Arjun Kanungo packed on the weight after being bedridden due to a kidney issue and a subsequent hip fracture. He says, “I wouldn’t say that protein [supplements] alone caused kidney damage. I was also taking creatine, and drinking a lot of alcohol. But the final blow came in the way of antibiotics that [I needed to take]. All of this contributed to what they call acute kidney injury. Thankfully, it’s not permanent.”

In a bid to lower his protein levels, he adopted a vegan diet. And reduced his protein intake from 170 grams to 60 grams per day. 

However, the diet also led him to eat too much carbohydrates. “The thing with vegan diets is that it’s easy to consume a lot of carbohydrates on them. You can be vegan and still eat a lot of unhealthy foods. The only way I could be happy was by eating. I was eating a lot of chocolate. One believes raw cocoa can’t be bad, but the calories add up. I gained 30 kilos in six months." 

After four months, Kanungo said he could no longer recognise himself. " Two months in, I noticed a paunch, and four months later, I noticed that my stomach had [grown larger]."

In consultation with his nutritionist, he reduced his caloric intake from 3000 calories to 1500 calories per day. "I was on this diet for 14 months."

When his blood parameters returned to normal, he started altering his diet to add more dairy-based protein. At the same time, he transitioned from doing simple strengthening exercises, to doing kickboxing and eventually, weight lifting. "When I say I wanted six-pack abs again, it doesn’t come from a place of wanting to look good. It's a metric that people understand, and a good representation of how I want to feel.”

Kanungo also stresses on the need to find a medical professional who understands your needs. After consulting several doctors, who suggested that he needed to undergo hip surgery, he came across a physiotherapist who said she could treat him without the need for one.

Despite his fame, Kanungo says he realised that enduring a journey like his was lonely. "One of the biggest struggles was simply using the wash room. It was those embarrassing, undignified moments that were tough to deal with."

His own management team told him he looks older than his age. "My management said, ‘Dude, you’ve become old.’ I was like, I’m 30. But they insisted that my age was showing. People judge you quickly and point out what they see."

Kanungo is back to making music with all his might. Come February, he begins shooting for his latest album. He promises to feature prominent collaborations in them.