Remember my name....FAME!

I wanna live forever! I wanna learn how to fly...HIGH! Yep, cheesy 80's music can be applicable and slightly uplifting, too. Really, though, the song came to mind because I haven't blogged for so long that I wanted to make sure you remember me. : ) I remember you. And though I don't expect to live forever in this physical body, I sure do want to live forever in each moment, and that includes minding my body and taking good care of me.

O.K., enough dissection of Irene Cara. On to true business. As KB said, it's so wonderful to have the insight and support of Dr. Thomson. Nice to know that there are other people in the world living open-hearted and attentively. Sometimes I forget I can touch someone's life with the slightest of gestures. It's good to be reminded of that.

Now I think it's time for me to check in with what my goals were when we began a month ago...

1. Plan meals -- I've done pretty well with this on the weekdays, but the weekends remain a challenge. I know that making rules can sometimes block growth, but trying to be fluid with weekend mealtimes has proven difficult. I'm going to commit to planning for this weekend. Even when I go to restaurants, I can go in with a plan to eat something specific, (e.g. fish and a veggie or a chicken salad).

2. Keeping up with food shopping -- Since this is so tied into planning meals, I've done pretty well with this one, too. One thing that has helped me has been relaxing a bit around where I shop. I have this tendency to think that I should only shop at Whole Foods, but when I let myself sometimes go to Giant Eagle (where the organic selections are growing daily), I'm much better off. Whole Foods is about 30 minutes from my house when there's no traffic, and Giant Eagle is a three minute drive for me...a big difference!

3. Taking some time every day to stop and check in with myself -- I'd like to be more deliberate about this, but I have noticed that my "observer-self" has been very present since I began eating healthier. What I mean is, I'm more awake to what I'm doing and why I'm doing it much of the time. Less and less am I just going through the motions. One way to kick this up a notch would be to implement a consistent meditation practice...something I've been longing for.

4. Everyday, move in some way -- That really does sound like a catch phrase, huh? Maybe I should get it trademarked! Speaking of fluidity, I like that this goal creates room for me to acknowledge any physical activity (a short walk, dancing, stretching) as progress. That said, I haven't been acheiving this goal. I've walked Rocky several times, but I really do want to do at least something everyday. This is not only important in the exercise sense, but I know from experience that it will help me get into my body and feel my sensations. I not only want to be awake to feelings of full or hungry, but to all of my sensations!

5. Abstain from sugar and white flour -- Not eating refined sugar has gone really well. I still eat yogurt every morning for breakfast, and that has some sugar, and I still use Splenda from time to time, but that's it. As I've said before, it just makes all of this a lot easier for me. The white flour...well I've certainly had some white bread here and there, but not too much. My carb cravings are still pretty non-existant (miracle!), so the little bit of white bread I've had this month seems not to have triggered anything.

6. Share what I'm doing with others -- Yep, I'm doing that!

7. Reflect often about the costs and benefits -- Doing this, too, though not in any formal way. I guess what I write on here counts toward that goal!

8. Getting hungry with my stomach growling -- Yep, especially before lunch, in the late afternoon, and at night. It actually feels good.

9. Little one (maybe baby traby!) -- There's always hope, and eating healthy and losing weight could definitely help.

Shwew! And there's more. I want to say that I did eat 10 McDonald's chicken nuggets and fries for dinner last Friday. It didn't even taste that good and was a result of lack of planning. Also, I want to acknowledge that I haven't had any potato chips or Chai Lattes for a month! Huge!! I just keep telling myself that I can have them again someday. Why not, for now, just wait a bit.