Alia the Savvy Writer

Author: Alia, the savvy writer.

  • 10 Fun Ways to Stay Healthy and Fit in Chicago this Summer

    Photo by Eric Esma on Pexels.com

    One of the great things about Chicago is that it has a strong commitment to the overall health of its residents. Repeatedly ranking in the top 20 healthiest cities in the US according to The American College of Sports Medicine. With over 3,000 gyms, walkability, and a thriving economy, the city has many options for locals who are concerned about their health and fitness; during the summer months, many of these are either low-cost or free. 

    Whether your concern is physical fitness, social connectivity,  spiritual well-being, or all of the above, Chicago has something for you. In fact, the city has so many good options, I had to leave a few off this list. Read on to learn some great ways to start or stay healthy and fit while having fun in Chicago this summer.

    1) Walk, jog, or hike over 4,000 miles of trails throughout the city

    Chicago has a long history as an industrial, blue-collar metropolis famous for the first skyscraper, architecture, art, and museums. But it’s not all man-made industry in The City by the Lake. Over 4,000 miles of trails thread the Chicago area, running through parks, natural areas, preserves, and, of course, flowing along the shores and beaches of Lake Michigan.

    Visitors and residents alike can hit these trails to get fresh air, sunshine, take in the city, and get their heart pumping with a jog or brisk walk to help maintain their health and overall fitness.

    Photo by Airam Dato-on on Pexels.com

    2) Go for a swim in Lake Michigan

    With 26 free public beaches throughout the city, taking a dip in Lake Michigan during the summer is a great way to cool off and get in a good workout. Swimming season runs from the Friday before Memorial Day through Labor Day, with lifeguards on duty from 11 am to 7 pm.

    3) Take advantage of the Chicago Park District’s Fitness Centers and Free Summer Workouts Series

    Chicago offers many beautiful, well-maintained public parks with fun for the whole family. Many of these have competitively priced fitness centers and are located in your neighborhood. Chicago Park District fitness centers offer fully modern equipment, including computerized treadmills, upright and recumbent bikes, free weights and benches, and multi-station weight machines.

    In addition to the fitness centers, the city also offers a bevy of free and low-cost workout classes led by certified and trained instructors. Workouts include yoga, aerobics, pilates, dance, and much more, with Millennium Park in downtown Chicago offering the most extensive program. You may want to skip the free Mimosas at Double Dutch Plaza, though, since they’re loaded with calories and stall your metabolism.

    Photo by Chait Goli on Pexels.com

    4) Join a cycling, running, walking, or swimming club.

    People are more concerned with their health today than ever before, and studies show that we’re more likely to maintain a new habit when we have an accountability buddy or group. What better way to do that than to join a club? 

    Joining a club helps us stay accountable, consistent, and it can be a great way to make new friends or even meet someone special. And since social connectivity plays a major factor in health and longevity, this can be a great way to boost both your physical health and your overall sense of well-being. Find a cycling, running or walking, or swimming club today.

    5) Take a walking tour

    Not only is a walking tour a great way to learn about the city, but it’s a good way to get out and get some fresh air and exercise. Many are free and they cover a wide variety of topics from architecture to black history, to ghosts and infamous gangsters. 

    6) Eat at Healthy Restaurants

    After all that activity, you’re probably hungry. Eating out can be dicey if you’re trying to focus on health or lose weight. Restaurants are more concerned with providing a satisfying experience that will bring you back time and again, rather than looking after our health. This is fine, our health is our responsibility, and it would be impossible to create a cohesive restaurant menu that caters to every individual’s unique health needs. 

    However, that hasn’t stopped some chefs and restaurants from focusing on creating menus that are both delicious and health-conscious. 

    The Chicago Athletic Club has rounded up a list of restaurants that offer healthy foods and varied dining experiences, from fast casual restaurants like True Food Kitchen to an elegant fine dining experience at 3 Arts Club Cafe. 

    In addition to these fantastic local options, you can also visit chains like Sweetgreen, Protein Bar, or Roti Mediterranean. All three offer calorie, protein, carb, and fiber counts on their menus and plenty of vegetables to help ensure a balanced meal. 

    Photo by Katerina Holmes on Pexels.com

    7) Take a cooking class.

    It’s no secret that even the finest of restaurants value providing a memorable experience over a healthy one, and who can blame them? Part of their business model is to make you happy, get you to come back and speak well of them.

