Goal Setting, I SUCK :-(

Yet another thing I have discovered that I really suck at since starting this Crossfit journey is goal setting.  Last night in our Spartan 300 Challenge team meeting Carey and Crystal talked to us about goals and then had us set goals for the next 7 weeks regarding our health, career and personal life.  I found it really easy to set goals for my health:

I will lose 5 lbs and 3% more body fat by continuing to eat Paleo and workout
I will get off my knees and do toe push-ups only by doing a total of 30 a day breaking them down into mini practice sessions through out the day and doing all 30 push-ups in my CF warm-ups on my toes
I will overcome my mental block of jumping on the 20" box for fear of falling or hitting my shins
I will get 1 kipping pull-up without the band by practicing after each CF class. My teammate Jori made it her goal to stay after class and do 25 band kipping pull-ups with me :-)

Setting goals for my personal life and career brought on some major anxiety for me and I know why.  It doesn't actually have anything to do with goal setting, it's about facing some issues that I need to but don't really want to go there.  So my first goal is to sit down and face all those things that I am dreading and that have been holding me back.  Once I face the facts, I will be able to take control and set goals that will help me create the life I truly want.

Carey shared tools with us on meeting these goals and encouraged us to celebrate all successes big and small and so I will celebrate here the results of yesterdays body comp :-)  Since beginning to eat Paleo on March 15th, I have lost 10.6 lbs, 3% body fat and 16 total inches overall!!!  Crystal was so shocked that she actually measured me a second time with a different measuring tape to make sure the numbers were correct!  So I feel totally confident that I will easily make my weight and fat loss goals over the next 7 weeks.

Food Inc had a profound affect on me.  There is not a day that goes by that I do not think of the message of that movie and the atrocities it exposed both in animal cruelty and the thuggery of Monsanto.  I have long been aware of the inhumane treatment of animals in industrial agriculture and thus one of the reasons I chose to be a vegetarian to try and avoid any participation in that travesty.  In my attempt to seperate myself, I became a consumer of soy products in mass.  I consumed soy milk, tofu, tempeh, tofu ice cream, you name it and I bought and ate it thinking I was some how doing good to the earth, animals and fellow man.  But alas, ignorance is bliss and I now know that I was WRONG, WRONG , SO TERRIBLY WRONG!  Bascially the business of growing soy to make all of those products I consumed with a clear conscience is as crooked as the Mississippi and is controlled by the Monsanto company. 

Monsanto, the company that developed the weed killer Round-up, Agent Orange, DDT and PCB also genetically engineered a soy bean called Round-up Ready that  is resistent to their weed killing product.  Farmers who purchase and plant these seeds sign agreements not to engage in the age old practice of saving and cleaning seeds after harvest to plant the next season.  Instead they are required to buy new seed for the next crop.  The problem is with wind drifts and pollination non-Round-up Ready crops are being cross contaminated causing Round-up Ready beans to grow in the fields of farmers who are not buying or using the Round-up Ready seed to their knowledge.  If Monsanto discovers that these seeds are being used by these unknowing farmers, they demands payment from those farmers.  If farmers are caught cleaning Monsanto seeds they are charged with violating a patent.  The deep pockets of Monsanto make it impossible for farmers to fight a legal battle against them, many have tried but have failed forced to cry uncle or lose everything in the fight.

I have to say this revelation was absolutely shocking to me.  Almost more shocking to me as animal cruelty in industrial agricutlure and I am saddened to know that I had a role in this by purchasing the products that support this treatment of human beings.  My eyes have become even more opened and I am now even more vigilant in my quest to cast the right vote when I shop for food.

Yesterday I voted for locally grown food by placing an order with Richardson Farms.  I first heard of Richardson Farms a couple of weeks ago when I discovered the heavenly carpacchio at Peche.  The carpacchio they serve is grown on Richardson Farms.  As an avid follower of my fellow CF'ers and coaches blogs, I discovered that many of these folks trade with Richardson Farms also so I decided to look them up and placed an order.  I ordered  1 lb of ground beef,  2 ribeye steaks and 1 dozen eggs.

I encourage you to investigate where your food comes from.  Surf the web, ask questions at your grocery store and read blogs written by folks like Crossfit Coach Zachary Thiel to educate yourself so that you can cast your vote in the right direction.

Due to my Spartan meeting last night, I didn't make Lilyana's 7:00 Vinyasa class so I sucked it up and took her 8:30 Sweaty Yoga class.  Since I am not a fan of heated rooms in yoga, I believe the heat should be created internally not externally, I set an intention to go into the experience with an open mind.  As I entered the space the heat engulfed me and it was difficult for me to breath.  I began to feel the sensation of claustrophobia and slight panic.  I placed my mat on the floor and settled into virasana, closed my eyes and began long deep sitali breaths.  Soon my mind relaxed and the feelings of anxiety disappeared.  The act of acknowledging my discomfort and using the tools I had to cope allowed me to be more present and I acutally enjoyed the class.  I am looking forward to next week as I will miss the 7:00 class again.

Tonight's CF WOD looks fun:
GHD sit-up skill work
2 Rounds:
40 Bar Bell shoulder press (45)
30 air squat
20 sit ups
10 Burpees

Report to follow tomorrow :-)

Fuel Log 5-4-10

Breafast 7:45 a.m.
3 egg whites
1/2 c chopped green peppers and onions
1/4 c shrooms

Snack 10:30 a.m.
1/3 Chocolate Hazelnut Laraba

Lunch 12:00 p.m.
2 c sphaghetti squash
1 c meat sauce

Snack 4:00 p.m.
1/2 c canteloupe
1 oz prosciutto

Snack 7:45 p.m.
pistachios

Dinner 9:45 p.m.
3 oz oven baked salmon
oven roasted asparagus
1/2 c mashed baked sweet potato with 1/2 tsp coconut butter and sprinkled with cinnamon