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NOOM to the rescue?

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Ryan the Temp
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6:24p, 12/26/23
AG
After 20 years on the roller coaster of doom, I'm willing to spend money on a new approach and signed up for NOOM.

I'll be honest - I know most of what I'm supposed to do, but I just always fail miserably at it because I lack self control in some areas (i.e. sweets, shame eating, etc.), and i always seem to find it hard to sustain an otherwise effective effort beyond six months. I always tell myself when starting a new program, "This is finally going to be the one that sticks" and I inevitably fail. What really was different after my last failed effort was how badly I rebounded - I reached my heaviest recorded weight ever. While I have fought my weight for so long, I never felt unhealthy, but this time around I'm feeling it and desperately need to change.

The two things I found appealing about NOOM are 1.) It allegedly is designed to help people change their psychological relationship with food, which is the goal that will help me in the long-term; and 2.) the app is designed to nag you if you start to fall off the wagon. The way I see it, if I can have someone (or an app) nagging me to stick with it, having a nine month program might help me fight back against the six month wall I always hit.

I'm interested in know about the experiences of others who have tried it. I've been at it for a week and here are some of my thoughts:

GOOD
  • The app is loaded with encouragement. It kind of borders on too soft a touch, but I can see how it can really help people not be intimidated by a serious weight loss effort
  • The readings can be interesting and informative. As much as I already know about what to do, there are little things I learn that are new and do make me think differently about what I'm doing. LOTS of repetition.
  • The app dashboard is no-frills down-to-business with calories, weight, water, and the readings. It's not bogged down with extraneous stuff.
  • It makes a point to drive home not to attempt being too aggressive with the program by reminding users how dangerous it can be to eat too few calories.

NOT-SO-GOOD
  • At $200 for a nine month plan, it's not cheap and might be unaffordable for some folks.
  • The app is not intuitive and can be cumbersome and frustrating to use at the outset, and some features, like exercise tracking aren't "unlocked" (translation: usable) until you've been in the program for a certain period of time.
  • The food database isn't that great. Sometimes I have to settle for reasonable approximations of things to log them, but there are some surprising generic food in it that have been helpful.
  • The food color codes are not particularly useful, despite being a primary staple of the program. It seems like the only thing they denote is how much water is in what you eat. I think the readings about the differences in foods is far more effective.
  • The "one-on-one" coaching sessions they talk about so much is actually a $150 per month add-on to the plan that gives you a max of four phone calls with a nutritionist.

I will say I saw a lot of negative stuff about NOOM online before I took the leap. After getting into it, I noticed right out of the gate how NOOM seems to have responded and adapted to criticism over time. For example, they got rid of red as a food category and they repeat over and over again that users should not consider foods to be good vs. bad.

Will it be worth the $200? Is it a scam? I don't know, but we'll see over the next nine months.
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jejdag
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6:32a, 12/27/23
Thanks for posting this. I can't tell you anything about it, but I've tried to get my wife on something that will work. I think she is in very much the same place as you are. Putting it off or failing for many years and now it is becoming more of a problem than just an inconvenience.
Is it $200/month? If it will work for you it is worth every penny, but I suspect you already know that. Hang in there, brotha! Good luck and stay with it!
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MouthBQ98
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6:35a, 12/27/23
AG
It's good to keep experimenting until you find what works. I tried lots of stuff but for me it ended up being paying a fair amount of money for a gym membership with a lot of proactive coaching that kept me accountable day after day, by pretty much always asking how I was doing and noting what I could do better to reach my goals. It's about building a permanent life changing set of habits.

#1 of which is this simple thought:

Food is fuel for the body, not daily entertainment.

Then: Eat what you want to become.

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Ryan the Temp
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In reply to jejdag • 11:21a, 12/27/23
AG
jejdag said:
Thanks for posting this. I can't tell you anything about it, but I've tried to get my wife on something that will work. I think she is in very much the same place as you are. Putting it off or failing for many years and now it is becoming more of a problem than just an inconvenience.
Is it $200/month? If it will work for you it is worth every penny, but I suspect you already know that. Hang in there, brotha! Good luck and stay with it!
It's $200 for the entire nine months.

ETA: Good for you for being supportive for your wife. My husband is the worst enabler in my life and I've tried and tried in vain to get him to realize that.
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htxag09
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In reply to Ryan the Temp • 12:44p, 12/28/23
AG
Ryan the Temp said:
  • The app is not intuitive and can be cumbersome and frustrating to use at the outset, and some features, like exercise tracking aren't "unlocked" (translation: usable) until you've been in the program for a certain period of time.
Interesting, what's the reasoning behind this?
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Ryan the Temp
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In reply to htxag09 • 12:46p, 12/28/23
AG
htxag09 said:
Ryan the Temp said:
  • The app is not intuitive and can be cumbersome and frustrating to use at the outset, and some features, like exercise tracking aren't "unlocked" (translation: usable) until you've been in the program for a certain period of time.
Interesting, what's the reasoning behind this?
My best guess for not unlocking certain features right away is they want users to ease into the app and not feel overwhelmed by it at the outset.
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Tailgate88
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In reply to Ryan the Temp • 7:52a, 1/5/24
AG
Please keep us updated on how you are progressing.
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Ryan the Temp
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In reply to Tailgate88 • 3:11p, 1/5/24
AG
Tailgate88 said:
Please keep us updated on how you are progressing.
I'm now on day 16. I'm down 4.5 pounds. I would have preferred 6+ lb, but it's still progress.

In addition to following the Noom plan, I am going to the gym to do 30 minutes of cardio on the elliptical a few times a week and am walking a minimum of 15,000 steps per day. Eventually I will work in some weight training. I power walked five miles yesterday.

I know the daily lessons are a turn off to some folks who try Noom. I was initially very hesitant for that reason because I didn't want to spend my entire day reading a bunch of articles. What I've learned in the last couple of weeks is that you can set your own goals for how much you want to read each day (I set mine to 5-8 minutes), and the readings have quizzes and redundant lessons to help get the information ingrained in your mind. That approach is getting me to think about food and weight loss in a different way.

In the past 20 years, I've found that keto works best for me, as far as aggressive fat loss is concerned, but it's also extremely restrictive and unsustainable for me, especially considering my spouse is the worst enabler in my life. I like the freedom Noom gives me and the encouragement it provides when it comes to slip ups. In fact, Noom encourages treating yourself every now and then as an intentional reward to keep it from being a program where certain foods or categories of foods are wholly prohibited.

I ate a cherry hand pie for dessert last night and didn't feel guilty about it - to be fair, I was still below my calorie numbers for the day. Sure, I can't (or at least shouldn't) do that all the time, but if I can get 120,000 steps in for the week or get to 10 lb lost, why not reward myself, right? That's what Noom teaches you to do - use the indulgent, tempting foods as rewards to keep motivation up. Noom teaches that punishing ourselves will stand in the way of our success. Just say, "Oh well," move on, and do better next time. Noom even gives "treat days" that allow you to basically ignore Noom for the day and not log or read anything.

I am also learning to be much more conscious of my food triggers, which empowers me to make better decisions in response to those triggers. I've failed a couple of times in the last two weeks, but it motivates me to stop and be more deliberate the next time I face that same trigger.
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Tailgate88
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In reply to Ryan the Temp • 3:37p, 1/5/24
AG
Keep it up!

Wow - 15000 steps a day! I get that many on Aggie game days but I am usually sore AF the next day!
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Ryan the Temp
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In reply to Tailgate88 • 3:48p, 1/5/24
AG
Sometimes it takes walking up and down my driveway at 11:30 PM to get there.
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Ryan the Temp
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4:35p, 1/5/24
AG
This is the rollercoaster of doom I've been on:

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Ryan the Temp
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12:15p, 1/8/24
AG
Mondays seem like a good time to do regular updates, so I'll start that today. It also coincides with my Noom weekly progress reports

Week 3 Stats:
Current Weight: 250.2
Body Fat %: 37.1
Pounds lost: 6.8
Pounds to goal: 65.2

Last Week Summary:
Average calories consumed per day: 2004
Average steps per day: 18,003
Average heart zone minutes per day: 59

Oddly enough, my biggest difficulty seems to be eating enough. I'm eating healthier foods that have lower calories, but are also bulky (e.g. vegetables and fruits) that make me feel full and satisfied faster. Some days I find myself eating just for the sake of eating to get my calories up. Yesterday I was over 2,000 calories, but with my activity level I was still more than 1,000 calories below the minimum.

The lessons for the week have been about breaking down myths like the 6-meals-a-day thing, introducing psych tricks to help overcome barriers, and managing portion control. It's interesting how much portion sizes and even plate sizes have changed over the decades. Most dinner plates are a full 3 inches bigger than they were in 1950 and restaurant portion sizes have doubled in the last 30 years.

