Fitness has been a way of life for actor Yash Daasguptaa for many years now. And that reflects in his picture-perfect physique. On the sidelines of a special shoot for t2, at The Park, Yash took us through his routine and told us why everyone should take up some form of an exercise.

How do you take care of yourself?

Most people nowadays are conscious and they are working out. There are so many gyms in the city now. I think whichever profession I would have chosen in my life, I would have always worked out. I don’t work out for the industry. I just love working out. The toughest thing to follow is a diet. You can be consistent with your workout, but if you are not consistent with your diet, you won’t see the results.

You have been working out for how long?

I started off pretty early... Class X or XI. That was the time I used to do push-ups and all, but I didn’t have weights. Back then there weren’t very many gyms in the city. I would fill my schoolbags with all the books. That’s how I started and I enjoyed the process and it has become a part of my life. I don’t follow any diet, but try to stick to a routine I can follow on most days. There can be cheat days. I don’t follow any diet during Durga Puja or Kali Puja. Starting from October till February, my diet goes for a toss. Until and unless there is a project for which I have to maintain, every year I put on weight during this time.

You also cook. So, a combination of a foodie and a fitness enthusiast...

I don’t really cook and I cook all the wrong things (laughs)! It’s not like I can prepare healthy food well. For me, it’s kosha mangsho, which I enjoy having with rice. Even in the so-called diet food, I try to fit in mutton. I don’t think it is unhealthy. I follow carb loading. Sometimes I increase the amount of carbs and sometimes, I decrease it. That is not my cheat food, but my go-to.

What do you find the most difficult bit to stick to when it comes to fitness?

I still feel it’s the diet thing. People tell me ‘you have lost so much weight... you don’t eat anything’. Please understand, to lose weight, you have to eat at frequent intervals and consume a lot of protein and that is tough. The idea is to lose fat and not weight. That’s the concept that is being followed in the West too now. Suppose you are 70kg, you need to have 140g of protein, which is tough. Following that and being consistent with it, is tough.

Workout is still okay. There are days when you don’t feel like working out. I can manage that, but with diet, you have to remind yourself. All of a sudden, I might have this urge of having biryani and I have to stop myself. I try staying away from sweets because I can’t stop at one. I’ll at least have seven-eight! So, I stay away.

Are you disciplined that way?

Yes, when it comes to fitness, I am.

Who were your icons in fitness?

During my childhood in the ’90s, my favourite was Sylvester Stallone. Watching the Rocky series... then there was Arnold Schwarzenegger with films like Commando and Predator. Then there was Jean-Claude Van Damme. These guys had amazing physiques, the macho men. I used to find Stallone really handsome... this is how a good-looking man should look... chiselled face and body. That was what I wanted to achieve. As a kid, you don’t know how to go about it. You just know they work out. So, you also start working out. There has to be an inspiration in someone’s life. I got inspired from them and if someone gets inspired looking at me, it’s a good way to channelise people towards something positive.

When I started working out, it was also an outlet for my negative emotions. Say, I am down or frustrated or agitated, if I work out, I feel great. It’s not about a good physique. Take up any form of exercise or do yoga... let it out. It helps you stay positive.

A peek into Yash’s diet...

Breakfast: Oats + eggs/ multigrain bread + poached eggs and eggwhite

Mid-morning: Protein shake/ almonds/ fish oil for Omega 3

Lunch: Chicken/fish/a little bit of rice. Every three days, I have a good amount of rice.

Yash’s cheat meals: Pizza, KFC, burgers

Pictures: Pabitra Das

Make-up: Pritam Das

Hair: Abinash Bhowmick

Styling: Kiara Sen

Wardrobe: Soumya Nandi

Location: The Park