    To help create a memorable experience, chefs use copious amounts of fats, salts, and sugars not just for taste but for appearance, texture, and mouthfeel, and frankly, we wouldn’t want it any other way.

    This food is fine as an occasional treat. Still, if you don’t know how to cook and eat out for most of your meals, you’re putting your health in the hands of strangers who are not equipped to take care of you in that way and never agreed to in the first place. That’s why if you’re serious about your health, you want to learn how to cook.

    There are tons of online resources for this, and you learn a lot for free, something I am a massive fan of, but if you want hands-on experience and direct guidance, you can take a class. Couples’ classes, restaurant classes, and even private chefs offering classes in the home are available for a wide array of prices for single and multiple lessons.

    8) Take a nutrition class.

    Since most of us cook differently at home than the way chefs cook in restaurants, simply learning to cook for yourself will level up your health. But you can take that a step further with a nutrition class and learn why you only cook vegetables for a few minutes or how to combine ingredients to create complete proteins out of vegetarian foods. 

    In addition to the Illinois Nutrition Summit in the medical district, you can find a number of classes around the city that focus on diabetes, vegetarianism, or heart health, just to name a few. 

    Photo by MART PRODUCTION on Pexels.com

    9) Plan a day out with family and friends at one of the city’s beautiful parks or natural areas. 

    With over 90 designated natural areas and 600 parks, Chicago offers an invaluable resource for residents to pursue fitness, relaxation, and time in nature. Health and fitness aren’t just about exercising and how we eat; it’s also about social connection and well-being. Studies show that getting out in nature can help soothe the sympathetic nervous system, allowing us to manage stress better and improve our mental health.

    Bringing family or friends along can elevate those benefits further. According to the Harvard School of Public Health, loneliness and isolation may increase the risk of premature death by as much as 26%. Being socially disconnected can also increase the risk of illness, including heart disease, stroke, anxiety, depression, and dementia. Maintain your family and social connections by spending the day with them in these beautiful, free public spaces.  

    10) Pray, meditate, or worship at one of over 9,000 religious centers, churches, or temples. 

    Chicago is a diverse city home to people of many faith backgrounds. While Christianity predominates, a significant number of people are Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, or even Baha’i, along with a number of smaller faiths and spiritual practices.

    Some studies show that religion or spirituality can help one live longer. This is excellent news for Chicagoans who practice one of the many religions around the world. With over 9,000 different religious centers scattered throughout the city, you can find a place for community, fellowship, and spirituality in every corner of Chicago. 

    Religion is not fun in the traditional sense but can provide social connections and opportunities for fun, fellowship, and charity. All of which can improve our sense of well-being and overall health.

    As a local I love being able to take advantage of all that Chicago has to offer in terms of health. What are your favorite fun ways to stay healthy and fit in The City by the Lake?

  • When Trying to Lose Weight, Gather the Low Hanging Fruit First

    Image by Anna Tarazevich on pexel

    If I felt this badly at forty-five years of age how would I feel at fifty, sixty and beyond?

    In 2019 I was seventy pounds overweight and clinically obese. My knees hurt, I was tired all the time, I struggled to climb stairs and I was genuinely fearful for my future. If I felt this badly at forty-five years of age how would I feel at fifty, sixty and beyond?

    Growing up I had always been thin or just a normal weight. In my late teens and early twenties I would gain a few pounds over a holiday and lose them easily. It wasn’t until my late thirties and early forties that I began to struggle with my weight. Instead of being smart about it, I tried a couple of fad diets that let me lose twenty or so pounds before reverting to the bad habits I had picked up in adulthood and regained that same twenty pounds.

    Photo by Haseeb Jamil on Unsplash

    By 2019 I had a thrice weekly Doordash habit, drank Rockstar like it was going out of style and an Uber habit to the tune of about $50 a week.

    By 2019 I had a thrice weekly Doordash habit, was drinking Rockstar like it was going out of style and an Uber habit to the tune of about $50 a week. Combine all that with a sedentary job and I was gaining dangerously. I decided to lose some weight, but was very uncertain how to go about it. Especially since I’d read numerous articles at that time claiming that weight loss was impossible.

    My solution, gather the low hanging fruit first.

    Gather the low hanging fruit first refers to a task that is easy to accomplish. If you think of orchard trees in the fall, they are heavy with fruit, and the limbs closest to the ground hang low.

    To gather all the fruit, you’ll need a ladder and scissors; you’ll be climbing up and down, moving this heavy ladder all around. It’s hard work. But if you chose to simplify the task and focus only on the low hanging fruit it gets a lot easier. You just walk right up and take whatever is in reach.

