Wanna Get Smarter? Do More Cardio!

Who would have ever thought that if you want to win a Nobel Prize, you should not spend countless hours in a library or in a laboratory, but you must also make sure to raise your heart rate with a kick-ass cardio activity almost daily?
In fact, a newly published study has determined aerobic fitness has a positive effect on mental functions.

Plantar Fasciitis: What Can We Do About It?

As runners we all, sooner or later, have to deal with plantar fasciitis.

And it’s always really bad news: it hurts, takes a long time to recover and, on top of that, we can’t train while we’re dealing with it.

But also non-runners can suffer from it, as plantar fasciitis can occur to anyone, unexpectedly, while walking or just performing an activity that requires standing up.

I’m currently dealing with a bad case of plantar fasciitis and it’s so bad that I can’t put my left foot down without suffering from excruciating pains.

My doctor told me to rest, apply some anti-inflammatory topical cream, maybe pop-up a couple of pills to ease the pain and just wait anywhere from 7 to 14 days.

I know myself too well, and waiting for me it’s just not an option; also because there are tons of things I can do speed up the recovery process of plantar fasciitis.

Let’s discover more...

Some Thoughts On The Alkaline Diet

My post on green juice has raised some question about why I believe it is important to integrate more alkaline foods (such as a green juice) in the diet.
Personally, even if I don’t follow the Alkaline diet; I think its proponents have made some valid points, and there are few valuable lessons we can learn from it.
But let’s make one step at the time...

If You Have A Body, You Are An Athlete

I took this picture few weeks ago while I was in Paris. This is one of my favorites quotes of all time and seeing it on the wall just made my day.

My Daily Core and Abs Routine

As a triathlete I need a strong core and solid abs for a number of reasons (not just for the look!)
1) First and foremost because in the swimming I want to keep my body as much as possible parallel to the water surface in order to gain speed and I can achieve this only if I have an iron core.
2) On the bike, if you want to avoid lower back pains, it's your abdomen that should be in charge of sustaining your upper-body weight.
3) Finally, the stronger the core the better runner you’ll be. A strong core will help not only sustain the weight of your upper body but it will help you lift the legs and achieve longer strides.
That is why I train my core and abs everyday for at least 30 minutes, and I'm pretty satisfied with the results...I mean, the picture below is good proof, right?
Anyway, this is in a nutshell my core and abs routine. I do 3 (sometime 4) sets of each exercise, it's pretty intense, and at the end I can barely feel my muscles. Hope you find this useful!
Note: I posted some YouTube's videos that show how to do the exercises. I find those very useful because they teach the correct form which I believe is crucial!

Protein Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

I’ve been looking for a solid recipe for protein cookies for quite some time, unfortunately there are very few to be found. On top of that, some just don’t work, while others taste gross.
I was a tad frustrated by that and almost ready to give up the idea. That's when I made up my mind and decided it was about time to try to create a solid recipe for protein cookies.
I tried and tried (and tried) until I perfected these protein cookies. Packed with proteins, fibers, precious nutrients, but considerate in sugars and fats, these cookies are just delicious.
They can make for a perfect post-workout recovery snack and, if you have kids, they are a perfectly healthy treat.

The Best Green Juice

Green juice is among one the healthiest things you can have: full of antioxidants, vitamins and with a high alkalinity that helps your body balancing the Ph in your system.
However, I need to be honest here: I truly hate green juice. Complete nightmare.
I drink green juice the same way I used to take cod liver oil when I was a little kid: holding my nose, closing my eyes and forcing it it down the throat while telling my body 'this is good for you now gulp it!"

Wanna Be Ready For The Beach? Now Is The Right Time To Start!

I felt that this weekend was just the right time for a motivational post. Especially because I talked about this with a friend of mine last night. In a hopeless effort to try to convince him to sign up for a gym membership and start exercising I told him: “Do you really want to do like you did last year and stay at the beach with your t-shirt on? Or just not come to the beach at all?” Last summer he was very self-conscious about his body (to the point that he would rather not come to the beach at all because of it) I used the summer/beach excuse as a way to try to get him back on the right track...and considering that he just texted me about it, I might just have succeeded.
I’m pretty aware that talking right now about the beach might seem awkward. I mean, outside it’s still freezing cold, we get inches of snow every other day and with the summer still six months away flip-flops, short, bikini, suntan and the like are just a distant thought.
However, if you want to be the ready for the beach, this is the right time to start!

Beware: Natural Doesn't Mean Healthy!

Lately I discovered that there is some misunderstanding on food labeled as “Natural”. The uncertainty comes from the presumption people makes that a natural food is also an healthy food.
I actually had a big discussion about this last night in my apartment as one of my roommates was fairly convinced that a box of cereals she just bought, because labeled as “naturally made” were also healthy.
That’s when I jumped in and said: “Stop right there, “natural” is a word with such a broad meaning that food makers now use it to ingenerate in consumers the belief that what their selling is also healthy, but that might not be the case.” A long discussion followed (which I’m not gonna report here) until we looked at the ingredients list on the box and well, that was the end of the controversy.
Why? Because the “all natural” cereals contained the following ingredients: “Yellow corn meal with added corn bran, Unshulphured molasses, Whole oat flour, Expeller pressed high oleic oil (canola and/or sunflower), Salt, Cinnamon, Natural Flavour, Baking soda, [...].”
I’m not questioning that the aforementioned ingredients are all natural but if you believe, like me, that ultra-processed foods are not “that healthy”, well there you go, you can do the math. I mean that “Expeller pressed high oleic oil” sounds a but shady to me.
And don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that the manufacturer is claiming that the cereals are healthy, but by labeling them as natural, it does make them sound as they are in some way “made according to nature” and/or “hearty” and/or “good”; that was at least my impression (and also my roommates one).

Craving Sugars? Learn How To Control It

Cravings: we encounter them daily, several times throughout a day. Some are very strong and we cannot resist them, others just go away in a couple of minutes.
Have you ever wondered what a craving is? IT's pretty simple, a craving is your body's way of telling you you're lacking something.
Among all cravings, sugary ones can be particularly hard to handle. 
Craving a glazed donut, a chocolate sundae or a red velvet cupcake doesn't mean you should eat any those.
Why? Because munching a sugary snack will soon make you crave for more sugary things. Simple/refined carbs satisfies hunger and give the body a short-term energy boost, but they as quickly leave you famished again, craving for more.
So how to control them? Here's a breakdown of what your sugar cravings really are and how to get a hang of them.