Next week will see the true test of how well I can continue making this work, as my workload will drastically increase and I will have to find creative ways to get active, but the good thing is I'll spend more time in a place where a lot of walking is required, which will make it easier to get to 15,000 steps a day. On the challenging side, I will have less access to food options I can control.
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aggiespartan
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In reply to Ryan the Temp • 12:32p, 1/8/24
AG
Is 15k steps an arbitrary number you picked or is it based on something?
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Ryan the Temp
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In reply to aggiespartan • 12:38p, 1/8/24
AG
aggiespartan said:
Is 15k steps an arbitrary number you picked or is it based on something?
Sort of both. At first, it was just based on an arbitrary goal of 100,000+ steps per week, but as I got into a better routine I found my normal day's activity + walking to/from the gym + working out landed me right around 15,000. The way I see it, if for some reason I don't make it to the gym, if I can at least get to 15,000 steps I've done a good job.
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CC09LawAg
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In reply to Ryan the Temp • 12:38p, 1/8/24
Ryan the Temp said:
Oddly enough, my biggest difficulty seems to be eating enough. I'm eating healthier foods that have lower calories, but are also bulky (e.g. vegetables and fruits) that make me feel full and satisfied faster. Some days I find myself eating just for the sake of eating to get my calories up. Yesterday I was over 2,000 calories, but with my activity level I was still more than 1,000 calories below the minimum.
I had a similar issue when I started trying to turn things around. I really turned a corner once my strength training started to take off after a few months.

I am sure there is some science behind your body not wanting all the extra calories since your current body already has them to provide, and then once you lose the weight your body will want those extra calories in the form of the food you eat. But I don't really get into the science of it all and just go based more off what the scale says and how I am feeling.
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Ryan the Temp
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9:32a, 1/15/24
AG
Week 4 Update

Stats:
Current Weight: 247.0
Body Fat %: 36.7
Pounds lost: 10.0
Pounds to goal: 62.0

Last Week Summary:
Average calories consumed per day: 2041
Average steps per day: 19,386
Average heart zone minutes per day: 78

This week's lessons were about mindful eating habits that help us be more aware of our eating and how to break free from overeating habits. One tip was to put all the food you eat on a plate before eating it so you not only see how much food is there, but you also have a finite amount of food to eat (i.e. not eating chips out of the bag). Noom also suggests putting the fork down completely between bites to help your body recognize it's full before overeating has occurred.

One really interesting lesson was about "food scripts," which are things we tell ourselves that are ingrained in our lives and guide how we eat. Food scripts are things like, "I have to have a beer and bowl of pretzels whenever I watch a football game," I have to eat everything on my plate, no matter what," or "Dinner isn't over until I have something sweet." Some of the examples they gave are spot-on for me, so the point is to recognize those food scripts and change them by recognizing what they are and when we use them - then "writing" new, healthier scripts.
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Ryan the Temp
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9:37a, 1/22/24
AG
Day 32

Stats:
Current Weight: 243.8
Pounds lost: 13.2
Pounds to goal: 58.8
Body Fat %: 36.4
Body Fat % Lost: 0.7%

Last Week Summary:
Average calories consumed per day: 1,842
Average caloric deficit: 2,520
Average steps per day: 17,888
Average heart zone minutes per day: 77

This week's lessons covered topics from temptation to hormones and everywhere in between. It was kind of a lot, and I know I won't remember a bunch of it. Two of the most interesting lessons were about being a member of the "Clean Plate Club" and facing temptation head-on.

I have been a member of the Clean Plate Club since I was a kid. It was beaten into me (sometimes literally) to eat everything on my plate. We were a poor family when I was growing up, so wasting food was punished severely. I will always clean my plate, even if I am very full. The assignment this week was to leave at least 5 bites of food on the plate - save it for later, let someone else eat it, or just throw it away. The goal was to not feel guilty about leaving food on my plate. Oddly enough, I read that lesson while I was at Panda Express and found myself already full after eating my super greens and barely ate any of my mushroom chicken. I packed it all up and ate it after I went to the gym.

