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Noom Review: Permanent weight loss is a struggle, with research indicating that, on average, people regain half the weight they lost within two years and 80% within five years. Noom claims to help its customers shed weight and keep it off for good. Like many modern-day weight-loss programs, user participation happens on an app.
The program uses a combination of evidence-based psychological research, human coaching and technology to help participants change their mindsets, modify their behaviors and form a healthier relationship with food. Participants access courses, tools and coaching solely through the app.
The digital health company arrived on the scene in 2008 after co-founders Saeju Jeong and Artem Petakov’s frustration with a health care system focused on treatment, not prevention, resulting in too many preventable deaths. Thus far, millions have tried the program.
Review of Noom Weight Loss Pros:
- Focuses on mindset and behavioral changes
- Uses scientifically backed approaches
- Long-term solutions over rapid weight loss
- Provides individual coaching
- Emphasizes whole-foods eating
Review of Noom Weight Loss Cons:
- No meal planning options
- Heavy daily time investment required
- Success depends on willingness to change behaviors
- Only available through mobile or tablet app
- May be cost-prohibitive for some
THINGS TO CONSIDER BEFORE JOINING A NOOM WEIGHT-LOSS PROGRAM
Obesity is a serious issue in the U.S., impacting approximately 42% of the adult population and leading to health issues such as heart disease, diabetes, stroke and some cancers. Most people struggle to lose weight and keep it off.
The challenges are partly due to focusing on rapid weight loss and demonizing certain food groups rather than understanding the root of an individual’s relationship with food and changing behaviors. Dieting is also often a source of stress. Stress makes the brain seek out comfort foods, which are generally high in calories and low in nutrients.
Noom may be a good fit for people who want to create lasting effects and have the time and motivation for a long-term commitment. It’s also for those who don’t mind shopping and preparing their own food. It isn’t a good option for anyone who wants assistance with meal planning or delivery. In that case, WW or Nutrisystem may be a better option.
THE NOOM FEATURES AND BENEFITS
Noom is one of the best weight-loss programs if you want to see long-term changes. The company’s approach is to help customers identify why they choose the foods they do and provide the necessary support to change how they think about food and how they eat.
The program’s features offer users numerous benefits that support long-term change, assisting many customers in developing healthy eating habits and keeping their weight off.
NOOM PROVIDES SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
The company has a team of behavioral health experts, all holding doctoral or master’s degrees in relevant fields, such as integrative medicine and psychology. The team conducts research and publishes findings in peer-reviewed scientific, academic and professional journals.
The company has more than 40 articles in publications such as the Journal of Women’s Health and Health Education and Behavior. The research is current, and you can check out many of the articles online without purchasing the program.
Noom has researched diabetes prevention and has a program designed explicitly with preventing diabetes in mind. It’s the first virtual diabetes prevention program with full recognition from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
NOOM PROVIDES DAILY LESSONS
This weight-loss program centers on changing participants’ mindsets for an overall healthier approach to eating. It is about more than just dropping pounds. The company’s goal is to provide a path for making changes that stick based on a cognitive behavioral therapy approach.
When you sign up for the program, the company asks you to complete 10 mini lessons over the 16-week course. The lessons are meted out in daily chunks. The length of each lesson is based on how long you indicate you want to spend reading per day. You can commit to as little as five minutes.
The lessons help you understand the psychology of your current eating habits. Another of Noom’s mindset-changing approaches is to offer daily motivation in the form of affirmations. Each day you log into the app, you can access the affirmation for that day.
NOOM CREATES A PERSONALIZED PLAN
This program does not offer cookie-cutter diet plans for participants. Your plan is based on your personal goals and lifestyle patterns. The first step in signing up for the program is answering questions that help the program develop a weight-loss plan for you. You’ll answer questions about yourself such as:
- What is your weight-loss goal?
- Which sex best describes you?
- Are you pregnant?
- What are your height and weight?
- What is the ideal weight that you’d like to get to?
- Which best describes the area you live in?
