Move Your Body

Hello everyone!  We’ve got some great news that we wanted to share with all of you.  ChicagoNow, owned by the Chicago Tribune, boasts more than 200 blogs on “every topic imaginable.”  We recently received a wonderful opportunity to join the ChicagoNow blogger community.  Check out our new blog, The Fit List.

The Fit List will cover topics that are familiar to you as a reader of MoveUrBody.com.  We’ll share fitness tips and tricks and even some rants and raves We will be attending and reviewing all kinds of different fitness classes and events in the Chicago area, while still incorporating information that will be interesting to you even if you don’t live in the area.

We could not have done this without the support and encouragement from you, our readers.   Thank you for helping to build MoveUrBody.com over the past year!  As a result of this transition, we will not be updating this site as often as you’re used to.  Our focus will be on The Fit List, so we hope you will come check us out and subscribe.  Please continue to follow, tell your friends, and definitely let us know if there’s any topics you’d like to read about.

You can also find The Fit List by visiting ChicagoNow, clicking the “Find a Blog” tab and choosing Wellness.

Thanks again and we hope to see you at The Fit List!

Courtney & Stacy

Last night we went out to do some grocery shopping, and since I was in a bad mood, I really wanted to make a stop at Whole Foods.  For whatever reason, Whole Foods has an almost visceral affect on me.  Every single time I walk in to that place I instantly feel better.  If I’m feeling down, it lifts me up.  If I’m feeling happy, stepping into a Whole Foods makes me manic.

Let me tell you about the new Whole Foods on North and Sheffield in Chicago.  We parked on the second floor of the parking garage.  We tried to park closer but couldn’t get a spot up front as many of them are reserved for “alternative-fuel vehicles.”  I smiled thinking “Gosh, Whole Foods.  You never let me down.  You’re so forward-thinking.”  I ignored that cynical little voice inside me that was saying, “Wow.  Isn’t THAT pretentious.  A perk for people who can afford to be early adopters.  Where’s your handicapped spots Whole Foods?  Expectant mothers?”  I’m sure they’re there.  I’m sure I  just missed them.

We parked and entered the store.  As we descended on the escalator inside, we got an aerial view of the entire Whole Foods experience.  I can assure you, you have never seen so many bright colors in one place in your life.  Orange clementines are piled high into intricate pyramid shapes.  “How do they do that!?” you’ll ask yourself.  Fresh green grapes as big as ping-pong balls beckon you to put them in your cart to snack on as you shop.  Mangoes are stacked high in beautiful wicker baskets; rare vegetables line the walls and you’re sure you can’t find this stuff anywhere else.

Image courtesy of Flickr

We needed Poblano peppers and Thai chilies for some dinners we’re making this week.  I spotted them easily and grinned from ear-to-ear as I placed them in the little plastic bag hanging nearby.  We next made our way over to the bath and body section.  There were baskets filled with varieties of bath salts that you can scoop yourself and take home.  I stood smelling the Eucalyptus salts until I was almost high…thinking how much relief I would be feeling if I had a cold.  Almost wishing I had a cold so these Whole Foods salts could work their magic.

We sauntered by the fish counter, with pinks and silvers so bright and fresh you just can’t tear your eyes away.  Tilapia for $9.99 a pound?  What a steal!  I’ll take two!  Courtney wanted to take a stroll through the cheese section.  The cheese section at Whole Foods makes me weak in the knees.  I’m a cheese-addict, and walking through that section is what I imagine walking into a crack-house might feel like for a crack addict.  The sushi-counter is the next stop.  Where there’s actually Asian people making the rolls.  I stared at a spicy tuna handroll for ten minutes before Court dragged me away.

Image courtesy of Flickr

The rest of the trip in Whole Foods is simply a delight.  We splurge on things like “organic oatmeal” and find some rare Mediterranean spices for a meal this week.  The online reviews of the recipe said it was almost impossible to find these spices.  Psssht.  Obviously they didn’t check Whole Foods.

I breathe in all the organic, natural, healthy goodness – just knowing that shopping here is making me healthier.  I’m putting good, organic things in my body.  Who cares if I don’t exactly know what that means!?  Who cares if there are so many conflicting messages about what’s good and what’s bad for you that I can’t even tell them apart anymore!?  I know Whole Foods is good for me!  I buy eggs from chickens that can roam freely, damn it. And that’s what’s important.

I left Whole Foods feeling punch-drunk.  We spent $30 and got a bunch of great stuff – including Poblano peppers, a mango and  grapes as big as ping-pong balls.

It wasn’t until we got to Stanley’s Fresh Market on Elston that I started to come back to reality.  Stanley’s is no Whole Foods.  It’s a no-bullshit kind of place.  Where as Whole Foods is filled with rich Lincoln-Parkers sipping wine as they shop, Stanley’s tends to cater to people that just need some greenery at a good price.  It’s a Moms-in-big-winter-coats-putting-food-on-the-table-for- four-kids, kind of place.

Image courtesy of Flickr

If I met Stanley he’d probably be like, “You want mangoes?  We got mangoes. Go look on the back wall,” without looking up at me.  Indeed Stanley’s has mangoes.  In fact, they had them on special last night.  Two for $.98.  I paid $2 for a single mango at Whole Foods.  Stanley’s also has grapes.  For about $1.50 a bunch.  I paid $5.59 for my grapes at Whole Foods.  Yes, you read that right.  Almost $6 for my grapes.  Granted, my Whole Foods grapes looked a helluva lot better than the Stanley’s grapes…but I can’t tell you that they were really worth four times the price.  Then I found the Poblano peppers.  Stanley’s was selling them for $.98 a pound.  I bought two from Stanley just to punish myself.  I paid $.52 for one at Whole Foods – they were $1.99 a pound.