As for facing temptation head-on, Noom teaches that making certain foods 100% off-limits will inevitably lead to overeating when I slip up and eat an off-limits food. It makes it impossible to resist, just like the idea of kids wanting to do all of the things their parents forbid them to do. The assignment for this lesson was to take opportunities to have those tempting foods lying around so I can see them regularly and get used to saying no to them. The idea is to break down the desire and hunger response that comes from just seeing those foods. This was a really fascinating lesson, because I started paying more attention to how my body and mind respond to seeing some of my biggest temptations - I get excited and suddenly have a strong desire to eat those things or buy them at the store (i.e. when I walk past those chocolate croissants at Kroger YUM!). It was strange to consciously recognize that happening, but it is definitely helping me be more resistant.
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Ryan the Temp
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10:02a, 1/29/24
AG
Day 39

Stats:
Current Weight: 241.6
Pounds lost: 15.4
Pounds to goal: 56.6
Body Fat %: 35.1
Body Fat % Lost: 2.0%

Last Week Summary:
Average calories consumed per day: 2,004
Average caloric deficit: 2,470
Average steps per day: 18,681
Average heart zone minutes per day: 106

I was somewhat disappointed in only losing 2 pounds this week until I checked my body fat %. I've been working out pretty hard the past couple of weeks and increasing my resistance for cardio. I also started adding more protein to my diet to reduce muscle loss. I ended up dropping 1.3% body fat, which tracks with roughly how much fat I would expect to lose, given my caloric deficits during the week, but I will double check that number later in the week since it is such a big change. Also of note is that my resting heart rate came down another 3 BPM for a total of 15 BPM lower than when I started.

As for Noom lessons, the week was largely about plateaus and using positive reinforcement to stay motivated. I learned they don't consider a plateau to really be a plateau until you've gone 14 days without any weight loss. The lesson was to push through it and be persistent by continuing the usual routine and not to radically increase exercise or decrease food intake that could prevent your body from getting used to the new routine. Essentially, sticking with the routine eventually let's the body know it can relax and come out of "preservation mode." Additionally, during a plateau, Noom emphasizes the need to measure progress in other ways like clothes being looser, looking better in the mirror, or in my case, seeing a reduction in body fat %. I still have about 10 pounds to go before I can fit into size 38 pants, but I can see that light approaching in my closet.

Motivation was also a key lesson this week, I guess because being almost a month and a half in is where people start to lose confidence as their body starts to really change and the numbers get all wonky. That can zap motivation, and yes, I've had a few doubts here and there. This is where Noom says, "Hey, you've done a good job, so you need to reward yourself and not feel like you're depriving yourself of tasty treats." Positive reinforcement is a really big part of this program. My assignment for yesterday was to identify a special "treat" food item and plan my meals and calorie budget for today so I could eat that thing today. Funny thing is, all the sweet stuff I used to be able to think about immediately as treat foods just aren't that appealing anymore. That is, I don't find myself craving them the way I used to.
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BadMoonRisin
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10:20a, 1/29/24
CC09LawAg
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In reply to Ryan the Temp • 10:27a, 1/29/24
2 pounds a week is great number for this point in your journey and not a number I would get discouraged by.

If you kept up that pace for a year, you'd lose 104 pounds.

Do you want to weigh 137 pounds in a year? If not, you're doing great. It's a marathon, not a sprint.
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Ryan the Temp
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In reply to CC09LawAg • 10:33a, 1/29/24
AG
CC09LawAg said:
2 pounds a week is great number for this point in your journey and not a number I would get discouraged by.

If you kept up that pace for a year, you'd lose 104 pounds.

Do you want to weigh 137 pounds in a year? If not, you're doing great. It's a marathon, not a sprint.
My goal right now is 185 because I am confident I will feel happy at that weight, but when I get there, I'd really like to try shooting for 165. 165 is a good running weight, and I'm seriously thinking about running the Houston Half Marathon in 2026. I think if I can stay goal-oriented for a couple of years it will help cement the real long-term change I need in my life.
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Ryan the Temp
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9:34a, 2/5/24
AG
Day 46

Stats:
Current Weight: 239.0
Pounds lost: 18
Pounds to goal: 54
Body Fat %: 34.0
Body Fat % Lost: 3.1%

Last Week Summary:
Average calories consumed per day: 1,721
Average caloric deficit: 2,398
Average steps per day: 15,935
Average heart zone minutes per day: 84

I've been stagnating the past 3 or 4 days, but it was nice to look back at last week this morning and see I'm still down 2.6 pounds for the week. Even more pleasing than that is seeing my body fat % drop a full 1.1%. My daily steps were down by about 3,000 per day, but I've been intensifying my workouts and adding much more protein to my diet. The numbers indicate I'm still losing some amount of muscle as I go along (totally expected), but the rate of loss is diminishing rapidly. I am also comfortably fitting into my size 38 trousers now.

