Walk The Talk Today!

Statistics show it. Americans get a gold star for being over scheduled, overweight, and overwhelmed. Many of us are too busy to focus on good health habits for our bodies and our environment. Many of us are wasting precious time and resources without giving much thought to our actions. Many of us can be heard saying, “I want to be healthy. I want to be fit. I want to leave a better world to our kids.”

It's Time to Take Action and Walk the Talk Today!

Walk the Talk Today!, a 90-day commitment, is designed to jump start healthy lifestyles through small, realistic and permanent changes in exercise, eating habits and environmental awareness. The program is based on a simple and powerful promise: Make little changes, get big results. You can take part in the program individually or as part of a team.

It's EASY to Embrace the 3-Step Program!

In the 90-day Walk the Talk Today program, participants will commit to weekly action focused around 3 simple, fun and motivating steps that will improve individual, community and environmental health. You'll do it one step at a time.

Step 1. Move It!

Participants will commit to 30 minutes of movement five days/week. The challenge is highly flexible and individual. Whether working out alone or with a group, participants can choose from walking, running, swimming, skiing, biking, aerobics, strength training, yoga, Pilates or anything that feels good. Participants will be encouraged to ride bikes, wear pedometers, car pool, take the bus, and group errands together to reduce extra trips in the car. This goal is based on the following facts:

Obesity is an epidemic, claiming an estimated 300,000 deaths and costing the United States about $117 billion each year.

More than 61% of Wisconsinites are obese or overweight.

Minimal adjustments in diet and daily exercise can result in enough weight loss to reduce the risk factors for diseases stemming from obesity, such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and certain types of cancer.

Click Here for Your New Prescription for Health.

Step 2. Eat Healthy!

Participants will commit to carrying canvas or reusable bags into grocery stores and food co-ops and filling them with high-quality, minimally processed foods (local and/or organic whenever possible). We’ll increase healthy food choices while reducing the more than one billion single-use plastic bags that are handed to consumers each day. This goal is based on the following facts:

More than one billion single-use plastic bags are handed to consumers each day.

Individuals can greatly reduce waste and single-bag usage by carrying canvas bags in their cars for use at grocery stores, pharmacies, retail stores or anywhere they may be given a plastic bag. High-quality canvas bags are readily available at Chequamegon Food Co-Op in Ashland and at retail stores in the region. Participants are encouraged to purchase a canvas bag or two for groceries and other items.

Individuals can greatly alter individual health by consuming more nutritious foods.

Click Here to Discover How to Eat, Drink & Be Healthy.

Step 3. Quench Right!

Participants will commit to carrying their own reusable water bottle and drinking 48-64 oz. of clean water each day while reducing/eliminating the purchase of water and beverages bottled in plastic. This goal is based on the following facts:

Physicians and nutritionists recommend drinking 48-64 oz. of water each day

80% of the 25 billion single-serving plastic water bottles Americans use each year end up in landfills.

Participants are encouraged to purchase a water bottle (and coffee or tea cup) and carry it everywhere

Reusable water bottles and stainless steel coffee cups are readily available locally at Bodin's on the Lake, Black Cat Coffee House, and Daily Bread or online at www.kleankanteen.com.

Click Here to Learn About Safe Containers.

Can This Simple 3-Step Program Really Make a Difference?

Absolutely! Our goal is to help you make simple, lifelong changes that will improve individual, community and environmental health. You'll do it one step at a time. 

Get Started Now!

Get your friends and family involved. Get your community involved. Get your business involved. Get started now.

Start the Program Now! 
Click Here to Download Your Starter Kit

Walking With Susan

by Leslie Hamp

July 2009 — Susan Hall is on a mission. Several days a week she laces up her tennies, dons an iPod, slips her cell phone into her pocket and heads out the door. Oftentimes Julie, her 2-year-old golden retriever-chow, is striding alongside.

Susan is on a mission to raise awareness and funds in the fight against breast cancer. She and her two sisters, Mary Yott of Gages Lake, Ill., and Kitty Evans of Parker, Colo., will meet in the Twin Cities from September 19-21 and join thousands of others to walk 60 miles during the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer 3-Day.

It’s something she contemplated doing years ago but the hefty $2,200 contribution required of each participant seemed too daunting.

