My name is Mary Leuthauser (@mamamar_getsfit), and I’m 30 years old and live in upstate New York as a mortgage account rep. I lost 40 pounds after discovering the Noom program.
I struggled the most with my weight after I had my first son. I started eating whatever was convenient (prepackaged foods, fast food, take out, etc.) instead of balanced and healthy meals. The weight piled on, and I continued that type of eating throughout my second pregnancy and postpartum.
I would also crash diet from time to time. Sure, I’d lose some weight, but I’d gain it back and then some once I got sick of the food restriction those diets always involved.
My turning point was about eight months after having my second son. I was avoiding (and deleting) all photos of myself with my kids.
I had zero energy to keep up with anyone or anything. I was not feeling like myself at all. So in December 2018, I signed up for Noom—an app that focuses on making behavioral changes surrounding dieting and weight loss—almost as a last-ditch effort. I felt like I had tried so many different things by that point that I just thought, why not try this too?
Around this same time, I was listening to a podcast by author and motivational speaker Rachel Hollis in which she talked about her own weight-loss journey. She talked about how she would quit one bad habit for 30 days—and that anyone could do anything for 30 days. So I picked a habit and I did it. Seeing myself make one small change at a time gave me the confidence to really push forward and keep going with other habits, too.
Noom kickstarted my weight-loss journey. It taught me how to eat again, as silly as that may sound.
Instead of always reaching for what was convenient, I learned how to meal prep and plan, and how to choose foods that fueled my body instead of just filled me up. I stuck to the app and really used the educational resources. Once I finished my course with Noom, all of the habits I learned actually stuck.
Now, it’s second nature for me to think about nutritious choices when buying and making my meals. I don’t restrict myself. I make healthy choices and tend to stick to an 80-20 way of eating, where I eat healthy 80 percent of the time and enjoy foods I love but in moderation 20 percent of the time.
Here’s what I typically eat in a day now:
- Breakfast: Baked oatmeal that I make at the beginning of every week
- Lunch: A chopped cabbage salad from Aldi
- Snacks: Fruit or yogurt
- Dinner: Chicken, veggies, and roasted potatoes
- Dessert: If I eat dessert, my go-to is usually a cookie
I didn’t have an exercise routine until recently, when I started walking on the treadmill at night for 30 to 45 minutes. My goal in 2020 is to run a half marathon, so I’m trying to build up to that.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B2ft4VsHw32/
I have lost 40 pounds in a little over four months. I have maintained it for eight months.
I had to accept that there is no overnight fix. It’s a weight-loss journey for a reason, and there is no end date for becoming the best version of yourself. It is just as much a long-term mental journey as it is a physical one.
My biggest pieces of advice are: meal prep and plan, and find a support system. Meal planning does not have to take hours and doesn’t have to be complicated. I try to share quick and easy prep recipes on Instagram. It’s so much easier to put healthy eating habits into effect if the food is ready for you.
As for finding a support system, Noom has a built-in coach and support group. But I also found a great community on Instagram when I started a separate page for the purpose of accountability.
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