Foreword

When I started work on Dangal I knew I would have to go through a major body transformation. This
would require a great trainer, a lot of hard work and focus from me, but more importantly, I would need a
first‐rate nutritionist. This last requirement I was not worried about because I had worked with Dr Vinod
Dhurandhar in the past, always achieving great results.
I began putting on the weight and then it occurred to me that even as I was putting on weight it might be
a good idea to warn Dr Vinod Dhurandhar that this is what I was up to, and that in the near future I was
going to come to him to help me get back into shape. With that in mind I called up his clinic. I tried for several
days but I just could not get through. I had Dr Vinod Dhurandhar’s cell number but I was hesitant to call on
that. However, after trying his clinic in vain for almost a month I thought I should try his personal number.
The phone was answered by his wife Mrs Anuradha Dhurandhar. She told me that Dr Vinod was
rather unwell, and that as a result of his bad health there was no way that he could meet me and
nor could he help me professionally. I was of course very sad to hear that Dr Vinod was so unwell. He
had helped so many thousands like me. I expressed my regrets to Mrs Dhurandhar and put the phone
down.
Over the next few days I was getting more and more anxious about who I should consult on my diet
plan and nutrition. What I was attempting in this film was a very big challenge, and Dr Vinod Dhurandhar
was the only person whom I trusted to help me achieve this near impossible task of first putting on 25‐30 kgs,
and then losing it in a short span of time.
I called Mrs Dhurandhar again, this time to ask if she could recommend to me any of Dr Vinod’s assistants
who could perhaps help me. No name came to her immediately, but she said she would give it a thought and get
back.
I waited, wondering what to do next. I had already reached 85 kgs by now and was well on my way to
achieve my ‘fat look’, but I still did not have a person who would help me get back in shape. I felt a
little like Abhimanyu who broke into the Chakravyuha but did not have the knowledge to break out of it.
Two days later I got a call from Dr Dhurandhar’s cell, only it wasn’t Mrs Dhurandhar on the line.
Instead, a gentle, well‐spoken male voice asked to speak with me. This was Dr Nikhil
Dhurandhar, son of Dr Vinod Dhurandhar. Turns out that he was in Mumbai to see his ailing
father (Dr Nikhil lives in the US), and his mother had spoken to him about my call.
‘Mr Khan, I no longer make diets for people, instead I am doing research in obesity, but at one time I used
to. In fact, I worked along with my father for a good ten years a long time ago. I am aware of your
professional relationship with my father, he often mentioned you as his favourite patient. Therefore, if you
like, as a one off, I can try and help you.’
You can imagine how relieved I was to hear this! We met two days later in my house.
Dr Nikhil is a conservative man. And that’s coming from me!
He heard out my absurd requirement patiently and then gave me his reaction. ‘Mr Khan, this is
rather a strange requirement, not to mention difficult. I must confess I have never done something like
this before. Also, I must warn you that what you are attempting is very difficult.’ For the entire remainder
of the meeting he proceeded to warn me in different ways how near impossible the task I had set for myself.
He pointed out that age was not on my side. He warned me that losing weight was not simple math, it was
biology, and every person reacts differently and to different extents. On and on he went about how it was a
daunting task. He was willing to take on the challenge but was assuring me nothing save that it was going to
be very difficult. I liked him immediately. I trust people who are conservative and who hesitate to promise
results. The other quality I liked about him was that he is a man of detail. I felt I was in safe hands. I needed
someone who is realistic and whose knowledge is thorough. I knew I was going to give it all but I needed
someone guiding me in nutrition who I could trust blindly. I did not want to put in effort barking up the
wrong tree.
I had found my man.
We set the date for starting out. I told him it would be after I had finished shooting for the fat part, so it
was still months away.
Then the time finally arrived. I had almost finished shooting for the fat part and was ready to start the fat
 loss process in a few weeks. At that time I stood at 97 kgs and 38 per cent body fat. I told Dr Nikhil the
time had come. Of course, he wanted a lot of tests done before he gave me a diet; he needed to know my
health parameters. The most fundamental principle that both Dr Dhurandhar senior and junior follow is
that they are not just giving you a diet for fat loss, their diet also addresses any health issues you may have
like high cholesterol, high BP, diabetes, etc. So, the fat loss programme is centred around good health.
We decided to follow a system of communication since we were in different countries. Every week on
Sunday morning I would do detailed measurements of myself and send them to him. Every Sunday I would
also give him a details of how accurate I had been with the diet. So, he would have a weekly progress report
from me. Based on that, whenever necessary, he would change the diet. Also, he would change the diet when I
felt I am getting too used to a particular pattern of eating.
I remember when I started out on the fat loss I had three weeks off from work. I asked him if he
could find me a place where I could go to for this period, like a health resort. Some place where I
would have no other distractions. He did his research and came up with the ideal place, Canyon Ranch
in Arizona. Because of the various physical activities available there, I was able to reach a daily calorie deficit
of 2,500 calories! I was spending 8 hrs a day doing some physical activity or the other. Three hrs hike up the
mountain, 1 hr weight training, 1 hr swimming/water aerobics, 90 mins tennis, 2 hrs cycling, 90 mins
walking. This was intense and we decided that this I would do for just three weeks as a strong start to the
process.
We were off to a good start. However, somewhere around the two‐and‐a‐half month mark, back in
Mumbai, I felt that I had begun slipping. I had begun to see results and I was getting tempted with eating
things which were out of my diet plan. I was succumbing to temptation, my resolve was getting weak. After a
couple of weeks of stumbling I spoke to Dr Nikhil about it. He asked me what would help me to stick to
the diet. I said, a more regular contact with him. We decided a method where I would text him every
day after every meal. For example, I would text him at 7 a.m. that I just ate my breakfast, what it was
exactly that I ate, and I would also tell him that my next meal was at 9 a.m. and was 100gm of papaya and
one scoop of protein shake in water. Then at 9.15 a.m. I would text him that I ate my fruit and protein
shake and my next meal was at 11 a.m. and was one toast and 25gm of tuna and ¼ cup of slim yogurt. All
this while he was asleep in the US. He would wake up and check my texts and send me an encouraging
message. This constant reporting after every meal helped me get back on to track.
In five months, and exactly one day before my shoot for the younger Mahaveer Phogat, I had
reached 80 kg and 9.67 per cent body fat. I was heavier than my usual 70 kgs but that was because I
was very muscular and muscle weighs much more than fat. Importantly I was looking exactly as I
wanted to.
Not only is Dr Nikhil a very solid nutritionist, but I also found him to be extremely supportive and
helpful. Thanks Doc for helping me achieve what you repeatedly warned me was very difficult.
I wish Dr Nikhil all the very best for this book. I can’t think of a better person to help readers
understand about good nutrition. I hope that readers all across the world can benefit from his knowledge in the
field of nutrition.
Wish all of you a good read, and good health.
Cheers
Aamir