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Winter Ice Can be Not So Nice–Avoid Meeting the Pavement!

Posted in Fitness, Health and Wellness, tagged avoid falling on ice, broken bones, falling on ice, proper way to fall, slips and falls on January 10, 2010| 1 Comment »

: Image by Great Beyond via Flickr

By Sue Shekut, Owner, Working Well Massage, Licensed Massage Therapist, Certified Wellness Coach, ACSM Personal Trainer

Last night I joined my fellow Chicagoans in a common winter “sport”: I fell on the ice. I was lucky that I was well padded and fell backwards onto my backpack on my outside stairs. I have a huge bruise on my thigh but overall, I am OK.

This time of year, not everyone is so lucky. Falls on ice can lead to broken bones in odd places: hips, elbows, even jaws if you fall forward and your chin hits a cement curb. My brother is a radiologist and he tells me this time of year he sees far too many bone fractures due to slips and falls on the ice.

Protect Yourself On The Ice

How can you protect yourself from falling on the ice? Here are some tips from Canadian Senior Years:

Wear boots or overshoes with soles. Avoid walking in shoes that have smooth surfaces, which increase the risk of slipping.

Walk consciously. Be alert to the possibility that you could quickly slip on an unseen patch of ice. Avoid the temptation to run to catch a bus or beat traffic when crossing a street.

Walk cautiously. Your arms help keep you balanced, so keep hands out of pockets and avoid carrying heavy loads that may cause you to become off balance.

Walk “small.” Avoid an erect, marching posture. Look to see ahead of where you step. When you step on icy areas, take short, shuffling steps, curl your toes under and walk as flatfooted as possible.

Remove snow immediately before it becomes packed or turns to ice. Keep your porch stoops, steps, walks and driveways free of ice by frequently applying ice melter granules. This is the best way to prevent formation of dangerous ice patches. Using a potassium-based melter, such as Safe Step, instead of salt will prevent damage to concrete, grass and other vegetation or to carpets and floors should you track in some.

If You Do Fall, How to Fall Safely

But what if you fall anyway like I did? How can you lesson the damage that can be done by your fall? Sandra Gimpel, a 3rd degree black belt Karate instructor and Hollywood stunt woman who earns a living falling in movies and television commercials, has tips for safely falling. “It’s important to tuck your body, lift your head and avoid trying to break the fall with a hand, which can cause a wrist injury,” says Gimpel. “The idea is to make yourself as small as possible by rolling up into a ball.”

Read Gimpel’s approach to practicing safe falls here.

OPP issue ice warning (windsorstar.com)
Snow stories: postmen given shoe chains to make deliveries in the weather (telegraph.co.uk)

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Make Your Fitness Routine More Productive!

Posted in Fitness, Workplace Wellness, tagged Add new tag, Exercise equipment, Fitness, Personal trainer, Physical exercise, Productive Fitness, Weight training on January 9, 2010| Leave a Comment »

By Sue Shekut, Owner, Working Well Massage, ACSM Personal Trainer, Certified Wellness Coach, Licensed Massage Therapist

Digitlal Miniposters from Produtive Fitness

I write a lot about increasing activity and fitness in and outside the workplace. Companies can provide employees with education about fitness to help improve employee health. One easy way to give employees great information about stretching and weight training is to put up posters from Productive Fitness. At home, Productive Fitness provides mini versions of these posters via digital download.

What’s So Great About Productive Fitness?

Productive Fitness Products Inc. is the #1 supplier of fitness books to exercise equipment stores in North America. Mike Jespersen started Productive Fitness Products Inc. with the publication of The Great Dumbbell Handbook. The idea of publishing a book specific to dumbbells came when Mike was working at a local fitness equipment store in Vancouver, B.C. Many of the customers purchasing dumbbells also wanted a reference guide to performing the exercises. The book was an instant success and has now sold over 300,000 copies. This success has been expanded upon with The Great Body Ball Handbook now having sold over 300,000 copies, and The Great Handbook series having sales of over 1.2 million.

