Like many other people, I am living life in virtual quarantine because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This has been going on for about 1.5 months officially.
I am in San Antonio, and we are pretty much opening back up tomorrow, but I’ll continue to live more safely, and that will involve staying home, not exercising as much as I used to, and doing a lot more cooking.
Oddly, during this period of inactivity and eating of what seems to be everything, I have continued to lose weight on Noom.
I used to play disc golf almost daily, easily getting in 10k-20k (sometimes more) steps daily. Now on a good day I get in maybe 8k steps.
I used to eat very little ice cream and sweets. Now I am eating a lot more of that stuff.
However, I used to dine out frequently. I thought that before the COVID rules I was eating informedly and carefully most of the time, but maybe I am remembering incorrectly, because I am a little confounded by my continued weight loss.
Has Noom taken over my mind?
One of the things I love about Noom is its lack of labeling of foods as “good” and “bad”. All foods are okay, but Noom taught me to dine more frequently on less calorically dense foods — “green” foods — and to consume fewer foods with high caloric density — “red” foods.
Veggies are, of course, green, as are foods like hummus, brown rice, and oatmeal.
Red foods comprise items like ice cream, cinnamon rolls, and meat.
Throughout my time on Noom, I must admit, I’ve fairly often gone on short binges, especially on ice cream. I love it! And I’ve still maintained a pattern of weight loss.
I attributed that to my high level of activity.
However, even in lockdown, my weight loss continues. It’s not as fast or dramatic as it was at first. I am pretty sure, after all, that I am nearing my maximum level of thinness. But the trajectory of my weight is still down.
Why?
I’m not exercising nearly as much, so, my assumption is that I am not eating nearly as much.
I think that means Noom works for me, that I’ve internalized the principles!
I mean, I titled this article “still losing weight with Noom … sort of”, because I have not logged into Noom much at all for a couple months. I stopped logging food. I don’t do the readings. I only stop in to update my weight and answer questions from my coach, Kyle, aka “The Nag”.
Even without the continual interaction with Noom, though, I feel as if my diet is successful.
I know for a fact that my nighttime snacking is at an all-time low. I don’t even think about it most nights, and the nights I do think about it, I analyze the thought, and if I determine that I’m hungry, and not just bored or looking for crunchiness, I eat something, but usually I don’t.
The bottom line is that my weight this morning was 162.6 pounds. I started Noom last November at 195.
Oh, sure, sure, I’ve lost weight like that before. I’ve done low-carb, high-fat, vegan, food grouping, paleo, low-calorie — you name it.
But Noom is the first plan I’ve tried with a well-rounded diet that has focused on the psychology behind why I eat what I eat, and why I exercise — or don’t. Noom has helped me get inside my own mind, to figure out why I do what I do, and maybe that’s working.
The skeptic in me says, “Slow your roll. It’s only been 7 months.” But I’m hopeful, because at 60 years old, it’s not easy for me to lose weight. Or at least it hasn’t been until now.
Btw, I was cleaning out a closet and I found an old pair of size 32 Levi’s in there. I was going to give them away, but I decided to try them on, just to see how close they’d be to fitting.
I kept them.