Have you ever wondered if changing your thinking about food could help you lose weight for good?
Noom is a weight loss program that focuses on changing your mind, not just your diet. It was launched in 2013. It uses a mobile app to track calories and teach new habits. You get personalized coaching and lessons to help you.
When you join, you share your details and goals. The app creates a plan for you. You log your food and activities, read lessons, and chat with coaches. It’s all about changing your habits, not just cutting calories.
Noom is a complete program that includes nutrition, exercise, and mental health. It offers a free trial before you pay. Some users have had issues with automatic renewals and cancellations, leading to government scrutiny.
This guide will explain what Noom is and how it works. We’ll look at its benefits and costs, any downsides, and if it helps you keep weight off long term.
For more details, check out this Healthline overview on the Noom diet: Noom diet review.
What is the Noom Diet?
The Noom diet uses your phone to help you lose weight. It starts with a quiz about your age, weight, health, and goals. Then, it sets a calorie goal and a plan just for you.
Overview of the Program
Noom is not just a diet; it’s a way to change your lifestyle. It offers a 16-week program with daily lessons and quizzes. This keeps you on track.
You log your food, snacks, steps, and weight. The app adjusts its advice based on what you eat. This makes it more personal and helpful.
Noom supports many diets, like vegan or gluten-free. It encourages healthy choices but doesn’t ban foods.
Key Features and Components
Noom uses colors to help you choose better foods. It also offers daily lessons and quizzes. These teach you to make better choices.
Noom tracks your food, exercise, and body stats. It even has tools like body scans and partnerships with Everlywell. This gives you deeper insights into your health.
Virtual coaches and communities offer support. They help you stay motivated and learn from others. You can also get meal plans, workout plans, and health tests.
| Feature | What It Does | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| Personalized Nutrition Plan | Creates calorie targets and meal suggestions from your quiz results | Gives clear, individualized goals that fit your lifestyle |
| Calorie Tracking App | Logs meals, snacks, and exercise; feeds the algorithm | Provides immediate feedback and helps you stay accountable |
| Color-Coded Food System | Categorizes foods into green, yellow, orange groups | Makes healthier choices easier without strict bans |
| Coaching & Communities | Offers in-app coach messaging and group support | Builds motivation and helps you apply behavior-change lessons |
| Biometric Tools | Includes body scans, step tracking, and weight logs | Shows progress with measurable data points |
The Psychology Behind Noom
The Noom diet focuses on how your mind affects your eating habits. It uses short lessons, prompts, and tracking to help you notice patterns. This method aims to support long-term health by teaching small, repeatable changes.
Behavior Change Techniques
Noom uses cognitive-behavioral methods to change your routines. You get daily lessons that take just a few minutes and tasks to build skills over time. It includes goal-setting, self-monitoring, and timed nudges to keep you on track.
The program offers rewards and small challenges to boost consistency. Habit tracking and frequent feedback help you see your progress. This approach supports gradual behavior change without strict rules.
Understanding Food Triggers
Noom asks you to log emotions, places, and times when you eat. This reveals triggers like stress, social settings, or boredom. When you spot a pattern, it offers coping strategies to replace reactive eating.
You use charts and summaries to visualize your habits. These visuals help you understand cause and effect. This awareness is key to adjusting your choices and maintaining health.
Building Healthy Habits
The app breaks habit formation into short, achievable actions. You choose lesson lengths from one to twelve minutes and follow weekly commitments. Noomcoin rewards and small wins encourage daily practice.
Noom includes mood tools and mindfulness exercises for mental resilience. Be aware that calorie limits and daily weigh-ins may not suit everyone, like those with a history of disordered eating. Use habit tracking and coach guidance to tailor the plan to your needs.
| Feature | How It Works | Benefit |
|---|---|---|
| Daily Lessons | Short, psychology-based modules you complete each day | Builds knowledge and supports steady behavior change |
| Self-Monitoring | Food and weight logging with visual summaries | Increases awareness of triggers and progress |
| Habit Tracking | Daily tasks and Noomcoin rewards to reinforce routines | Improves adherence and creates lasting habits |
| Emotional Tools | Lessons on coping strategies and mood support | Addresses stress-related eating and supports health and wellness |
| Personalization | Tailored lessons and coach check-ins | Adapts the Noom diet to your lifestyle and goals |
How Noom Differs from Traditional Diets
Noom focuses on lasting behavior change, not just quick fixes. It teaches you to recognize patterns that lead to overeating. You learn to weigh the pros and cons of your food choices and build small routines to support your goals.