Noom also asks you a series of health-related questions. These questions are about injuries and chronic diseases or illnesses. Some questions focus on psychological, emotional and behavioral topics to determine your current thought patterns and habits.
After you answer all the questions, artificial intelligence gets to work coming up with your personal weight-loss program. You have to provide your email to find out how quickly the program may help you achieve your ideal weight. After viewing your results, you can choose to complete the sign-up process.
If you choose to register, you can give the program a test run for a week before committing. The plan duration is typically 16 weeks. However, your goals may alter how long Noom recommends you stick with the program. Many people choose to continue after attaining their ideal weight, as the program is also suitable for weight maintenance.
You won’t see prices for the company’s plans on its website, which could detract some from trying it out. Generally, a four-month subscription comes out to about $59 per month. The more months you sign on for in the beginning, the bigger the monthly savings, a great benefit for those who need more time to reach their goals or want to continue on a maintenance plan.
NOOM ALLOWS YOU TO TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR JOURNEY
You’re in charge throughout your entire journey with this program. You choose what you eat and when. You also decide how much exercise you do, though you are encouraged to exercise regularly. Some may think this is a drawback, as they prefer a prescriptive approach. Other weight-loss programs, such as WW, would be a better option for those individuals.
Rather than telling you what to eat or making any food off-limits, Noom sets up the program using a color system based on a food’s nutrient density. The three color categories are:
- Green: Foods in this category are nutrient-dense. They have few calories and are loaded with micronutrients. Veggies, fruits and whole grains make up most of the green category.
- Yellow: These foods contain plenty of nutrients but are also higher in calories than green foods. This category consists of legumes, lean meats and low-fat dairy.
- Red: This category is reserved for foods that have little nutritional value for the number of calories they have. Full-fat dairy, red meat and processed foods fall into the red zone.
When you sign up for Noom, the program calculates the ideal number of calories you should consume daily to reach your weight goal.
You eat the food you want and enter it into your daily log. The app tells you which color category each food falls in. It doesn’t tell you not to eat any specific foods. Instead, it recommends eating mostly green foods, consuming yellow ones in moderation and limiting the red foods.
You can also use the color categories to help you with your shopping. While the program doesn’t offer food planning or delivery, they do have recipes you can use to give you ideas about healthy meals to prepare and eat.
Noom also encourages participants to hold themselves accountable. While you don’t have to enter everything you eat into the app, doing so helps you achieve your goals and understand your eating habits. The color-coding of your daily meals provides a nice visual image of how you do each day.
NOOM PROVIDES PERSONAL AND GROUP COACHING
Coaching is another beneficial feature of the weight-loss program. Shortly after customers sign up for the program, they are assigned to a personal coach. The company’s coaches are trained in cognitive behavioral therapy and approved by the National Consortium for Credentialing Health and Wellness Coaches.
Noom participants’ personal coaches usually check in with them twice a week. They also offer motivational messages to help keep users on track. In addition to a personal coach, the program assigns new participants to a group and an associated group coach.
The group is another layer of accountability and support. Group members chat with one another through the app, cheering each other on, offering tips and asking for advice. The group coach shares advice and moderates the chat group posts.
NOOM OFFERS CONVENIENCE IN AN APP
Targeting the estimated 85% of U.S. adults who own a smartphone, Noom operates entirely through a smartphone app. While you can also download the app on a tablet, not all the program’s features are functional. This isn’t the right program for you if you don’t have a smartphone.
The app allows you to access the program anywhere you have a cell signal. Most people carry their phones around all day, making this a convenient format that may help participants succeed. The app not only allows you to track your food and water intake, but it also counts your steps. Of course, you have to have your phone on you for an accurate count.
The Noom app includes tools for tracking calories, pulse, blood pressure and exercise. You can easily access your lessons and the day’s motivational message. The iOS app has a 4.7 rating from almost 700,000 reviews. Nearly 300,000 Google users gave the app a 4.4-star rating.
