Our Bodies, Our Minds

So I receive various newsletters in my email. The most interesting thing happened on the first day of summer. 

===============

I received this email first. It’s ok that you can’t read it all, the point is made in the title. 

"are you beach body ready?

If you’re not ready to bare it on all the beach yet, I have an extremely effective 2-step method for losing belly fat faster than ever that I’d like to share with you today…"

================

Then I received the following email. Again you don’t need the whole thing to see my point. 

Seriously, why do we do this?

Make room for joy instead.

Seriously, why in the hell do we do this to ourselves?

Why do we believe that our lives would be easier if only our arms were smaller? Our bellies flatter? The last little toe on our feet not so small?

====================

And we wonder why we have mental health issues in our lives. How do we decide what to listen to?

Here are two responses: 

Jingle Jangle

If you watch any new Christmas movie this year please make it Jingle Jangle on Netflix. 

It is a glorious film. It is eye candy, ear candy and best of all soul candy. 

The costumes are incredible, the music is spectacular with moving and inspiring lyrics and the story warms the soul. 

Each actor is perfectly matched to their character and the singing is amazing. Every child should see this movie and they should pay special attention to the Possible song sung by the young girl. Tears come to my eyes just remembering this beautiful moment.

I remember reading the review in Entertainment Weekly and being so excited to see this movie. The writer was so enthralled with the movie that it came through directly to me and made me want to see it too. This was the first night hubby and I had time together to watch. It was worth the wait! And I’m ready to watch it again already. 

I am not going to discuss the story at all as you should experience all the wishes and wonder for yourself. Please treat yourself and your family and watch Jingle Jangle and believe in the impossible.

Catching up

So Friday I cried tears of frustration over our world. 

Saturday I cried tears of relief over the election. 

Sunday I cried tears of sadness for Alex Trebek. 

Quite the range of emotions for 3 days. Phew

Other news, I am officially down 50 pounds on Noom and I achieved a second goal of losing 50 pounds at age 50. Great way to kick off 51!

It is officially fall but the past few days have been 70 degrees and it has been stupendous. Beautiful weather to see the leaves changing. I love fall but it always makes me sad as the trees go empty and we lose sunshine so early. But it means that Thanksgiving and Christmas are on their way and they are two of my favorites so I hang in there and enjoy every second I can. Sat outside today and hope to do the same tomorrow. I hope you all are well and enjoying the Fall season.

Be Safe. Be Healthy. 

Wear a mask and stay home as much as possible.

Today is a Banner Day!

Today I not only hit my Noom goal weight, I went under it.

And since my goal weight wasn’t a round number for pounds lost, I am going to go for one more pound to make it an even 40 pounds lost.

There was a time when I didn’t think this was possible. That I didn’t think I could choose to eat differently. That I WOULD eat differently. The mind is a powerful thing and I still fight with her sometimes but I have currently won and I will keep winning.

To those that joined Noom, I hope all is well and you are starting to see some changes in you.

I joined Noom

So I am 50 and fat.
I would rather be 50 and fit.
So last Sunday after seeing the Noom commercial for the 10 millionth time I picked up my cell phone, almost unconsciously, and I went to Noom.com and checked it out.
I couldn't really ascertain what Noom was still, but the further I went with the questions and the pages, the more I knew I was going to follow through.
When asked for what I wanted to pay to start, I did $1.
I didn't know anything about it so I was not willing to put too much in just in case it wasn't something that wouldn't work for me.
So almost 2 weeks later and my $1 was worth it and I will be doing the full program which for me is another 4 months after January 26th.

I wrote this 4 months ago but never posted it...

and now it is May and I am...

30 pounds less and eating the best I have ever eaten in my life.
I have learned so much about myself and my relationship with food... my horrible relationship with food.

Food will not fix my problems. Food will not comfort me. Food is not my friend. Food is fuel. Food is meant to be savored, not shoved into my face to try and calm me or fix me. An apple is just as satisfying and tasty as a bag of cookies, it really is.

BUT the very best part... no food is off limits, no exercise programs are needed, and I am completely in charge. Just 10-15 minutes a day to read the posts that Noom creates for the timing of your program. You do log your food and I would say that that is actually my favorite part. It is eye opening to say the least but also the most helpful. You learn what your choices mean for your body and how you can make other choices, IF YOU WANT. There are color codes to use for foods: Green, Yellow, Red. Red does not mean no, it means less.

I have learned so many changes for my foods and I love them all. Cauliflower rice?? Yes please. Hummus?? Yes please. Guacamole.... homemade?? I am going to make it?? Yes, yes I am and I love it. I even make my own tortilla chips... because I get to eat more of them than any I could buy in a bag :)

You also are assigned a Goal Specialist and a Group Chat with a Team Leader. You interact as much or as little as you want. I was not crazy about my Goal Specialist and I might not still be his cheerleader but we have had some good interactions that have led to new thoughts. The group chat is better because you chat with others just like you and that should be at the same point in the program as you. We share troubles, goals, accomplishments, ask for help or ideas, and basically cheer each other on. We have a very large group but only a handful interact there. I like my group and the team leader is good but a little too cheery cheer for me some days.

The best thing I can say is if you have ever said: "I have a bad relationship with food." Then Noom is for you. It is not a diet, it is not an exercise program, it is a mind changing program that I am forever grateful for. If you stick with it and if you believe in yourself just a tiny bit, it can work for you too.

You all know I don't tout things I don't believe in or post anything to gain personal kudos. I only bring things up when I think people can benefit from the knowledge. I can't promise anything to you except that this worked for me and I  believe it will continue to work forever for me and it might also work for you. It might be worth the investment to find out. I found that I was worth it and so are you.