Great stores
Naturally Yours Grocery open 9Am-9pm, The common ground grocery 9am-6pm,Farmers markets in uptown Normal and downtown Bloomington Starts May 02,2015. Bloomington Has more than Normal Because it has been around longer. Also at both these local farmers markets you can apply for “CSA” which stand for Community Supported Agriculture. This is were residents can purchase from a regional farmer. The cost is around fifth teen dollars a week. Look for the sign with “CSA” on and ask the farmer if they still have room on their list. Pick up may be at the farmers market every weekend.
Local Advice
The Pantagraph helps a lot with stay on your nutrition life style. Nutritional blogs from Jenna Smith and Matthew Mead help me stay on track. If needed help from a Registered Dietitian you can meet with Kim Mclintie,MS,RD,LDN practicing dietitian since 1988-Kim serves at OSF help with all your nutritional needs you need to stay in that healthy lifestyle. They also have an Exercise Physiologist named Matt Hanks,MS,NSCA-CPT works one-on-one with client or can do partner workout sessions. There is a brochure that is pass out at all OSF facilities that can you prices on workout class to membership to cooking class. Also group class like yoga to nutrition classes to CPR/AED classes.
Kim Mclintie 
Matt Hanks
Summer 2015
Benefits of cooking
There are tons of benefits for getting the best nutrition out of cooking your food instead of buying. You can control how your food is cooked and you can control what is put on it. Nutrition isn't something that you would call a diet. It is definitely a lifestyle that you choose to live. With all that Bloomington and Normal have to offer it isn't hard to live that lifestyle. You can buy healthy food from anywhere, but if you need lets say organic or gluten free i would go the Naturally Yours Grocery store. Now if you are having a hard time with cooking healthy or portion sizes you can always go to Center for Healthy Lifestyle http://www.osfstjoseph.org/services/CHL/staff.html or go to http://www.choosemyplate.gov/ . I found this site very helpful when want to change you lifestyle. It will give you your BMI and can help with portion control. Sometimes its better to read up on nutrition and kind get a basic idea of what it's all about before you see a dietitian. You can start of with something as using the one place serving. where you fill you plate once and that all you. Don't go back for seconds. Choose my plate has a ton of recipes that can help in so many different ways from a healthy snack to a filling dinner. This site is free and has a lot to offer. This site will also be upgraded for 2015. With all the restaurants that Bloomington Normal has to offer it may be hard to stick on a nutritious lifestyle. There are many great restaurants off the main Veterans Parkway. The coffee shop located in Normal has a lot to offer their food is so nutritious and they have both vegan and vegetarian meals on the menu. The place is always a calm and laid back place. The Garlic press also located in Normal has cooking classes you can take by yourself of with friends and family. These classes are hands on. Learning from these classes is great way to start cooking a nutritious lifestyle. It is also another great restaurant, they do bridal registry and have newsletters very month. 
Vitamins and supplements
If in need to add the nutrition vitamins and supplements may help get that in your diet. There is the Vitamin Shoppe, Complete Nutrition, Vitamin World, GNC. All of these can help with great nutrition to add to your diet. They help with find the right vitamin or supplements. You can also go to the Smoothie King for an added protein drink in your day. Their smoothies are filling and help get you the vitamin and supplement in with a convince of drinking in in a cold refreshing smoothie. They have vegan smoothies sixty seven smoothies to choose from. Smoothies for kids are also available. They have four locations in Bloomington Normal.
Aid To Get Started
If aid is something needed you can always go to the WIC office downtown Bloomington to help with needing help financially to get the right food. Also they have awesome programs that where a class has a dietitian that can help you with the right meal choices and portions. They give out a link card that has money on it like a debit card that you can use at the store. They also still give out food stamps for babies. Those are use for baby food and formula to start a great nutrition for growing families. You do have to apply to see if you meet the qualifying range for help. It goes by your income. Students and young adults can apply too but that is call SNAP. It is for a single person not a family.
Gyms
There are numerous gyms in Bloomington Normal that can help keep you fit and also help you try a nutritious diet that will help you reach your goals. These local gyms offer help from ages of fourteen with a guardian or parent to seniors citizens. Class are by age groups if that helps too. Most offer sessions with a coach or a trainer. Some have dietitians available. Not sure which one will help with weight lost consults. Some times it the trainers or the dietitians, some times both so they can work together to get you to your goal faster. They will do your height and Weight and also you BMI. The trainers usually give out a training program to follow for six weeks then you can reevaluate your goals and progress. Some gyms have a smoothie bar in them so you don’t have to make a extra stop on your way in or out. Some are operational twenty four hours with a key added to your membership foe free. These gyms don’t often everything twenty four hours.
Trails
There are outside trails like the constitutional trail that goes through Bloomington and Normal. Ewing trails is a dirt trail it is a small trail. Parks have many trails. White oak park has a trail that is a mile long around. Clearwater park has a trail that is a third of a mile with the playground in the middle of the trail.
