Noom Diet Plan: Can This App-Based Weight Loss Program Help?

Noom is a subscription health app that combines meal and exercise tracking with virtual coaching and education to help users make behavioural changes for a healthier lifestyle. The Noom diet is a psychology-based program that operates with the core belief of balance. In terms of food, the diet breaks items into three categories: green, yellow, and red. The green foods are the best, yellow foods are slightly less nutritious, and red foods are the most calorie-dense. Ideally, your diet is comprised of mostly green foods, some yellow foods, and a limited amount of red foods. Noom is designed to foster healthy habits and shed weight long-term by focusing on food choices and the psychology behind our eating behaviours.

Noom's colour-coded food system

Green foods include vegetables like spinach, broccoli and bell peppers; fruits like apples, bananas and strawberries; whole grains like oatmeal, brown rice, quinoa and whole-grain bread; and dairy like nonfat yogurt, nonfat cheese, skim milk and unsweetened almond milk. These foods contain the most nutrients and should make up the majority of a user's diet.

Yellow foods, which should be eaten in moderate amounts, include proteins like grilled chicken, turkey breast, lean ground beef and eggs; dairy like Greek yogurt and low-fat cheese; legumes like black beans and chickpeas; and grains like whole-grain tortillas. These foods have fewer nutrients and more calories than green foods.

Orange foods are the most calorie-dense and include oils like olive oil, avocado oil and coconut oil; seeds like flaxseed, sunflower seeds and chia seeds; nuts like almonds, cashews and walnuts; and nut butters like peanut butter and almond butter. These foods should be eaten less often and in smaller portions.

Noom's colour-coded system is designed to simplify eating and help users make better food choices to support their weight loss goals. While orange foods are not necessarily unhealthy, eating them in smaller amounts can help users reduce their overall calorie intake and increase their consumption of more nutrient-dense foods.

The psychology behind Noom

Noom is a psychology-based program that operates with the core belief of balance. It is designed to help you lose weight by understanding why you eat what you eat and how to create new, more sustainable eating habits.

Noom's psychology-based approach is designed to address the root causes of people's eating habits. It helps you understand why you eat the way you do, so you can create new, lasting, sustainable habits. Noom will never tell you what you can and can't eat. That's always up to you. It's about learning how to make different food choices that leave you feeling full and satisfied (not stuffed), while helping you feel in control.

Noom's three-color system is based on the latest research in psychology and behavioural science. The daily lessons cover topics such as why you think and feel the way you do about food, what your triggers are when you overeat, and how stress and uncomfortable emotions affect how you eat. Noom will help you build healthier responses to stress, eat mindfully, train your thoughts, and recognize true hunger.

The program also uses evidence-based principles from approaches like cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) to help you change your perspective about what it takes to lose weight effectively. By tracking your food choices and weight, you can create true accountability and see how your choices align with your goals.

Noom's psychology-based approach is designed to help you make better choices over time and guide you to stay within your calorie range by focusing on what foods you can add that will keep you feeling satisfied on fewer calories. It's about understanding the emotional and mental aspects of weight loss and making sustainable lifestyle changes.

Noom's exercise and fitness features

Noom also offers exercise and fitness features through its Noom Move program, which is an on-demand fitness program. The program adds an element of fitness tracking and movement encouragement to help users achieve more holistic health goals.

The app also encourages regular exercise by setting daily step goals and providing a generic workout guide. Users can log their physical activity in the app, which provides an extensive list of exercises to choose from. Noom automatically connects to your Health app to display your total daily steps if you have an iPhone.

Noom also allows users to track several other measures of progress, including water intake and mood. Users can enable notifications to set up meal reminders at specific times during the day.

Noom's subscription plans and costs

Noom also offers a free trial period, which can be 7 or 14 days, and users can choose a price for their trial, with options such as $0.50, $3, $10, or $18. After the trial ends, users will be charged for the subscription plan they have selected.

Additionally, Noom provides optional add-on features, such as personal coaching, Noom Med, custom exercise and meal plans, a WiFi body scale, and an Everlywell metabolism test, which incur additional costs. For instance, personal coaching has a 7-day trial, after which it costs $150 per month, while Noom Med costs $49 per month.

It is worth noting that Noom's pricing may vary depending on promotions and discounts offered during different times of the year, such as Black Friday or Cyber Monday. Users have reported securing annual subscriptions for prices ranging from $120 to $179.

Noom's subscription plans provide access to various features, including tracking tools, educational resources, support groups, recipes, and optional personal coaching. The platform employs a psychology-based approach, combining lessons with personal coaching to help users build healthier habits.

Noom's pros and cons

Noom is a weight loss app that encourages daily behaviour changes for long-term weight loss and focuses on fitness and nutrition to help users "stop dieting". The app uses a colour-coded system to categorise foods based on their nutritional value. While nothing is off-limits, users are encouraged to eat more of some foods and less of others. Here are some pros and cons of the Noom app:

Pros:

• It holds you accountable: The app has features to help keep you on track, such as logging your daily physical activity, meals, snacks, and health markers like blood glucose, blood pressure, and water intake.
• It's very specific: Noom can help guide you if you're unsure about whether your meals are healthy or how much you should be moving each day.
• It's ideal for beginners: If it's your first attempt at losing weight, you'll appreciate all the guidance the app has to offer.
• It's scientifically supported: Noom's approach to weight loss is backed by a number of scientific studies.
• It's all-in-one support: Noom acts as your health coach, nutritionist, personal trainer, and accountability buddy all at the same time.

Cons:

• It's pricey: At about $70 a month, Noom is more expensive than other weight-loss apps.
• It requires initiative: The app won't do the work for you, so you need to take the initiative to follow through with the healthy habits it suggests.
• It could bring up deeper emotions: Identifying the reasons behind your weight may bring up unresolved feelings that require a higher level of support.
• It's not recommended for those with a history of eating disorders: The app does not limit weight loss based on your personal information, which may lead to the belief that you can lose dangerous amounts of weight.
• It requires a smartphone or tablet: You need access to a smartphone or tablet to use the Noom app.
• It has no face-to-face option: Noom does not offer in-person interaction with coaches or other members.
• The coaches might not be experts: While Noom's health coaches are approved by the National Consortium for Credentialing Health and Wellness Coaches, they may not be certified nutritionists, registered dietitians, personal trainers, or doctors.

Frequently asked questions