Any fitness enthusiast will tell you that rigorous training needs to be complemented with a healthy diet to attain a fitness goal. That is where Arjun Kapoor’s troubles lay. The true blue Punjabi boy loved his butter chicken and other delicacies too much to eliminate them from his meal plan. But today, the actor — several kilos lighter as seen in the trailer of Bhoot Police — is glad to have altered his meal pattern over the past year.

He credits the change to chef Akshay Arora, who whipped up healthy meals for him without compromising on the taste. “Almost everyone I know wants to be fit, and yet eat delicious food. Akshay shares my vision that healthy food can be tasty too,” says Kapoor, who has battled obesity in the past.

The actor brought the chef on board last year along with trainer Drew Neal in his bid to attain a lean frame for the horror comedy and the upcoming Ek Villain Returns. Where Neal drew up a focussed workout regimen, Arora put him on a low-carb meal plan with an emphasis on portion control.

Kapoor’s customised meals today include everything, from waffles to roast chicken, and of course, a healthier variant of butter chicken prepared with nut butter. “Akshay has helped me stay motivated, and cut down on unhealthy snacking between meals. I have customised my diet, and found the right kind of food that will enable me on this journey to being better.”