Tuesday, 24 March 2015

When I don't run, I don't think. 
And when I don't think, I don't live. 
The burdens of life in the last weeks, 
maybe months, 
have been so big and unexpected 
that sucked out the time I was used 
to dedicate to running. 

Away from the forest, away from the road, 
away from sweat and aching legs, 
away from beeps of the watch 
that keeps counting miles and seconds 
in an unstoppable way. 
This has been my life for a while. 
With very little running, a bit of gym 
to strengthen the knees and build core abs,
for the rest 
one of the darkest moments I could experience. 

Caroline has been around, 
trying to figure out the reasons of the unexplained lack of miles 
and running clothes to wash. 
I haven't found out either.
I just have been missing the simplicity 
of putting one step in front of the other, 
of feeling the silence of the road and 
the noise of the lungs, 
pumping air in and out, 
of the music playing only in my head, 
of those quotes echoing in my ears 
telling that one thing I wanted to hear 
which was energy transforming into pain 
and speed 
and knees absorbing the shocks of the stones 
in that trail that goes up and down like a roller cost 
and the hearth that wants to get rid of that fuckin' chest 
and pump blood until it has nothing left 
because there is no more blood left, 
only lactate, 
white as milk, 
heavy as pain, thick as oil.

The nightmare is over. 
I see light at the end of the tunnel.

I am back.
The Gipsy is back.


Monday, 9 March 2015

Dear food lovers,

Today I am writing about a sport bar that might be of interest to many of you: PRIMAL Nutrition.

Who are they?
When two belgian sport fanatics, get a break from their daily crossfit session, something good happens. Here is their vision: without proper nutrition you cannot even get close to your maximal performance. Eating healthy should be a way of living and the way to respect your body. Hence their attempt to engineer sport bars, such that it would be easy to carry and provide the correct amount of carbs, proteins and fat for your workout. Being healthy should be that easy!

What is PRIMAL Nutrition?
The bars that I am talking about are capable of satisfying your body with the primal nutrition needs that are required before and after workout, or just for your own reasons to stay healthy.
They are made 100% of natural ingredients such as the honey, grass-fed whey, dry prunes and dark chocolate. There is science in each of those, namely the Paleo and Zone diet, famous within the world of Crossfit. 
The Paleo Diet consists in eating just like we used to, back in the past... way back in the past. If a caveman could not eat it, why should you?
With this, I mean anything that could be hunted or found in the nature. Sorry, pasta, cereal, and candy are not included. 
The Zone diet is basically about learning how to put together perfectly balanced meals that promote maximum health, wellness, and performance. As a CrossFitter you should look at Zone as how much you eat. When following the zone diet every meal you eat is 40% carbohydrates, 30% protein, and 30% fat. You also eat a certain number of “blocks” based on how much lean body mass (muscle) you have.
Back to the bars, there are two sizes and one flavor. One as a energy bar (± 150 kcal) the other one as a full power bar or meal (±300 kcal).

The verdict
I chose the medium bars as a snack between breakfast and lunch. This kept me away from snacking around and gave me the energy I needed. I chose the larger bars as my lunch, even thought I have to admit that I needed some time to get used to it in substitution of my regular pasta or salad.
No worries, though. Getting used to it, is easier than you think.
The taste is really good, for those who have a sweet tooth. I could feel the difference with industrial bars which are usually smaller and contain less nutritional values.
The packaging, is simple, as healthy food should be. The fact that you can always see the bar from the package is reassuring. For those following the Zone diet, it is possible to read how many blocks of each nutrient (carbs, protein, fat) are there in the bar.
Overall it is a sport bar that can be used by everyone.
The large bar costs 5 euro while the medium one costs 3 euro.
Want to get some? Order PRIMAL Nutrition at their website
I wish those gentlemen lots of success, believing that passion for healthy food leads to great and tasty things.



Love,
Caroline

Wednesday, 28 January 2015



It has been a while, I know. We've been quite detached from the mainstream, from the blog, email, news, twitter... Even away from people. But we did it for a good cause.
We are familiar with awkward mixes with our training schedules, food and beverage.
Mixing our skills, however, has gone even further, providing us with fresh ideas that only needed to be realised.

When a man loves a woman, says a famous song, can't keep his mind on nothing else.
That is so true and it also applies to us. When an engineer, who is used to run the long distance meets a sport addict and nutrition expert, who is used to coach people and spend hours at the gym, the mix is even more powerful and awkward. And amazing!!

Dear friends, it's with extreme pleasure that I hereby introduce you our sister website iamsofit.com. I know you will think that it's just another website.
Nothing more wrong than that.

iamsofit.com is a project we are finalising, to provide sport and nutrition in a new flavor, with new tools, concepts, strategies and schedules. All of this in a personalised way!
Are you familiar of those gyms in which you get the same plan of your overweight cousin who barely knows what a kettlebell is? Forget about it.

Don't let me say more.

Get a free subscription and stay in touch. It is free!

Click iamsofit.com/subscribe to get news from us very soon.

Just the time to warm up the engine and get a test drive.
Then we are ready to run.
Fast.

Stay fit!

Tuesday, 6 January 2015

Hi folks,
I hope you enjoyed the holidays with your dear ones, moments to cherish fully. I wish you the best for the years that come. May this year be filled with love, family, health and ofcourse physical activity!

I spent my holiday abroad. Francesco and I planned to go to his hometown Molfetta, in Southern Italy. I got in contact with his culture, his family, their habits, and their food. Food so delicious that I literally lost my character and determination to say no, once in a while. Do you want to know how this ended up? With a weight gain, of course.



A brief analysis of the aforementioned gain is reported below.
  1. Eating more - caloric intake counting is math. No magics. 
  2. Eating different types of food, more fried stuff, more cheese, pizza, pasta, etc.
  3. Skipping breakfast due to the fact that I had enough from the day before - which basically slows down one's metabolism
  4. Drink some more alcohol than I usually do (or well, don't)
  5. No gym at my disposal to burn some calories 

I address these 5 points as responsible of my weight gain. Of course, my determination to change my condition as soon as possible is back. Here is my plan for the next two weeks.
Feel free to adopt my strategy to improve your condition after holiday.

  1. Drink a lot of cold water
  2. Eat 5 times a day (every 2 -3 hours), of course in smaller amounts
  3. Eat carbs only for breakfast and lunch
  4. Prepare healthy juices and smoothies with no added sugar
  5. Eat more proteins
  6. Avoid snacks such as chocolate, candies, ice cream, cookies and the like
  7. Hit the gym 4-5 times a week to perform some interval as cardio and weight lifting in order to sculpt the body

This will help us to find the normal weight again. A bit more motivation and dedication are needed especially at the beginning. Don't give up because it will worth! Just be patient for next 14 days.

In addition, here is a delicious, light and easy-to-make recipe that can contribute to your weight loss.

 Time to make: 5 min preparation + 12 min boiling the wheat = 17 min

 Ingredients:
  1. Roquette
  2. 100g Roquefort cheese
  3. 75g of wheat (type Ebly)
  4. 1/2 green apple
  5. 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  6. salt/pepper


May all your wishes come true for 2015,
Buon appetito!

<3