Cindy Lai (of www.cindylaifitness.com and author of our Capoeira Health & Fitness article series) and Molly Lee (of www.energizingnutrition.com and Instructor Esquillo of Capoeira Brazil NYC) have joined forces to form Slim & Trim, a series of fitness and nutrition workshops. We were lucky enough to have a chance to sit down with Cindy and Molly and learn more about the workshops, their philosophies, and how their combined expertise will help make you faster, stronger, and much more healthy.

What is Slim & Trim?

Slim and Trim is a fitness and nutrition workshop geared towards getting individuals into a healthier mindset for the summer by freshening up their current habits and by cleaning up their current exercise regimen and eating habits.

What was the motivation behind developing the Slim & Trim workshops? What are the goals of the workshops?

You always need to keep people motivated with the changing seasons.  (For example, in winter many people hibernate or completely neglect themselves.  For the summer time, they come out of hiding and start to make improvements.) As you change, your nutritional and fitness needs change.  It’s important to vary your routine and improve your lifestyle in order to live a happier and a healthier life.

The goals of the workshop are to motivate people with positive reinforcement and positive thinking.  We would like to teach them how they can develop better habits in order to stay on top of their health and fitness.

How did Slim & Trim get started? What brought the two of you together?

We collaborated on our first workshop in the fall which turned out to be a big success.  Through that, we saw there was a need for more.

We were introduced through the capoeira community and work together outside of the community.  We also adopt similar holistic philosophies when it comes to health, fitness and nutrition and are both passionate about helping individuals, so it was a perfect fit!

What can someone who is completely new to health and fitness expect from the workshops?

In addition to simple, practical tips on nutrition and fitness, novices can expect to walk away with a positive outlook on how they can make improvements in his or her current lifestyle.  They will also see how those improvements can help them become a happier and a healthier person in mind, body and spirit.  Participating in the workshop will leave them feeling empowered, motivated and ready to take on their toughest challenges.

As well, a number of health and wellness companies are sponsoring the event so participants can expect to walk away with a gift bag full of great stuff to help them stay motivated and supported! 

What about more experienced athletes? What are some of the things they can hope to learn and develop?

Cindy: More experienced athletes can also learn to change up their routines whether it be exercise or nutrition to help them perform better.  Often times, individuals get stuck with what they are comfortable with and are afraid of change.  This mentality can prevent them from achieving their desired results.  Whether you are a beginner or seasoned athlete, you are always learning as no one is perfect.  There is always room for improvement.

Molly: When it comes to food, I find that some experienced athletes fall into a rigid or overly restrictive way of eating which is actually more harmful than healthy.  We hope to help them learn how to achieve a healthier balance with this.  They can also expect to learn more about healing foods during recovery periods and energy foods for training.

Will there be any topics tailored to specific sports? The two of you have significant ties to the Capoeira community. Will there be anything Capoeira specific or are the workshops structured such that any athlete of any level will be able to apply what they’ve learned to their own training regime?

Although there will be a good portion of individuals from the capoeira community, there will also be people from different backgrounds as well.  We will address issues that apply to the general public as a whole.  Those who are much more active or involved in specific activities will have higher requirement in terms of nutritional needs as well as cross training, so issues specific to them will be addressed as well. Whatever level you are at, you will leave with a greater understanding of food and fitness and be able to apply the knowledge in a way that works for you as an individual. 

Going into the workshops, what is the biggest thing people can have in mind in order to accelerate their learning? Are there any fundamentals people should brush up on before hand?

People should come open-minded with any questions they may have.  The workshop is a great opportunity not only to learn from the experts but to learn from other participants as well.  Being able to share experiences may help dispel any fears or concerns they may have and allow for the willingness to explore new methods of changing their lifestyle for the better.

How have your respective areas of expertise helped develop Slim & Trim? Was the collaboration a natural fit?

Cindy: As a personal trainer and a boot camp instructor, I constantly come across individuals who are not always taught the right information.  They may use the media as a huge resource because they don’t know any better.  Sometimes this leads to dangerous dieting or overtraining because someone told them they should follow a certain path or they read it somewhere.  Without proper guidance and with so much wrong and harmful information out there, there are too many people who fall victim to unhealthy and dangerous behaviors vital to their health.

Molly: Cindy’s right – people are so oversaturated with “facts” about health and nutrition it can be very confusing.  When it comes to diet, it’s essential to consider factors such as lifestyle, work schedule, current level of fitness, body type, ancestry,  etc.

We believe in approaching exercise and nutrition through a holistic manner and both emphasize finding balance in mind, body and spirit.  We help individuals achieve true health by creating real, lasting change rather than a “quick-fix.” The collaboration is a great fit as we both love teaching people how to empower themselves through a very positive outlook in life.

Has collaborating in these workshops resulted in any radical shifts in perspective? Have you changed or rethought the way you approach nutrition and fitness?

Collaborating in these workshops has made us better individuals and professionals.  We are constantly learning.  For example, we conducted a survey this time to help provide guidance to people and to be more thorough.  We want to make sure each workshop becomes better than the last in terms of educating and giving people what they want as well as what they need.  We understand that everyone is unique but we can also come together as a whole to uplift and motivate others to aim for their best in life.

If people want to learn more about the Slim & Trim workshops, where can they go? When is the next workshop?

They can go to our website at http://www.slimandtrim.net

The next workshop will most likely be in the fall.