Jayaram loses 12 kg in 60 days with cardio workout and diet

Two days ago, Jayaram shared a photo looking all trim for his role in his Telugu venture with Allu Arjun in the lead. The actor now tells us that he has been vying for a makeover since last year, but the kind of roles he has been doing did not provide him the chance.
“For Panchavarnathatha last year, director Ramesh Pisharody asked me to put on weight. I eat whatever I wanted for three months to get plump for the character of the pet shop owner, and after the shoot, I found it extremely tough to lose the pounds I had packed on,” he says.
After the project too, the roles that came his way hardly left any room or time for him get back to his normal weight.“I had done three films back to back in Malayalam – My Great Grandfather, Marconi Mathai and Pattabhiraman. The director of Marconi Mathai told me that the character is an ex-military man who downs a peg or two in the evening and it would be great if he had a paunch. So, I stopped exercising altogether and by the end of the shoot that lasted 40 days, I put on weight again. For Pattabhiraman too, its filmmaker told me that he had former IAS officer T N Seshan in his mind while creating the character. So, once again all workout plans were put on the backburner,” he says. “So, when the Allu Arjun movie came up, I felt I badly needed a makeover and it would only do me good, as it’s my second Telugu film.”
The veteran actor says it took him 60 days to knock off 12 kilos and get to his current shape. “I used to work out twice a day. But I didn’t touch weights; it was just cardio and diet. I run 45 minutes on the treadmill and use the elliptical trainer or cycle for 15-20 minutes. Also, diet was the most important part. I didn’t want to starve myself, because the effects would show on my face. I wanted to look and feel young, and so enquired with trainers about what diet would suit me and followed their advice,” he says.
The effort is paying off as those at the set of the Telugu movie, which is directed by Trivikram Srinivas, was all praise for his work. “I shot for a week, and we will begin the next schedule in August. I don’t want to reveal much about my character right now, except that I am acting alongside Tabu in the film,” he says.