Think back to a year ago. What were you doing? Were you setting your New Year’s resolution? Were you, like me, excited to face 2020? I mean, think about it. 2020, when said in a different way, 20/20, seems like we would have a clear vision and, maybe even hope. Many of my friends were exited for the new year. The election was ahead of us. For some, they were hoping to see Trump win a second term, for others, they were hoping that Trump would be voted out. It was a 50/50 chance, but hey, some are happy, some are disappointed. 

For me, 2020 seemed like an adventure. My husband and I would celebrate our 30^thanniversary. We made reservations to go on a cruise in February, to the Bahamas. How fun is that. Our daughter who lives in California would be booking a flight for her and her family to visit us. We hadn’t seen her in over a year, and we haven’t seen her son (our grandson) or her husband in almost two years. We sure do miss them.

I am not like most people. I understand that resolutions are easily broken, so I don’t make them. I do, however, choose some character trait or habit that I would like to improve or break, but I don’t wait for the new year to start those improvements. I resolve to fix those right away. One thing I do start at the new year is the reading the Bible, in a year. Which I have done for the past ten years. 

So, Monday, December 30^th, 2019, I woke up, ate my breakfast, took my medication for diabetes, high blood pressure, and cholesterol, and drove myself to work. All 215 pounds of me. I was overweight (some would say obese), and not healthy. My blood sugar levels were out of control. I was on two different types of diabetes meds at that time, and about to start a new one. That Monday, I felt fine, yet my daily glucose levels were higher than they should be, I had no complaints, and no plans to change what the course I was on. 

Tuesday came, and more of the same. I went to work. Taking with me the usually self-packed lunch, including snacks, as my typical day would include three meals, and three snacks. My choices were not unhealthy (so I thought), but they were not the healthiest choices either. That night, my husband, Carl, and I were planning to spend our New Year’s Eve as we had for the past few years. Just the two of us at home, either watching a movie, or whatever we could find that was entertaining, on TV. I had gotten up off the couch to do something, and felt very weak, dizzy almost, and began to sweat. At first, I thought it was just another hot flash. I have had them for the past 8 years, what was one more day, right? The dizziness, and weakness did not subside, and I became concerned. I did not say anything to Carl, but decided to check my glucose levels. The reading, at that point, was 450+. For those of you who have diabetes, you understand that that is not good. You see, in my fight with type II diabetes, I had only ever experienced hypoglycemic episodes, and never hyperglycemia. This was my first time (and I’m hoping my last). When I told Carl, he rushed me to the ER, and it was still high. They gave me my first dose of insulin. While there really is no side effects from taking an insulin shot, this is something that I never wanted. Just another medication to add to the list. This experience scared me. If my glucose levels were any higher, it could be very dangerous. This was not the way I wanted to spend my New Year’s Eve. It was an eye opener, to say the least. I did follow up with my doctor, or I should say, the doctor who was standing in for the one who I had been seeing. You see, my regular doctor was no longer practicing, due to his own health issues, so the doctor I saw was not as familiar with my diabetes status. So, like most doctors, he just added another medication. Now I was taking three meds for diabetes, one for blood pressure (which, by the way, is due to diabetes), and cholesterol, as well as acid reflux, due to the side effects from all of these other meds. L I was taking the highest dose of metformin. This means that I am taking medicines in the morning and in the evening. 

Even though I was so excited to see 2020, this visit to the ER, and the follow up at the doctor’s, I was quite discouraged. I spent the next 5 days praying, meditating, and researching as to what I could do to reverse this disease. 

I had looked at all sorts of diets. Many of my friends have been, and were currently on, a variety of different fad type diets. I am not one for the fad stuff. I prefer to see the long term of the situation. Once you reach a goal on a fad diet, and try to go back to how things are, you end up gaining again. And, sometimes, more than you lost. This was not the plan for me. I knew, at that point, that what I needed was a life time change, and it was going to involve a psychological change as well. I had looked at Noom about three months prior, but still wasn’t sure if this was what I needed. I didn’t know anyone who had tried it, so, I had no knowledge of a success rate for this. What I needed was to take a leap of faith. 

On January 4^th, I did just that. I took a leap. Noom was offering a great deal, as well as the first two weeks for free. I figured that if I wasn’t seeing any results in two weeks, I can cancel, and I wouldn’t be out any money. The only thing I really knew about Noom, is that they focus on psychology. It really is not a weight loss program, but a series of small “courses” to help you focus on improving your overall health. This would be physical health, mental health, and, for me, spiritual health. They do address some of the fad type diets, but they really let you choose what you want to eat, and how much. One thing Noom did have me do is decide on my “Your Big Picture” (or YBP). My YBP is to get off of medication. I did not choose a specific weight loss goal, no certain amount that I wanted to lose, just that I wanted to be off of my diabetes meds, and get my A1C levels down to non-diabetic level. The A1C is the test they give to see what the average glucose level has been for the past three months. The highest I had was 7.3, which isn’t an extreme amount, but not the best either. I wanted mine to get below 5.7.