“I don’t know people with deep pockets, and I worried that I wouldn’t raise the required donation,” she said.

But when her sister Mary suggested the three sisters form Team Skeen and shared with Susan and Kitty how she raised the money five years ago for the 3-day walk staged in Chicago, Susan decided to stretch her fundraising skills along with her legs.

Since that day in early April, Susan has walked more than 150 miles, listened to three books on tapes, raised $1,930 from 35 donors, and gotten in touch with a side of herself that is deeply moved by the cause.

Susan G. Komen lost her battle to breast cancer more than 30 years ago. Her sister, Nancy G. Brinker, promised to do everything she could to spare other women the pain of the disease. Brinker kept her promise and launched the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

During its 25-year history the Komen Foundation has invested $1 billion to fulfill its promise to end breast cancer. The Foundation receives 85% of net proceeds of the Breast Cancer 3-Day events around the country, and since 2003 alone more than $300 million has been raised to discover and deliver cures for the disease. During the next 10 years the Foundation plans to invest an additional $2 billion.

As Susan Hall closes in on the final $270 to reach her $2,200 fundraising goal, she’s surprised, empowered and humbled by the response.

“This disease has affected so many lives that I decided to be bold and ask everyone I knew for a $25 minimum donation,” she said. “I am surprised at who gave and humbled by how much they gave. They believe in the cause and they believe in me. It’s so affirming.”

Susan says her donors will be with her every step of the way in September.  “I decided to make pink ribbons with the names of donors on each, and I’ll pin those ribbons on my Team Skeen hat,” she said. “I like the concept of bringing them with me.”

During the six months the Skeen sisters have been training for the 3-day event, they’ve motivated each other via emails and phone calls.

“When schedules allow it, we call on our cell phones and talk the whole time we’re walking,” Susan said. “My husband was incredulous, asking what we could possibly talk about for two hours.”

Susan laughs, shrugs, and says she and whichever sister is on the line that day cover “the full range of women talk” — anything and everything, including their upcoming family reunion where the Team Skeen will unite for a few brief days and walk in the Colorado mountains.

The mother of two and grandmother of three, Susan says she loves having a goal with structure and appreciates the training schedule, tips and motivation that arrive weekly in her email box.

“This is a highly organized effort and very motivating,” she said. “We’re encouraged to keep a training log and to follow the weekly training schedule provided by the Foundation. I haven’t walked as many miles in a week as they recommend, but I’m not discouraged. During the 3-Day there are rest stops every three miles where I can stretch, grab something to eat and get support. I have all day to walk the 20 miles.”

And she has no doubt that she will attain that goal while being inspired by the courage of survivors, the commitment of other walkers, and the power of a grassroots effort to raise money and increase awareness in the fight against breast cancer.

Those who want to support Susan Hall and help her attain (or even exceed) her fundraising goal are encouraged to send a donation payable to Breast Cancer 3-Day, and mail it Susan Hall at 28235 S. Maple Hill Road, Washburn, WI  54891 or contribute online here. All donations are tax deductible and the foundation will mail receipts to all donors directly.

 

From left, Sisters Mary Yott of Gages Lake, Ill., Susan Hall of Washburn, Wis., and Kitty Evans of Parker, Colo., will meet in the Twin Cities from September 19-21 and join thousands of others to raise funds and awareness during the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer3-Day.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life 
by Barbara Kingsolver, Camille Kingsolver, Steven L. Hopp 

Imagine eating only locally grown foods for one year. That's what Barbara Kingsolver, her husband and two daughters did when they moved from their home in Tuscon to a family farm in Virginia. To adopt the "locavore" lifestyle, they immersed themselves in growing and raising their own food and supporting local farmers. The book not only increases awareness of the oil consumption related to transporting foodstuffs around the world, it details the healthful journey from processed foods to locally-grown/produced fruits, vegetables, eggs, cheese, poultry and pork. The book illustrates the importance of supporting local farmers and provides inspiration to grow your own, to seek out farmers' markets and to learn to cook and enjoy seasonal foods. Find out more, including the recipes featured in the book, at www.animalvegetablemiracle.com

The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook
Whole Foods Recipes for Personal and Planetary Health
by Alissa Segersten and Thom Malterre

