{"id":8791,"date":"2019-10-27T15:57:11","date_gmt":"2019-10-27T14:57:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rickzullo.com\/?p=8791"},"modified":"2021-09-26T13:50:04","modified_gmt":"2021-09-26T11:50:04","slug":"i-am-blogging-about-italy-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/i-am-blogging-about-italy-again\/","title":{"rendered":"I am blogging about Italy again!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Allora<\/em>\u2026 so I\u2019ve decided to dust off the old keyboard and get back into this blogging about Italy <\/strong>thing. It\u2019s been a while and I\u2019ve missed it! Is it possible to be sentimental over something as inanimate and nebulous as a website? I think it is; I\u2019ve poured a lot of my heart and soul into this frivolous endeavor over the years. I mean, it\u2019s not the \u201cwebsite\u201d so much (obviously), as the habit of writing about a topic that you love, and connecting with other lovers of Italian culture.  <\/p>\n

Soon, I will also be announcing Season 2 of my podcast, \u201cThe Fatal Charm of Italy<\/em>.\u201d More on that at a later date, including a call out for guests.<\/p>\n

Blogging about Italy – What inspired me to restart?<\/h2>\n

So why restart now? It was the confluence of a few things…<\/p>\n

The first thing happened back on January 1st, when I made the typical New Year\u2019s pledge to start eating better, exercising more, and generally focusing on my health. Pretty cliche, huh?<\/p>\n

I had several false starts before something finally clicked. In the beginning, I listened to both friends and experts who hurled their advice at me: Paleo! Gluten-free! Keto! Raw vegan! Green juice! Bulletproof coffee enemas! And the worse advice of all, \u201cIt\u2019s just a math equation. Eat fewer calories, and burn more calories through exercise. Simple as that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wrong. Anyone who has ever tried \u201cdieting\u201d knows that it\u2019s never<\/em> as simple as that. <\/p>\n

So what did I do instead? Well, if you\u2019ve ever followed my blog in the past, then you\u2019ve already guessed the answer. <\/p>\n

Eat. Like. An. Italian.<\/p>\n

\u200bThe common sense approach of a traditional Mediterranean Diet gives you the most nutrition, the most satisfaction, and crucially, <\/span>it removes any over-thinking<\/strong> from the process, unlike the aforementioned fad diets. Just eat like your Italian bisnonna<\/em> ate and you don\u2019t have to worry much beyond that. (As for MY bisnonna<\/em>, that’s her in the photo below, circa 1948. The scene looks like it could have been in Italy, but no, this after she’d already immigrated to Chicago.)<\/p>\n

\"italian<\/span><\/p>\n

Just look how happy they all are!<\/em><\/p>\n

The \u201cMiracles\u201d of a Mediterranean Diet<\/h2>\n

\u200bThere\u2019s even a growing consensus in the scientific community: Mediterranean diet named the best for 2019<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n

Simple? Yes. Easy? Well, in theory it is, but when confronting the great beast that is the Global Industrial Diet and our broken systems of food delivery, then it becomes a good bit more of a challenge. <\/p>\n

But I was determined and resolved to return to the lifestyle that had created a similar transformation nine years ago when I first moved to Rome. Unlike then, I knew this time it would have to be a very deliberate effort<\/strong> to accomplish this goal while living in the land of fast food and fad diets. I needed to do some research to give me the blueprint that had been unnecessary in Italy.<\/p>\n

After pouring through endless articles and chasing more than a few misguided \u201cgurus,\u201d I eventually found some consensus on \u201cwhy\u201d the Mediterranean Diet works so well<\/strong>. I mean, we intuitively have a sense that it\u2019s healthier, but I really wanted the scientific research to back it up. <\/p>\n

I discovered quite a goldmine of knowledge. I am sharing this information on a new site that I\u2019ve created called, appropriately enough, Eat Like an Italian<\/strong><\/em>. Check it out:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

I\u2019m not a chef or hardcore foodie. I\u2019m a passionate Italophile and former healthcare professional who approaches this topic at the crossroads of cultural traditions and healthy living<\/strong>. In Italy, they are one in the same. In the U.S., the road map gets considerably less clear. <\/p>\n

(And by the way, yes, it worked. I lost 30 pounds in about 5 months.)<\/p>\n

To go along with this new site will be a second edition of the eponymous book that I wrote several years ago. The updated version be available in mid-2020. This time around it will be much more erudite and (a little bit) less irreverent.<\/p>\n

Rick’s Rome to Amalfi Coast Tour<\/h2>\n

I\u2019m even more excited to be announcing a similarly themed tour of Italy; from Rome to the Amalfi Coast, the birthplace of the Mediterranean Diet. Details coming soon, but in a nutshell, I will host a small group (8-12) travelers on a trip that will highlight all the excitement and wonder of Rome, and then the serene beauty of the Amalfi Coast<\/strong>, with all of its Mediterranean charm and flavor.<\/p>\n

September 26 – October 4, 2020. <\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Allora\u2026 so I\u2019ve decided to dust off the old keyboard and get back into this blogging about Italy thing. It\u2019s been a while and I\u2019ve missed it! Is it possible to be sentimental over something as inanimate and nebulous as a website? I think it is; I\u2019ve poured a lot of my heart and soul into […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8801,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,211,169],"tags":[378,201,161,61,155,521,463,522],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8791"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8791"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8791\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8801"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8791"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8791"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8791"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}