Most people who want to lose weight, usually start by going to the gym or getting a personal trainer. These things can help but without controlling their diet, they will find it hard to lose weight.
The first thing that you need to do if you want to lose weight, get fit, improve your martial arts or look younger is check your life. Which of your habits are good and which are bad? Where are your weaknesses? Also, what about the weaknesses of your environment? You need to be aware of them so you can deal with them and not become a victim of them. For example, if a person smokes or drinks and at the same time they want to lose weight and train, the first thing they need to do is stop smoking and drinking then they need to start training lightly to detoxify their body.
Someone who eats a lot of junk food or cakes or drinks a lot of sugar drinks like Coca Cola needs to stop. A person who has a very stressful job with a lot of responsibility, has to tell themselves worry can not change anything. They have to train themselves to be relaxed. Shaolin training helps us to relax and let go. It effortlessly shifts us into a positive frame of mind.
People are always searching for the best diet for health or to lose weight. They do the same with a training programme, how can I get maximum benefit for minimum effort? They spend hours on the internet researching but they don't realise that no one can give them an exact diet or training programme because everybody's mind and body is different.
For me, I listen to my body and follow what it says. If it tells me I need to eat apples today then I eat apples. Each person needs to try and find their own diet and their own training programme. I eat a high carbohydrate diet, this works for me, but for other people, low carbohydrate and high protein works better. Neither is right or wrong, they have found out what works for their body and I have found out what works for mine.
The one thing I would say is that everyone should cut out sugar. This has no nutritious value and is not good for blood sugar levels. The other rule is, always eat breakfast. People who eat breakfast tend to eat less throughout the rest of the day. Also, drink green tea. Green tea doesn't contain enough caffeine to spike cortisone levels but research has shown it helps boost metabolism.
My advice when you embark upon a training , diet or health plan is don't be too ambitious. Start with a small step that is achievable then build on that small success. A diet and training programme is not just for eight weeks or 28 days, it is for the rest of your life so make sure it's one that is right for you and you can stick with it so it can become a part of you, enriching your life experience.
For information on Shifu Yan Lei's training DVDs and books please visit http://www.shifuyanlei.co.uk/dvd_latest_release.html
