Applied online. Completed 4 coaching scenarios with 25 minutes to respond + uploaded video then did the 60 minute "Mock Coaching" session. Received a rejection email today. I never talked to anyone. No interview. "Sam is a 45-year-old female who just joined the program a few days ago” with 1 day of food logged. Most of the mock coaching session staring at the cursor in google docs. The interviewer name rhymes with MAmber MEaker playing Sam. C:Hi Sam. How are you today? It looks like you have been using the noom app to log nutrient intake. S: I’m good. A bit nervous, but hopeful. I just need to get this weight off! C:I am happy to hear you feel hopeful. Tell me more about feeling nervous & we will move forward from there. S:I just don’t know how to do this. I feel like I’ll never get this weight off. C:It sounds like you are feeling discouraged. What can I do to offer support? What would you like to talk about first. S:I’m not even sure where to start. I feel like I don’t have any time to put towards me & that makes it hard to make progress. C: It sounds like finding time to focus on yourself to make healthy changes is really difficult. I wonder if it would be helpful to identify some small steps to take to begin to move forward in the direction you would like to go. I hear your desire to lose weight, the feelings of discouragement, & concern about the time. Is there anything else that is making it difficult? S:Hmm.I feel like I have little control over my meals. My husband takes care of our dinners, & there’s little to choose from for lunches. I don’t exercise, get plenty of steps in, never feels like enough. C:Change takes time. I hear your desire to make changes. What positive changes have you made so far? What is one change you can make, just for today, that will start to improve your health? Tiny baby steps add up to big changes over time.? S: Logging my food would be my positive change. As long as I can find the time to do that, it goes pretty well. My husband & I have talked at great length about our dinner choices. He’s such a “meat & potatoes” kind of guy. He’s supportive but he doesn’t get the struggle of needing to lose weight & can eat anything. C: Logging your food is a positive change. :Celebrate every positive step. It sounds like talking to your husband openly about your struggles is another positive, even if he may not fully understand, having that open communication is a big plus. I wonder what small change you can add to dinner or somewhere else in your day. S:It’s hard because he won’t make 2 meals. I wonder if adding a vegetable to our meal though would work. My kids are picky, & he’s not a huge veggie lover but maybe that wouldn’t take a lot of time. C: Is it possible to cook meals together? What veggie do you think would be the best option for you & your family? S: I wish that was possible. I have an hour & a half commute back home after work, & I either make it just in time for dinner or later in the evening. Probably corn or cauliflower. C: That’s a long commute! When you look at your noom app, the green, yellow, red food system, which would fit into those goals the best? S: Oh, my goodness. My friend just called & wants me to bring over wine, chocolate & ice cream tonight. This has been our thing since college, whenever one of us is struggling, & she IS struggling! Of course, I will support her, but this is when I start to feel hopeless again. In these unexpected moments. Like I will never get this weight off! C: Offering support to your friend really matters to you, I can tell you value your friendship, at the same time, I hear your feelings of hopelessness. How can you offer support to your friends without losing sight of your goal? What can you do, just for today, just for this situation, to offer support without eating food that it does not sound like you want to eat? S: It’s hard because I don’t want to make tonight about me in any way, because of what she is going through. I don’t want to have these foods because they probably don’t help me, but they are delicious. I am not quite sure what to do here yet. C: Is it possible to offer support without eating, drinking, and not make it about you? Is abstaining a choice/option? If it is not, what is the next best choice for your health? You matter too. S: Thank you. I guess after thinking on this more, I want to leave tonight alone. I just don’t feel right making any part of it about me & don’t want to have to worry about having a conversation with her or anything. I think once she gets through some of her stuff that I can talk with her about switching some of these things up & I’m sure she’ll be supportive. I will deal with the guilt tomorrow & hopefully not go off the rails tomorrow. C: The plan for tonight is to keep the tradition so you can focus on offering support to your friend. Would it help to have a plan to keep you from going off the rails tomorrow?