Most people think our stars are born lucky with some sort of magical genetic material that gives them rock hard abs, bulging biceps and narrow waists. The truth is that just like us they face the trials and tribulations of staying fit and living a healthy lifestyle. If there’s one actor in this country who’s synonymous with fitness it’s Hrithik Roshan. Here’s an excerpt from Kris Gethin’s book The Bodybuilding.com: Guide to Your Best Body which gives us a rare glimpse into the actor’s fitness regime:

Since his breakthrough role in the 2000 film Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai, box office heartthrob Hrithik Roshan has dazzled audiences with his athleticism and good looks. Famous for his physique, he has made a career out of playing characters with washboard abs (but tender hearts). But in 2011, at the height of his box office success, he found himself feeling tired, out of shape, and in physical pain. It all started, he said, when he hurt his back a few years ago. ‘I was lying supine on my bed for months and feeding off all the love of my family in the form of brownies and cupcakes, chocolate and all that,’ he said. ‘Everyone kept sending it because I was sick.

Eventually, when I got up, I had a 91 cm waist. I was suffering from blood pressure, high and low: one day high, one day low. ‘I was living off the myth of being the fittest guy, because that is what I’ve become symbolic of in my country,’ he said. But when it came time for a wardrobe fitting for his new movie, the truth came out. ‘I called for my superhero jacket, the Krrish jacket, and I couldn’t get that on. . . . I was, like, ‘I’m not meant to play this right now. I’m not the guy who is worthy enough to play a superhero. I need to get myself worthy enough. I need to make a change.’

That’s when Roshan decided to search for help. ‘I was smoking three packs a day. I had been smoking for the last two-and-a-half years now; everything was just going the wrong way. I knew that if I didn’t put a stop to it now, it was going to take over my life. That was going to be my downfall.’ It was at this low point that he met Kris Gethin, who gave him a whole new way to think about nutrition and fitness—the Body by Design plan.Gethin’s  book, The Bodybuilding.com Guide to Your Best Body had recently been published. Roshan read it.

‘I was very impressed,’ he said. ‘I saw some potential there. Also perhaps it was a sign from God that his name was Kris and I was training for Krrish, which is the name of my people’s hero. I figured we might as well try this out.’ The rest is history. Gethin went to India to train intensively with Roshan, even though he didn’t have a clue that he was training one of the country’s biggest film stars. ‘He didn’t know from Adam who I was, and neither did he care,’ says Roshan. ‘All he cared about was if I was committed enough before he came down to Mumbai. Once he was satisfied, that was it.’ Roshan knew right away that he didn’t just want a quick fix crash diet to look good for a movie role. That’s not what the Body by Design plan is all about. ‘I’d done that before in my life. I’d gotten into the best shape. [Then] I’d go back to all the wrong ways, eating chocolates and letting myself go. I knew that this wasn’t just getting into shape for a character. This was something I wanted; it had to be a lifestyle change. It had to be something that would last me all my life.’ So they began, incorporating the vigorous twelve-week fitness program into Roshan’s life.

The results were immediate and dramatic. ‘I look at myself and I am amazed that something like this is possible. It was a twelve-week transformation, but we completed it in ten weeks. ‘I’m just amazed at the possibilities of the human body and how easy it was. There was no sacrifice. Everything just flowed. I was loving my meals. They were nutritious as well as tasty. I don’t think I can go back to ‘normal’ (if I can say ‘normal’) kinds of food again, where it’s just about taste and not about nutrition. Today, Hrithik Roshan is on a mission to share his own experience in getting healthy. It feels great, and it’s due to his own hard work, as well as to Kris Gethin and the Body by Design plan. ‘I’m eager and almost desperate to make people aware of what all is possible. People need to get educated where all this is concerned. There’s just this scarcity of information. People are lost, and here is the best help that exists on the planet. I am living proof of that.’