New Feature-LOOONG read

Okay, in light of my renovated eating habits and increased yogic activity, I am going to try to post about my weekly progress and include some weekly goals for myself, beginning on Sundays. I don't have any catchy titles for this yet (feel free to suggest one) but if you care to include your health goals either on your blogs or in comments, you will have a supportive ear.

One of the biggest points about making a goal is telling other people about it, so they can support you and check on your progress. Mr. Meza taught goal setting in karate last month and the mantra is:

Know what you want
Have a plan
Take consistent action
Review your progress
Renew your goals

My overall goal right now is to feel better without having cosmic zombie zone-outs due to low or high blood sugar issues. With a better diet, I can feel that goal is already within reach. Additional goals would include an overall drop of about 25 pounds or two pant sizes. I tend to focus on how my clothes fit vs. the scale (I am very OCD about numbers in a not-good way). I also need to create a goal of consistent exercise over the week-at least three days a week for now to create a habit.

My plan is using the South Beach diet as recommended by the doctor and nurse as part of a healthier approach to eating. I am trying to make a goal of eating at home 5 nights and then we have one night of eating out. (I am already envisioning Pei Wei Chicken Lettuce Wraps here) This is a tricky goal, one that I don't know if I will keep in all honesty. I have already cut out soda, but need to up the daily amount of water. I also plan to continue and expand doing home yoga practice. (cost-effective and I think I have learned enough to practice on my own.)

For this past week, I have been eating on South Beach Phase 1 and as reported, I would love a nice bowl of that Newman's Crackly Pepper and Buttery Salt Natural Popcorn-but I have been very responsible in maintaining the diet as written. I have cooked several versions of chicken, including Salsa Chicken, Chicken Capri and tonight we made hamburgers from scratch with lean, grain-fed beef (sorry vegans and vegetarians) and I made guacamole as a topper, along with green beans. Also included were a spinach salad with tuna this afternoon and I also made some kidney beans with onions and peppers that lasted a few lunches and sides for dinner. I do not miss sugary treats, even when my husband broke out the Americone Dream ice cream last night. I do miss fruit but my kids are eating enough for me. (Seriously, Connor could eat fruit all day long-he has no off button) South Beachers, I did try that ricotta cheese with splenda and cinnamon and could not stomach it, so I had some sugar free jello instead.

I have practiced yoga three times this week, including with Thomas yesterday. Connor was awake and wreaking havoc on our yoga session-including a diaper change, wanting water, wandering into the kitchen and then calling out "Eva! Eva!" during meditation, which I almost got a case of the giggles from that alone.

Anyway, my yoga goals are different, because some poses are challenging and I get it into my brain that I must try and accomplish them.

Example: Headstand. I asked the yoga teacher (who isn't teaching any longer-Billie, you were awesome!) to teach me/us headstands. I was exhilarated to perform a headstand in the first place, but then I was frustrated that I couldn't kick up without a spotter. So, I read and read and look into what I could do to improve my kick-ups. So, I made sure that I worked more on the core muscles and included several mock kicks in downward dog. Now, I have done a headstand in every session successfully, on my own and I can even control and move my legs around a bit. I do need a bit more control on the descent, but I consider that headstand challenge as met.

Meaning I need a new yoga goal! So, I have chosen Urdhva Dhanurasana which means "upward bow", also called Wheel Pose. This pose is another inversion (meaning your head is upside down) and it is challenging because I don't have a lot of arm strength to hold the pose well or long and my back doesn't feel completely flexible for the position with the poses leading up to it. So, my intention this week is to research the pose, come up with a decent sequence and be able to hold the pose for 10 seconds 2 to 3 times in a row. I can do one time for just about 10 seconds right now. Hilary-if you are lurking out there.....email me pointers!

Finally, my sons have begun an eating rebellion here in the Murphy household, where Thomas and I have had to remind these little headstrong manipulators that we are the ones in charge. That all may sound harsh, but we are FED UP with the dinner antics.

Connor will eat 25 grapes in one sitting, go to the refrigerator and get the entire grape basket and ask for more. (he does know they need to be washed-"Mommy, wash!") If denied, he will either pitch a fit or go back to the refrigerator, get the bowl and try again. This goes on all day. It's not like we don't feed the boy. At dinner, he proceeds to get out of his chair, ignoring dinner and/or requesting grapes or other foods. Or he will just mess around until we have to tell him to eat or go to bed. Let's just say that he was put to bed last night and a few other nights after a series of procrastinations in eating dinner.

He also still wanders out of his room about 10 times each night (no joke, we actually count). Today, I did not allow him to nap, so he was exhausted by dinner time after being a bit of a pill all day. He fell asleep in my arms at 7:45pm. I am happy to report that he has remained in his room asleep since then!

Ian gags on anything vegetable, but since I presented him with one kidney bean this week ("Mommy, what IS that?") and three green beans last night and labeled them as 'magic beans'. He was intrigued enough to ask questions and I was vague enough in response ("You could get taller, you could get super smart, you could magically fit into the booster seat, you just don't know until you try!") He ate the entire kidney bean. Last night, he ate all of his green beans and tonight again-with a reminder-he cooperatively ate his green beans. However, he was also put to bed last night without books or play time after dinner because he was a complete pill about eating. Thomas was impressive in his tough love approach and I bet you anything, we will see some serious mealtime behavior adjustments. This afternoon, he took two hours to eat a lunch that he requested, helped to make and refused to eat. The fare was English Muffin pizzas. Connor ate two of them. I ate zero because of the muffins. Ian took two hours to eat half of one. He lost his game time privileges for tonight as well. I also told him yesterday that if he set one foot out of his door past bedtime, I was packing up Legos, beginning with his beloved Pirate set that Julie got him. We didn't see him for the rest of the evening. Connor, on the other hand, doesn't understand what that means and will argue, ("No, I apple juice! NO, I APPLE JUICE!") until you just have to keep returning him to bed. It's exhausting.

You might wonder why I am regaling you with these stories in my supposed health goals post. I do have a point. The boys need to eat well. They are on board with fruit and most chicken. We have decided to include Ian in the dinner process, where he participates in the choices and preparation-including vegetables. Not every night, but I am making a once-a-week goal for now, until I can see how that will go. I am also going to continue working the magic beans angle because it seems to be working. Ian was completely surprised about his 3 pound weight gain yesterday and I attributed it to those magic beans. I'll get that kid to like a vegetable yet.

Next week, I'll actually POST a picture of Wheel Pose with yours truly and give you another update on Sunday evening. Meanwhile, I have some yoga to do!