Since Productive Fitness Products’ incorporation in 1998, it has continued to publish books, expanding on its series of “Great Books” which offer instruction on specific exercise topics such as the Body Ball, Stretch Tubing, and multi-station gyms.
The “Great Books” are designed as quick-reference handbooks which allow readers to instantly access exercise descriptions for a particular body part. Each exercise description has a start and finish photo with clear, concise, step-by-step exercise descriptions.

• See a sample of Productive Fitness videos on You Tube here.

Who Writes and Reviews Productive Fitness Products?

• Andre Noël Potvin is an internationally accredited author, fitness educator and medical exercise specialist with 24 years of leadership experience and clinical experience. Owner and operator of both a medical fitness clinic and school for fitness professionals, Andre is frequently invited to lecture at international public and professional conferences.
Read more about Andre here.
• James Talo has an extensive background in individual and team sports. His endeavors have ranged from track and field to lacrosse and the martial art, aikido. However, it wasn’t until Jim suffered a spinal injury in 1993 where his appreciation for the human body and how it should optimally move and function became apparent. This injury shifted his attention to the method of kettlebell lifting and the teachings of some of the world’s best coaches. He began his search for knowledge on this niche sport and obtained his first kettlebell certification in 2004.Jim’s coaching philosophy is one he shares with his students, clients and colleagues: “My purpose is to create an awareness… to educate coaches and their athletes on the merits of kettlebell lifting both as a training protocol and as a sport…I am here to serve, and to instruct technique that is safe and highly effective.”

Fitness Posters from Productive Fitness

• Large Size Posters for the workplace

Large Stretching Poster from Productive Fitness

• Digital Download Posters (8.5 x 11) for home workouts.

Disital Posters from Productive Fitness

What Kind Of Home Workout Equipment Is Best For You? (rock-kool-dadie.blogspot.com)
Is Your Body Ready for Exercise? (naturalbias.com)
Gym Strength vs Real Life Stength (leanhybridmuscle.com)
What We’re Missing in the Weight Room (malepatternfitness.com)

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Treat Your Skin To Soothing Lotion from Hugo’s Naturals

Posted in Health and Wellness, Massage Therapy, tagged Body lotion, great body lotion, Hugo's Naturals, lotion for massage, Vanila and Sweet Orange, Whole Foods Massage on January 7, 2010| Leave a Comment »

By Sue Shekut, Owner, Working Well Massage, Licensed Massage Therapist, Certified Wellness Coach, ACSM Personal Trainer

Hugo's Naturals lotion

Each month at the Working Well Massage chair station inside the Lincoln Park Whole Foods Market, we feature a different body cream or lotion that is great for massage and your body! This month, our massage therapists are applying Vanilla and Sweet Orange lotion from Hugo’s Naturals during our massages.

Hugo’s Naturals make great hand and body lotions. They are also good for relaxing or Swedish massage or even an at home back rub you give your partner or children.

Hugo’s Naturals Scents

• Vanilla & Sweet Orange Lotion

• Shea Butter and Oatmeal

• Unscented

• Grapefruit

• French lavender

• Red Tea and Ylang Ylang

• Sea Fennel and Passion Flower

• Lemon Verbena and Bergamot

• Spearmint

• Geranium

Who is Hugo and How Natural Are His Products?

According to Hugo’s blog , Hugo Saavedra, founder of Hugo Naturals, has always been passionate about seeking out the best, most unusual ingredients and combining them in unique and exciting ways. His business career began at age 11, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. A ship hand gave Hugo a branch of bananas at the port dock and on his way home, a woman stopped her car and asked how much they were. An entrepreneur was born.

After years of running restaurants and supplying organic herbs and edible flowers from Argentina to the U.S., Hugo’s love of organic produce and exotic herbs spurred him on to his next venture — a line of exquisitely crafted soaps, which he sold at Farmer’s Markets along side his exotic produce. The demand for the soap was overwhelming, and soon outstripped his farming business. Hugo expanded the line to include lotions, body scrubs and bath salts. These products developed a large and intensely loyal following and Hugo expanded his sales beyond the United States into Asia, Canada and Europe.