What the hell Whole Foods?  Are you trying to make a fool of me?  I thought we had an understanding!?  I’ll pay the premium as long as I know I can’t get it anywhere else.  As long as I’m reasonably convinced that you have healthier choices.  I put up with the aisles clogged with Lincoln Park trixies toting their baby bjorns.  I practice healthy self-talk when I start getting pissed that Whole Foods has turned into more of a “place to be seen” than a grocery store.  I ignore the nagging, cynical voice inside my head that says, “When did eating healthy and organic become so Goddamn trendy?  And how the hell do people afford this shit?”

We all want to eat healthy.  Most people would agree that they want to eat things that make them stronger and healthier.  Foods that come from more natural ingredients instead of processed, evil-scientist-created ones.  But during times like these, and arguably at all times, you want to know that you’re getting a good deal.  You do NOT want to walk down the street and find the same damn pepper for a fraction of the price.  I don’t mind paying a little extra for fresher meat and fish – and I can definitely taste the difference.

Don’t get me wrong.  I still love Whole Foods.  But as much as I love it, I can’t help but feel like a poser every time I go there.  I think, “I’m not cool enough or rich enough to be here.”  And no one should have to be cool or rich to eat healthy.

I’ve seen some crazy things in my life, especially while playing both collegiate basketball and soccer…but nothing even compares to this!  I know sometimes you’re so caught up in the moment and react before thinking, or in this case, before pulling an opponent to the ground by their HAIR!!  Elizabeth Lambert, a defender from the University of New Mexico, took it a little too far, and in my opinion deserves the suspension.  I know that if she was a teammate of mine, I would have had a few words with her after the first punch to that girl’s back!  Watch the clip below.  What are your thoughts?

Elizabeth Lambert, cheap shot

We try to keep this blog less about us and our lives and more about fitness and health tips for YOU as much as possible.  But sometimes things happen to us personally that seem to beg for a blog entry.

On Father’s Day as I was about to head to the suburbs to visit my family, I got a call that my cousin had been admitted to the hospital.  She had gone into the ER on Saturday with stomach pains and was admitted that afternoon.  When I went to visit, her skin and eyes were yellow – a tell tale sign of jaundice.  We quickly found out that her liver wasn’t functioning as a result of a rare genetic disorder that prevents your body from filtering copper properly.  Copper?!  You may be thinking, as we all were.  Well, turns out a small amount of copper in your body is healthy and necessary, and the mineral can be found in certain foods like avocados and other things.  But too much copper can be toxic, as was the case with my cousin and this genetic disorder.

When my cuz went into the hospital we weren’t quite sure how bad things were.  But we quickly realized how serious the situation was when we learned that she needed a liver transplant.  Her liver wasn’t functioning at all, and a day after she was admitted through the ER, she was in intensive care and on a dialysis machine.  My cuz was at the top of the transplant list for a number of reasons, and it sunk in quickly that if she was on the TOP of the list….well, she must be in pretty dire health.

It was an extremely emotional few days and every hour seemed to crawl by as we waited for a donor, and my cousin’s health got  worse.  The docs did the best they could to filter her blood and keep her in good condition as we waited for a match.  During this time she was coherent and cracking jokes as usual, but we could tell that she was in pain.

The drama reached its all time peak when the doctors informed us that it was possible that a donor may not be found in time.  Therefore someone in the family could be tested to see if they were a match.  My aunt volunteered immediately; what mother wouldn’t?  After all of the tests, we learned she was a perfect match.  Although relieved, we were all grappling with the fact that two important members of our family could potentially be undergoing major transplant surgery at the same time!

Just as my aunt was about to check in for surgery, a different donor was found.  This was the preferred method to go, and after air lifting the liver from Milwaukee to Chicago, my cousin underwent a 13 hour liver transplant surgery.  I’m happy to say that  the surgery was successful, and she is recovering quite well.  It’s amazing to see someone who was in the ICU hooked up to a hundred machines able to walk, talk and laugh like normal.  Only a few days after having major surgery, she is in good health and good spirits.

So how does all of this relate to this blog?  Well, this is about health and fitness.  We write about making your tummy flatter, and how to look better in your clothes, and working out.  Our goal is to open up a conversation with our readers about fitness.  After going through all of this with my cousin, who is like a little sister to me, I found it difficult to write.  She is 20 years old.  She’s in college, works out regularly and loves to dance.  She has a rockin bod and looks great in her clothes.  But she wasn’t healthy.  And for a second there, things got very very scary.

After spending day after day with her and my family in the hospital, and walking past all of the different people in the ICU, I had a totally different perspective on what being healthy and fit means.  Instead of looking in the mirror and wishing my stomach was tighter, or that my arms were toner, or that I could run 5 miles instead of 3…I should be happy, ecstatic even, that I am healthy.  That aside from the normal aches and pains, I have a healthy, functioning body.  Exercise is very important, of course, to maintain that health.  But after this ordeal I was able to take a step back and realize that it’s not all about being the sexiest one at the gym.   And sometimes it can feel that way.

My cuz got sick in the middle of a beautiful summer week.  Her hospital room overlooked the beach near Navy Pier.  We could see people swimming and laying out and running and biking.  But she was stuck.  It made me realize that every day that you get to walk or run or work out or dance….every day you get to enjoy your health, should be considered a gift.