Nooming Along (One month in)

 

Here's my progress so far after a month of Noom. I'm down 21.4 lbs as of this morning. While it's a big drop for one month, it hasn't been all monotonic as you can see from the bumps which (not surprisingly) correspond to the weekends. 

I also had and still have a bit to give. In terms of percent body weight I've lost 7% of myself (yes there's a math problem for those who need to know my starting weight). In terms of where I'd like to get to, I'm one-third of the way (note: I like word problems). 

However, this is really about the journey where getting there is only the first part; looking further out and setting new goals, be it maintaining, losing more or maybe even gaining a little more to find a "sweet spot". I'm intending for what I'm learning and experiencing as being the start of a life of new habits.

A few things that have helped me so far are:

• Doing meal preparation: I have healthy frozen lunches in the freezer at work and I bring breakfast and two snacks each day.
• Making time: It's worth the extra few minutes in the morning to plan and take the steps so I don't need to make hasty decisions on eating throughout the day. This minimizes drive-thru trips.
• Keep it simple: As a physicist, I'm assuming spherical snacks. That is, mandarin oranges and hard boiled eggs. More broadly, a fruit or veggie and a protein. This doesn't need to be hyper-fancy smoothies or specialized snacks; although I do have protein bars on occasion. Breakfast is just another snack in my book. In either case I aim for 200 to 300 calories each.

• Do things in measured amounts: Even water. I have a large 32 oz. cup at work with three marks to denote roughly 8 oz. (one cup) increments. Fill to lines and guzzle between lines. This works better for me than sipping from a water bottle or doing things in an unmeasured manner.

I usually fill to the second line.

• Get those steps: 10k steps is nearly 5 miles. That's probably 60 to 70 minutes of running or 90 to 100 minutes of walking. That's a lot for each day, but is much easier when broken into chunks. I try to make sure to leave work with at least 5kstep under my belt. This requires some deliberate breaks for walking.
• Keep moving forward: Sometimes I suck at this. I usually know when I'm going to suck at this, e.g. social situations with lots of food to graze from. I've stumbled plenty, but am getting better at handling such situations a little at a time.
• Don't do it all at once: As much as I want to hit the gym hard and do all the food stuff right, etc. I just don't have the energy for that. Again I keep it simple; focusing on the planning, the water and the steps. There'll be time to get back in the gym or add to the base program in other ways.

There's no magic to this for me, it's about making changes that need to be made to live my best life. Although, I have to admit I'm feeling pretty darn good so far. I look forward to sharing what the next month brings.

Related Reads:

• Giving Noom a Go
• Impending Noom