Vikesh Khinda knew he “had a bit of a stomach.” His job was partly to blame: as a pilot for a major international airline, he traveled all over the world, which made it hard to find time to eat healthy and exercise. But when his weight threatened to derail his career, he knew he had to make a chance. Here, in his own words, is what he did to lose nearly 40 pounds.
I ’LL BE HONEST—I knew I’d let myself go in recent years, but I never realized the extent of it until I went to the doctor for a routine checkup. Like plenty of guys in their mid-40s, I’d traded in an active lifestyle for semi-sedentary fatherhood and a busy career as a pilot for an international airline. (It was a job that took me almost everywhere in the world except, ironically, a gym.)
In 2024, my family and I moved to Dubai for work. My daughter was 3 years old at the time, and my wife was eight months pregnant with our second child, a boy. It was hard enough playing with one kid, so I was a little nervous about the idea of entertaining two at the same time. Sometimes I could only play with my daughter for 10 minutes at time before I had to take a break. That always made me feel terrible.
It was in Dubai that I went for that routine checkup I mentioned. I knew I had a bit of a stomach, but I was surprised to learn my body mass index (BMI) was in between 27 and 28. That was a big problem: If my BMI reached 30—the obese mark—I wouldn’t be allowed to fly a plane. It was the first time I realized how serious my weight had become. My employer relied on me to be healthy—and my family relied on me having a job.
Things got worse before they got better, though. When I went to a cardiologist for a follow-up appointment, a CT scan revealed I had a build-up of plaque in my arteries. I’ve always had high cholesterol (I’d been taking statins since my 20s), but the doctor told me that I had the heart health of someone a decade older than me. He gave me two options: Take even more medication or completely change my lifestyle. Naturally, I chose the latter, but my doctor took a more skeptical approach.
“You have one year,” he told me.
How I Stay in Shape While Traveling
I DON’T WANT to make excuses, but it is hard to go to the gym on the days you’re flying around the world. I clearly needed some help, so I recruited a trainer, Andre Fugle, from Ultimate Performance, in Dubai. When I started there, I weighed about 180 pounds, but my body fat levels were about 31 percent.
Andre and I set two goals for myself: Take at least 10,000 steps a day and do at least three workouts a week, even if they were on three consecutive days. (And yes, I dreaded those weeks. Sometimes it was a struggle just to move my legs.)
Taking 10,000 steps a day wasn’t easy to do, especially when I was traveling. At the airport, I stopped using the escalators and moving walkways, and once I arrived at the hotel, I’d hop on the treadmill or go for a walk around the building. When I was on the plane and needed to stretch my legs, I’d walk up and down the galley. Once I landed, I checked into the hotel and went to the gym. I’d take a quick video of the equipment and send it to Andre, who gave me advice about which exercises to do. I tracked all my routines on the UP app to keep myself accountable.
Overhauling my diet was also tricky in the beginning, especially since I sometimes have to wake up in the middle of the night. It required a bit of preparation on my part. Breakfast would be Greek yogurt with fruit and a banana, and lunch would be lean protein—4 ounces of chicken or seabass, for example—and 3.5 ounces of rice or quinoa and some vegetables. For an in-flight snack, I’d have a protein shake, which I’d mix with creatine before the flight, or a protein bar and some dates.
At the hotel, I’d check the menu for healthy dinner options, and if I had any questions, I’d send the menu to Andre, who helped me choose a meal. Another thing I learned is how to ask for a menu accommodation. Now, I have no problem asking the kitchen to leave the Caesar dressing off the salad and serve me their best guess of a 3-ounce chicken breast.
What My Fitness Routine Looks Like at Home
IT’S A LITTLE easier to train when I’m not traveling for work, but believe when I say it’s still a challenge. That’s mainly thanks to Andre, who I like to call the “smiling assassin.” (I’m in agony, while he keeps smiling. Go figure.) Early on, I focused on bigger, compound lifts, like chest presses and split squats, to build muscle and burn fat quickly, but eventually, I started doing more complex lifts, like deadlifts and weighted pull-ups, and added exercises like crunches, biceps curls, and triceps extensions. Here are a few more weight-lifting strategies I picked up from Andre:
I use a controlled, 3-1-1-1 tempo during a lift.
I spend 3 seconds lowering the weight, pause for 1 second, do a 1-second lift, and finish with a 1-second hold at the top. It helps build control, creates more time under tension, and improves my execution of the exercise.
I train with a few sets in reserve.
I usually do three sets per exercise, with 8 to 12 reps total. During the first set, I keep about 2 to 3 reps in reserve; the second, I keep 1 to 2 reps in reserve; and the last set, I keep either 1 or no reps in reserve. It’s a good way to push myself without overtaxing myself and risking an injury.
I focus way more on technique.
It’s not just about swinging the weights around—it’s about slowing down and engaging your muscles. During the eccentric (down) portion of a split squat, for example, Andre would tell me to imagine I was going down an escalator before holding the move and explosively pushing back up. And I could feel my muscles firing up—now, I love that adrenaline rush!
The Benefits
AS IT TURNS out, I went back to my cardiologist after six months. Why wait, right? I was down nearly 40 pounds and had cut my body fat from 31 percent to 9 percent. My cholesterol levels came back great, too—my HDL (good) levels have increased while my LDL (bad) levels have dropped in half. Naturally, my doctor was thrilled. He couldn’t believe the results, so I couldn’t resist showing him my before and after pictures. He kept telling me how happy he was for me and how he’d never seen anything like it before in his career. (He sees a lot of pilots, to be fair.) He even gave me a hug!
The real win, though, is being able to play with my daughter again. No matter how long I sleep—and some nights, it’s only three or four hours—I can run around for hours. I can pick up my son. I feel charged all the time. I have so much strength now to focus on my family. And that’s the best feeling of all.
Maria Masters is a contributing editor and writer for Everyday Health and What to Expect, and has held positions at Men’s Health and Family Circle.
