Noom is a mobile health app subscription service launched in 2008 as a way to encourage people to live healthier by making changes in their behavior and mindset. It has a team of behavioral health experts who can help you examine your eating behaviors, manage food-related emotions, practice accountability, and make lifestyle changes so you can lose weight and keep it off.
How Noom Works
In order to get started with Noom, you’ll need to answer a 10-minute online quiz that asks typical questions like your gender, weight, height, age and the reason you want to lose weight. You’ll need to answer things like how often you eat, if you’re at risk for certain health conditions, and how active you are.
After paying the fee, you’ll need to download the Noom app and sign in using your registered email address.
There are ten mini-lessons in psychology and behavioral change that you need to complete in 16 weeks. After 2 days, a goal coach who will reach out to you and check in twice a week.
Later on you will be assigned to a peer group with its own group coach. You will have a personalized plan which tells you your daily calorie budget. You need to record your physical activity and meals every day. You will also need to spend a few minutes reading short articles on mindful eating, positive thinking and stress relief daily.
What Foods Can You Eat on the Noom Diet?
Noom does not rule out any specific food. It does provide options for those who follow gluten-free, vegan and low-carb diets but it never labels foods as bad or off-limits.
They believe that food weight determines how full you feel (not calories). They use a color-coded food system that prioritizes food by caloric density (CD). The more water a food has, the lower its CD, and the more weight you can eat for fewer calories. Noom categorizes foods into three colors: Green, Yellow, and Red.
Benefits of Noom
Here’s what you’ll get:
- Personalized approach. Noom provides a customized plan based on your individual needs, preferences, and health status. It takes into account your current weight, activity level, and other factors to create a plan that is tailored to your unique circumstances.
- Focus on behavior change. Unlike other diets that only focus on what you eat, Noom places a significant emphasis on behavior change. By helping you identify and address the underlying psychological and emotional factors that contribute to your eating habits, it helps you make sustainable changes that can lead to long-term weight loss.
- Flexibility. It doesn’t restrict any specific foods or food groups, allowing you to eat a wide variety of foods. This makes it easier to stick to the program and maintain your weight loss over time.
- Coaching and support. Noom provides access to both a personal coach and a group coach, who can provide support, encouragement, and accountability as you work towards your weight loss goals. The app also features an active community of users who can offer additional support and motivation.
- Focus on health. It’s not just about weight loss, but also about improving overall health. The program encourages you to track not only your food intake, but also other health markers such as blood pressure and glucose levels.
Drawbacks of Noom
- Cost. Although it has a 14-day free trial, this program is not cheap. But if you’re serious about your health and fitness, you may want to sign up for the annual plan which is $209 ($17/month).
- Time commitment. It requires a significant time commitment, with daily lessons, tracking, and coaching sessions. While this level of engagement may be beneficial for some users, it may be difficult to sustain for others.
- App-based approach. While the app-based approach may be convenient for some users, others may prefer more traditional methods of weight loss, such as in-person coaching or support groups.
- Limited functionality on tablets. Noom is primarily designed for smartphones and may have limited functionality on tablets or other devices.
Noom offers a unique and innovative approach to weight loss that focuses on behavior change, rather than strict dietary restrictions. By addressing the underlying psychological and emotional factors that contribute to overeating, this program helps users make sustainable changes that can lead to long-term weight loss and improved overall health.