Join Us
And
Learn How to Recover Your Health and Vitality with Optimal Nutrition
Saturday, May 21 at Noon OR Thursday, June 2 at 6pm at CWSS
Want to feel more energy? Improve your digestion? Sleep Better? Move without aches and pains? Improve mental clarity? All of these ailments often can be caused by less than optimal nutrition, food allergies and intolerances.
Chris Chodos, a Certified Health Counselor and a graduate of Integrative Nutrition in New York, exudes passion as well as experience and knowledge in working with children and adults to improve their health and family life. For the past 23 years Chris has crafted unique recipes and health management strategies to address the challenges that her three sons experienced as a result of their extensive food and environmental allergies.
Chris will discuss how you can learn to detect nutritional issues that are causing you pain, how appropriate food combinations can dramatically improve your digestion, and how to better understand and deal with food cravings. Take home information for simple changes that you can make immediately to put you on the road to better health right now.
There is a $20.00 fee for the workshop.
For anyone who attends the CWSS program, Chris will be generously offering a free one-hour consultation to get you started.
To reserve your seat please email tsnyder@citywidesuperslow.com. Attendance is limited.
MEET ONE OF OUR FAVORITE PEOPLE
MONIKA LOTTER
Monika is the co-founder of Flight Chicago, a company that provides guests a behind-the-scene glimpse of Chicago's world-famous food scene. Recently featured in Today's Chicago Woman, each 3-hour Flight visits three different area restaurants.
At each stop, guests tour the kitchen to get a sense of how things work, and then sit down to sample tastes while engaging in a question-and-answer session with the chef. "The chefs love connecting with our guests," says Monica, which is not possible during peak restaurant hours when chefs are often too busy to peek out from behind their kitchens.
Flights run between 2:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. when most restaurants are closed to the public. Currently Flight Chicago offers three different area Flights, a West Loop Flight, a Bucktown Flight, and a West Town Flight.
Flight Chicago is a great way to get to know local chefs as well as celebrate holidays, birthdays, girls afternoon out, and corporate outings.
Monica, a CWSS client, is graciously offering other CWSS clients $25 off their first Flight.
WHAT CWSS TRAINERS EAT FOR SNACKS
Alexa: 1 handful of almonds and cashews with a piece of fruit: apple, orange, banana, melon or berries.
Andrew: 1 cup of Goji berries.
Becky: Raw broccoli and Kalamato olive hummus (from Trader Joes) or 2 hard-boiled eggs.
Brent: Carrots and hummus or a serving of wasabi and tamari roasted almonds and a serving of chive cottage cheese.
Daryl: Peel and freeze a bunch of ripe bananas in a plastic bag. When frozen solid, slice and enjoy plain or with a little dab of almond butter. Better than banana sorbet!
Denise: Veggies red pepper strips, carrots and cauliflower) and Trader Joes Red Pepper Hummus.
Katie: String Cheese and 2-oz turkey or cottage cheese and fruit.
Keith: Turkey jerky and hard-boiled eggs.
Molly: Roasted almonds and pistachios or Star-Kist Light Tuna (foil pouch).
Theresa: 3-4 Sunsweet prunes with a walnut in each or 2 slices of turkey with 1/2 apple or orange.
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CWSS 8-Week Weight Loss Challenge:
Results are In
If you had participated in the first CWSS Weight Loss Challenge, chances are you'd be down in weight and inches just in 8 weeks.
Congratulations to our 30 participants who lost a combined total of 155 pounds and many, many inches off their waist, hips and upper thighs. While every participant lost weight and inches, six people, three men and three women, made their actual weight loss goal and received five complimentary workout sessions from CWSS. The excitement and energy level ran high as each person worked not against others, but rather towards their own individual goal.
Starting February 8th, CWSS clients set their own personal weight loss goal, agreed to keep a weekly food diary noting calories, carbs, fats and proteins. They could not miss their weekly workout during the 8-week period. Each week they stepped up to the scale and reviewed their food and calorie intake. Their CWSS trainer reviewed the food diaries, made suggestions and gave feedback to the individuals on eating strategies and being aware of food choices.