Hugo has taken great care to create the most beneficial products possible, while retaining a feel of luxury and comfort. All of Hugo’s products are earth-friendly and utilize organic ingredients. Using a cornucopia of natural ingredients, Hugo has created a banquet for the skin with the same sure hand that once created prize-winning culinary dishes. Hugo Naturals is a true expression of the creativity and integrity of its creator.

Where Can I Buy Hugo Naturals’ Lotions?

At Whole Foods Markets of course! Right now a 12-ounce bottle retails for $12.99 at Whole Foods Market. However, if you want to buy online, you will have to pay extra for shipping. Buy Hugo’s lotion from Amazon here.

Read more about Hugo’s Naturals and Whole Foods body care products from Meg at her blog: Meg’s Makeup Reviews here.

Note: Working Well Massage and Sue Shekut are not affiliated with Hugo’s Naturals nor do we get any advertising dollars from blogging about the products. We simply want to share a great product with our readers!

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Massage and Prostitution-What’s the Difference?

Posted in Health and Wellness, Massage Therapy, tagged AMBP, Find a masage therapist, IDFPR, legitimate massage, licensed massage therapist, massage parlors, massage therapy license look up, massage today on January 6, 2010| 5 Comments »

: Image via Wikipedia

By Sue Shekut, Owner, Working Well Massage, Licensed Massage Therapist, Certified Wellness Coach, ACSM Personal Trainer

Whilst researching around the internet, I found a link to a chat room thread that exemplifies one of the problems massage therapists face to this day: the misconception that massage therapy is a sexual service. In this thread, a young man inquires how to go about getting sexual services from a “legitimate massage therapist.” Which is really an oxymoron.

All too often, men (and some women) think that massage IS a sexual service and get confused as to what they are getting when they schedule a massage session. This makes it tough on those of us that are legitimate massage therapists. How do you know if your massage therapist or massage center is legit or a cover for prostitution?

Massage is Not Prostitution, But Massage “Parlors” Are Often Fronts for Prostitution

Because prostitution is illegal, prostitutes and massage parlor operators look for creative ways to mask the real intent of their product: Sex for hire. And what better way to conceal your true product than to market it under the name of a similar product or service: Call it “massage.”

Massage parlors don’t typically use licensed massage therapists. Why bother? Licensing for massage therapy requires at least a year or so of schooling, including anatomy and kineseology, at a cost of about $10,000-$12,000. And in Illinois, massage therapists get fingerprinted and go through a criminal background check–tough to pass if her or she has a record of convictions for prostitution.

Who Are Legitimate Massage Therapists?

Which brings me to my point. How do you know the difference between a legitimate massage therapy center and a massage parlor? Let’s run through a legitimate massage therapist’s goals, training and ethics to demonstrate how we differ from massage parlor masseuses.

Massage Therapy Goals

Legitimate massage therapists are people that like to help other people, non-sexually. We aim to relieve muscle pain, relax your nervous system and give you a period of time in which you and your wellness is the focus (which is tough to find these days between work, family, fitness and social obligations).

Legitimate massage therapy gives clients a safe space to relax. Licensed massage therapists are trained to respect client’ boundaries, be non-judgemental and compassionate.

True, there is a wide range of skill levels between licensed massage therapists, and some are far better than others, but overall, legitimate massage therapists strive to provide a clean, safe and relaxing massage session for clients.

Massage Therapy Ethics

Legitimate massage therapists agree to abide by a code of ethics that prohibits sexual massage. In fact, if a legitimate massage therapist is convicted of giving sexual massages, aka prostitution, she/he can lose their massage therapy license, face disciplinary measures from their professional association and be barred from performing professional massage.

Massage Therapy Training

Licensed massage therapists train in massage techniques as well as proper draping techniques to ensure your genitals are never exposed during your massage. In massage therapy school, we learn about skin conditions and how to avoid contagion.We learn about good hygiene and general health conditions. We undergo extensive testing in each massage class as well as at the end of our training in order to obtain our massage therapy licenses.