    Eventually, you’ll have to get that ladder out and climb up and down, but long before you have to do that, you’ll have gathered plenty of ripe, delicious fruit. Maybe even sold a bit at the farmer’s market.

    This philosophy of completing the easy part first can be applied to any difficult and lengthy task.

    This philosophy of completing the easy part first can be applied to any difficult and lengthy task, and it was an important part of how I went about approaching my weight loss journey back in 2019.

    This was my low hanging fruit:

    • Balance my diet
    • Increase my daily activity
    Photo by Nathan Cowly on Pexel

    First I had to lock in on the kitchen:

    • Restaurant meals were limited to no more than one per week
    • To get a balanced diet I went back to the four basic food groups
    • Started making a grocery list before shopping
    • Got into the habit of keeping healthier snack options on hand like low fat Greek yogurt, kefir and fresh fruit

    I also had to move more:

    • Uber and Lyft were out, the only exception being inclement weather or if I were running late for work
    • I would walk to and from bus stops or train stations
    • Walk to and from work
    • Get a minimum of 5k steps per day

    My mother always said simplicity was the sign of a master and I chose to heed that advice when starting my weight loss journey. No complicated diet plan, no gym membership or intense workout routine.

    I knew I wouldn’t stick to an intense workout routine starting out and honestly I couldn’t pay for a complicated diet plan if I wanted to. But my mother had raised me to eat healthy and be more active and I had gotten away from that in adulthood. It was time for me to get back to what she taught me. Balanced meals basically included a meat or protein, a whole grain, and a veggie. Snacks were typically fruit or dairy, sometimes both. Grapes and cheese, anyone?

    Photo by Daniel Reche on pexel

    In school we’d also learned the four basic food groups, meat, grains, fruits and veggies, and dairy. The recommendations were to eat from each of them daily: three servings of meat per day, five servings of fruits and or veggies, four servings of grain and three servings of dairy, if I remember correctly. Keep in mind I’m no expert but early on organizing my diet around these guidelines made it easy.

    I also understood the importance of creating healthy habits that I would be able to maintain throughout my life.

    Starting out I chose not to focus on weight loss. I wanted to lose weight, I came up in the 90s, so you can bet on that. But having tried and ultimately failed with fad diets I also understood the importance of creating healthy habits that I would be able to maintain throughout my life. So the first goal was to improve my overall health, stop gaining and just start living a healthy lifestyle. Once I had achieved that I would consider more involved or complex exercise goals along with a more finely tuned diet.

    photo of a balanced plate by Pixabay on pexel

    And it worked, I lost thirty pounds. Without counting a single calorie, worrying about the scale or doing a single workout I went from obese to simply overweight. My knees began to hurt less, my energy and overall sense of well-being improved, and I started to feel hopeful about the future rather than scared. I also grew my savings since I was no longer spending money on overpriced restaurant food and delivery fees.

    Your low hanging fruit could be different from mine. Maybe it will be drinking less. Maybe it will be tackling sugar, caffeine addiction or fast food addiction. Maybe it will be getting your family to give you more support so you can start putting some of your energy into your health. Maybe it will be getting eight hours of sleep per night. Don’t live in a walk-able city? Move to one. Perhaps if you can’t move to a walk-able city you’ll move some place near hiking trails or maybe you’ll just buy a walking pad.

    Whatever the case, if you are concerned about your health or your weight, gather the low hanging fruit of a healthy lifestyle and lay a foundation that will sustain good health for a lifetime.

    Thanks for reading, I hope this article inspired you. If it did share some ways that you can improve your health and overall fitness today in the comments.

  • Photos May 6th 2025

    I took a short walk to get some coffee and steps in this morning before sitting down to write. It’s absolutely gorgeous outside today: sunny and warm after being overcast and cold for a week. I wasn’t planning on taking any pictures, but I couldn’t help myself.

    I’m not sure what kind of flowers these are. They look a bit like hyacinths, but as far as I know, hyacinths don’t grow on a tree or shrub, do they? Whatever they were, they smelled absolutely divine. If I were a bee I wouldn’t be able to resist visiting these little clusters and having a nap in the sun. 😀

    Then I came around the corner and was struck by these still bare white trees against the backdrop of blue, white, and green. So I had to take a few photos of them as well.

