Noom Review: What is Noom Diet?

Have you ever asked someone who has lost a ton of weight how they did it?

Our next review takes us to one of my favorite exercise and wellness tools named Noom.

Have you ever seen a genuine weight loss commercial featuring people who have lost weight and the process it took? Please note that I am not referring to the dodgy pop-up ads all over the internet which claims you can lose 50 pounds in one week.

From the answers you have collated, you will notice that the general consensus can be summed up in these five words: Losing weight is extremely difficult.

Of course, it is not hard to see why this is so. After all, it is common knowledge that losing weight requires accountability and dedication. For instance, on a normal weight loss journey, you have to track the foods you eat daily. You have to know about the kinds of food to eat or avoid. You have to know the required number of calories you need daily and ensure you don’t go over it. You also have to come up with exercises that can burn fat efficiently, whether weight training, cardio or yoga.  I am sure I am forgetting some other requirements, but you get the gist.

Having to keep track of all of these different things at once can be tedious for even the most dedicated person. So is it any wonder that most people just choose to throw in the towel and console themselves with a tub of their favorite vanilla ice cream? Alright, I know I am being extra specific here, but truly this is not about me.

Anyway, you can agree that losing weight is not as easy as the commercials say. But what if you had access to a tool that can do all that tedious tracking and calorie-counting so you concentrate solely on your weight loss?

You read that right!

There is an app in the market that can function as your nutritionist and personal trainer for just a token every month. And its name is…

(Drum rolls)

Noom!

My melodramatic self aside, Noom is that health and wellness program you did not know was missing from your life. In fact, its creators claim it is the last weight loss program you will ever need! Okay, that sounds pretty confident. But does the product live up to its hype? That is what we will find out in this article.

Summary

Product name: Noom

Founders: Saeju Jeong and Artem Petakov

Price: From $32.25 per month

Free Trial: Available for 14 days. It can be canceled at any time.

Suitable for: People interested in keeping off the weight and also forming healthy habits.

Summary

Noom is a paid app that is designed to help you shed weight. It places more emphasis on behavioral change rather than physical change. And its end goal is to ensure you cultivate healthy habits that can serve you in the long term.

Health & wellness

What is It?

I really don’t know where the founders got the name from so you’ll have to forgive me for that. Anyway, it is a weight loss and fitness program whose principal aim is to aid you in forming healthy eating habits and lifestyle. And how does it achieve this? It gives you access to tools that are instrumental in educating you on the type of foods you should eat in accordance with your health and weight loss goals.

In contrast to other similar programs that solely focus on the physical elements of weight loss, Noom ensures that your mental state also undergoes a healthy transformation. In other words, it strives to help you overcome the mental barriers that encourage poor eating habits. I believe this is a good thing because as you may well know, it is not everyone that has the mental fortitude to resist a deep-fried pizza in favor of a broccoli salad.

With the app, you have access to a team of professional nutritionists, health coaches, and personal trainers that are ready to work closely with you.

Benefits

Allow members to connect with other like-minded users.

No food is off-limits.

It offers customizable meal plans and workouts.

Allow members to set goals and challenge themselves.

It offers personal coaching for issues such as emotional eating.

It has tons of recipes for users to access.

Assistance from a team of certified dietitians, nutritionists, health coaches, among others.

How does It work?

When you log into the app, you are shown foods that will help you to achieve your weight loss goals faster. The app will also give you tips on sustaining healthy habits, prompt you to rate your motivation for the day, and give you a quiz. In addition, you can track your daily exercises and workouts plans, access the millions of recipes using foods in its database, and read articles tailored to your weight loss goals.

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This might look like the app is requiring you to do too much. After all, the only reason why it is being considered is that you are tired of counting calories and all it entails. But if you ask me, as long as every one of these activities goes toward keeping the weight off, then it is welcome.

What is the food database

Before I proceed further, let’s talk about Noom’s food database. I am sure you must have heard the common saying that abs are made in the kitchen. Well, apply that saying to your general weight loss goals.

In essence, what I am trying to say is that the type of foods you eat plays a large role in whether you will lose weight or not. This is why there is a need for you to track the meals you consume on a daily basis. However, you and I know that daily tracking of food can be quite tedious especially for a newbie in the weight loss journey. Thankfully, the food database does all the heavy lifting.

It might interest you to know that the huge food database is a major feature of the app. To give you an idea, this database contains more than 3.7 million food options that you can choose from.

It even allows you to choose portion sizes that are ideal for the food of your choice. And the best part, all this is done from the comfort of your couch.

