Elsbeth Vaino's Blog

Do you struggle with nutrition?

Thu, 03 May 2012 18:15:01 +0000

For nutrition, the best advice I can give is to pick one thing that you can change or improve upon, where you can say with certainty that you will succeed. The key is that it has to be an improvement, and you have to be 90% sure that you can do it. No change is too small.

Sesame “noodles” (spaghetti squash) recipe

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 05:34:53 +0000

This recipe actually started out as an idea. I wanted to make a sesame noodle dish with spaghetti squash. I'm not really into low carb or Paleo eating, but I am into eating more vegetables. So I went to Google to see what I could find. I found nothing. So I looked at several sesame noodle recipes.

My barefoot running journal: “barefoot” on concrete?

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 15:02:48 +0000

That's when it really hit me: we can't really apply the notion of "we were Born to Run" to the modern urban situation. Our ancestors may have run barefoot, but they didn't do it on concrete. Natural ground, whether it is grass or dirt, has built in cushioning. It provides a dampening effect for every step, reducing the force that is transferred to our body when we run.

Spinach in a smoothie?????

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 01:37:49 +0000

It's crazy, I know. But I just finished drinking a smoothie that has spinach as one of the ingredients. And it was really good. And by good, I am referring to the taste, not the healthiness. No, really.

Should you hire a personal trainer?

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 17:17:36 +0000

I estimate that take home programs were effective for probably 20% of the clients who got them. For everyone else, it ranged from a waste of their money to being done with such poor form that it was dangerous. These days most of my clients workout with me, yielding much better results for them. I do provide take home programs on occasion, but now I screen clients for them. I need to be confident that a client meets three criteria before I will create a take home program for them: 1. Highly self-motivated 2. Have great body awareness 3. Have access to decent equipment If you work out on your own, or are thinking of buying a book to start a home workout, or going to seek a trainer to put together a home workout plan for you, consider whether it is actually your best option. Would you pass my test?

My barefoot running journey: the training plan

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 03:56:31 +0000

I had no choice but to agree to run it. And so I am now training for a running race for the first time in about a decade. It's a 5-mile (8km) race, which I think is more than I should do without building a base. Which brings me to the second reason I have flip-flopped on not having a training plan. Over the past couple of weeks, my "no training" plan seems to have evolved into a "no-running" plan.

Time for an adjustment

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 14:33:52 +0000

It seems I am not the only person in this boat right now, as I woke up this morning and read Neghar Fonooni's blog on the very same topic. The reason I relate to Neghar's great article is not just that I too have been overeating recently and thus feel comfort in numbers (although I do). What I love about the article is that it's about taking responsibility for our choices.

My barefoot running journey: the streets of Ottawa

Sat, 31 Mar 2012 18:47:15 +0000

I started to run when I got to the sidewalk and it only took a few steps for me to realize how different it felt to run in these shoes. Interesting! The most obvious difference from what I was used to, was how heavy my feet sounded. It only took a few steps to stop landing on my heels, but the loud slap-slapping of my feet suggested I didn't quite have the hang of it yet.

My barefoot running journey: Testing the shoes

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 19:09:42 +0000

For some reason I put them on one more time. This time, they didn't hurt. At all. I wore them for a good 2 and a half hours while training clients and then during my own lifting session. No problems. Needless to say, I'm pretty happy that I didn't just return them. I mean, did you see how awesome they look? This afternoon marks an exciting moment for both me and my saucy new shoes: the first outdoor run!