Jet Li’s crash diet left him ‘very weak physically’ – he even fainted: how restricted eating, exercise left martial arts actor with ‘serious health problems’

In his memoirs, Beyond Life and Death: Jet Li Looking for Jet Li, the actor reveals what he had to eat and do to look good for films Dragon Fight and The Master

‘Although I looked strong on the outside, I was suffering from serious health problems,’ he writes – one time, he even fainted while filming

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Jet Li Lianjie promoting his new book in Taipei in November 2023. Heavily restricted eating and a punishing exercise regime left the Chinese martial arts actor with “serious health problems” at the end of the 1980s, he writes. Photo: Getty Images

Published: 7:15pm, 6 Dec 2023

Jet Li Lianjie looks physically strong in the films Dragon Fight and The Master – both shot in the United States at the end of the 1980s – but his health was actually at its weakest, the Chinese martial arts actor reveals in his autobiography, Beyond Life and Death: Jet Li Looking for Jet Li.

In the new book, the action star reflects on how the expectation that he look muscular and fit meant taking on a dieting regime that targeted substantial fat loss over a short period of time.

“During that [six weeks], I could only eat unseasoned cereal every morning, six ounces [170 grams] of unseasoned boiled chicken breast for lunch and four ounces of unseasoned steamed fish with green onions at night,” Li wrote.

“I ran five kilometres [3.1 miles] every day, plus (I did) four hours of weight training, and learned breathing techniques to assist. The director was satisfied with the result. After four weeks, all my subcutaneous fat was gone. I looked muscular, but in fact, I was very weak physically.”

A “Dragon Fight” promotional poster. Photo: Dragon Fight

Jet Li in a still from “The Master” (1992). Photo: The Master

When Li promoted his new book on Taiwanese television show Ask Sisy, he shared more about his intensive training. “One day when I was filming, after I turned around, suddenly I felt like I couldn’t take a breath, then I fainted.”