Noom

Are you required to follow a special food menu?

With Noom, there are no pre-packaged food programs. The app only requires you to log in your daily meals and through the use of green, yellow, and red colors, it helps you to see how healthy your foods are.  Foods like fruits and veggies are colored as green. This means they are loaded with healthy nutrients and are particularly low in calories. Dairy and meat are color-coded as yellow foods. It means they are still good even though they contain a large number of calories.

Red foods have the least amount of healthy nutrients and the highest calories. Food on the red list usually includes desserts, pizza, and other processed foods. And no, the app does not tell you to totally avoid foods in red or you can as well go ahead and stop reading. After all, what is life without desserts?

Instead, it wants you to know that these red foods are less filling and extremely high in calories so you can know how to add that into your daily calorie goal.

What are the types of programs offered?

Noom has two types of programs on offer. There is a diabetes management program and a healthy weight program.

The healthy weight program: Every food item in this program is color-coded according to the calories it contains. When you select this program, you will be given a calorie budget every day. Your task is to make sure that you do not go over the limit of this budget.

The diabetes management program: This program is unlike the healthy weight program where foods are classified based on the number of calories they contain. Rather, the food items in this program are color-coded based on the number of carbohydrates in them.

Can you shed more light on the experts involved in the program?

Of course! It has a team of registered dietitians nutritionists (RDNs) that are actively involved in the weight loss journey of the users. These professionals are in charge of the food database to ensure that you get the right information when it comes to your diet. They also design the eating plans available in the app.

It also has a team of health coaches that have been certified by the National Consortium for Credentialing Health & Wellness Coaches. These coaches are provided to users for more personal and customized training.

Noom

After downloading Noom, what’s next?

You will have to register on the platform. The registration is pretty easy just as long as you follow the prompts. You will be asked to input your age, current weight, height, the amount of weight you want to lose, and, on a scale from tortoise to a hare, how fast you want to lose it. All these factors will be computed to give you a daily calorie goal that you have to meet.

When you are done filling the questionnaire, the app will request permission to access the Health app of your smartphone. It does this so it can log all your exercise automatically. However, you will have to manually log in the foods you eat daily. When you do that, the Noom app subtracts the calories from your recommended daily calorie goal so that you can see if you are in line or have exceeded it.

How much does it cost?

Noom is not cheap and for good reason. Downloading the app and signing up for a membership can cost you about $50 every month. But if you are still not convinced about the program, take advantage of the 14 days free trial available after which you will be required to upgrade to the paid version.

What is the benefit of the paid version?

The paid version requests more detailed information about your health, fitness and lifestyle goals. It also requires you to provide any barriers that you feel is standing in your way of losing weight. In addition, the paid version also gives you tools to educate yourself on what you eat.

For instance, instead of telling you that the kale smoothie you just prepared is healthy, it tells you that the smoothie is packed with nutrients and low in calories. To put it simply, the Noom app does not just help you drop pounds. It teaches you the science behind your weight loss in simple and easy-to-understand terms.

What I love

It has a thriving community

If you are one of those who love doing things in a group, Noom will suit you perfectly. With its membership, you gain access to feedback and support from other members totaling 45 million and still counting. There are message boards and forums where you could ask any questions bothering you without the fear of being judged. There are also group chat features so you can interact closely with others in real time.

It comes with a 14 days free trial

You don’t have to pay for it right away. I mean, what if you don’t particularly enjoy it? That will be a whole $200 wasted because it does not support month by month payment. To prevent that awful feeling of buyer’s remorse, the app comes with a 14 days free trial that you should totally use.

It encourages daily feedback and support

The app provides feedback to you throughout the day. The app keeps track of all your food and exercise logs. But that’s not all. It even gives you suggestions in areas you can improve.

Noom

What I find concerning 

It is somewhat expensive.

Noom costs about $50 every month. A full membership lasts for four months or 16 weeks, so expect to shell out more than $200 for the duration. There are also additional costs for extra services like customized meal plans and exercises. I highly recommend that you take advantage of the free 14 day trial so you can know if this program is suitable for you.

It can be stressful

Let’s face it, not many people are cut out for the daily logging and tracking of food. This mandatory activity can be cumbersome and quite discouraging to keep up with.

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In conclusion

Noom is all about ensuring that you are in the proper frame of mind to lose weight the healthy way. The tons of support it provides, makes it easy for anyone, whether beginner or expert, to begin their fitness journey with confidence. However, how well the app works still depends on the individual using it. As long as you stick with it, you are certain of achieving your weight loss goals in no time.

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Posted by / January 22, 2020