The Sindhian

Interview with Arun Mirchandani

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Giving up a plush job overseas to focus on this health is what Arun Mirchandani did. 

One look at Arun Mirchandani and the immediate thought that crosses your mind is “wow he is so fit.” Well, with him being a fitness instructor and personal trainer you would think that it is natural. But what you don’t know is that Arun has given up a corporate job in the Gulf and returned to India and embarked on his fitness journey in his 40’s. And yes, he has also lost a whopping 140 pounds in the process that he has maintained over the last four years.

“I was always an over ambitious person and wished to work overseas for a big brand and work in a senior position. This was in spite of knowing that I had to leave everything I had in India. But it was a big step that I had to take as it was important for me at that time to challenge myself to do something whose result I would not know of.”

Quitting his job in India, he moved to Kuwait and admits that those were some of the most difficult days of his life. “It was a new country, new language new culture and the responsibility of a family.  I started my career as a sales representative and worked very hard to achieve my lofty targets. I worked tirelessly for ten years to achieve my dreams and my last job in Kuwait was as Assistant GM for Samsung’s Operations.”

However it was pressures of the job and family commitments back home with an ailing father that brought Arun back home. However after he lost his father, his best friend Arun self-introspected and decided to plunge head long into the path of fitness. But the journey was anything but easy. “What motivated me to keep going was that it was not as hard as I made it out to be. Most people forget the main focus which is never give up.”

Starting by walking around his building and shutting off all the negativity and recovering from heart break, Arun took small steps to being fit.  In fact the idea of taking life one step at a time has given him perspective to think about what matters to him the most. “Exercise for me is not about running a marathon; it is about the everyday choices to say yes to being fit and choosing right.”

“From my childhood I was very passionate about fitness but due to some reason or the other I was not able to reach my goals. That is when I decided to take the challenge to say no to unhealthy food.” Being overweight was a huge burden on his mind and working to knock off the extra kilos through self-motivation has meant that Arun need not really look outside for any kind of inspiration.

Currently Arun is a fitness Coach, an anti-ageing specialist and also a knowledgeable nutritionist. His mantra in life now is completely focused on being fit. “Count your age with the number of push-ups you can do rather than by the number for years gone by is my mantra.”

With that in mind, Arun says he firmly believes that lifelong fitness is all about the kind of work you do every day. “To stay motivated in your fitness journey a great strategy is to write down your goals and your accomplishments. It not just keeps you accountable but will also inspire you to ensure that you constantly improve. Make fitness a priority from today and tell yourself that no matter what you will not give in.” And to do this Arun’s advice is to first change your mindset, eat healthy and remember that by growing older you are growing stronger.

In his free time Arun likes to travel and says he likes to learn and educate himself of new things as he goes along.

This story first appeared in The Sindhian Jan-Mar 2019 here: Arun 1 Arun 2

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