I watch my diet and I eat right, but I am not on a strict diet.

“I watch my diet and I eat right, but I am not on a strict diet.” — thus spoke José Aldo, warrior of discipline and balance, whose body is the instrument of both battle and art. These words, though modest and simple, are rich with wisdom that reaches beyond food or fitness. They speak of moderation, the sacred principle that has guided sages, soldiers, and seekers since the dawn of time — the wisdom of knowing when to hold fast and when to release. For the man who governs himself through balance, rather than extremity, becomes unshakable in both body and spirit.

To watch one’s diet is to live with awareness — to eat, not out of impulse, but with mindfulness and respect for the body that sustains us. Aldo, as a fighter, knows that every morsel of food is either strength or weakness, harmony or chaos. Yet, he does not enslave himself to rules. In saying he is not on a strict diet, he reveals a deeper mastery — the mastery of control through understanding. For the one who knows the laws of his own nature no longer needs to be bound by external ones. He is disciplined, but not imprisoned; free, yet not careless.

In ancient Greece, the philosopher Aristotle called this the Golden Mean — the middle path between excess and deficiency. Courage, he said, lies between recklessness and cowardice; generosity between waste and greed. So too does nutrition — and life itself — flourish between indulgence and deprivation. The man who eats without thought becomes a slave to desire; the one who starves himself becomes a tyrant over his own nature. But the one who eats right, who honors balance, becomes a friend to his body and master of his fate.

Consider the tale of the samurai Miyamoto Musashi, who wandered Japan perfecting his art of the sword. He ate simply — rice, water, and vegetables — yet never denied himself when strength demanded more. When asked his secret to power, he replied, “Control is not in what you forbid, but in what you choose.” Musashi lived as Aldo teaches: guided by discipline, yet never consumed by it. For the warrior who clings too tightly to rules loses flexibility, and the rigid tree breaks in the storm while the bamboo bends and endures.

Aldo’s words are born of experience — of years spent in the fire of combat, where discipline is survival and balance is strength. He has known hunger, exhaustion, and the temptation to go too far. But he has also learned that the mind, like the body, must breathe. The fighter who obsesses over control becomes brittle; the one who trains and eats with moderation stays steady through every season. His wisdom teaches that freedom is not the absence of structure — it is structure held lightly, with understanding and grace.

The origin of this truth lies in the very rhythm of nature. The sun does not blaze endlessly; it sets to rest. The river flows, but it does not flood its banks forever. In all living things, harmony is born of balance — of giving and withholding, of effort and ease. The body, too, thrives under this ancient law. To eat well, to move with purpose, and yet to allow room for joy and rest — this is not weakness, but wisdom. Strictness without kindness is tyranny, and even the strongest will breaks under unending strain.

Thus, let this be the lesson to those who seek mastery: Do not walk the edge of extremes, for both indulgence and austerity are thieves of peace. Watch your diet, not with fear, but with mindfulness. Eat right, not to please others, but to honor your own strength. And remember always that the strict path is not always the noble one — for the soul grows not through rigidity, but through balance. The warrior who can both discipline and forgive himself will endure longer than one who lives in unbending control.

So, my child, walk the middle way. In your training, in your work, in your meals, let your actions be guided by awareness, not obsession. Feed your body as you would feed your mind — with what strengthens, not what enslaves. For José Aldo’s wisdom reminds us that true greatness is not found in extremes, but in the calm mastery of balance — the power to live fully, to fight fiercely, and to remain free.