January 24, 2012 | 10:01 pm

Try Not to Barf!

Posted by Sima Cohen

A cluster of Dactylopius coccus females, used in Carmine coloring. Photo by Wikipedia/Frank Vincentz

Processed foods are POISON. Don’t believe me? Here’s the proof:

1. Ever heard of castoreum? It’s used to enhance the flavor of puddings, candies, and some frozen dairy desserts. It’s also derived from beaver anal glands.

2. The food coloring known as “Carmine” that gives many processed foods their reddish hue is made of ground-up insect shells. It’s also been known to cause severe allergic reactions in some people.

3. Your risk of E. coli goes WAY up, the more cheap ground meat that’s in a single beef patty. Fast food burgers contain the miscellaneous parts of dozens of cows raised all over the world.

4. UCLA did a study on how processed foods affect the brain, and discovered that it only takes TWO months of eating a steady processed food diet to lower the levels of brain chemicals that are responsible for learning and memory. Maybe that’s why you forgot after only a week that McDonald’s doesn’t actually taste that good.

5. Last year, Kellogg’s recalled 28 million boxes of cereal because a compound in the box lining was giving off a foul smell and tainting the taste of the food. They refuse to release the name of the compound.

6. The company that makes airport metal detectors also sells them to food manufacturers… to test processed meats for stray wires, metal shards, and hypodermic needles.

7. Ever had strawberry fruit roll-ups or given them to your kids? Did you notice that the ingredients list doesn’t contain any strawberries?

8. The food that our factory-farmed cows eat contains roadkill, and euthanized cats and dogs. We, Americans, eat those cows to the tune of millions a year.

9. Oscar Meyer Breaded Chicken and Mozzarella sandwiches contain more than 80 ingredients. You could make the exact same meal at home with less than 10.

10. Our friends at the FDA allow 74 mites and 19 maggots in a single can of mushrooms.

Peace and REAL food,
Sima

January 11, 2012 | 2:52 pm

Meditation for Weight Loss

Posted by Sima Cohen

Last week I hammered home a concept that may seem foreign to most: losing weight is not about eating less and exercising more. (Quite a concept, I know.) Losing weight actually begins in the depths of our minds, and since my coaching is a process of a few months or more, I thought I should let you in on my second biggest secret: Meditation.

Meditation is a very powerful tool that can help you to open up your mind, clear your thoughts, and free you from unwanted stress and anxiety. It can help you to avoid costly mistakes and find peace within. It’s kind of like having a meeting with God where he reveals to you his freshest ideas and perspectives on your life. If there is anything plaguing you, the answers are there… in the quiet space, waiting on you to find them.

Meditation will also rest your mind the same way that sleep rests your body. Some Tibetan monks meditate for hours at a time while sleeping for less than 4 hours a night! You don’t need to go that far. Even five minutes in the morning is better than nothing. (Ten would be even better, but, you have to start somewhere.)

Think meditating is too zen or stupid? You just turned down a meeting with God, and a very important opportunity to free yourself from whatever demons are plaguing you. (Yes, abusing food and gaining weight, included.) Expect the anxiety, stress, mistakes, and chaos to continue. The best part of meditating is that it’s FREE! (Hey, I’m a Jew - I love free stuff!)

Meditating is also extremely easy. Start by finding a quiet place with no distractions. Sit your booty down, close your eyes, and breathe. Breathe in and out, and every time a distracting or negative thought comes in, power through and let it go. It may take some time to master “letting go”, but it’s really that simple! With time, you’ll be in charge of your thoughts, not the other way around! Your mind won’t play those silly games with you. Meditation will help you to take control; to be the master of your mind, the administrator of awareness. Real change starts “upstairs”, in YOU!

Peace and Om,
Sima

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January 2, 2012 | 3:42 pm

Let’s Try Something Different in 2012

Posted by Sima Cohen

I know it isn’t exactly our traditional new year, but as a Jew living in America, one can’t quite help but sync in with the spirit and the newness of it. As a trainer, coach, nutritionist, and author, every year on the 1st my phone rings off the hook and my schedule is flooded with new clients that are ready to make this year the best year of their lives. They profess that they are ready to finally lose the last 10 pounds; to have the fabulous body they have always dreamed of, and the stellar health they crave.

Now, if you’re like most people the resolution doesn’t really change much from year to year. “I’m gonna make it to yoga more!” “I’m gonna make more money!” “I’m going to be a better person.” 30 days in, we’ve long forgotten what we planned, and the next year, the list stays virtually the same. So I think it’s time to break the cycle of insanity! It’s time to change the list, so you can have a different outcome.

As someone who has been witness to this every single year for the last 20 years, I know better than to simply put these people to work. No, I do something even better! Something that, to their surprise, has nothing to do with dumbbells or crazy calorie-cutting diets: I take them through soul-searching exercises to find out what they’re really hungry for. And it’s way harder than you think. Why? Because this type of soul-searching forces you to look deep inside yourself. Really, really deep. It forces you to stand completely naked before yourself and look as hard as you can at all the bruises, dents, bumps, cuts, stretch marks, scars, and to remember how and why they got there. Ouch!

Yes, it hurts for a few minutes to relive all of those ouchies. After you learn to deal with the pain and make a few changes, though, you can be rest assured those aches and pains, big or small, will disappear, never to be seen again! There really is no point in trying to heal the pain with external things like grueling workouts and yummy treats without doing the soul-searching first anyway. And once you handle the insides, the outside - in this case your new sexy body and stellar health - will be a piece of cake!

So how do I do that, you ask? Well, when things around us are crazy, our need is not to join in the chaos, but to find some peace within. The only way to rise above it and finally gain power in a world that’s moving 100 miles an hour is to learn how to slow down and be still; to hear our inner voice and get guidance from our higher self. We won’t achieve the life we crave so much for ourselves and our children from our iPhones, iPads or other mobile devices. It won’t come from updating our Facebook status or tweeting. For us to become who we were truly meant to be, we must begin by looking inside ourselves, at who we are now… even if it doesn’t look so pretty. The world we see reflects the people we have become and will continue to become and vice versa, so if we don’t like what we see, we must face what we don’t like within ourselves. With every change we make, the world will change with us.

So go… have yourself an amazing life-changing and miraculous year!

Peace and Resolutions,
Sima

P.S. Stay tuned next week for some practices that will help you achieve everything you desire and stick to your resolutions!

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