Patience and Discipline: That's All You Need!

I’m pretty sure that some of you out there had made, within their new year’s resolutions, the one to be more active, eat better and, most of all, to get back into shape.
That is a pretty good resolution and certainly not an easy one to keep up with.
Usually people (and by that I mean most of my friends) who make such a resolution will start hitting the gym constantly for 2 to 3 weeks and then they’ll just drop it. Why? Normally because they don’t see any immediate improvement.
So, what I want to tell you here is that to in order to see results you need to be: patient and disciplined.

To Pasta or Not To Pasta?

To pasta or not to pasta: that is the question!

And possibly one without a straight answer...
So what I’m going try to do here, is to list all the benefits of pasta and let you made the call whether to become an addict or not!

What's Up With Cramping?

I’m pretty sure it has happened to you at least once: you wake up in the middle of the night with an excruciating pain from cramps. Usually in nighttime you get them in calves or feet. But that might also happen during daytime, maybe while your working at your desk or while your taking kettlebell cardio class at the gym.

Why does that happen? Why we get cramps? And, finally, how can we fight it?
Cramping can be as puzzling as it is painful. Fortunately the list of suspects is relatively short so it will be pretty easy to take actions in order to contrast it!

The Post-Workout Dinner

After a long day of work, you hit the gym. When you’re done, all of a sudden you start feeling a sensation of emptiness in your stomach. Hunger pains.

Your first thought is: “I really worked out hard today, I deserve a reward, maybe I should get a bacon cheeseburger plus fries from that new burger joint that just opened downtown!”

Hold on!!! Even if sometimes you should reward yourself; doing it after an hard-core training sessions is a bad idea. You want to capitalize on all the effort you made, and eating the right food becomes crucial.

The Golden Oil

Fish is really good for us, we all know that. Our grandma used to say it, our mum used to say it and, now, all we have to do is just to repeat it to ourselves once in a while.

Actually,  there is indeed good evidence that fish oils can contribute significantly to our long-term health and this is one of the main reason of the growing consumption of seafood in the world.
On the other hand, among all the food on our table, fish (and shellfish) are the source of the broadest range of immediate health hazards. I’m just going to name a few: from bacteria and viruses to parasites, pollutants, and all kind of dangerous toxins.
Consumers should be aware to these hazards and know how to minimize them.

Timing The Calories

A friend of mine just called me the other day and told me: “I quit smoking three months ago and I gained six pounds. So two weeks ago, in order to lose them, I started the following diet: I have a small breakfast, skip lunch and avoid all food until dinner. Then, since I haven’ eaten all day, I just go for whatever I feel like. But so far, I haven’t dropped a single ounce: how’s that possible?”
I told her that she was doing the worst thing possible she could have done and that if she kept going on like that she would have probably gained weight instead of losing it.

Maintaining Your Weight: Few Tips for Success!

You’ve been working out very hard in the last few months, changed your eating habits and thus succeeded in dropping those few extra pounds...you feel good and now all you want to do is to maintain it.

Our first advice is to continue to do what you have been doing so far: you made it man, now just keep doing it!

The Perfect Cheese

Cheeses get really bad rep those days; I mean, every nutritionist will tell you first thing to cut on cheeses if you want to lose to weight, right?

But, however, there is a cheese out there that you might want to add to your diet.
What if I tell you that there is this one cheese that is not only really exceptional in the taste, but has also health benefits for your body and brain?
What if I add that this one cheese can be eaten on its own or may be used as a dressing on other foods, will you believe me?
Seriously, I’m not kidding you.
This ultimate cheese is Parmigiano Reggiano also known as Parmesan Cheese or the King of all Cheeses.

The Best Cardio Routines

You already know pretty well how important is to integrate cardio in your training routine. Now we explore what are considered the best cardio routines out-there so that you can pick your the one you prefer.

I’ll start with my three favorite ones (yes I’m a triathlete, my judgement is biased...)
Running

Running is one of best activities you can do. It doesn't require special equipment (except for some very good quality shoes) and you can do it anywhere. Best of all, you burn serious calories, especially if you add hills and sprints. A 145 pounds person can burn 300 (at 5.2 mph) in 30 minutes. The downside is, it takes some practice and you should watch your knees and ankles for any discomfort or pain.

