My Noom Review

Okay, for those of you looking for the short and sweet point: Noom is a nope for me.

Now, for the longer story…

I was unhappy with my weight around my birthday, so I decided to use some birthday money to invest in 4 months of a Noom subscription. Noom is a weight loss app that you can download. The cost varies based on whatever special they are running, but I think at the time it was like $120 for the 4 months.

Noom is a four-part process:

  • You weigh in each morning and track it on a chart.
  • You log your food throughout the day. It gets divided into green, yellow and red zones to help you focus on eating healthier food (no food is off-limits).
  • You get a few articles to read each day which are designed by behavioral psychologists to help you make sustainable lifestyle changes, rather than being on a restrictive ‘diet’.
  • You get access to a “goal specialist” and a “group coach”, as well as a support group of other people going through the program at the same time.

 Month 1 thoughts (October-ish):

I started out strong. I weighed myself and logged it every single morning and tracked every bit of food that I ate throughout the day. I lost about 4 pounds within the first 10 days and then just stuck there for the rest of the month. At this point, I was enjoying the reading and learning all the little psychological tricks on why we do what we do. I was excited about Noom and brought it up in conversation with my friends (probably too much). After week two, my goal specialist reached out. I was hoping for someone who would really help me feel motivated, but instead he was kind of annoying and each chat felt like homework. Basically, every post ended with a question and it was a little more time consuming than I expected. As for my group, the group coach posts prompts on the page and then only a few people in the group bother to respond. During the first month, I responded to a few prompts each week.

Month 2 thoughts (November-ish):

I’m still reading the daily articles, but I’m finding them less interesting at this point. I’m still weighing myself in on a daily basis, but I haven’t lost any weight. Instead I’m up a pound, I’m down a pound, I’m up two pounds… and it’s pissing me off. I’m still tracking my foods, but not 100%. I find my goal specialist irritating and his responses are starting to feel canned. I ignore him for a couple weeks and he keeps posting “hey, we haven’t talked in awhile and I’d love to know how you’re doing.” I feel guilty, but not guilty enough to deal with him. My group is becoming less active and I probably only post once a week.

Month 3 thoughts (December-ish):

Hello holidays! The daily scale thing is starting to make me a little crazy. I know that everyone fluctuates, but the up and down is starting to wear on me. I’m more of a weigh-yourself-once-a-week kinda girl. I’m still on average about 3-ish pounds less than when I started Noom and with the holiday treats surrounding me that is certainly a win. The articles seem to be getting longer and more plentiful. I’m completely over the goal specialist and the group coach. Both are basically nothing but canned responses and prompts and barely anyone in my group comments at all on our group page. I decide to give myself a break for a week and I don’t log in at all between Christmas and New Year’s. I feel like my brain is a lot healthier when I stop weighing myself daily and tracking every bite.

Month 4 thoughts (January-ish)

I’m done. I still have a few weeks left on my subscription, but I’m so over it. Once again, I feel like a ‘diet’ failure and each time I see the app on my phone I’m reminded that Noom has worked for thousands of people… but not me. I’m in that “I’m too fluffy and I ate too much over the holidays” phase, and I think maybe if I could just force myself to use the app again I’ll do it *right* this time.

Monday comes around again and I do my weigh in and start tracking my food again. By Wednesday I’ve stopped. Putting this much focus on food and my weight is making me unhappy and stressed. On most days I’m still 2-3 pounds down from where I started. Did Noom help me lose weight? Possibly. However, any time I buckle down for a couple weeks and forgo snacks that is typically what I would lose. For free.

When it comes down to it, I know what’s healthy and not healthy. I know I should drink more water. I know I should be more active each day. It’s not magic, it’s just hard. The Noom app didn’t work for me. Maybe I just wasn’t in the right headspace for it. Maybe I’m just not a food tracking sort of person. Any which way, I’m pulling the plug.

Like what you see? Share me with your friends!

4 thoughts on “My Noom Review”

  1. Thank you for this! I have been wondering if the ads/commercials were…not accurate…every time I see one. I am glad to hear your real life experience with it, and I’m sorry it didn’t work for you. But you saved me from even trying it! Thank you! I think we’re in similar situations so I’m sure I’d see the same result – and I can totally make better choices and drink more water without Noom 🙂 Thank you!

  2. Maybe it just isn’t for you at this time. I think Weight Watchers is the best I’ve found. I was going to meetings, tracking, all of that. Then I stopped. My weight went way up. But, I think I needed that time, and then, I truly was ready. I felt a true need to lose the weight. My doctor wasn’t happy, saying I could be prediabetic, if I didn’t lose it. So, back to doing weight watchers from home. No meetings, just tracking, weighing once a week, and finding other food that can take the place of higher fat/sodium food. Most food brands have a lower fat version. Or, a more healthy version. And, that is what I try to find. I lost 60 lbs. In about a year. I kept it off for two years, then had a hip replacement ( bad fall ), and was lying around for 5 months. So, gained some back.
    So, this is where I am. I track every day, I try. Some days I look better, some days I don’t. I was too thin, though, thinking back. What I do, I weight myself once in awhile, and if I look pretty good, I will weight myself to see what weight makes me feel good. But tracking does help you maintain. But, now, it is all about when I feel good about how I look, not a certain number.

    Good luck.

  3. I hear you! This has been me. I quit it. I quit it all. Now I just lean into my health kicks and enjoy my time away from it too.

    I realized that if I am active each day and drinking my water then I am more likely to make better food choices. And you know what sometimes I’m not active and don’t hydrate and maybe I will be the next day.

    I weigh myself 1x a quarter. I expect to be within a 15 pound range. I I personally feel like I have better things to do then track my food and weight myself every day. A 30 second meditation is going to be way better for EVERY aspect of my health.
    And my other focus is on LOVING MYSELF. Big time. I love myself when I eat ice cream and I love myself when I eat tea and celery. Have you read ‘you are a badass’, cannot recommend it enough.

  4. I thought I was the only one who didn’t lose weight using Noom!
    I’m the same up and down. My group has all lost weight. I think it’s good if you have never exercised and cut down on food. I will stick with it but am ☹️
    Thanks for your review!

Leave a Reply to Jane Lindsay Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *