Need A Goal To Work Towards ???? 

walkingJoin the Wellness Center’s Heart Walk team and Train with us for a month for free with a minimum donation of $10.00   We meet every Saturday starting 8/31/13 through 9/21/13, from 9:00am-10:00am.

Saturday trainings include walking, resistance training, and stretching to help you walk with more.  We meet outside of Kids Korner. The training is outside.

This offer is available for anyone who is interested members and non-members. Invite your friends!

The American Heart Association’s Heart Walk is on September 28th. It is not mandatory to walk on this day to be part of our team. However, We must see your name on our team with the $10 donation in order to join in the Saturday morning fun!

Questions?  Just call 630-275-2670.

To sign up go to: http://www.advocatehealth.com/gsam/wellness

Health Local Is On The Air! 

HealthLocalThanks to District 44, funding from FORWARD,  and  the wonderful assistance of the guys at Illinois Center for Broadcasting, Health Local is on the air!!!!!

It is tagged on to the end of  SchoolScape, the District 44 cable show.  This way, the education interviews are all contained in the first half hour and all the “healthy stuff” is in the second half hour.  Nice!

 

 

You can catch Health Local weekly on:

Tuesdays at 4:30 on Comcast Channel 19,

and… on the Lombard Channel 6 on:

Wednesday at 11PM
Fridays at 7:30 PM
Saturdays at 11:30 AM and 8:30 PM
Sundays at 2:30 PM.

The first show features:
Generation H:  students from Park View School
Chef’s Corner: Julie Marie cooks Healthy Breaded Vegetables
Healthy Hints:
Interviews at the Glenbard Parent Series Health Fair
The Doctor is In:
Dr. Dungan from DuPage Medical explaining 5,4,3,2,1, GO!
Life Long Lessons:  Joan from Lexington Square
Workout Room:  Pilates at Health Track Sports and Wellness

Shows 2 and 3 are in edit right now.  Yeah!!!!!

Getting past those exercise excuses 

bearexerciseThe Daily Herald Newspaper  had a great article on  Labor Day about exercise.

Now, what was your excuse ????

(printed 9/2/13) You know the benefits of exercise and you have most likely heard them a zillion times: a healthier heart, reduced risk for some cancers, better sleep patterns, weight loss, lower stress levels, stronger bones and muscles, less fear of falling, mental acuity, more energy and confidence.

Yet, according to the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, only 3 out of 10 American adults get enough exercise. Quality of life can be improved by walking at a moderate pace 30 minutes a day. If walking hurts your joints, you can take your exercising to the water.
We make excuses to make us feel less discomfort if we are committed to exercise and don’t do it, Dan Kirschenbaum, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern University Medical School, said.

Exercise excuses — and solutions

1. I don’t have time!

  • Think of exercise as important as brushing your teeth or any other daily routine — for best results, you need to be consistent.
  • Include exercise times on your calendar as you would other appointments and reschedule when you miss.
  • Don’t forget in-home workouts, where you may be more flexible to fit short bursts of exercise into your day; exercise does not have to be a formal workout.
  • Create movement. Put on some music and make up your own dance steps, walk an extra lap in the mall or grocery store, take the stairs instead of the elevator, walk instead of drive whenever you can.
  • Keep weights near the television, using them while watching some of your favorite shows and stretch during commercials. Read more 

Sky Center Awarded Mark of Excellence! 

Sky Centers Martial Arts has always sought to deliver quality martial art instruction, while mark of excellence picture 2013making a difference in their community. That’s why receiving the Mark of Excellence Award from one of the most respected organizations in the industry for over 35 years, Century Martial Arts, is an honor martial art schools across the world hope for each year.

Sky Centers Martial Arts was proud to be one of the selected establishments chosen to receive this prestigious designation in recognition of the immense positive impact they have on their community. It is the highest honor bestowed by Century Martial Arts to a select group of businesses each year. The Mark of Excellence Award was earned by the extraordinary level of dedication Sky Centers exhibited to help students in this community achieve great personal growth, in life and in martial arts. “At Century our core belief is that martial arts has the ability to profoundly change lives,” said Century Martial Arts founder and CEO, L. Michael Dillard, “and that is exactly what George and Krista Sky are doing— changing lives for betterment of their community.” Read more 

There may be a link between sleep and obesity 

The Daily Herald ran this informative article on August12, 2013:

According to a new study, a major weapon in the battle against obesity might be as simple as getting a good night’s sleep, says USA Today.

A study by researchers at UC Berkeley revealed why just one sleepless night can make us crave calorie-dense junk food like hamburgers, potato chips and sweets. While previous studies have linked unhealthy foods and sleep deprivation, the UC Berkeley study may reveal the source of the connection.

Researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging to study the brains of 23 healthy young adults after a normal night’s sleep, and again after a sleepless night.

Read more 

Healthy Lesson Plan for Going Back To School 

sickvhild2DuPage County children will soon be heading back to school and the DuPage County Health Department wants to offers some tips that will make this school year healthy and happy for all children.