Do Your Cardio!

You should always include some cardio activity into your training routine; the benefits are just too great.  And even before we talk about how much cardio you should do, you should at least know why it's so important. Cardio (that stands for cardiovascular exercise) simply means that you're involved in an activity that raises your heart rate to a level where you're working, but can still talk and do not completely run out of breath.

What Triggers You To Overeat?

Understanding what triggers you to eat is almost as crucial as what you eat.   Moreover, discover what drives you to overeat becomes even more important in order to fight it and get better eating habits.

Let’s say you had a very bad day at work and there’s no way you’re going to hit the gym tonight, you go home, open the fridge and start grabbing food randomly. Who hasn’t experience that at least once?
I mean, how bad is when you actually eat right out of the fridge? But sometimes it happens: you're so tired, frustrated and hungry that you just go for whatever eatable is on shelves...

Detoxify...

With the holidays season almost over you’re left with several different sensations in your body. How can we describe them? First and foremost you feel that you’ve been eating way more than you actually needed to (and that is probably true for everybody). Also, you fear that you have probably put on few extra pounds (and, yes, that might be also true). And, finally, you want to get rid of all those toxins in your body as fast as you can!

What Should I Eat? Is That Food Good For Me?

Let’s assume that it’s Saturday and we’re at the supermarket about to do our weekly grocery shopping. How can we describe our behaviour inside the supermarket? Well, even if everyone has it’s own routine, there are certain actions that are common to all of us. In fact, we tend to wonder around and:

1) grab stuff that is familiar to us and it’s comprise in our daily diet (let’s call this our everyday food);

Your Body Type

You’re at the gym, you warmed up and ready to hit the weights. You’re about to grab the 25 pounds dumbbells to exercise your biceps when this dude next to you takes the 50 pounds ones and starts doing biceps curls like he was lifting a bag of feathers.

And that’s when you start thinking: “Damn, I wish I could lift those weight that easily” and then “Man, I have to train as hard as possible so that in few weeks I will also be able to lift 50 pounds as well!”.

What is the Resting Metabolic Rate?

We have already discussed how living a healthier life can not only extend your life, it can also improve the quality of it. And, moreover, feeling physically better and having control over your own life can greatly increase your mental health as well.
Even though there are some aspects of physical and mental health that are beyond the control of an individual there are many things that people can do to improve the quality of their life.
More often we hear on TV, in the newspapers and magazines the use of the term “preventive medicine” or “preventive care” in connection with exercising and proper nutrition.
While, so far, this terms were mostly used by practitioners to identify the so-called prophylactic measures (that is to say such measures aimed to preventing the development of a disease - such as vaccines), recently there has been public recognition that exercising and leading a healthier life can be the ultimate form of preventive medicine.

Introduction: The Iron You

It's no secret that  we all want and try to look at our best because that makes us feel good and gives us confidence.
But the real question is: how can you achieve this?
Of course part of it is connected to the genes you were born with; but that doesn’t means that there is nothing you can do about it.
Think for instance at the cosmetic industry that generates every year sales for billions (if not trillions) just with the promise of make you look better; but also to the plastic surgery business which pledges to enhance your appearance through surgical and medical techniques in just few hours.

Surviving The Hangover

Last night you probably celebrated big time, welcomed the new year in the most fashionable way and most likely drank few extra shots. Am I right?

Partying entails, among other things, being stupid, and anyone who tells you that he or she has never gotten drunk is either lying, boring, a Mormon, or some combination thereof.
But just because so many people get drunk it doesn't make it ok. Heavy drinking completely thrashes your liver and kidneys, not to mention puts you at risk of death via alcohol overdose. But you don't need us lecturing at you…you know that drinking is bad. How do you know? If you ever watched South Park, Mr. Mackey used to say: "Alcohol is bad, mmm'kay, you shouldn't drink, mmm'kay!" But, most of all, you know that is bad because it’s your body who tell you so.
A nasty hangover is body’s way of telling you: "Fool, I thought I told you not to drink so much. Now you're gonna pay."