Noom Update: Week 4

It’s been 4 weeks since I started Noom. It’s time for an update!

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Update 1 year later:

I’ve been using my life and fitness planner in conjunction with a calorie tracking app (specifically Noom). It allows me to plan ahead and it raises my awareness around my eating habits. I now weigh 150. You can learn more about that here.

Now back to the regular broadcasting…

How the heck has it been 4 weeks since I committed to Noom? Although, I started Noom a lot further back than 4 weeks ago, I was doing WW at the same time. I didn’t count that as my time on Noom since my focus was divided between two programs. Then all the holidays happened, and I didn’t really follow much of anything. I gained 5 pounds during the holidays, but life goes on.

On January 5th, I decided to fully commit to Noom as my weight loss strategy. However, the month did not turn out as I had planned. Somehow, I did manage to lose 2 of the 5 holiday pounds. Other than that, it’s been a lot of up and down with the scale over here.

The first part of the month I would describe as a transition period. I’ve been off an on WW for 10 years, as it had always been my number 1 weight loss program (I have lost 54 pounds with the program and kept it off). So, transitioning to counting calories hasn’t been very easy or fun for me. However, I knew it was time for me to get familiar with calories and find what my body needed to lose weight consistently.

Noom Update: Month 1

My goal was to try to find the appropriate calorie needs for my body where I wouldn’t feel like I was starving the entire time but was still losing. That took a lot of trial and error. After about 2 weeks, I decided to go with the “turtle” setting of the weight loss options Noom offered. This translates to losing a pound a week and starting each day with 1,620 calories as opposed to 1,250.

The reason I chose this option was because I am trying to be consistent with my calories. When I went with faster options, I would do good for 5 days but then eat everything in site because I was so hungry.

I also decided that if I were going to have success, I would need to completely trust the program. Noom lets you eat half the calories you earn from daily exercise, and I decided that everyday I would eat all my calories. That meant on some days I was allowed to eat 2,300 calories, and I would eat every last one of them.

I did that for a while, and finally felt like I reached the right formula for long term success. My weight went like this:

 

But Parties happened…

Then there was a birthday celebration and the day after the birthday party, my weight went back up to 164.2. It went back down to 163 for a few days until the Superbowl. The morning after the Superbowl, where I had too many nachos, I was 165. I was 161 this morning and I am back on the slow and consistent train.

my graph for the month.

A graph like this is not fun. Most people would probably give up, say it’s the program, find an excuse, but Noom is a great program. I would still highly recommend it, even with how this month has shaken out. Whenever I change anything in my life, it takes a while to get used to it. This is how things go for me, you can see that in this post (where I lose no weight for the same reason) and this post (where things finally come together, and I lose weight).

How I feel about the lack of progress

This weight loss pattern doesn’t frustrate me because the scale is accurately reflecting my choices, I take ownership in that. The main reason it doesn’t frustrate me is because I have learned so much about weight loss and myself from this book and Noom. Now I see I am standing in my own way from moving the scale down, but I can move the number on the scale if I put my mind to it. Plus, I keep learning about the weight loss process so I feel encouraged.

I will break through eventually, but the only way to break through is to get up everyday and keep trying and learning. If I don’t quit, I will get there. Best of all, I will stay there because I have lost slowly and changed my habits in the process.

Dieting Is Tough

This is my one month update after my “New Year, New me” journey, haha! I know I’m not alone. You aren’t a loser because you set grand weight loss goals for January and haven’t lost a pound. If you are still at the same weight, you should celebrate because not gaining weight is a huge victory in itself. People forget to be happy about that!

Weight loss is hard. Just put it behind you if your January was like mine, and take that next step. Maybe your next step is giving yourself grace, or getting this book, or joining a program like Noom or WW, or taking this course or that one. Maybe it’s simply recommitting to your current weight loss strategy. Whatever it is, take that step and never EVER give up.

I’m documenting all these annoyances because I’m sick of transformations that don’t tell the story in real time. The story needs to be told and shared as it happens! When you see me struggling through dieting with you, you see you aren’t alone. Maybe it will inspire you to give yourself grace and keep trying. We’ve got this, but only if we refuse to quit.

If you are interested in checking out Noom, sign up for a trial here.