NOOM PROVIDES OPTION TO JOIN STRESS RELIEF PROGRAM
Stress is a significant part of modern-day life for many. When you experience stress, your body releases the hormone cortisol. This hormone has a strong influence on eating and food cravings. It contributes to the desire to binge eat or stress-eat. Stress is also associated with higher risks of health issues, such as heart disease, high blood pressure and immune disorders.
If you experience elevated stress levels in your daily life, it will be harder to shed those pounds. As part of Noom’s effort to help people improve their overall health and wellness, the company created Noom Mood. This program uses the same focus on psychology to help users change their mindsets.
Joining this second program may benefit those who want to find better ways to manage their stress. As with the weight-loss program, the mood program has daily lessons designed to help you understand stress’s impact and what you can do to manage it. It also provides suggestions for activities that can lower your stress levels.
CUSTOMER SATISFACTION WITH NOOM
Part of our review process involves finding out what customers have to say about the product. Weight-loss programs often have mixed reviews as weight loss can be difficult no matter how good a program is. This company has better than average reviews for this product category, with a 4.4-star rating on Trustpilot from 59,218 reviews. Here is a small sample of the things customers have to say about the program:
ALTERNATIVE WEIGHT-LOSS PROGRAMS
No single weight-loss plan can work for everyone. While we think Noom provides a healthy approach to shedding extra pounds, we recognize that everyone’s needs are different. A few good alternatives take different approaches to help customers lose weight.
NUTRISYSTEM
Nutrisystem provides customers with prepared meals and snacks delivered to their homes. The company recommends people eat six times a day and provides enough food to meet that objective five days a week. The program builds in two flex days for eating non-plan foods. This is a good option for those who prefer a weight-loss program with a lower time investment.
A comparison between Noom and Nutrisystem demonstrates that they have different target customers:
- Noom has recipes customers can use but no prepared foods, while Nutrisystem relies on prepared meals and snacks.
- Nutrisystem offers three different plans customers can choose from based on individual needs and preferences, while Noom has one program plan.
- Noom assigns personal coaches, while Nutrisystem has a coaching staff that customers can access via phone or online.
- Nutrisystem does not have the psychological and behavioral components Noom does.
Check out Nutrisystem to see if it’s the right choice for you.
WEIGHT WATCHERS
WW changed its weight-loss programs, moving to a format similar to the one Noom uses. It creates individualized plans based on participant answers during a sign-up survey. The company still makes prepared foods, so this may be a good choice if you want a program that gives you the option of buying ready-made foods.
There are a few apparent differences between the two programs, including:
- WW costs a little less per month than Noom.
- Weight Watchers uses a point system instead of a color system.
- WW includes on-demand exercise programs.
- Noom has an educational and psychological element; WW does not.
Have a look at Weight Watchers to see if this program suits your weight-loss and lifestyle needs.
DIET DIRECT
If you find that you do better when someone else takes care of your meals, Diet Direct may be a good choice for you. This weight-loss program focuses on providing customers with prepared meals right to their doors. You choose from three plan options, each offering a different number of meals per day.
When comparing Diet Direct to Noom, it’s easy to see the differences:
- Diet Direct offers a complete meal delivery service, while Noom has no option for meal delivery.
- With Diet Direct, you pay for plans that come with a specified number of meals versus the subscription plan Noom offers.
- Noom provides personal coaching, while Diet Direct offers a digital Diet Plan Lifestyle Guide.
- Diet Direct has no app or diet tracking method.
Check out Diet Direct to see if it’s right for you!
CONCLUDING OUR NOOM REVIEW
Losing weight and keeping it off is a challenge many people fail to overcome. Most fad diets don’t change the way people think about food and eating. Once the diet ends, old habits return, and the scale starts tipping in the wrong direction again. It’s no wonder many people end up giving up.
Noom is a weight-loss program designed to help participants shed the pounds and keep them off. It focuses on changing customer mindset and behavior rather than solely on losing weight. The program teaches participants how to eat better through a coding system that makes it easy to visualize and understand eating habits. Find out if Noom is the last diet you’ll ever need.
