Noom

I'm using the Noom app to try to get healthier and lose weight. I found out I had Type II Diabetes two years ago. My doctor told me to eat three meals a day, with a max of 30 carbs at each meal. I was also allowed two snacks with a max of 15 carbs each. Doing this helped me get my blood sugar and cholesterol down, but I wanted to do more to get healthy. I started the Keto diet, but ultimately gave up because I could not keep up with all of the calculations to balance my carbs, protein, and fats. I also got tired of eating so much fat - it was kind of gross. So I gave up, gained back all my weight, plus another 10 pounds. I lapsed into a period of eating uncontrollably and became filled with aches and pains. Then, while playing a game on my iPad, I watched several ads for Noom and decided to try it. I love the app, and have followed it for 20 days, but lapsed for a week or so. I am going back through and making notes about the ideas it gives me while I wait for Tara, my goal specialist to roll back my program to where I dropped it, on day 20.

Using the pens my sister brought me from Germany and the journal my sister brought me from Mexico.

I really love the app because it centralized everything in one place. I log food, which I've done before. In the past I looked up food in a variety of places and entered it into a Google Sheets document that I shared with my mother and sister. That did work for a while, but was ultimately too much work.  With Noom, I log it directly into the app and it looks up the food for me. I find it easier because I'm using my phone, which is always on me, as well as being only one place.  It divides the food I eat into categories of green, yellow, or red. Green has a high volume to calorie ratio and includes things like vegetables and fruits. Yellow is medium and contains things like starches and lean meats. Red is low and contains things like oils and deserts.  You should moderate your yellows and limit your reds.  Throughout the program so far, Noom has encouraged me to eat more green foods, but in a sustainable way.  The goal is not to eliminate any food or category of food, but to budget for the things I want to eat and to make healthier choices overall.  So, if I want cake, I can have it - but should eat it once a week, not daily, and to eat a thin slice instead of the whole cake.  And maybe I should eat soup and salad the rest of the day...

          
Noom also encourages me to walk and tracks your steps through my Fitbit. The app itself would also track it, or use my steps from the health app on my phone, but then you have to carry your phone at all times.  I can't have my phone on me at work, and I don't carry it with me everywhere at home, so I was glad when I figured out how to change it to the Fitbit.  Noom starts you at a goal of 2000 steps, and as you reach it, it increases your goal.  It uses a lot of psychological tips to help you motivate yourself, never expecting you to be perfect. I love that part of it - I don't have to start off perfect, but instead build a little every day, setting small SMART goals and keeping my ultimate goal in mind.  I can also log my blood sugar in the app as well.

I have two SMART Goals for this week:

Blood sugar goal

Healthier eating choices goal

I haven't been testing my blood sugar for awhile, so I set my goal lower than every morning and every evening (Attainable). I stuck it on the front of my coffee table, handy to where I eat breakfast.  I also set a goal to eat more green foods, which I plan to achieve by adding more vegetables to my diet.  I have found that when I watch/count carbs I tend to not eat vegetables or fruits. By the time I eat the carbs I want, there is little room left for them. This is vastly different from my sister's approach, who eats low carb and tons of vegetables.  I have felt something is inherently wrong with not allowing myself to eat fruit, though I agree that I should eliminate or seriously limit juice and jelly.  I have started eating more apples, grapefruit, grapes, berries, and bananas - usually at work with my breakfast.  Yesterday, I sauteed broccoli, tomatoes, and bell pepper in water in a non-stick skillet, then scrambled eggs and a slice of Gouda in it. I also ate 2 slices of toasted Dave's 21 grain bread, for a total of 365 calories. This morning, out of the bread, and skipping the cheese, it was 175 calories. I had tuna fish sandwiches for lunch, and leftovers, corn on the cob, and broiled cabbage.  Corn is something I've limited in the last few years, but is recommended on this diet as it has a lot of fiber and high volume for the calories - filling me up so I can stick to the diet.

I made a note to remind of of things I need to do to help me reach my goals and stay on track and stuck it to my television.  It includes ways to increase my steps and to stick to my diet - including shopping with my daughter who will fuss at me if I try to buy junk food. The ideas are from Noom who wants me to find little ways to add steps into my day, and I chose these from their list.  They also target grocery shopping as it is the place where many people are tempted to buy unhealthy foods and said I should plan my meals, make a grocery list with food grouped in sections matching the grocery store, go when the grocery story isn't busy (not tempted by things I overhear or see others buying) and go with a buddy who supports your diet.  Katheryne gives me positive and negative reinforcement as the situation merits to help me keep buying healthy foods.

I made a list of Noom's suggestions of things I should try to do each week - this is a pick one, not a do all every week.  I put this on my bannister so I see it every time I have to go upstairs.  I'm thinking about trying papaya this week.  I'm also wondering if there is something I can do to have tuna casserole, but less high carb.  I grew up with it, and it is an old favorite: tuna fish, potatoes, and a "cream of" soup.  Mom used cream of celery, but I usually used cream of mushroom.

I also made a plan for the day.  I did everything but fold everything.  I folded a lot, but have a ton of laundry backed up - we dress off clothes we can pull off the back of the chairs they're laid over, and find our clean towels and sheets the same way.  We fish underwear and socks out of a pile in a laundry basket.  I did get everything folded in the baskets, and put a big dent in the chair backs - of course the 5 loads of laundry I did, kept adding to it.  I felt like I did nothing but cook, clean up from cooking, and eat yesterday - but my daughter reminded me of the laundry I got done, and all the movies we managed to watch together while I folded laundry.  We also ate better than we have in awhile.  

I did 3076 steps yesterday, which doesn't seem that remarkable - but a normal Saturday is about 300 steps for me!!  I do most of my stepping on weekdays and reserve Saturday for being a couch potato.  Yesterday, while being a couch potato I ate healthy food, did 5 loads of laundry, a load of dishes, and folded a chunk of my backlog of clean laundry!!  I satisfied my inner elephant who wanted to play on the iPad and watch TV all day, by allowing it to play on the iPad only 5 different times, watch Iron Man 2, Thor, The Kissing Booth, and 2 episodes of the OA.