Alas, I'm one of the millions of people--make that 71 million--who have gained weight during the Covid Pandemic. I did well for the first month or two because I was walking a lot, a lot because my husband kept urging me on. "Just one more block," he'd say. And that one block turned into many.
But it's cold out there now and, even without snow (Yet!), bundling up with a coat, hat, gloves, and a mask makes me look and feel like the Travelocity gnome. Once it does snow, kids can roll me into a frosty snowwoman and stick a carrot in my face.
Six days ago, Gelesis, a biotechnology company, reported its findings of weight gain during the Pandemic:
Among the findings:
Sixty-three percent of people queried said that healthy lifestyle habits are hard to keep in the midst of COVID
52% have been feeling depressed about the way they look
Nearly 3 in 5 are on a mission to lose weight, according to the survey
A whopping 71%--particularly women (What a surprise!) said their weight impacts how they feel about their identity
So, another day, another diet.
I've probably "gone" on a diet fifty times; some have worked, many have not. Weight Watchers has been my go-to program, and I have lost weight--as long as I have the pressure to weigh in once a week on a damn doctor's scale that always clocks me in at least four pounds more than my home scale.
I take off my shoes and any clothing I can manage to rip off before I step on the scale and inform the WW leader that I'm shutting my eyes and forbidding her to announce my weight. Only if I'm certain that I've reached my goal will I allow this woman who's been on Weight Watchers for decades and to announce my success out loud.
Well, I'm taking the plunge AGAIN. This time I'm trying out this Noom diet that one can't avoid hearing about if you listen to the radio or watch TV. There are those smiling faces of happy campers who have lost lots of weight and feel fantastic! My hairstylist is one of them. She had gotten a bit hefty and, as a woman barely five feet tall, she couldn't afford to carry around the extra weight. The first time I saw her after she started Noom, I could tell she'd dropped some weight. (I'm not sure how long she'd been a Noomer.) At my next appointment maybe six or seven weeks later, she looked pretty damn good. Another six weeks and she was thin, toned, and happy.
If she could do it, so could I!
Maybe.
Noom promises to use a psychological approach that not only helps with food choices but texts you every day with kernels of information about why we eat the way we do, how to change our thought process, how to change our eating habits.
"Stop dieting, get life-long results."
The skeptic in me says, "Yeah, sure. Just another clever slogan. But there I go making a judgment (I'm really good at that!) about something I know almost nothing about. If a Noom coach could be here with me now, she'd point out--gently without incrimination-- that I "am not my thoughts but the observer of my thoughts." Mhm.
I'm walking around the house and outside with a pedometer in my pocket to track my steps. I'm recording what I eat and the number of cups of water I drink. (No pressure to drink 8-8oz cups every day that requires far too many toilet breaks. Or, in my case at this age, running to the toilet.) I'm reading the daily pearls of wisdom. So, I'll see. Oops, there I go again. I meant I will see you on the other side. (No photos yet.)
