10 Minutes In The Morning: Yoga and Diet Plan

Alcohol

Personally, I do not drink alcohol – it simply doesn’t suit me – but I have allowed you one glass of either red or white wine per day. It can benefit your cardiovascular system. Red wine in particular can help ward off heart disease as grape skins are used in its preparation and these contain blood thinning agents, so enjoy – but no more than 1 glass per day. No beer or spirits. If you don’t like wine, you may substitute a 4 oz glass of fresh fruit or vegetable juice instead.

Supplements

If you are eating a good nutritious diet you should not need any supplements. However, our soils are not so rich in minerals as they used to be and we rarely know how long our food has been in storage. For this reason, I recommend that you take 1 good multivitamin and mineral tablet daily.

Finally: on a recent visit to a Brazilian eco-centre, our breakfast table held a sign which gives food for thought:

Please do not feed the animals – an unnatural diet can make them fat, ill and aggressive.

* Syndrome X, or insulin resistance syndrome, is a name given to a host of diseases related to diet and insulin resistance – including obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, stroke, and a risk of cancer, depression and eyesight problems.

Weight-loss Planner (#ulink_858aec55-a51e-5ba5-8695-32accd50bd08)

Over the course of this 28-day plan, I have set out a varied and nutritious menu for each day. However, if you are unable to stick to this or want a little more choice, the following planner will help you choose.

Breakfast

Choose from:

1 portion of fresh fruit and 1 x 4 oz natural organic yoghurt

2 portions of any fresh fruit

1 x 4 oz glass fresh fruit juice and 1 slice toast with a little butter and 2 oz cottage cheese or 1 boiled egg

1⁄2 grapefruit and 1 poached egg on I slice wholegrain toast and a little butter 1 x 4 oz glass fresh fruit juice, 2 rashers grilled bacon and 2 grilled tomatoes

1 smoothie (blend 1 banana, 1 natural yoghurt with 6 fresh strawberries or a small carton of raspberries)

2 egg omelette and 3 grilled mushrooms

Lunch

Choose from:

4 oz fresh grilled chicken, turkey or fish (hot or cold)

4 oz red meat (remember red meat is only allowed 3–4 times per week)

6 oz cottage cheese or 2 oz hard cheese

and

a large mixed salad from the list of ingredients. Remember to try and vary them everyday. Enjoy this with 1 tbsp dressing. Instead of salad you may have 2 cooked vegetables.

or

1 sandwich made with 2 thin slices wholegrain bread with a scraping of butter or mayonnaise filled with salad and 2 oz chicken, turkey or fish or 1 oz cheese.

Dessert – 1 portion fresh fruit

Dinner

4 oz chicken, fish, veal or red meat (red meat is only allowed 3–4 times per week)

or

1 small wholegrain rice or pasta dish (no more than twice per week)

and

2 fresh vegetables or a large salad with 1 tbsp dressing.

Dessert – 1 portion fresh fruit

To drink

Eight glasses of water per day. Herbal tea as desired. No more than 5 cups of tea or 2 cups of coffee per day and semi-skimmed milk or soya milk from your allowance of

⁄

pint. If you do not like milk then have an extra 4 oz pot of natural yoghurt. 1 glass of wine is allowed per day if desired or 4 oz of fruit or vegetable juice.

This plan will fit in with your life no matter how busy you are – you have plenty of choice but remember no more than 4 oz of chicken, fish or red meat and no snacks. The only exception to this is if your meal is unavoidably delayed; in that case, instead of having 1 portion of fruit for your dessert, have it as a snack prior to your meal but do remember to sit down and eat it. If fruit is included in your lunch or dinner (for instance, chicken and mango salad) then you may not have an extra portion of fruit for dessert. If fruit is used as a garnish (for instance, pork and apple sauce), then have

⁄

a fruit portion for dessert. This may sound pedantic but it is the details that matter.

It will help if you carry the weight-loss planner with you until you become accustomed to it and to give you great meal choices at every restaurant or eating place you visit. You will be able to eat out anywhere and no one will ever know you are on a diet.

In restaurants

Have a lovely salad as a starter and then your choice of chicken, fish or meat as a main course with 1 vegetable portion, and follow with fruit, such as a bowl of fresh raspberries.

The Exercises (#ulink_09ed42e2-ab07-54a9-a5e3-0692f3301ca9)

My constant search for super health led me to discover yoga over 30 years ago. It clicked with me immediately and felt just perfect. It has kept me in the same shape I was in my 20s, has given me energy, kept my spine and joints flexible and in great condition, and helped me to relax and sleep well. Much more than this, its profound teachings and techniques have helped me through life’s many challenges.

About yoga

The word yoga means the union of body, mind and spirit with the universal spirit. Its exact origins are unclear but it is thought to have been developed around 5000BC in an area of pre-historic India that is now part of Pakistan. Yoga combines thorough physical exercises, balancing postures and deep-breathing practices with meditation and deep relaxation.

The exercises work on literally 100 per cent of the body – toning, firming, sculpting and realigning it whilst toning it internally as well. The movements are performed carefully and slowly. They are particularly excellent for ridding the body of the tension which is so pervasive in our stressful modern world. Tension literally strangles our bodies, inhibiting both lymph and blood flow to our tissues. The blood system carries nutrients from the food we eat and oxygen from the air we inhale to our cells whilst the lymphatic system removes toxins and fights infection. It is easy to understand that if these systems are inhibited by chronic stress this can easily cause deterioration in our bodies. By carefully stretching away all tension and by deep breathing to stimulate oxygen to the tissues, yoga’s soothing calming movements help restore these functions. The balancing movements strengthen our bodies and keep our joints flexible but they necessitate a huge level of concentration. By concentrating the mind while positioning the body, yoga ensures we stay in the present moment and takes the mind off its day-to-day concerns, thereby giving it a necessary rest. The breathing exercises are both calming and relaxing and once learnt can be used anywhere to help you unwind.

The mind is difficult to tame and the more frenetic our lives become the more we need yoga to help us calm down. Meditation and relaxation are wonderful tools to help us relax at will; eventually we realize the peace and happiness we seek is not out there but within ourselves and yoga is there to help us attain it.