This method views eating as a skill to practice, not just a list of forbidden foods. It’s about making eating a habit that supports your health.
Emphasis on Mindset
Noom uses psychology to help you understand cravings and stress eating. You get daily lessons and exercises to learn new ways of thinking. These tools help you make better choices, even when you’re tired or busy.
The program asks about your habits and reflects on your meals. This feedback loop boosts self-awareness, helping you change your behavior for good. Over time, you rely less on willpower and more on new habits.
Flexibility and Personalization
Noom doesn’t ban foods. Instead, it uses a color-coded system and portion cues. This way, you can enjoy treats while working towards your health goals. It’s easy to follow different dietary styles, like vegan or Mediterranean.
The app creates a personalized nutrition plan based on your details. It adjusts calorie budgets and suggestions as you progress. This helps you reach your fitness goals without strict menus. You can also add coaching or extra features to fit your needs.
| Feature | Noom Approach | Traditional Diets |
|---|---|---|
| Core Focus | Psychology and behavior change | Restricting foods or macronutrients |
| Food Rules | Flexible color-coded guidance | Strict allowed/forbidden lists |
| Personalization | Personalized nutrition plan and adaptive budgets | One-size-fits-many meal plans |
| Long-term Support | Daily lessons, tracking, optional coaching | Limited education, short-term meal plans |
| Compatibility | Works with various dietary philosophies | Often prescriptive and narrow |
| Goal Alignment | Designed around fitness goals and behavior change | Focused on quick weight loss |
The Role of Color-Coded Food System
The color-coded food system in Noom makes choosing foods easier. It groups foods into simple colors for quick decisions. This system works well with apps for tracking calories and helps with meal planning without strict rules.
Understanding Food Categories
Noom categorizes foods as green, yellow, or orange. Green foods are low in calories but full of nutrients, like spinach and apples. Yellow foods are in the middle, such as grilled chicken and whole-grain tortillas. Orange foods have more calories and should be eaten in smaller amounts, like oils and nuts.
How you cook food also matters. Adding sugar or heavy sauces can make a healthy food turn orange. This shows how cooking choices impact your daily calorie balance.
Impact on Choices and Behaviors
The system helps you eat more green foods each day. Logging meals in a calorie app shows you how much green and orange you’re eating. This visual feedback encourages better meal planning and portion control.
Registered dietitians say this approach helps you make mindful choices. It moves away from strict calorie counting. This makes grocery shopping and meal planning easier and more enjoyable.
Tracking Progress on Noom
Noom focuses on making small, measurable changes. Every day, log your meals, snacks, water, steps, and workouts. These small actions help you track your progress easily.
Using the App Effectively
Make logging your daily activities a habit. Use barcodes, search the database, or save your favorite meals to make logging faster. Also, track your exercise and steps to see how they affect your calorie budget.
Try to complete the short lessons most days. They only take 1–12 minutes. These lessons teach you habits that support your fitness goals and help with weight loss.
Connect a wearable or enter your body measurements for deeper insights. Body scans and weigh-ins show trends that go beyond daily readings.
Setting Realistic Goals
Begin with Noom’s suggested pace of 1–2 pounds per week. This pace allows for steady progress and enough energy for workouts and recovery.
If your initial calorie budget seems too low, talk to your coach about adjusting it. This is important, as conditions like prediabetes or endometriosis can affect how your body uses energy.