My Noom lessons were about making time for exercise and getting more sleep. I like to think I'm doing a good job of taking time I would ordinarily be sitting around doing a lot of nothing and getting off my ass to go walk or do something else to burn calories, but the past week was quite busy and I used more intensity in my cardio to make up for it. As for sleep, I've been surviving my entire adult life on 7 hours or less of sleep a night. A study apparently showed that people who get less than 7 hours of sleep consume an average of more than 500 calories a day more than people who get 7 or more hours of sleep. I suppose making improvements in this arena plays into Noom's other big focus - Planning. It takes a lot more planning if I'm going to get more sleep, so maybe I'll try to find a way to make that work this week.
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Ryan the Temp
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10:17a, 2/12/24
AG
Day 53

Stats:
Current Weight: 236.6
Pounds lost: 20.4
Pounds to goal: 51.6
Body Fat %: 33.8
Body Fat % Lost: 3.3%

Last Week Summary:
Average calories consumed per day: 2,244
Average caloric deficit: 1,920
Average steps per day: 16,902
Average heart zone minutes per day: 86

I was struggling with a plateau for the last 12 days, which was really testing my resolve and motivation. It finally broke today, taking me down 2.4 pounds from last Monday. I had a couple of bad days during the week, which I found interesting in that everything about them and how I felt was completely predicted to a T by Noom. I'm glad the lessons I read helped prepare me for that.

I done messed up. Get over it. Do better tomorrow

Overall, I am enjoying the amount of focus I am placing on my eating and exercise habits. I skipped the gym on Friday and felt really guilty about it, but I just put more into my workout on Saturday. My cardiovascular health has improved dramatically over the past 6 weeks, with my resting heart rate coming down from 77 to 60, and it's a real challenge to get my heart rate above 150 when I work out.

The big Noom lessons for the week were about sleep, stress, and serotonin. I know I don't get enough sleep according to the lessons, and I'm trying to do better, but 6-7 hours a night is just my life. I'm not particularly stressed these days, except when I'm running behind on steps and trying to make time to fit in more activity and movement. I was pleasantly surprised that most of the foods Noom recommends for helping to maintain higher serotonin levels I have already added to my diet since I started the program.
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BCOBQ98
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7:13a, 2/13/24
AG
Great work, keep it up! I've done the up and down a couple of times over the past 5 years. It sucks...

My personal downfall is the weekend. I'll hang with the guys on a Fri/Sat/Sun night, sometimes but hopefully not all 3, and consume too much booze and then eat too much. During the week I'm very disciplined, exercise, and eat healthy. Need to limit myself to one day of fun on the weekend.
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RoyVal
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7:38a, 2/13/24
AG
really good stuff Ryan! keep it up. I enjoy reading the updates!
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CC09LawAg
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In reply to Ryan the Temp • 8:35a, 2/13/24
I'm assuming it recommends 8ish hours of sleep?

I just honestly don't know how any adult can get that consistently, especially with kids. I aim to average around 7 hours and even that gets reached with some days being closer to 6 and having to use weekends to get the average back up.
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Ryan the Temp
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In reply to CC09LawAg • 4:46p, 2/13/24
AG
CC09LawAg said:
I'm assuming it recommends 8ish hours of sleep?

I just honestly don't know how any adult can get that consistently, especially with kids. I aim to average around 7 hours and even that gets reached with some days being closer to 6 and having to use weekends to get the average back up.
They recommend at least 7. They cite a study that showed people who got fewer than 7 hours of sleep ate on average 559 more calories on those days. the causes were largely an imbalance in hormones that cause hunger and satiety and reduced ability to make good/better decisions.

I don't really feel the lack of sleep unless it's under 5 hours. Better planning habits have really helped me deal with those days because I can limit my food consumption or make sure to have meals at a time that will give me the energy I need to work out without wanting to die.
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Ryan the Temp
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7:16p, 3/2/24
AG
Day 73

Stats:
Current Weight: 233.6
Pounds lost: 23.4
Pounds to goal: 48.6

I've been super busy and kept telling myself I'd get around to posting an update and it just got away from me. I'll try to post a regular summary on Monday.

So apparently I wasn't really out of the plateau and I've been exceedingly frustrated and occasionally found myself questioning if this is all worth it. For the entire month of February I lost a measly 3 pounds, and that was within the first week. I kept hovering around 236 for most of the month, with an occasional dip below that, despite continuing with my workouts and regular caloric deficits. I finally had a decent dip today to 233.6 from 236 yesterday. We'll see if it holds, and hopefully it's a sign of a real end to the plateau.

