Simply put, these last couple of years have not been easy for those of us who struggle with their weight. Panic, uncertainty, city-wide lockdowns, and not to mention… TV has gotten really good lately. While these days, people are wising up about fad diets and seen-on-TV exercise machines, with limited access to gyms and personal trainers it can be very difficult to find genuine help. This is where Noom comes in.
What Is Noom?
Noom is a digital health platform that is “on a mission to help people everywhere live healthier lives through behaviour change”. In practice, it is a personalised weight loss and health program that provides simple, daily tasks, lessons, and motivations you can access through a dedicated app.
Noom distinguishes itself with a focus on significant, lasting outcomes, and tries to avoid the trappings of traditional diets. According to Noom, over 80% of its users have lost weight on other weight loss plans only to gain it all back. So, Noom attempts to steady its users’ expectations, and uses a combination of health science and psychology to achieve proven health outcomes from weight management, to diabetes prevention and stress reduction.
Is Noom A Dieting Plan?
While Noom has recommendations on food and a clever colour coding system, it prides itself on not being a restrictive diet. Like Apple and Samsung’s respective health apps, Noom allows you to track your exercise and log your food intake. However, it goes further in providing personalised one-on-one coaching. All that being said, Noom does pay close attention to any dietary requirements and will regularly suggest foods to help you achieve your health goals. All without ever requesting you remove any of your favourite foods from your life.
How Much Does Noom Cost?
Noom is accessed through a subscription cost, however Australians are able to get a 14-day trial for $1. The most popular option recommended by Noom is the 6-month upfront cost of $129, which works out to $6.85 a week ($30/month). That initial 14-day trial provides you with a personalised program (customised to your survey responses in your entry questionnaire), and the full first fortnight of that weight loss program. After the trial, you’ll be given access to additional features for continued motivation and support such as a peer group and a personal coach.
How Does Noom Work?
As opposed to a diet plan or exercise regime, Noom’s daily lessons are based on cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), a goal-oriented psychotherapy treatment that addresses patterns of thinking and behaviour. Noom is more focused on helping you learn how your mind works, understanding your underlying “why”, and helping you to pick up the patterns behind the decisions you make, both healthy and unhealthy. Noom asks for anywhere from 5-15 minutes each day depending on how much you’re willing to give, and provides daily lessons and health advice focusing on the psychology of weight loss or getting fit, depending on what your personal goals are. It also provides a centralised location to track things like how much water you’re drinking and what you’re eating, and offer suggestions over time that suit your lifestyle.
When filling out the initial questionnaire, you’re encouraged to be honest with your habits and Noom does a decent job with its language to keep the questions vague and non-judgemental whilst still drawing a decent picture of your lifestyle. To use a personal example: I gave my ideal weight, and noted that my life had been fairly sedentary of late, and Noom gave me a prediction that seemed realistic to achieve my goals: June of next year. When I committed to some light exercise and food mindfulness, that prediction moved closer and closer, ending up in late March. There is no suggestion anywhere on the website or in the app that you will “lose weight fast”, and Noom tries to reinforce at every step that this is a journey that will only push you as much as you want to be pushed.
While you’re not going to see overnight results, Noom attempts to put you back in the driver’s seat of your own health journey. Providing the tools and resources you need to stick to your weight loss plan if you have the drive to do so. Noom is one part of a greater series of choices you need to make in order to improve your health, but it absolutely can help you lose weight. Often, taking the first step is the hardest. Maybe your first step was what led you to this article, in which case, the next step is to try Noom.