Regularly track your weight and diet. Studies show that consistent tracking is linked to better results in many weight loss programs.
| Action | Why it Helps | How Often |
|---|---|---|
| Daily meal logging | Improves awareness of intake and patterns | Every meal |
| Weekly weigh-in & body scan | Shows trends in fat, lean mass, and BMR | Once per week |
| Short lessons | Builds habits and supports behavior change | 3–7 times per week |
| Sync activity tracker | Captures exercise and step data for accurate calorie budgets | Continuous |
| Coach check-ins | Provides accountability and custom adjustments | Weekly or as needed |
Noom’s Support System
Joining the Noom diet gives you more than just an app. You get a network that helps you reach your goals. It combines one-on-one coaching with group support to keep you on track.
Access to Coaches
You can message trained coaches in the app for motivation and support. Many members use this to overcome cravings, set goals, and get past plateaus.
Some plans offer phone or Zoom calls for more in-depth sessions. Coaches are trained in behavior change, but may not be dietitians or clinicians. You’ll get practical advice, personalized prompts, and daily check-ins.
Community and Peer Support
Noom Communities and Noom Vibe are places where users share their progress. These interactions boost motivation and help you stay on track.
There are groups based on interests and live events for connecting with others. Peer support can be a game-changer for staying healthy in the long run.
| Support Type | What You Get | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| In-app Messaging | Daily check-ins, behavioral tips, accountability | Busy users who want quick, ongoing support |
| Phone/Zoom Coaching | Scheduled calls, deeper strategy, personalized plans | Users seeking more hands-on guidance |
| Noom Communities | Interest groups, milestones, shared challenges | People who thrive with peer interaction |
| Noom Vibe | Live audio events, real-time encouragement | Those who prefer immediate, social motivation |
Who Can Benefit from the Noom Diet?
Thinking about a weight loss program? Knowing who does well with Noom can help you decide. It’s great for those who like using their phone, logging daily, and changing habits more than following strict diets.
Ideal Candidates
Perfect for you if you like learning through guided lessons and tracking your own progress. It fits well with busy lives, needing just a few minutes each day. It’s designed for slow, steady weight loss, about 1–2 pounds a week.
It’s also good for those who enjoy getting feedback and learning about food habits. It helps you understand what triggers your eating and how to track your meals. Just remember, it works best if you’re committed and use it regularly.
Success Stories
Studies and user feedback show mixed results, but mostly positive. A 2016 study found 78% of users lost weight over nine months. About 23% lost more than 10% of their starting weight.
Many users talk about the mindset changes they experienced. One person lost almost 11 pounds in 12 weeks. They found it helped them make lasting changes in their eating habits.
| Profile | What Works Best | Expected Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Busy professional | Short daily lessons, app-based logging, coach messages | Slow, steady loss; improved habits |
| Someone with binge-eating concerns | Behavioral lessons, tracking of triggers, clinical support | Reduced binge days, better awareness |
| Phone-savvy self-monitor | Daily weigh-ins, food logs, community challenges | Higher chance of achieving sustained weight loss |
| Person needing strict medical management | May require coordination with healthcare provider | Not a standalone medical plan; use with clinical advice |
Potential Drawbacks of Noom
Noom is a weight loss program based on behavior change. But, it has some downsides to consider before joining. Here’s what you need to know about the cost and daily commitment to help you decide if Noom is right for you.
Cost Considerations
The cost of Noom varies based on how long you subscribe. Monthly plans cost between $59 and $70. Longer subscriptions can lower the monthly price but require a bigger upfront payment. An annual plan is around $209.
Noom also offers extra features that can increase the cost. Noom Med, for example, is an additional $49 per month for GLP-1 users. It doesn’t cover medication costs. You can also add meal or workout plans, Everlywell tests, and Noom Mood for extra fees. Discounts and employer subsidies can lower your costs.
Commitment Required
Using Noom requires regular effort. You’ll log your meals, track steps, do short lessons, and weigh yourself often. This builds habits but takes time and honesty.
Coaches or app messages help many stay on track. But, some find too many messages stressful. People with eating disorders might find the calorie focus and weigh-ins triggering. Think about your relationship with food before joining Noom.