I just have to remember - 3 pounds down is still three pounds down. Also, I have fewer than 50 pounds left to lose. Seeing that 4 out front of that number is satisfying.

A lot of my Noom lessons recently have been about different styles of eating: Vegetarian, vegan, low-carb/keto, gluten-free, paleo, and low-fat. The lessons explored some pros, cons, and myths of each and challenged me to try a couple recipes from each style to see how I feel about it. Things to consider are the preparation involved, convenience factors, cost, personal food preferences, etc.

Another set of lessons focused on intermittent fasting. It helped explain to me some of what I've seen on this board about IF, but covered a lot of research that shows people who don't plan IF very carefully almost always overeat after a fasting session for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is the dangerous mentality of, "I can eat this because I was good when I was fasting." Noom suggests very detailed meal planning and calorie counting when attempting IF.
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aggie_wes
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3:49p, 3/3/24
AG
Mix it up when you're in the plateau. Try a lesser deficit or mixing up your diet for a few weeks
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CC09LawAg
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In reply to aggie_wes • 8:12a, 3/4/24
Totally counterintuitive, but in the past I have broken plateaus by just giving myself one day to eat whatever I want.

My go to is a nice big ribeye, a loaded baked potato, and whatever kind of vegetable involving bacon I can come up with.
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Ryan the Temp
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12:49p, 3/4/24
AG
Looking back at my food logs, it appears the plateau started developing around the time I introduced protein shakes and bars into my diet. I'm still keeping within my calorie budget, but that's the only thing different than what I started with. Of course, correlation != causation.
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Ryan the Temp
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10:12p, 3/5/24
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Day 75

Stats:
Current Weight: 233.6
Pounds lost: 23.4
Pounds to goal: 48.6
Body Fat %: 32.6
Body Fat % Lost: 4.5%

Last Week Summary:
Average calories consumed per day: 2,097
Average caloric deficit: 2,047
Average steps per day: 15,487
Average heart zone minutes per day: 84

I'm actually really enjoying what I'm doing, and these updates are probably more for me than for any of you fine people. I just like to think of posting updates as an accountability exercise. Noom is, after all, really big on accountability and finding support and positive reinforcement wherever we can get it.

One thing I'm particularly enjoying is being much more active. I rarely feel guilty about sacrificing other things to be active or go to the gym (except for tonight when I now have to stay up late prepping some conducting for a band piece because I set a new personal best on the elliptical).

The Noom lessons for this week are going to largely be recap from everything I've read before to reinforce (and remind) new habits. I feel I'm at a point where that would definitely be of some benefit to keep me motivated and refresh my enthusiasm for what I'm working toward.
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BadMoonRisin
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12:39p, 3/6/24
AG
Way to go!
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CC09LawAg
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In reply to Ryan the Temp • 12:43p, 3/6/24
You're right at about 2 pounds a week - that is a perfectly sustainable and healthy pace. Good job.
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Ryan the Temp
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10:57a, 3/11/24
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Day 81

Stats:
Current Weight: 230.8
Pounds lost: 26.2
Pounds to goal: 45.8
Body Fat %: 32.6
Body Fat % Lost: 4.5%

Last Week Summary:
Average calories consumed per day: 1,564
Average caloric deficit: 2,247
Average steps per day: 13,360

I took a bit easy on the steps because my plantar fasciitis has been pretty bad lately. I might even end up with surgery for it. 3-6 weeks of recovery would really help my activity level, amirite? Nonetheless, I'm happy to be on the doorstep of getting into the 220s. Once I get to 228, I will be below where I was two years ago.

Noom lessons have all been recap from where I started to keep things fresh and reinforce the concepts I've been learning. One thing I've thought was interesting is how my desire levels have changed and how I'm not having the same responses to certain foods I used to have. For example, when thinking about going out for lunch or dinner, the usual places I would go that serve food that isn't good choices for me simply aren't appealing anymore. I don't get the "I want that" feeling when thinking about burgers, pizza, or other objectively tasty, but unhealthy foods.

Every now and then I'll have a pastry or a kolache and feel like I'm being indulgent. It makes me feel satisfied and I don't crave that sort of stuff really at all anymore. I treat this stuff as a reward for doing a good job or reaching certain benchmarks. And that is exactly what Noom has taught me to do.
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