More than ever, we need to disconnect form the outside and focus on the inside!

What am I talking about??

MEDITATION!

Do want to improve your stress level?

Do you want to improve your focus and ability to concentrate?

Do you want to connect better with yourself and with those around you?

These are just some of the benefits to be gained by taking 10-15 minutes to meditate everyday!

How to Meditate

Meditation is simpler (and harder) than most people think. Read these steps, make sure you’re somewhere where you can relax into this process, set a timer, and give it a shot:

1) Take a seat

Find a place to sit that feels calm and quiet to you.

2) Set a time limit

If you’re just beginning, it can help to choose a short time, such as five or 10 minutes.

3) Notice your body

You can sit in a chair with your feet on the floor, you can sit loosely cross-legged, you can kneel—all are fine. Just make sure you are stable and in a position you can stay in for a while.

4) Feel your breath

Follow the sensation of your breath as it goes in and as it goes out.

5) Notice when your mind has wandered

Inevitably, your attention will leave the breath and wander to other places. When you get around to noticing that your mind has wandered—in a few seconds, a minute, five minutes—simply return your attention to the breath.

6) Be kind to your wandering mind

Don’t judge yourself or obsess over the content of the thoughts you find yourself lost in. Just come back.

7) Close with kindness

When you’re ready, gently lift your gaze (if your eyes are closed, open them). Take a moment and notice any sounds in the environment. Notice how your body feels right now. Notice your thoughts and emotions.

That’s it! That’s the practice. You go away, you come back, and you try to do it as kindly as possible.

Please take a minute to honor all the brave and selfless men & women who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces.  That’s Memorial Day!

Thank you for sacrificing your life to protect mine!

When it comes to food labels, manufacturers are very good at finding the loopholes in labeling laws and requirements, and subsequently very good at pulling the wool over YOUR eyes.  One such loophole is the manufacturer’s ability to claim “zero” grams of fat, or zero grams of trans fat, or zero calories on the label, when in fact the product does indeed contain plenty of fat, trans fat, and/or calories.

Here’s the law, and how food manufacturers get around it:

1. Zero grams of fat or zero grams of trans fat:
As long as the food item has less than .5g of fat or trans fat, respectively, the label does not need to claim their existence on the label.  In fact, the product can even legally market “Zero grams of fat!” or “0g of trans fat per serving!”

2. Zero calories per serving:
As long as the food item has less than 5 calories per serving, it can be rounded down and labeled 0 calories.

3. Deepening the Loophole with Unrealistic Serving Sizes
While .5g of fat or 5 calories may not seem like a big deal, remember that these values are “per serving”, and while an entire package, box, can, or bottle of a product may contain hundreds of calories and loads of fat, as long as they can divide that package into small enough servings to meet the calorie and gram requirements to claim zero, it’s legal.

Legal AND deceptive!

4. Cooking Sprays and Butter Sprays – Cooking sprays are labeled as fat-free but their first ingredient is oil, which is 100% fat.  How in the world can this be?  Well, the serving size is 1/5th of a second.  What?  Last time we used a cooking spray (some of the organic ones are useful) it took about 3 seconds to lightly coat the surface of the pan.  Well, according to the manufacturer, we just used 15 servings.

Bottom line, no one uses the ridiculous and absurd microscopic 1/5th of second spray suggested serving, which isn’t nearly enough product to be of practical use.

Cooking sprays aren’t fat-free…they are nearly 100% fat.  In my example above, a realistic serving actually contains around 5 grams of fat and 45 calories.  A far cry from the 0 number reported on their nutrition facts.

Same goes for butter sprays, which are 90%+ fat in most cases.  For example, one popular brand of butter spray contains over 800 calories and 90g of fat per bottle, yet it’s labeled as a fat-free, calorie-free product!  Yeah, right!

5. Artificial sweeteners – Not only are artificial sweeteners bad news for you health, but they’re also a top violator of “calorie free” deceptive labeling practices.  Many brands of artificial sweeteners use maltodextrin and/or dextrose (which is pure sugar) as fillers in each packet, and each packet can legally contain up to a full gram of sugar and 5 calories and still be labeled as calorie free.

We’ve seen people put 3 – 5 packets of this stuff in their coffee or on their cereal…hardly calorie free and even worse, maltodextrin and dextrose are two of the biggest insulin-spiking carbs around — the entire reason people choose artificial sweeteners over sugar in the first place!

6. Any food that contains “partially hydrogenated” oils in the ingredient list, period.  Bottom line, you should have a zero-tolerance attitude toward trans fats.  They are the most health-derailing nutrient known, and you should be truly consuming ZERO grams per day.

If a product claims “Zero grams of trans fat per serving”, especially if they speficy “per serving”, they are almost always playing the serving size game and you’re very likely to see partially hydrogenated oils on the list of ingredients when you flip the package over.  If so, avoid it like the plague.

TRIVIA WINNER!

Thank you to all those who participated!!!  I had a lot of fun putting the questions together.  Hope you learned something!!

The most consistent and correct entries belonged to MARLA O!!!!  YAY!!!  Congrats to you Marla.  You won yourself a WOFB tank top!

1.  Which exercise boosts metabolism 24 hours a day, seven days a week?
   a. strength training
   b. yoga
   c. treadmill running
   d. pilates
2. Where are the rhomboids located?
   a. top of arm
   b. back
   c. thighs
   d. Buttocks

3. How do you calculate your maximum heart rate?
   a. Target Heart Rate (THR) – 220
   b. 200 – age
   c. 220 – age
   d. 220 – age x THR
   
4. Which describes the range of body fat percentage as one ages?
   a. It goes up and down.
   b. It stays the same.
   c. It decreases.
   d. It increases

5. High levels of cholesterol may lead to:
   a. obesity
   b. low paying jobs
   c. heart disease
   d. headaches

Some more nutrition trivia for you…

“You can never know too much!”
-Rima Avellan

Which of the following are considered unhealthy fats?

1. Polyunsaturated

2. Polysaccharides

3. Saturated and Trans

4. #1 &  #3

Which is a source of calcium?

1. Broccoli

2. Yogurt

3. Spinach

4. All of the above

What is the benefit of consuming dietary fiber?

1. It can lower your cholesterol levels

2. It keeps you fuller longer

3. It improves the glycemic index of a food

4. All of the above

Which nut has the most omega-3 fatty acids in it?

1. Almonds

2. Peanuts

3. Cashews

4. Walnuts

White Potatoes are high in what vitamin?

1. Vitamin D

2. Vitamin B12

3. Potassium

4. Vitamin A

1. Protein is made up of smaller units called  _____________________ .
2. These building blocks can be essential or non-essential.  What does this mean?
3. What is a complete protein?  Give an example.
4. What is an incomplete protein?  Give an example.
5. Why is protein a dietary requirement?

Hello!  Here is your set of questions today:

1. Does muscle turn into fat when you stop exercising?
2. What is muscle atrophy?
3. What happens during muscle atrophy?
4. How long does it take for muscle atrophy to set in?
5. What are 3 things that can lead to muscle atrophy?

EMAIL ANSWERS TO: WOFBmiami@gmail.com

Good morning bootcampers!

If you have the calendar of events for MAY, you will see that this whole week is FITNESS TRIVIA WEEK!  I will post a fitness or nutrition question here and you can email your answer to WOFBmiami@gmail.com.

The bootcamper with the most correct replies at the end of the week will win one of our new tank tops!

Here is your question or set of questions…

1. Where would you find the biceps femoris?  
2. What is it commonly referred to?
3. What does it do?
4. Name one exercise that we do in class that works this muscle.

Have fun!