Kumail Nanjiani has a lot to be excited about before his newest film The Eternals opens this fall. But that doesn’t mean that his life is not extremely regimented. Men’s Health went to the April cover star’s L.A. home for the latest installment of Gym and Fridge, where Nanjiani broke down his strict diet and workouts.
“I feel like I’m the host of a very basic children’s talk show,” the actor jokes before opening his fridge to the audience.
His food staples include different types of fruit, such as apples, pears or peaches. While Nanjiani’s breakfast usually consists of eggs and gluten-free toast, he’s also practiced intermittent fasting on his days off from shooting superhero films. “I would do an 18/6 fast day,” he explains. “So I won’t eat for eighteen hours, and then I’ll compress everything into six hours of the day. If I’m doing that, then I don’t eat breakfast.”
As for what Nanjiani typically likes to drink, his choice seems a little out of the ordinary. “I use beet juice as a pre-workout,” he says as he pulls out a bottle from the back of the fridge. “I like the taste of it, and I think it gives me energy for the workout—at least, I’ve read that it does.”
He also shared his secret for the perfect protein shake: “I think there has to be a little bit of fruit in it, or almond butter or peanut butter.”
As for the rest of the day, The Big Sick actor likes making chicken breast with either Indian or his native Pakistani spices. He’s also a huge fan of buffalo burgers, but when he was filming in London, he couldn’t make them for a very simple reason: “They didn’t have any buffalo or bison meat there.” He also includes sugar snap peas into his diet, which he thinks is “the lamest answer” to when asked about his favorite snack.
After finishing his fridge tour, it’s gym time for Nanjiani. The actor takes Men’s Health to his local gym, where he breaks down his typical, yet very regimented workout. A man who works out at least four days a week, Nanjiani found himself becoming obsessed with working out while filming for Marvel’s The Eternals, out in November 2020. “The beginning was the hardest part,” he confesses. “It was hard psychologically and physically. After the first couple of months, it kept getting easier and easier.
“I realized I had to learn to enjoy the workout and I do enjoy them now.”
So what keeps the actor motivated to keep going with his gym routine? Apart from his family’s reaction to his new success, it’s the fact that he feels better than he ever has before. “Since I’ve been working out, it’s the calmest I’ve been. I’ve been sleeping better, I feel less anxious, I have way more energy. The motivation is just health—I just feel healthier than I have in twenty years.”
Some final tidbits? He loves to listen to podcasts while in the gym, and he’d love to get in a good workout with the Iron Man himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger.
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