Tag: health

Noom: What is it About?

by Nicole Bell

If I’m being perfectly honest, I have trouble sticking with a diet. I have been wanting to lose the same 10-15 pounds for the last few years, but I love to eat. I know the mechanics behind calorie counting and CICO (calories in, calories out), but I also know I love cheeseburgers. Knowing that I need help with accountability, I have decided to try Noom.

What is Noom? It’s a paid program that provides a method of calorie counting. They also have daily articles to read through to give basic information and tips for the psychology of dieting. Supposedly I have a coach and will be assigned to a group as well, but I have yet to be notified of either. 

You can see the articles that are assigned to me for the day here.
Here is where I track my weight daily, my meals, water and exercise.

I have been working on the program for a week and a half and here are my thoughts so far:

I was able to try it for a week for fifty cents and then it charged me for 3 months at the end of the trial. When signing up for the program and entering my data, they guessed I would hit my goal weight by mid-August if I followed my program.

The pros:

  • Having daily articles/assignments to read keeps me logging into the app. It also keeps me consistent with weighing myself.
  • In theory, having a coach and a group to check in with sounds helpful.
  • The assignments can be fun.
  • I lost 2 pounds my first week on the program!

The cons:

  • The daily assignments contain pretty basic information. They are great for a beginner, but I have not learned anything new yet.
  • Where is my coach and group? That is supposed to be a big part of the program, but I have not heard about either yet.
  • My daily calorie goal is set low. They are allowing me 1200 calories a day, which is the lowest I think I can safely go. If I work out that day, I eat a little more. I do have my goal speed set to “rabbit”, so I am sure I could lower it and it would allow for more calories.
  • It is on the pricey side. If I was planning on trying Noom for more than 3 months, I would not have been comfortable spending that much. I would definitely look for a discount if you decide to try it.

In a nutshell, Noom has basically been Myfitnesspal with articles so far. I will continue to provide updates on my progress and my thoughts on the app.

If you have tried Noom, did you have good results? Share your thoughts!

Fitbit Premium Program: Beginner Running. A Mid-program Check-in.

by Nicole Bell

Fitbit has given out 90-day free trials of fitbit premium, so I decided to try it. I have been working on improving my running so I wanted to try their Beginner Running program. Plus, it has an added bonus of getting me outside, which we all need right now (I am still keeping my distance from anyone while I am out-no worries!) This program is 3 weeks long with 3 workouts a week and I am just about at the halfway point (4 workouts completed) so I thought I would check in with my experience so far.

Week one included the following:

Day 1: Walking Interval Medley – Alternating between a recovery stroll and medium-power walks for 37 minutes. Estimated calories burned: 217

Day2: Mindful Walking – Started and ended with a stroll and had a regular walk and medium walk in the middle for 20 minutes. Estimated calories burned: 102

Day 3: Fartlek Fun – Alternated between a medium walk and a fast jog for 35 minutes. Estimated calories burned: 237

Week two workout:

Day 1: Start Jogging: Alternate between a medium walk and a jog for 29 minutes. Estimated calories burned: 147

My thoughts so far:

The difficulty of the workouts seem all over the place. If I was truly a beginner, I would have been struggling hard on the third day. The order should have been Mindful Walking, Walking Interval Medley, Start Jogging and then Fartlek Fun. Also, how ridiculous is that name? It is pronounced how it seems and they continue to joke about it during the workout.

I have enjoyed the coaches so far. I like the encouragement they provide throughout the workouts and their instructions are easy to follow. The estimated calories are also pretty close to what my fitbit records – I have the blaze model with a heartrate monitor.

I will check back in at the end of the program, but so far this does not seem to be for beginners. It does seem to be for someone like me that is not a consistent runner and is getting back into it. I am enjoying it though!

Working Out During the Coronavirus Isolation

by Nicole Bell

I’ll admit it. I fell off the bandwagon. Between starting a new job and family obligations, I have not had the healthiest habits. I’ve been lucky to get in one workout a week and have not been watching my diet too well. I had plans to join a local gym that offers group classes, but now with the coronavirus pandemic, that will have to wait. Lets bring in Plan B!

My friend and I have a plan since going to the gym seems like a bad idea right now (and likely not an option for long). I have pulled together a list of yoga videos from YouTube (Yoga with Adriene) and DoYogaWithMe.com. We are going to choose videos to complete together on the same day. This will help us both with accountability and it will have a social aspect as well. Along with this, I plan on adding in runs after work now that we have more daylight.

If anyone is interested in completing the videos on the same schedule as us, let me know and I will post them!

Combating Cold Weather

by Nicole Bell
This is all I want to do all winter.

I can’t be the only one that struggles with this. The days get shorter and the temperature drops, along with my willpower. Every winter I struggle to stay active.

I recently started a new job and have a consistent schedule. While I am still working on getting into a set routine, I thought I would have an easier time fitting in workouts (although really, I should know myself better than that). I have managed to go on a run once a week, but that’s not cutting it. Part of the challenge has been dealing with the apartment gym renovations. They’ve been redoing the floors and the gym has been closed for most of the month. I struggle with motivating myself enough to do workouts at home, but I am usually fine as long as I get to the gym. They are supposed to reopen it this Friday, so I’m hoping that will help.

My plan going forward: Fit something in as soon as I get home from work. I know if I stop moving and relax, I’ll be done for. Even if all I do is go for a walk some days, at least I’m moving. I also want to create a set schedule instead of just aiming for 4-5 workouts a week. Consistency is key…hopefully.

What are your habits/tips to stay active in the winter?

Balancing Work and Fitness

by Nicole Bell

Busy Schedules. Time management.

By far the hardest part of my fitness journey has been consistently fitting workouts into my schedule. It’s a constant battle that I don’t see ending anytime soon. My biggest struggle is staying on track with my work schedule. I don’t work a normal Monday – Friday job, so it can be hard for me to stick with a routine. I’ll get into a good groove and then my schedule changes, throwing me off again.

The best method that I’ve found to staying consistent is to make my workouts a priority. I commit to at least three workouts a week. Sometimes Thursday rolls around and I have to remind myself that I’m running out of time and don’t have a choice but to workout. Do I make my 3x/week goal every week? No, but I know I’m still making progress and some weeks I might fit in 4 or 5 workouts.

Going forward, I know I still have room for improvement. My main goal for the future is to fit my workouts into my morning routine. I work 12 hour shifts and most days I’m exhausted when I get home. If I can get myself to wake up and hit the gym first thing, I won’t be able to make any excuses. I also want to schedule my workouts ahead of time and treat it as a set commitment, just as I would work. I have to show up and complete it. I know I won’t be perfect, but I also know that I can do better. Fitness is important to me and my journey is still evolving.

How do you make the time to exercise in your busy schedule?