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Transactions filed in the McHenry County Recorder’s Office Sept. 15 to 22..

■ Vacant land, approximately 2 acres, on Castle Road, Woodstock, was sold by The Gerald J. Rizza Living Trust, West Dundee, to Mastwaar Real Estate LLC - Mastwar-1D, Gilberts, for $90,000. ■ Residence at 822 Bunker St., Woodstock, was sold by Jeffrey A. Hays, Woodstock, to Ronald Madoch, Woodstock, for $127,000. ■ Residence at 2438 Fairview Circle, Woodstock, was sold by D.R. Horton, Inc. - Midwest, Vernon Hills, to Brandon Michael Cook, Woodstock, for $295,000. ■ Residence at 770 Regina Court, Woodstock, was sold by The Estate of Michael James Rowell, Woodstock, to William and Jacqueline Sherman, McHenry, for $122,000. ■ Residence at 8514 Concord Drive, Woodstock, was sold by Richard T. Paul, Huntley, to The Michael S. Brown Revocable Trust, Bull Valley, for $295,000. ■ Residence at 1235 Pond Point Road, Woodstock, was sold by The Luisi Living Trust, Woodstock, to Jonathan Mendoza, Woodstock, for $125,000. ■ Commercial building at 10310 Country Club Road, Woodstock, was sold by Woodstock Country Club, Inc., Bull Valley, to Woodstock Country Club of Bull Valley LLC, Bull Valley, for $300,000. ■ Residence at 1782 Roger Road, Woodstock, was sold by Brent J. Baseggio, Crystal Lake, to Eloy Bernal Tapia, Woodstock, for $239,000. ■ Residence at 10407 Saddlebred Trail, Woodstock, was sold by The Kathleen M. Jensen Revocable Living Trust, Woodstock, to Joe Michael Bottalla, Woodstock, for $412,340. See REAL ESTATE, page 12

INDEPENDENT PHOTO BY KEN FARVER

Be patient, go slowly

By Susan W. Murray NEWS@THEWOODSTOCKINDEPENDENT.COM

Spending time with Woodstock resident Irene Kok can leave one feeling a bit breathless. The wife, mother of four, life coach, fitness trainer, and nutritional therapist runs her own online wellness programs for 400 clients, helping them set “realistic, sustainable” goals to take weight off and keep it off. She hosts “Getufit with Irene,” a weekly radio show on Huntley Community Radio, WHRU-LP 101.5, and has written “The Girlfriends’ Guide to Weight Loss,” published in 2019. In pre-COVID days, Kok was a health and wellness consultant to the Huntley Fire Department.

Her Getufit and Getugreat programs incorporate education, advice, stories, workouts, and meal planning to transform clients’ attitudes and behavior regarding food and exercise as a pathway to improved overall health.

“It will go slowly,” she warns them.

“People are not patient; they want weight loss fast,” said Kok, who blames the media for fostering unrealistic expectations by touting quick-fix diets.

Frustration can set in because “everybody loses differently,” Kok said. Some lose weight and reach a stubborn plateau; others are discouraged when they see their weight fluctuate from day-to-day.

Kok encourages her clients to keep their food and exercise plans realistic so they can be sustained over the long term.

“Some people need their wine,” she said.

Kok did not set out to be a fitness professional. But when the secondgrade teacher gained 40 pounds while working on her master’s degree in curriculum and instruction, she knew something had to change.

“[The weight gain] geared me to pay attention to my own health,” Kok said.

Over the past two decades, Kok has earned certifications as a personal trainer, group fitness instructor, nutritionist, and life coach.

“Everyone knows how to lose weight,” Kok said. “No one knows how to keep it off.”

Kok, who retires at 9 p.m., rises at 3 a.m., ready to help her Getufit and Getugreat clients in a dozen states and even Europe.

Most clients live in the Midwest, but because “the entire thing has spread through word-of-mouth,” Kok See NUTRITION, page 12

Third-quarter real estate sales in Woodstock and McHenry County soared 42 percent compared to the previous year, Keefe Real Estate reported in a news release.

COVID-19 migration patterns affected by the pandemic apparently led to the boom, Tom Keefe, company president and CEO, said in the release.

“Historically, the only comparison we can find to the outward migration of Chicagoans was the Chicago fire of 1871,” he said. “The confluence of disruption caused by COVID-19 and social unrest, along with new workfrom-home technology, has set the stage for a migration out of cities and into suburbs and more rural markets. … Smaller communities like Woodstock, and other parts of McHenry County, find themselves as a refuge from the difficulties of city life.”