In Chicago, legitimate massage therapists must apply for and maintain current licenses with the State of Illinois. Any massage therapist that has been disciplined for performing sexual massage can have this license revoked. You can look up the validity of a massage therapists license online here. Your can also request that your massage therapists show you his or her state license. In addition, in Chicago, every Massage Therapy “Establishment,” from the Working Well Massage chair massage station at Whole Foods to the big spas, must have a Massage Establishment License.

Where Do I Find a Legitimate Massage Therapist?

You can find legitimate massage therapists on massage locater services such as ABMP, or Massage Today’s websites. Link to my previous post, “How Do I Find a Good Massage Therapist?” here.

A massage therapy session can be a wonderful, positive, relaxing experience. Or it can be a way to relieve muscle pain, heal from injury or help you better cope with stress. What it’s not is an open invitation to harass, proposition or fondle the massage therapist!

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Where to Walk in Chicago

Posted in Fitness, Health and Wellness, Stress Management, tagged Add new tag, chicago neighborhoods, Walk Score, walkability, walkscore on January 5, 2010| 2 Comments »

: Image via CrunchBase

By Sue Shekut, Licensed Massage Therapist, ACSM Personal Trainer, Certified Wellness Coach, Owner, Working Well Massage

Want to know where you can take a nice after dinner walk in Chicago? I know it’s cold but if you bundle up, you can burn some calories and still see the bright lights and your neighbors holiday decorations as you stroll. Check out this site dedicated to providing rankings on most walkable neighborhoods: Walk Score.com

According to WalkScore’s website, “The top 8 neighborhoods in Chicago are Walkers’ Paradises. 66% of Chicago residents have a Walk Score of 70 or above. 96% have a Walk Score of at least 50—and 4% live in Car-Dependent neighborhoods.”

Top Cities for Walking

The cities at the top of the Walk Score rankings have density, mixed use, transit, short blocks—and almost everything else on our walkability checklist. Most importantly, these cities have lots of destinations near each address, which is the strongest indicator of whether people walk.

Least Walkable Cities

It’s difficult to get by without a car (or even walk to a nearby restaurant) in these sprawling cities. More time in the car means more money at the pump, less exercise, and more pollution. But even the least walkable cities have walkable places. Read about these walking oases.
Top 20 Most Walkable Chicago Neighborhoods according to WalkScore

Neighborhood Score

1 Loop 98

2 Near North Side 97

3 Lincoln Park 94

4 Lake View 93

5 Uptown 92

6 Edgewater 92

7 Near South Side 90

8 Rogers Park 90

9 West Town 88

10 Hyde Park 87

11 Logan Square 86

12 Lincoln Square 85

13 Bridgeport 85

14 Lower West Side 85

15 Near West Side 84

16 Albany Park 84

17 North Center 83

18 West Ridge 83

19 North Park 81

20 Irving Park 80

Read more from the WalkScore website here.

how walkable is your city/town? (thesecretlifeofviv.blogspot.com)
Government Data Enables Walkability, Transit Relief (ariwriter.com)

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Chicago Winter Farmers Markets

Posted in Health and Wellness, Nutrition, tagged Farmers' market, Food and Related Products, Local food, localharvest.org, locally grown food, locally produced food, winters farmers markets on January 4, 2010| 6 Comments »

: Image by ifmuth via Flickr

By Sue Shekut, Owner, Working Well Massage, Licensed Massage Therapist, Certified Wellness Coach, ACSM Personal Trainer

First it was Eat Organic. Now it’s Eat Local. What is Eating Locally and why is it such a good idea?

What Does it Mean to Eat Locally Grown Foods?

Active.com’s Charles Stuart Platkin explains what Locally grown means in an article here. Platkin writes: According to Erin Barnett, director of LocalHarvest.org, “‘Eating local’ means different things to different people, depending on how ‘local’ is defined.” Some define locally grown as within a 100-mile radius of where they live. But the overarching concept is that you purchase and eat foods produced close to home. “You might be able to get eggs raised just five miles down the road, but cheese from the state next to yours. Both choices take the food’s geographical origins into account, and that is the decision-making tool at the heart of eating locally grown,” says Barnett.