According to the Health Department, the following guidelines can help parents prevent the spread of illnesses in classrooms:

  • Make sure your children are up to date on their immunizations and sports physicals, and receive an annual flu shot.
  • Make sure your children have plenty of rest and a nutritious diet to help them fight germs.
  • Make sure your children are dressed properly if they are involved in outdoor activities at recess or gym.
  • Notify the school if your child has been diagnosed with an infectious condition such as strep throat, chickenpox, scarlet fever, or pertussis.
  • Teach your children the proper way to wash their hands. Make sure they use soap and water, rub their hands for at least 20 seconds, and thoroughly rinse and dry their hands.
  • Teach children the importance of covering their coughs and sneezes.
  • Keep your child home if he or she is ill. One sick child can spread germs to all his or her classmates.
  • Keep your child home if he or she has a fever of 100.4 degrees or higher, has nausea or vomiting, has a sore throat with fever, has a persistent cough (dry or productive), has diarrhea (three or more episodes in 24 hours), has a rash, or has symptoms that prevent him or her from participating in school such as fatigue or lack of appetite, headaches, body aches, earache or sore throat.

 

contest

Enter The Your Healthy Life Made Easy!™ Greater Lombard Area Weight Loss Transformation Contest 

Residents of Lombard, Villa Park, Glendale Heights, Glen Ellyn, Downers Grove and Oakbrook Terrace who are 18 years or older now have a great opportunity to change their lives by getting healthy and losing weight with the Your Healthy Life Made Easy!™ Greater Lombard Area Weight Loss Transformation Contest.

The Grand Prize Winner will be coached personally by Lombard neighbor and Healthy Lombard Partner Wellcoaches® and ACE® Certified Health and Wellness Coach and Weight Loss Coach Melanie Jordan for six months for FREE!

And EVERYONE who enters the Your Healthy Life Made Easy!™ Greater Lombard Area Weight Loss Transformation Contest will receive 1 free month in the Your Healthy Life Made Easy!™ Do It Yourself Healthy Weight Loss Program at the Deluxe Level (which includes email coaching)-so everyone is going to be a winner and get some help with healthy weight loss!

Entries are being accepted by Coach Melanie from August 15th to September 15th, 2013 at http://www.yourhealthylifemadeeasy.com/weightlosscontest.html where full contest details and rules are listed, and the winner will be announced on the Healthy Lombard site and at Melanie’s blog at YourHealthyLifeMadeEasy.com on September 22nd, 2013.

This contest is Coach Melanie’s way of giving back to the community and helping others who have struggled with their weight like she did in the past before she lost and kept off 48 pounds and went from a size 14 to 6.  So get your entry in and please share this post with someone in the area whose life you’d like to help change.

ProActive Kids – Fall Session Starts Sept 16 

The next session of ProActive Kids will take place September 16 – November 8.

Enroll your child today!

PAK will be offered at the following locations:

  • Downers Grove at Advocate Good Samaritan Health and Wellness Center funded by Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital.
  • Niles/Park Ridge (New!) at Gemini Jr High funded By Advocate Children’s Hospital
  • Oak Lawn at Advocate Christ Hospital funded by Advocate Chidlren’s Hospital (site is full for fall)
  • St Charles at St. Charles Park District funded by Cadence Health
  • Woodridge/Naperville – Edward Health and Fitness funded by Edward Hospital

ProActiveKids Program At A Glance

What it is:
Designed in collaboration with physicians, psychologists, nutritionists, personal trainers, coaches and educational leaders, the ProActive Kids is a FREE comprehensive 8 week program that will introduce children ages 8 -14, and their families, to healthier lifestyle options. Children must be in the 85th percentile and above in BMI to qualify for the program. The program offers a fun and rewarding experience that consists of:

  • Physical Fitness education and Workouts – 3 workouts a week! Read more 

Pre & Post Exercise Eating Tips 

Greg Shealey, a health educator and president and founder of Bio-Fit and Wellness, says that scheduling exercise into a busy lifestyle can be a challenge, and planning meals and snacks around the exercise is another. Eating too much food, or the wrong food before exercise, can hamper your performance or cause indigestion, sluggishness, nausea and vomiting. On the other hand, if you haven’t eaten in six hours and try to work out, you may feel weak and unmotivated. The type and time of meal is important. A large breakfast may be troublesome if you are going for a morning run, but it is fine for a jog before lunch.

In terms of food, your goal should be to have fuel in your body from nutritious food that is no longer present in your stomach at the time of your workout. The pre-exercise food prevents hunger during exercise. Carbohydrates are easily digested, but foods high in protein and fat may linger in the stomach for some time, depending on how much you ate. Large meals can take up to six hours to empty from the stomach.

Read more 

What is the importance of recovery? 

In the August issue of HealthTrack Sports and Wellness newsletter, Annie Flint, HTSW Certified Personal Trainer N.A.S.M., shared that one of the most important physical activities for recovery is plenty of stretching. If your body doesn’t recover properly, than you won’t see any further progress and it might be very harmful for your overall wellbeing. What happens to our muscles after a very high intensity workout is that they become stiff and sore as a result of micro tears. If you slack on your cool down and stretching, your muscles can experience blood pooling which means the blood that carried oxygen and nutrients to the muscles won’t return back to the heart and the waste product called lactic acid stays in the muscles. This is why we experience swelling and pain, sometimes even for a few days, after an intense workout. When experiencing delayed onset muscle soreness try to keep moving and stay active. Read more