Keep in mind, I had plans with my husband, just about 5 weeks after I signed up for this program, to go on a cruise. If any of you have ever been on a cruise, you know, it is a veritable smorgasbord. Literally, it is a floating buffet, filled with all sorts of foods that could feed a city. In those 5 weeks, I lost 15 pounds, and had already gone down one size. My average weekly weight loss was 2.5 pounds. I was elated, and thanks to Noom, approached the cruise with a plan. I went on this cruise, planning to make sensible food choices, even if it was the buffet. They do have fresh fruits, and veggies, so those were my choices. When in the dining room, I chose foods I would enjoy, but only ate half of what was on my plate, and yes, I had desserts as well. The menu always included a sugar free/fat free option for desserts. Another choice I made was to take the stairs, most of the time. My husband was not always wanting to do the stairs, so we did take the elevator, especially when going up, but I would always take the stairs down. I also walked around the ship as much as possible. During excursions, we did a lot of walking. After returning from our one week vacation, the scale proved that I was making sensible choices, as I had not gained anything. In fact, I lost weight. 

Keep this in mind, our cruise was around the beginning of the pandemic. News of the virus had been in the media, but mostly in other countries, but at the time of our cruise, at least two other ships were quarantined off the east, and west, coasts of the U.S. We were constantly washing our hands (to the point that my skin was badly irritated), but we were not required to wear masks yet. At the beginning of March, about 15 days after we returned from our cruise, the company I worked for announced that anyone who would be going on a cruise, or out of state (or country) would be required to quarantine themselves for 15 days after their trip. I had just reached that 15 days, so it didn’t affect me. 

Toward the end of March, we were still working from the office, but many of the schools were closing, due to the virus. Mind you, at this point, the stats in our state were not as bad as other states. We would be considered one of the better states to be in, since the outbreak wasn’t as bad. Some of my co-workers were getting the opportunity to work from home, as they had school-aged children, who needed a parent at home. Other people were gaining this opportunity, due to their health conditions, making them high risks. Being diabetic, this put me in the high-risk category as well. I requested that I be allowed to work from home, to keep me safe from exposure to the virus. Due to a lack of laptops available (you see, many of the other corporations were buying them up for their own employees to work from home), I was told I needed to wait. At that point, the officials were still not convinced that wearing a mask was the best way to keep safe, but they were starting to make it mandatory. 

On April 8^th, I was finally provided with a laptop, and allowed to work from home. I stayed at home for 5 months, working from home. I was productive, getting things done, and attending meetings via conference calls. Not everyone in the company had access to computer cameras, so video conferences were not an option. 

During my time at home, I was hearing of other people, within the Noom community, and in the social media, complaining that the pandemic, and staying at home, was causing people to gain weight. They were not exercising, or eating right. I couldn’t figure out why, since I was not just getting more workout time in, I was eating sensibly, and less food. I went from six meals a day, to 4, with one of those meals consisting of only one fruit. I was feeling more energy, shrinking out of my clothes. I managed to get in a workout 5-6 times a week. When my boss finally advised me it was time to go back to the office, I had lost around 65 pounds. Upon my return, many of my co-workers didn’t recognize me. My starting weight with Noom was 213.6, and I returned to work weighing around 150 pounds. I went from a size 16/18 to a size 10 (at that time). 

Through the holidays, my weight continues to go down. I now have the goal of reaching 135. That is a total of 78 pounds lost. As of the writing of this first blog, I am down 75 pounds. Only three left to reach that goal. I am wearing a size 8, but will likely fit into a size 6, I just haven’t tried. And the best part of it all, as I approach my one year anniversary of the start of my journey to good health, is that I am officially off of all diabetes medication. Noom has helped me learn more about myself, and what I am capable of doing. I have learned so much about what I need to do to keep myself off of medications. This is not a cure, but a way to control type II diabetes with diet and exercise. As the doctor puts it, I am still diabetic, and still need to be mindful of that, everyday. My last A1C was 5.6, lower than the goal of 5.7, and well within the normal range. My YBP has been achieved, and I am so thankful. I know that Noom provided me with the tools, and that I am the one who has learned how to use them, but I credit God with providing me with the strength I need to use those tools. The journey to good health takes a lot of courage, to face the truth about yourself. 

This is just the first, of many installments of my blog (or, as I like to put it, musings, or journalings). I will share more information, and things I have learned during my journey, in the weeks, and months, to come.