Why Eat Locally Produced Food?

The main reasons proponents tout locally grown food is that it’s better for the environment, keeps purchasing dollars within a closer proximity of your community and it is fresher and less likely to be sprayed with harmful chemicals.

An article in the NewsOk explains why people choose to buy local: “It often means getting fresher food,” said Urvashi Rangan, Ph.D., senior scientist and policy analyst at the nonprofit Consumers Union. The main reason, Rangan said, is that it hasn’t been trucked thousands of miles so there’s less time for food to spoil.

“But there are even more advantages to local food production. It saves on gasoline and reduces pollution from transporting food (which can help reduce global warming), and, in many cases, it supports smaller-scale farmers,” Rangan said. So, basically, eating locally grown supports the local economy; you eat fresher, less-processed foods, think about your food more, get to know your local growers and help the environment — not bad. (Read entire article, “Eating Locally Can Bring Benefits,” from NewsOK, here.)

According to Jennifer Maiser from FamilyResource.com, “While produce that is purchased in the supermarket or a big-box store has been in transit or cold-stored for days or weeks, produce that you purchase at your local farmer’s market has often been picked within 24 hours of your purchase. This freshness not only affects the taste of your food, but the nutritional value which declines with time.”

Jennifer adds: “Because the produce will be handled less, locally grown fruit does not have to be “rugged” or to stand up to the rigors of shipping. This means that you are going to be getting peaches so ripe that they fall apart as you eat them, figs that would have been smashed to bits if they were sold using traditional methods, and melons that were allowed to ripen until the last possible minute on the vine.” Read Maiser’s Top Ten Reasons to Eat Local Food here.

The juries still out on whether locally produced food is better for your health, but as more and more people demand locally grown food, restaurants and stores are moving toward selling locally produced food items.

Winter Farmers Markets in Chicago

from Swedish Covenent Hospital’s Well Magazine

GREEN CITY MARKET
Green City Market Web site
Indoor market – 2430 N. Cannon Dr., Chicago, IL. 60614

	Wednesdays and Saturdays until Dec. 23, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
	Wednesdays and select Saturdays January 16 to April 24, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

CHICAGO’S DOWNTOWN FARMSTAND
Chicago’s Downtown Farmstand Web site
66 E. Randolph St., Chicago, IL. 60602
Open year-round, Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Please check the Web site or e-mail info@chicagoofficeoftourism.org for a holiday schedule.

CHURCHES’ CENTER FOR LAND AND PEOPLE / FAITH IN PLACE WINTER MARKET
Saturdays and Sundays at various churches and organizations throughout Chicago
See localharvest.org/farmers-markets for a detailed schedule.

LOGAN SQUARE WINTER FARMERS MARKET
Indoor market, The Congress Theater, 2135 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago, IL. 60647
Sundays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. — Runs until March 28, 2010
See logansquarefarmersmarket.org for more information.

Farmers Markets in the Chicago Area Suburbs

List from LocalHarvest.org.

Churches’ Center for Land and People (CCLP) is partnering this year with Faith In Place to sponsor indoor Winter Farmers Markets which provide small, local farm producers with additional venues to extend their income beyond the growing season. Held in parish halls of congregations of many denominations, these markets are open to the public and from November to March offer consumers an opportunity to purchase cheese, meat and poultry, soap, syrup, honey, wool, yogurt, raw fibers, vinegars, dried fruits, milled flours, sauces and salsas, preserves, cider, and fresh produce as available…..in short, anything that a farm grows or produces from what they grow. (Not all items listed will be available at every market.)