Yum, yum! The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook provides readers and food lovers with an in-depth look at foods found in their whole form along with ways to prepare them to promote optimal health, prevent disease, and energize your body. There are more than 200 delicious recipes along with usable information on food sensitivities; a complete guide to stocking your whole foods pantry; allergy-free recipes including ways to adapt recipes with gluten, dairy or eggs; scrumptious vegetarian recipes along with delicious fish, poultry and meat recipes; quick, nutritious snack ideas and desserts; a proven 28-day elimination and detoxification diet; and simple ways to reduce global warming with your diet. Find out more at www.WholeLifeNutrition.net

Eat, Drink & Weigh Less
A Flexible & Delicious Way to Shrink
Your Waist Without Going Hungry
by Mollie Katzen & Walter Willett, M.D.

The head of the Dept. of Nutrition at Harvard and the author of the Mooseswood Cookbook have teamed up to create this new program which ties right into Walk the Talk Today! They show you how to shrink your waist and keep pounds off while still eating delicious food. No fad diet here. This book paves the way for lifelong weight management and good health. It's based on 9 principles that are easy to incorporate into your life — eat lots of vegetables and fruits; say yes to good fats; upgrade your carbohydrates, choose healthy proteins; stay hydrated; drink alcohol in moderation; take a multivitamin every day; move more; eat mindfully all day long — and it provides 21 days of delicious recipes to get you started. Find out more at www.eatdrinkandweighless.com/mollie.htm

David Rekemeyer Adopts the Fitness Habit

by Laurence Wiland

May 2008 — “Fitness has always been a focus of mine, but I never considered myself particularly athletic, and had never belonged to a health club before,” said the 40-year-old Ashland area resident.

Early this year, David heard about a regional initiative called Walk the Talk Today! and decided to give it a try. The 90-day program challenged participants to embrace healthy and ecological living through three steps: regular exercise; eliminating the use of plastic shopping bags; and eliminating the use of plastic water bottles, styrofoam coffee cups, and other disposable beverage containers.

David was reasonably fit and active, and felt the goals of the Walk the Talk Today! program fit well with his own lifestyle and health habits. After completing the program, however, he learned that as a participant, his name had been included in a prize drawing, and he was chosen as one of the winners. His prize: a year-long membership to Ashland’s Chequamegon Health and Fitness Center, starting January 2008.

Prior to joining the health center, his regular fitness routine included yoga, a little running, and occasional commuting to work by bicycle in the summer.

“The goal of my own fitness program doesn’t have to do with performance or even weight,” he said. “I’d say my goal is to maintain as high a degree of health as is possible for my body.”

In his visits to the Chequamegon Health and Fitness Center, David added to his routine some work on the weight-resistance machines, and time on an exercise bicycle during the winter months and inclement weather. It wasn’t long before he noticed some changes. He lost 19 pounds and is now down to his college-age weight..

“I thought I had maintained a particular level of fitness, but the fact is that as I’ve gotten older I’ve gained a couple pounds per year—not much and not noticeable in any given year—but it added up,” he said.

Perhaps more important, however, is that the strengthening exercises he practices have helped stabilize his torso and lower back.

“Part of my health story is that when I was 21 years old, I took a 30-foot fall and broke my leg,” he said. “That injury initiated some degenerative disease in my back. As I’ve aged I’ve found that certain movements combined with compression really cause a lot of problems.”

About five years ago, he started having muscle spasticity  that locked up his lower back.

“It took about a week to recover from these episodes to the point where I could stand up without pain,” he said. “I would have about two or three of these episodes per year. When they happened, I’d just lay on the floor and eat Vicodin.

“I’ve found that the added strength and keeping my weight lower really has helped manage my back pain. I haven’t had a debilitating episode of muscle spasm in a year now.”

David’s commitment to health and fitness goes beyond his own personal habits; in his work as a certified massage therapist, he regularly sees the effects that fitness, and lack of fitness, has on the human body.

“Ironically, I find that most of what I do is help people deal with and manage back pain,” he said. “In my years of practice, I’ve noticed a fairly direct correlation between advancing age and the importance of exercise and health practices you need to maintain fitness. But I also see a link between advancing age and decreased motivation to make these healthy choices.

“The key to lifelong health is making healthy practices a lifestyle,” he said. “If it’s routine, you don’t need to think too much about it; you just do it.”

Photo by Laurence Wiland.