    Just a few snaps. Hope you enjoy them. Let me know which one is your favorite in the comments and feel free to share a link to your spring photos.

  • Fun Sculptures in Millennium Park

    I went downtown last week for the tulip show and found these fun, cute sculptures by Franz West. I really liked the way they sort of towered over the landscape without being imposing. It was a cooler day, but there were still a couple of children playing on them which was cute and encouraged. Chicago has a history of public art that’s meant to be interacted with in that way.

    Colorful pink sculpture by Franz West in Millennium Park, Chicago, inviting interaction from visitors.

    The sculptures are bright and whimsical and I like the way they stood out against the manicured flower beds, the newly budding trees, and dull the concrete of the walkways and benches.

    Whimsical sculpture by Franz West in Millennium park

    It was just these two pieces, but I’m glad I got to discover a new artist. I haven’t gone through the tulip pictures yet, but I will be posting them soon.

    Let me know what you think about these sculptures and if you’ve been to Chicago in the comments. Thanks for reading.

  • Even in Chicago Spring’s Second Wave Seduces: The Magnolia

    Chicago Spring’s Second Seductive Wave: The Magnolia

    Magnolias photographed by me

    As the first heralds of spring fade Mother Nature’s second seductive wave begins to bloom.

    There is something dreamy about the way flowers begin to bloom over the early cold days of spring. Even as winter chills us in its icy grip, hope begins to bud in bright yellow daffodils, rich gem-toned crocuses, and the glorious blossoms of the magnolia tree.

    Walking through the city in a garden I find the seductive powers of the flowers I see irresistible. Their blossoms invite me to slow down and take in their beauty. To receive it and contemplate their existence in this strange, cruel world as I contemplate my own.

    The early heralds of spring are already beginning to fade, the crocus blossoms lay withered and beaten, the daffodils are shedding their pale yellow petals, but a second wave of nature’s transcendent beauty has already begun its own seductive cycle.

    magnolias photographed by me

    The magnolia trees found all over the city have finally begun to bloom. Their sweet perfume, ethereal and delicious, wafts down from pink-tinged white blooms the size of your palm.

    It’s a sweetness that can carry your mind away from our mundane world to a place full of romance, wonder, and joy.

    I see many like myself taking a few moments out of their day to let their spirits travel on the wings of this perfume to some other, better place. A place that will embed itself in our spirits if we only let it. A beauty that comes back with us that is renewed every spring, a promise of hope and new beginnings. A chance to get it right.

    A place that we capture and preserve with hastily snapped photos or by plucking one of these gentle blooms so that it may grace their homes with that promise and beauty. But there is no need for that; it comes back to us every spring, all on its own.

    photography by me

    The iconic white-to-pink blossoms are the most common and well-known of these enchanting flowers. Typically, six white petals the length of a finger unfurl from a pink bud and surround a center that is often either a soft ballet or deep, rich fuchsia pink. However, magnolia blooms can also be a warm buttery, yellow, lavender, or red. Some varieties do produce solid-colored petals as well.

    These beautiful flowers are said to represent nobility, purity, and the divine feminine. They are also associated with grace and strength, thanks in part to the award-winning film Steel Magnolias. It is also because of their lengthy existence on this planet that we associate them with strength.

    The magnolia blossom predates the bee, having evolved into existence approximately 100 million years ago. It is the lesser-known pollinator, the humble beetle, that spreads their pollen. The magnolia embodies a real-world hardiness that is impressive for something so delicate and ethereal in its appearance.

    The seductive power of spring and these flowers isn’t just found in their otherworldly beauty and sweetness or their endurance through the ages, but in the seemingly effortless way, they embody both. When I look at these flowers, I don’t just admire their beauty. I think about how they weather the cold, thrive, and survive the nightly chill that still embraces the city. How they bloom rain or shine. I think about this and try to understand what it means to endure for 100 million years.

    I think about these things and see them not only as an ethereal escape from the mundane but as a reminder to persevere, endure, and thrive. I think we can all seek to emulate not just the beauty but the strength of these flowers.

    So the next time you have to run an errand, maybe don’t drive or use the bus. Walk and look for the magnolia with its wide branching arms; look for the flowers and the way they rain tender petals down to the earth. Take in their beauty, let their perfume carry you away, let it seep into your soul and renew you. But also remember their strength and let it bring steel to your spine so that you are both comforted and stronger in difficult times.

    Do you love spring as much as I do? What’s your favorite flower or your favorite thing about Chicago? Leave a comment and let me know.

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