When and Where

(November-March)
_____________

Sun., Jan. 10, 10am to 2pm ~ Deerfield
North Shore Unitarian Church
2100 Half Day Rd. (Rt. 22), Deerfield IL 60015

Sun., Jan. 24, 12noon to 3pm ~ Chicago/Old Irving Park
Irving Park Lutheran Church
3938 W. Belle Plaine Ave., Chicago, IL 60618

Sat., Feb. 13, 9am to 1pm ~ Oak Park
Euclid Avenue United Methodist Church
405 S. Euclid Ave., Oak Park, IL 60302

Sat., Feb. 20, 9am to 1pm ~ Rogers Park
United Church of Rogers Park
1545 W. Morse Ave, Chicago, IL 60626

Sun., Mar. 7, time TBD ~ Oak Park
St. Giles Catholic Parish
1025 Columbian, Oak Park IL 60302

Sun., Mar. 14, 9:30am to 1:30pm ~ Park Ridge
Park Ridge Community Church
100 Courtland Ave., Park Ridge IL 60068

To read more from Local Harvest and view the extensive listing of available crops click here.

If you’d like to be on the email list for LocalHarvest click here.

Fun Facts About Illinois Crops and Farming from ExploreChicago.org

• More than half of the corn in the U.S. is used for livestock feed.

• Illinois chickens lay eggs that are used to make candy bars, mints, and hard candies all year round.

• Popcorn is the official snack of Illinois.

• JoDaviess, Hancock, Fulton, Adams, and Pike counties have more cattle than anywhere else in Illinois.

• One Illinois farmers feeds 94 people in the United States and 35 people overseas-that’s 129 people per year.

Read the entire list of Fun Facts About Illinois Crops and Farming from ExploreChicago.org

Read an article on how Eating Local is the New Eating Organic from Time magazine here.

New Website Rounds Up Localvore Restaurant Options (chicagoist.com)
‘Food Inc’ makes me think twice about the ‘green’ implications of our food supply. (seattlepi.com)
Eat Local (and Sustainable!) (takepart.com)

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Where to Buy Indoor Air Cleaning Plants in Chicago

Posted in Health and Wellness, Workplace Wellness, tagged Chinese Evergreen, Dracaena Janet Craig, Dracaena Marginata, Gethesmane, Grand Garden Center, house plants, house plants as gifts, Peace Lily, Philodendron, plants as air cleaners, Spider Plants, Sprout Home on January 3, 2010| 1 Comment »

By Sue Shekut, Owner, Working Well Massage, Licensed Massage Therapist, Certified Wellness Coach, ACSM Personal Trainer

Dracaena Janet Craig. Image from http://www.dracaena.com

It’s a new year and time to clean out the old and bring in the new: air, that is. Think you may want to use houseplants to clean the air of your home or office from formaldehyde, benzene and carbon monoxide? Those of you that read our posts on houseplants that clean air from NASA and The University of Georgia may now be ready to get your own indoor air cleaning plants. But where are the best places to get houseplants? Some say Home Depot and Lowes, but Home Depot ships their indoor plants –not so great in winter cold! Lowes only has tiny tabletop Aerogardens available from their website.

Lowes does have a great article for selecting indoor plants here. Check out their chart categorizing indoor plants by level of light they need. For example, Chinese Evergreen, Dracaena and Philodendrums require low light. Golden Pathos requires medium indirect light. Aloe and Cactus plants require bright direct sunlight.

To help you find other indoor plant sources, I compiled a list of Chicago plant stores that carry the house plants that NASA and Georgia studies have found to be the best air cleaners. Find the store that’s closest to you and buy your own plants today!

Grand Street Gardens

2200 W. Grand Ave., Chicago, IL 60612
(312) 829-8200
Fall 2009 Hours • M-F 9 AM-7PM • Sat & Sun 9 AM-6PM

Grand Street Gardens carries the following indoor plants for air cleaning:

African Violet

Chinese Evergreen

Dracaena Janet Craig

Dracaena Marginata

Ferns

Jade

Hoya

Philodendron

Pothos

Spider plant

Gethesmane

5739 N Clark St, Chicago, IL

(773) 878-5915
Winter Hours • Monday – Sunday, 9 AM – 6 PM • Free Parking

All of the following 14 plants can be found in the Gethsemane Greenhouse and have been identified by NASA as most effective in cleaning the air;