Lastly, some users have had trouble canceling subscriptions. Noom has made changes after a lawsuit. Always read the fine print and know how to cancel before signing up.
Nutrition Education with Noom
Noom teaches you about food with short lessons and practical tools. It helps you understand nutrient density, cooking methods, and smart swaps. This way, you can make healthier choices without feeling stressed.
Learning About Food
You get daily lessons that explain why some foods are more filling than others. These lessons cover the basics of calories, macronutrients, and how cooking changes calorie density.
Meal planning tips are given with recipes and shopping lists. This makes it easier to choose nutrient-dense foods at the store. Plus, you can prep simple, balanced meals for the week.
Noom’s color system helps you quickly judge food quality. It suggests lower-calorie alternatives for treats. This way, you can enjoy your favorites while staying on track with your goals.
Importance of Portion Control
Portion control is a key part of Noom. You learn to balance green, yellow, and orange items to meet your energy and nutrient needs.
Coaches and in-app tools show you how to measure servings without special equipment. This helps you keep portions realistic when meal planning or dining out.
Registered dietitians like the focus on more than just calories. You learn that context matters when a nutrient-rich food changes color based on preparation. So, portion awareness is always important.
Is Noom Sustainable Long-Term?
The Noom diet teaches you skills for after the program. You learn to spot triggers and repeat healthy routines. It also helps you track progress in simple ways for long-term success.
Maintenance strategies include repeating habits and self-monitoring. You build routines like logging and checking non-scale victories. These habits help you focus on steady lifestyle gains, not just daily weight swings.
Community support is key to staying on track. Noom Vibe groups and peer chats offer accountability and ideas. They help with meal prep and exercise for months and years.
Integrating Noom into daily life is about making small changes. Use the color system for grocery runs and follow app recipes. Set exercise goals you enjoy. This approach boosts your chances of lasting health and wellness.
Some users keep their weight loss for one to two years after the program. This success depends on keeping core habits and personalizing calorie targets. Medical guidance is also important, and for complex cases, combining Noom with medical consultations or GLP-1 tools may be needed.
Critics say stopping tracking can lead to rebound. To avoid this, use practical maintenance strategies. Periodic logging, meal planning, and checking behavior cues help keep progress steady without constant intensity.
Below is a quick comparison to help you plan realistic next steps for your routine.
| Focus Area | Practical Steps | Expected Benefit |
|---|---|---|
| Habit Repetition | Daily or weekly logging, set reminders | Stronger routines, improved long-term sustainability |
| Self-Monitoring | Track meals, mood, and non-scale victories | Better awareness of triggers and progress |
| Community Support | Use Noom Vibe and coach messages | Accountability and fresh ideas for meals and workouts |
| Meal Integration | Plan grocery lists using color system, cook at home | Healthier choices with less guesswork |
| Medical Coordination | Consult providers for complex health needs | Safer, personalized calorie and medication plans |
Frequently Asked Questions about Noom
Got quick questions about Noom? This FAQ section answers the most common ones. You’ll find clear answers on trials, privacy, coaching, and calorie targets. This will help you decide if Noom is right for you.
Common Concerns Addressed
Many users ask about trial and cancellation policies. After a class-action settlement, Noom made trial terms clearer. They added email reminders before trials end. You can find more on support topics and policies at Noom support.
Some wonder who their coach is. Noom coaches are trained in behavior change and accountability. They might not always be registered dietitians. Noom also offers optional medical services, like Noom Med, for a fee. If your calorie target seems too low, adjust it in the app or talk to a professional to avoid underfueling.
Clarifying Misconceptions
Noom calls itself psychology-first and “not a diet.” Yet, it works like a calorie tracking app with color-coded food and daily weigh-ins. The psychology focus helps many stick to changes. But, some marketing might be misleading, and it might not be safe for those with eating disorders.
Research shows active users often lose weight. But, some studies are tied to Noom, so independent research is scarce. If you have medical conditions or a history of disordered eating, talk to your doctor or a registered dietitian before starting. For more on diet plans, see this roundup of the best ones.