In Woodstock, sales volume was up 42 percent to $31.4 million, and transactions were up 35 percent to 152 in REAL ESTATE

Continued from Page 11

■ Residence at 425 W. Todd Ave., Woodstock, was sold by Christopher Seegers, Woodstock, to Andrew Robert Metcalf, Woodstock, for $172,500. ■ Residence at 3760 Twin Oaks Drive, Wonder Lake, was sold by James J. Konieczski, McHenry, to Jeffrey Borta and Dana Borta, Wonder Lake, for $285,000. ■ Residence at 2432 Waterleaf Lane, Woodstock, was sold by Brandon M. Cook, Woodstock, to John Kois, Woodstock, for $220,000. ■ Residence at 9210 W. Wonder Lake Road, Woodstock, was sold by Todd Bates, McHenry, to Bradley Baird, Woodstock, for $378,000. ■ Residence at 327 Lincoln Ave., Woodstock, was sold by Inter County Judicial Sales Corp., Chicago, to Rick Miller, Harvard, for $81,901. ■ Residence at 327 Lincoln Ave., Woodstock, was sold by Richard Miller, Harvard, to Hometown Ltd., Woodstock, for $95,000. ■ Residence at 2570 Verdi St., Woodstock, was sold by Maples At The Sonatas LLC, New Lenox, to Walter E. Marquardt Jr. and Danelle L. Marquardt, Woodstock, for $246,999. ■ Residence at 745 Anne St., Woodstock, was sold by John S. Sutherland, Marengo, to Richard M. Hall, Woodstock, for $267,000. the quarter while the median sales price was up 4.5 percent to $198,450 year over year, although down a bit from the second quarter.

In McHenry County, total sales volume was up 47 percent to $567 million, while total sales rose 30 percent to 2,200 with a median sales price up 13 percent to $247,000.

City Square Dental reported providing more than $8,500 in free dental care to military veterans during its second annual salute to veterans

According to a news release, the dental practice of Dr. Whitney Behm saw patients who reported they hade been in pain for years and had difficulty eating

“It was truly an honor to provide veterans with much-needed dental care,” Behm said. “Each one was so grateful. We look forward to hosting

our third annual event next year.” ■ Residence at 1820 Sebastian Drive, Woodstock, was sold by Rony A. Lopez, Woodstock, to Robert J. Glascott, Wonder Lake, for $225,000. ■ Residence at 922 Victoria Drive, Woodstock, was sold by Michael Schmidt, Wilmot, Wis., to Charles F. Bremer, Woodstock, for $147,000. ■ Residence at 1770 Rolling Hills Drive, Woodstock, was sold by The Kent R. Seaver and Kristin A. Seaver Declaration of Trust, Woodstock, to Mark A. Rainey Jr., Woodstock, for $355,000. ■ Residence at 604 McHenry Ave., Woodstock, was sold by Marc Christensen, Yorkville, to Hayley C. Marola, Woodstock, for $168,000. ■ Residence at 2010 Greenview Drive, Woodstock, was sold by D.R. Horton, Inc. - Midwest, Vernon Hills, to Vito Angelo Chieco, Woodstock, for $310,000. ■ Residence at 331 Martin Drive, Woodstock, was sold by Joseph A. Johnson, Crystal Lake, to Alexander Paul Pflanz, Woodstock, for $254,000. ■ Residence at 4129 W. Lake Shore Drive, Wonder Lake, was sold by Maureen Sweeney, McHenry, to Aimee Rose Collins, Wonder Lake, for $145,000. ■ Residence at 2256 Preswick Lane, Woodstock, was sold by D. R. Horton, Inc., - Midwest, Vernon Hills, to Jay Paul Werner, Woodstock, for $279,990. ■ Residence at 220 E. South St., Woodstock, was sold by Sara K. Nicole L. King, Elgin, to Renee Gallo, Woodstock, for $272,500.

INDEPENDENT PHOTO BY KEN FARVER

NUTRITION

said, she has a cluster of followers in Pennsylvania.

From her home office, she does a check-in with each one, whom she requires to weigh-in daily and keep a food log. From her kitchen, she creates and posts videos on the group’s private Facebook page that guide clients through making healthful recipes. And from her basement workout space, Kok films weekly workout videos, utilizing eight formats: yoga, spin, core, cardio, treadmill, drumsticks, interval training, and weights.

Sharing recipes is particularly important to Kok, whose clients often tell her they don’t have time for meal preparation.

In response, she began creating short videos while preparing dinner. She might throw chicken, beans, tomatoes, and onions into her Instant Pot and instruct those watching to serve the result with rice or potatoes.

“Until they see me do it, it’s not concrete enough,” Kok said.

She thinks of her clients as students, each with individual needs, goals, and expectations of Kok as an instructor.

“What I’m doing right now is the same as teaching,” Kok said.

Kok said that she had seen a progression in her clients’ goals from people in their 30s who want a beach body; women in their 40s who want to lose pregnancy weight; those in their 50s who are worried about their cholesterol levels; and people in their 60s who have seen their friends develop serious illnesses or might have had their own health scare.

People have come to an understanding that physical wellness is more important than accomplishments or possessions, Kok said. Even so, some need that message reinforced.

“They want me to say: ‘You’re walking on thin ice, and I’m here to help you,’” Kok said.

Some of her clients have succeeded in losing more than 100 pounds, Kok said, but she cautioned that success is more likely when someone freely chooses to enroll in one of her programs.

Some people receive the gift of a Getufit program, but when “it’s not their idea,” Kok said, “it’s always a fail.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has meant that people stay home and cook more, and Kok felt it was important to “make the best of it.”

With gyms closed, Kok increased her presence on Facebook Live and Zoom.

“Before COVID,” she said, “I didn’t know what any of my clients looked like. I love the face-to-face!”

Her greatest reward Is in “changing people’s lives,” Kok said.

She especially delights in receiving random texts from clients who rejoice that they feel comfortable in a pair of shorts or are confident in making food choices.

“I absolutely love what I do,” Kok said.