English Ivy

Spider Plant

Golden Pothos

Chinese Evergreen

Bamboo or Reed Palm

Snake Plant

Heartleaf Philodendron

Selloum Philodendron

Elephant Ear Philodendron

Red Edged Dracaena

Cornstalk Dracaena

Janet Craig Dracaena

Warneck Dracaena

Weeping Fig

Adam and Son Gardens

1057 N California Ave, (between Cortez St & Thomas St), Chicago, IL 60622
(773) 235-0991
Hours: Mon-Sun., 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Old Town Gardens

1555 N Wells St (between Burton Pl & North Ave), Chicago, IL 60610
(312) 266-6300

www.oldtowngardenschicago.com

Sprout Home

745 N Damen Avenue, (between Chicago Ave & Lee Pl), Chicago, IL 60622
(312) 226-5950

store.sprouthome.com/

Farmers Market Garden Center

4110 N Elston Ave (between Belle Plaine Ave & Ridgeway Ave), Chicago, IL 60618
(773) 539-1200

www.gardenchicago.com

Belmont Flower Market

2558 N Clark St (between Deming Pl & Wrightwood Ave), Chicago, IL 60614
(773) 529-8756
Hours: Mon-Sat., 11:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m., Sun., 11:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Jayson Home and Garden

1885 N Clybourn Ave (between Kenmore Ave & Wisconsin St), Chicago, IL 60614
(773) 248-8180
www.jaysonhomeandgarden.com

Marguerite Garden

5059 N Clark St (between Carmen Ave & Winnemac Ave), Chicago, IL 60640
(773) 506-6295

www.margueritegardens.com

Where To Buy Houseplants as Gifts

ChicagoHouseplants.com

Check out The Chicago Gardener’s blog for tips about gardening and caring for your indoor and outdoor plants.

Green holiday tips from King County (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
Currents | Gardens: Blooms to Put a Fresh Face on Winter (nytimes.com)
How To Keep an Indoor Plant Alive (howcast.com)

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Eat Wise and Be Wise in Your Food Selection with Wise Eats Blog

Posted in Nutrition, tagged Dietary Options, fad diets, Food, Food faddism, Nutrition, obesity, wiseeats on January 2, 2010| 3 Comments »

: Image by floodkoff via Flickr

By Sue Shekut, Owner, Working Well Massage, Licensed Massage Therapist, Certified Wellness Coach, ACSM Personal Trainer

Whilst tooling around the internet looking for good nutritional info for my loyal readers, I came across an interesting blog about food and food politics called “WiseEats.” According to the blog’s author, Jayne Jang, “Unfortunately, fad diets will not help reverse obesity trends.”
Jang has a lot of ideas about combating obesity, but thinks that fad diets are not the answer and I agree.

Jang writes: “At the Gastro 2009 conference in London last week, Professor Chris Hawkey, British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG) president, said that fad diets are making Brits fat. He concludes that that “if Britons continue to follow unhealthy diets and favour certain foods over others, nine in ten are likely to be overweight or obese by 2050. The methods he used to reach this conclusion are unclear, but generally, I agree that fad diets are not a sustainable solution. These fad diets try to single out whole categories of food or claim that one food (ex. grapefruit) will burn fat like no other food can. These diets may help people eliminate some processed junk food, but today, we have lost all sense of normal portion sizes.”

Read the entire post on Jang’s WiseEats blog here.
Read about Jang’s blog and approach to food and food politics here.

Bad Eating Habits: How Did You Get Them? (mariaslastdiet.com)
Why Is Exercise Good For You? (stepbysteptips.com)
Study aims to help kids lose weight, keep it off (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
Diet and Nutrition Knowledge is Key (after50health.com)
Junk food as ‘addictive as drugs’ (telegraph.co.uk)

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A New Year and a Fresh Start

Posted in Health and Wellness, Stress Management, Workplace Wellness, tagged Coaching, goal setting, goals, New Year, new year resolution, New Year's Day, Smoking cessation, Wellness Coaching on January 1, 2010| 1 Comment »

: Image via Wikipedia

By Sue Shekut, Licensed Massage Therapist, ACSM Personal Trainer, Certified Wellness Coach, Owner, Working Well Massage

Mainstream media is full of celebrity resolutions, local Chicagoan resolutions and predictions for the year ahead. I am not big on resolutions. I am more of a goal setter. Resolutions are promises or wishes that may be tough to deliver on. Goals are actionable, time delineated, realistic, measurable and positive! Wellness Coaching is also big on goal setting. In fact, goal setting, goal review and goal refining is a big part of what makes wellness coaching so successful.

