Losing weight in 2022 - time to say ‘bye-bye’ to those Pandemic Pounds

We have all been living through a pandemic since early 2020 you may have had an initial thought that ‘oh, this will only be two weeks’ (or at least that’s what I thought).  Boy - was I WRONG or what?!  It felt like I had to keep saying to myself, “ok, I can do this for 4 more weeks”...and then when lockdown and closures were extended again, and again,

and a g a i n.  

Not only was I living through a pandemic but my full-time job was 100% focused on everything to do with COVID-19.  This means that I was committed to being immersed in everything that was turning the world upside down for 40+ hours every week on top of then living my own personal and family life through all of the chaos. 

And yes, it was c h a o t i c.

Coping during the chaos wasn’t easy

I’m sure many people can relate to the idea that there is only so much we can take and then we turn to the things that comfort us - my comfort was food that I enjoy indulging in.  Doing these little ‘oh I deserve it’, ‘I’ve had a hard day’, or just ‘I’m emotionally and physically exhausted’ lead to me reaching for foods that I know are not the best for me - but they sure did taste good at the time!

If making healthy food choices is easy, then why can’t I just do it?

This was the magic question I kept running around in my mind.  I’m a smart woman, I know what to do, but I just could not muster up the confidence and will power to STOP my bad habits and START some new ones.  

I have lost weight in the past after the birth of both of my children.  I know all about healthy food choices, bad food choices, being physically active…but I found myself just not caring.  I was spent.  I kept rationalizing that ‘it’s not that much weight’, but it was enough to make me feel less comfortable in my own body - I just felt like I looked different…and I felt different.  Not feeling good in your own body is not a feeling I am enjoying.

Maybe it was all of the emotional exhaustion.  

Maybe I was just not willing to make a decision about taking care of myself and sticking with it.  

Maybe I just didn’t care at the time.

I felt like I was rewarding myself with delicious and indulgent food…and that leads me to where I am.

Time to clean out my closet…literally

Last weekend, after a full day of removing all of my clothing from my closet and tearing out my old closet shelving, I was able to install a new closet system. I was reminded of the clothes that I wore before 2020 landed upon us.  Pre-pandemic I worked in an office setting wearing business-casual attire and this was swapped out for work-from-home gear including leggings, comfy clothes, fuzzy slippers and cozy socks. 

I was looking at my wardrobe and was not confident I would be able to fit into the clothes I wore in 2020.  

And then I decided to step on the scale…

To say I was mildly horrified by the number on the scale would be accurate.  

I could not believe that I was approaching a weight I was at just after having my children 10+ years ago.  No way, no how!  

I was not going to allow this to go any further.  I needed to stop telling myself little lies about ‘I deserve this’ because what it was really doing was adding to my discomfort and negative thoughts towards myself and my body.  And why was I lying to myself?  I deserve better than that.

I made a decision.  I had to do SOMETHING.  My ‘Amber Plan’ (AKA let me eat some healthy foods ¾ of the time and stay active) for the last two years clearly was not working for me.  I needed structure (but not too much) and I needed to be able to easily access the information and support I needed when I needed it.  I needed accountability and a process to follow - I can follow instructions if I really need to…and I need some instructions right now.  

{Enter stage left}

I decided to try Noom.

Noom?  Is that a typo?

Nope.  The Noom website describes their program as one that provides ‘long-term weight loss that includes lifestyle changes to help people live healthier lives through behaviour change’.  Basically you learn about why you eat what you eat when you want to eat….and then consider how you might make other choices that lead to improved nutrition overall…or so this is my understanding so far. There’s a bit more to the program and I’m learning more as the days go by.

So, how’s it going then?

I dove into Noom one week ago and so far I’m enjoying the process. What I’m learning about has increased my mindfulness about the foods that I’m choosing to fuel (or treat) is something new.  I’m not looking for perfection here at all - I’m looking for progress.  So far I’m down 3.5 pounds (1.6kg) and I’m feeling really good about how things are going.  I’m excited to keep going as the results so far have really surprised me and I know that NOW is my time to take care of myself.  And I’m worth it.

If you’re feeling curious about learning more about Noom you can either search google and do a bit of reading on your own…or if you’re feeling more ready (like me) to put yourself first, here’s a discount link.

To be continued…?

If readers are interested in hearing more or about my journey to lose 25 lbs, I can provide more updates with what is going well, what’s not going well, and what I’m doing to keep going.

Thanks reading. Feel free to leave any positive thoughts or curious questions in the comments.