of experience in the physical fitness space, Kemmu admits he found the task of gaining and subsequently losing 10 kilos for his next project, a Raj & DK offering, unusually demanding. 

“Most of the weight that I needed to gain was muscle mass, even though I did not need muscle definition. Gaining weight was simple. Over the year, I did not need to focus on lifting heavy weights and could switch to bodyweight training. I’d add in bouts of yoga. And, ever so often, I’d practice a high-intensity interval routine. Because I had to gain muscle mass, I allowed myself to get more rest, and headed to the gym only three times a week. But, when I did go, I’d push heavier weights to build that mass. The aim was to lift heavier weights, execute fewer repetitions, and allow my body to rest,” says the actor. 

Despite his good metabolic rate, Kemmu struggled to lose the additional weight when the time came. Aptly pointing out that his skewed portion size from his period of weight-gain had made his body incapable of perceiving satiety, Kemmu says he had to tweak his habits to control his hunger. 

“When you need to suddenly start controlling your diet after happily indulging for a year, your stomach takes time to process that. So I had to be disciplined. Even if you choose to have an extra meal, you need to watch the portion. People often say it’s good to eat one less roti, but you shouldn’t feel like you have eaten too much. That was not a concept that worked for me. But, now I had to adhere to it because I had to move on to another project. Often, I’d head to the gym at 6 am, then head for a shoot, and pack in another session at the gym before heading to bed. I also took to intermittent fasting, and turned vegan for four months. I wanted to see how my body would react to these new methods. Also, the aim was to lose weight, but I wanted to retain as much muscle mass as I could. So, I turned to pulses to meet my protein requirement,” he says, adding that though he could have shed the weight in a shorter span, he adhered to a process that suited him.

“With every passing year, my metabolism is also going to slow down, which will make the process of losing weight harder. But, I will never go on a crash diet or starve my body. For me, that would never work. If I’m on a film set, how will I perform if I am cranky due to hunger? Maybe, someone could have lost this weight in three months, but I needed those eight months to lose the first five kilos in a healthy way.”

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