When you set a resolution or “swear off” booze, or sugary foods or some other lifestyle problem, you set yourself up for failure and the shame and guilt that can accompany that failure. When you set a goal, you have a chance to think through specifics, what you are trying to accomplish, and what tools and support you will need to reach those goals. The process of goal setting is just as important as the actual goal you set.

For example, a new years resolution might be “I will quit smoking for the New Year!”

• This resolution doesn’t give you a start date, any tools or a structured support system for quitting smoking.

A goal may be “I make a list of smoking cessation programs by January 8th.”

• This goal gives you a specific deadline: June 8th. By June 8th you will know whether you completed the goal or not.

• Making a list of smoking cessation programs gets you mentally ready to quit without imposing too many obligations on you. Making a list is an action. When you complete it, you can feel good that you have accomplished a step towards your ultimate goal of quitting smoking.

Goal Review

Goals can be and should be reviewed frequently. In Wellness Coaching session, we review goals about once per week. If a goal is not met, then we look at changing the goal instead of beating you up about not completing it.

For example, if you goal is to eat 5 vegetables each day and you end up not eating any vegetables, we would likely look at the goal and decide if this is a reasonable goal for you. Perhaps adding 1 serving of fruit each day may be a more realistic and achievable goal on the way towards your ultimate aim of eating 5 veggie servings a day. Then maybe the next goal may be eating veggie soup once a day. The goals you set would be tweaked based on your past experiences of what works best for you and what’s realistic for your to achieve within the time constraints we set up.

This New Year I wish everyone good health, happiness and stress free days. I will write more about goal setting in the coming months. But my goal for this blog is to write a post about aspects of wellness at least four times each week.

Happy New Year!

Resolve not to make ridiculous fitness resolutions (nationalpost.com)
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Who Can Build a Healthier Chicago?

Posted in Fitness, Health and Wellness, Workplace Wellness, tagged Add new tag, Blood pressure, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Chicago, Health care, improving health, increasing physical activity, managing high blood pressure, obesity on December 31, 2009| 2 Comments »

By Sue Shekut, Licensed Massage Therapist, ACSM Personal Trainer, Certified Wellness Coach, Owner, Working Well Massage

Chicago is famous for many things. Chicago is “the Windy City,” The Second City,” the home of the Cubs, the White Sox and da Bears. Chicago also has the dubious honor of being one of the top 20 most “fat” cities in the U.S. But there are those of us that want to change that last claim to fame for Chicago.

One group that is making serous headway in tackling high blood pressure, obesity and activity levels of Chicagoans is Building a Healther Chicago.

Building a Healthier Chicago

Building a Healthier Chicago (BHC) is a collaborative of local and national stakeholders working to strengthen efforts to promote the health of Chicago residents and employees.

Through collaboration BHC promotes and tracks the adoption of selected programs, practices, policies, and supportive environments throughout the worksites, schools, health care organizations, faith based organizations, parks and neighborhoods of Chicago. BHC works with community organizations, academics, health care and government to improve the health of all citizens.

To make a significant impact on the health of all Chicagoans, BHC works to support its stakeholders broadly in:

Increasing physical activity levels
Improving healthy eating
Prevention, detection and control of high blood pressure

Why focus on physical activity, nutrition, and blood pressure?

Physical inactivity and obesity are at epidemic proportions in the U.S., resulting in an increased prevalence of many chronic diseases. Meanwhile, health care expenditures associated with physical inactivity and obesity continue to rise.

Becoming a Stakeholder in Building a Healthier Chicago

Working Well Massage is a stakeholder in Building a Healthier Chicago. If your firm is involved in promoting wellness or has a workplace wellness program you are proud of, consider joining BHC as a stakeholder!