One participant, Jeff Carter, wrote on his blog: "I started a diet in early February. I work out at CityWide SuperSlow in Chicago. I work out with weights once a week, 30 really intense minutes. Because I live in the city, I do walk a lot. But not anything crazy. Really heavy weight too! Lost 16 pounds in 7 weeks. I didn't starve myself. I ate close to 2000 calories per day, anything I wanted. I did cut out chips, and started bringing my lunch to work. Restaurants kill you. I used Lose It to keep track. I should lose around 5-10 more. Try it yourself."
Will CWSS offer the Weight Loss Challenge again? We're evaluating the program and hope to again provide support to those who are up for the challenge. Let us hear from you if you think you'd like to participate in our next CWSS Weight Loss Challenge.
STRENGTH TRAINING FOR A HEALTHY HEART
By Denise Morton
CWSS Partner and Personal Trainer
"If you don't advocate 'cardio exercise' what about my heart?" That is a frequent question asked by first-timers who come in to try our workout. Well, February was Heart Month and several articles tracked with the CWSS rather progressive, if unconventional, advice: the key to accessing your heart is through mechanical work of the muscles.
Weekly strength training sessions at a high intensity level conditions your muscles and heart to tolerate daily activities like walking up stairs. Fitness, says Physiotherapist David Lee in his One to One Wellness newsletter, is the "bodily state of being physiologically capable of handling challenges that exist above a resting threshold of activity." That does not translate to how many miles you can run or laps you can swim, but rather, are your upper and lower body muscles worked each week to maximum capacity that benefits your heart as well.
Strength training is an important part of maintaining a healthy heart. It lowers blood pressure, manages blood lipids, improves insulin sensitivity and enhances coronary artery functioning. This, Lee reminds us, "is a much safer, efficient and effective way to stimulate the cardiovascular system," than say, hours and hours of "cardio" on an elliptical, stationery bike or treadmill.
Lee advocates 1-2 sessions of short duration high intensity strength training per week along with following a few, but important, diet rules to prevent you from getting heart disease. As for physical activity he says, do something you enjoy, but be safe. That has always been our philosophy.
To access Lee's article, "February is Heart Month: Here's Some Unconventional Advice" which includes a few "rules" to prevent you from getting heart disease, or if you already have heart disease, his rules for "Secondary Prevention" (after an initial Myocardial Infarction) go to 121wellnessblog.com.
IS STRENGTH TRAINING SAFE FOR KIDS?
By Becky Diebold
CWSS Personal Trainer
A popular misconception is that children should not engage in strength training because it can stunt their growth or cause injury. Nothing could be further from the truth. According to Strong Kids Healthy Kids, by Fred Hahn (owner of Serious Strength, co-founder of The National Council for Exercise Standards, and a professional exercise trainer for more than 20 years), "Current research indicates that strength training is the single most effective exercise method for improving strength and fitness, and can dramatically alter and improve a child's body composition. Whether your child is a competitive athlete or is just trying to get leaner, the truth is that he or she can get stronger and healthier no matter what his or her fitness level."
Another common myth is that children should not lift weights until they are 12 years old. There is simply no evidence to support this statement. According to the American Council on Exercise, all of the major fitness and medical organizations in the U.S. recommend strength training for youth, assuming that basic guidelines are adhered to and that appropriate leadership is present. With the question of age, children should be able to accept and follow directions. Children as young as six have participated in strength training programs. While I was training in Naperville, I worked with an 8-year old boy with Cerebral Palsy for over a year. He had great overall muscle gain, improved flexibility and coordination. With the SuperSlow method and close one-on-one training, the workout brought about great success and absolutely no injuries.
Here are some of the profound benefits of strength training for kids:
- Increased lean body mass (bone and muscle)
- Improved body composition (less fat/more muscle)
- Improved base metabolic rate (calories burned)
- Increased muscle strength and power
- Gaining of confidence and self-esteem
- Greater resistance to injury
- Improved general fitness
- Improvement in all aspects of cardiovascular health (cholesterol, blood pressure, aerobic endurance, power, and strength)
- Help in stabilizing blood sugar to offset type II diabetes
- Encouragement of kids to participate in physical activities
With summer approaching, now is a great opportunity to introduce your kids to the safest method of high-intensity strength training at CWSS.
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