Recipe for change

I slept well last night.
But I ended up on social media this morning for a while (but I was enjoying it).

Then I ended up signed up for a Noom trial offer ...
 I immediately went face and eyes into completing the first day's tasks whoot!
 Then I started obsessing over how to hook up with google fit to collect data (one step - simple) - done.
I've been indoctrinated: "I believe."

 Then I ended up on a bad review—not the most ethical company, from that account
 ... so I honed in on how to cancel after the trial and set a reminder—done.
 That led me to ... a youtuber whose claim to fame is "The 4 Things [he] did to Lose 20 Pounds"
 ... I misread it - he lost *200* pounds. I was hoping for a long term habit—and I lucked out. He's (allegedly) a nonpaid speaker on the subject and had several recommendations for a variety of methods and podcasts, but just had some good common sense advice on how to make a long term change. (Watch it and learn!)

In a nutshell:

1. right motivation → "I'm doing this because I love myself. I'm a blank check. I have a half-life to go. "I'm already working on self-esteem with Headspace - check!
2. simple → I've got this too. "Oatmeal with raisins, cinnamon and milk for breakfast, veg & dip for lunch, half an apple to defeat hunger pangs between." Supper? work in progress ...
3. support → hmmm... Although the Noom Coach might get me pointed in the right direction, I'm not loving the idea of the Noom Group or logging foods. I'll try it for a couple weeks and see how that feels. But I really do need an accountability coach. Someone who's dependable, not someone who already has a full plate. Someone who needs a connection—someone who'd like someone to nudge every day. Someone who won't let me down later and throw a wrench in the works when their life intervenes. Someone like ... my A.I. Reminder set.
4. consistency → I hate making trivial decisions every day, so I've been building habits for a year now. work in progress ...

"Andy" (my Android) just got a new job. (Note to Google: I'd like an option to get a verbal reminder for some things, or at least a different sound to catch my attention.)

I think I'll sleep well tonight.

Tim Bauer's talk:


Other notes from his talk:

• "Don't strive for perfection." My approach to "today's intentions" has been working well for that.
• "No sugar, no white flour, and only ingredients that you can find in the store." His half plant/half animal plate looks like a simple way to balance my bread with potato and a side of starch. But it's a bit extreme. I've been leaning into white flour a lot lately - time to get a back of whole wheat again.
• "Burn the ships." Don't keep old pants. I'm cool with that. I need to apply that to other things cluttering up my life. Don't look at the living room.
• "Plan first." He plans his workouts for the week every Sunday night. I've started looking at planning my week by Sunday evening for booking appointments.

Tim espouses the Japanese philosophy of Shu Ha Ri:
Shu→"hold" Follow the rules religiously.
Ha→"break" Learn how to work the rules and tweak/break them once you understand the reasons.
Ri→"leave" Just live according to your philosophy.