The Noom Diet first came out in 2008 and it has grown in popularity over the years. It is one of the most searched for diets and claims it will help dieters who follow an otherwise healthy lifestyle can lose 1-2 lbs. a week.

The diet promotes the eating of nutrient rich, low calorie foods. Weight loss is monitored via a mobile app.

This article will review Noom letting you know what you can expect and whether or not it’s effective.

What is Noom?

Noom is an app based diet that considers itself a lifestyle. Here are some things the app provides:

• Weekly Challenges: Noom provides weekly challenges to help you reach your weight loss goals
• Tools to Track Progress: The tools the app provides helps you to keep track of your meals, the amount of exercise you’re getting and your body weight
• A Support Team: The app allows you to stay virtually connected with a support team that includes a specialist, a group coach and a network of fellow dieters.
• Biometric Tracker: The app provides tools that help you track your blood pressure and blood sugar

Noom offers a 14 day trial for $1. This is a great low risk way for you to try out the diet.

How it Works

Noom works by encouraging dieters to follow a calorie deficit menu. In other words, you will be burning more calories than you are taking in.

It works by taking your weight, height, gender, age, lifestyle, goal weight and time frame into consideration. Then it uses an algorithm to come up with how many calories you should be consuming a day.

The diet encourages doing regular weigh ins and food logging to help maintain a healthy weight.

Menu Plan

The menu plan Noom recommends will differ from person to person, but basically, it works by categorizing food into three color categories; green, yellow and red. Here’s how it’s broken down:

Green:

• Fruits
• Vegetables
• Dairy: nonfat
• Dairy alternatives
• Whole grains
• Condiments
• Vegetables
• Beverages: unsweetened tea and coffee

Yellow:

• Lean meats
• Seafood
• Dairy: lowfat options
• Legumes and seeds
• Grain and grain products
• Beverages: diet soda and beer

Red:

• Meats
• Nuts and nut butters
• Desserts and sweets
• High calorie snacks
• Beverages: wines and juices

The diet recommends including 30% green foods, 45% yellow foods and 20% red foods in your meal plan.

Pros and Cons of the Noom Diet

When weighing the pros and cons of the Noom diet, here are some things to consider.

Pros:

Emphasis on Nutritional Value and Calorie Content: Noom encourages dieters to follow a meal plan that is full of low calorie dense foods. These are recommended for reducing hunger, aiding weight loss and boosting overall health.

Sustainable: Because no foods are off limits, the diet does not promote feelings of deprivation which make many people want to give up.

Library of Recipes: Noom provides users with a library of recipes that help them find meals that are appropriate. They also make recommendations based on food allergies and dietary restrictions.

Promote Behavioral Changes: Because Noom advertises itself as a lifestyle rather than a diet, it encourages people to change their behaviors so they can maintain weight loss. It uses a psychologically based curriculum that promotes self-efficacy to enforce these changes.

One study showed that 78% of 36,000 dieters that used Noom were able to sustain their weight for nine months after reaching their weight loss goals. It is unclear whether they were able to sustain these goals after the nine month period.

Cons:

Price: At $44.99 a month, Noom is more expensive than most weight loss plans.

Platform Makes it Limiting: Because Noom is strictly app based, you can only access it if you have a mobile device.

No Face to Face Interaction: Although the technology Noom offers makes it convenient, the fact that there is no face to face interaction could be a downside for some users.

Does the Diet Work?

Although there are no studies that compare Noom to other diets, there have been studies showing that the program is effective in helping people take the weight off and keep it off.

As previously mentioned, 78% of 36,000 users were able to maintain their goal weight for 9 months after it was reached and 23% of those people experienced more than a 10% loss of total body weight.

Furthermore, calorie deficit diets are proven to be effective and Noom’s recommendations to keep track of weight loss and food logs are proven methods to aid weight loss.

Noom has the scientific backing to prove it can be effective. It’s high price and virtual only platform may be a deterrent to some but worth it to those who find it helpful in reaching their weight loss goals. So tell us, will you be trying it out?