I am confessing here to all the world, diet and exercise haven’t been a part of my life, for most of my life. Until I had children, my weight was fairly stable. And then things got out of hand. There have been several times since the birth of my children that I have weighed as much as I did when I was about to deliver a child. That is not a good feeling, especially at sixty-five.

My biggest downfall in weight loss is sweets. So the post from Monday of this week fits me perfectly. See the picture to the right. Cookies. I love cookies. Maybe I need a picture of Cookie Monster on my refrigerator.

Weight Watchers/WW

About six years ago, I joined Weight Watchers and had success. I met my goal and maintained it. But then our location shut down due to not enough people going to meetings and working on the program. That’s what happens in a small town. This happened years before Covid, so I had no excuse to not join another location, except that driving at night was something I hate doing and I worked full time. I don’t feel like I can see as well as I should at night. Since then Oprah bought Weight Watchers and changed the name to WW and I moved to a different city where I could almost walk to the local WW. But in the meantime, I discovered something else that worked. And I will admit, Oprah Winfrey purchasing the company was not in my book a positive thing.

Trying Something New

So I found a few things to help me on my own. Yes, on my own doesn’t give me the commitment that WW did, nor the encouragement. But the cost is free, which is nice. However, since I had met my goal weight and was maintaining it, I was free at WW. Excuses are so easy for me to make.

No matter what you do to lose weight, make a commitment. You need to change your eating and exercising. I knew I could do it from experience. So what am I doing?

I use My Plate to record all the food and snacks that I eat. I use the free version, but there is a paid version I’m sure has its perks. When I first signed up for it, I had to set a goal amount to lose and the app calculated how many calories I could eat each day. If you hate counting your calories, this might not be for you. A lot of food is already in the system, plus most food has calories on the packaging. In California, they post the calories in restaurants. This was not so on my recent vacation to other states. So sometimes it can be a guessing game or a “that sounds close” option. If in doubt, I increase my calorie count, rather than guess low. I’m committed to being honest about my journey of losing weight.

If I am careful entering my calories, carry my phone around so that My Plate will calculate my calories burned, I can watch how I’m doing. I try to never go over my allowed calories. It’s really fun to get on the scale the day after I have left 100 calories or more available to eat. I often have lost half of a pound when I have walked a lot and have not used all my calories. However, it’s not so fun, when I go over my calories and my weight sneaks up a half of a pound.

Exercise

In years past, I have signed up to places where I could exercise with others. In the late ’70s my mom, two sisters, and I did something regularly, but I can’t remember the name of the place. I also tried Curves. I actually loved Curves. It took a commitment to come, but I usually went with my sister who lived in the same city. But times must have gotten tough financially, or the owner got greedy, and they would not run the air conditioner low enough for us to continue. Yes, it’s best if you sweat a little in your workout, but this went beyond. We begged employees to make it cooler, once in a while we succeeded. Occasionally we did it ourselves when no one was looking.

And of course, I followed exercises on TV programs. I really like Denise Austin. If you are a member of AARP, you have access to quite a few of her videos and others on the AARP app. They are often for a specific body part, like your lower back or arms.

My exercise now has been walking. In the last two years, my walking has mainly comprised of grocery shopping, shopping at Costco, and walking to a neighbor’s house. I have balance problems following my surgery to have a brain tumor removed. When I walk regularly, I can fall and hurt myself. Once it gets cooler, which should be soon, I hope to give it another try. I use a Fitbit watch to keep track of my steps. Years ago, I could easily walk 10,000 steps a day. Today I try to hit 3,000, sometimes pushing it over 5,000. I would love to get back to 10,000 a day.

Besides Fitbit, I use Runs to Go to track my miles for the year. I have done this for several years now. I have yet to hit my goal of 1,000 miles. But, I will not reduce my goal, since I am determined to hit 1,000 miles in a year. I thought this would be my year until I realized the balance issue has held me back. It is the end of September and I am only at 534 miles for the year. It is unlikely I will complete 1,000 miles this year.

Noom

I kept hearing about Noom, but I knew it wasn’t free, so I have been “thinking about it” for some time. Last night I signed up for Noom. I will have two weeks free and then if I don’t cancel, I will continue on, paying for three months at a time. My price is under $100 for three months. I believe that is less than I paid to go to WW, without having to drive to a meeting.

With Noom, I went through a lot of questions so they could get to know me. I have a lot of information to read or watch on video. They give it in small pieces. I’m sure it’s to encourage smart thinking. If I want a food plan specific for me, I can pay extra. I am a picky eater, so I will not pay to have someone tell me to eat food like salmon, avocado, and kale. I can also pay for an exercise guide. That I may consider unless I sign up for a class somewhere. I need accountability.

I have a coach who will encourage me. They give me a quiz once in a while to make sure I am learning the information.

Since I started last night, I cannot claim any success yet. But I am looking forward to losing my 15 pounds this way. With Noom, a big part of your success is believing.

No matter what, do these six things:

1. Each morning when you get up, before you have breakfast, weigh yourself. Use the same scale and wear the same amount of clothing – I usually do it in my pajamas, after I have gone to the bathroom. There is a lot of fluctuation day to day. Always try to weigh yourself at the same time of day. I suggest you write your results each day on the calendar or a piece of paper to track your progress.
2. Drink water – lots of it. You may have heard eight glasses a day. If you check online, you will find all kinds of ideas. The amount of water you need each day depends on a lot of things, like the size of your body, how active you are, and how much water you get from the food you eat. I suggest you check with your doctor. Be aware you can drink too much water.
3. Walk as much as you can, exercise with a video, or join a class at a gym. Be sure to keep this up regularly. Once a week is better than nothing, but several times a week is even better.
4. Be accountable to someone. This is something I have been missing lately. This is one of my reasons for starting Zoom. If you have a friend close by, work out with him/her.
5. Check with your doctor before starting something new. You never know if something can be harmful to your unique body.
6. Eat healthy. Replace cookies with fresh fruit or carrot sticks. Make good food choices.

Have you set a weight loss goal?

As you can see, I switch around on my way to lose these last 15 pounds. My goal used to be 20 pounds, but I have been able to lose five and keep them off. My goal is by Christmas. That’s about three months away. This time I will have to work harder. But thanks to accountability, I hope I will succeed. How are you doing with losing weight? If you have a weight loss goal, put it in the comments. Letting someone know makes you accountable to everyone that sees your comment, even though none of us know you well.