Has anyone tried Noom?

If so, do you think it works better than MFP? How is it different? Do you use them together? I keep getting ads and am intrigued...

Replies

  • moonangel12
    moonangel12 Posts: 971 Member
    edited October 2019
    Looking at Noom is what reminded me of MFP - I researched it a little but the monthly cost was insane! I justified the yearly cost of this (I hate ads, and for something I am opening up multiple times a day it was worth it) by seeing progress during the first trial month. I couldn’t justify $50/month, but $50/year wasn’t terrible. I think my friend tried it briefly a couple years ago because I remember her talking about color coded foods (red, yellow, green) but I don’t think she stuck with it for long. Curious what others have to say.
  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,033 Member
    Noom started me on my weightloss journey: I wasn't even trying to lose weight, when I saw an ad on facebook. I tried the app (cheap trial), found the introductory days quite interesting (aspects of motivation and goal setting beyond the numbers, concept of calorie dense and less calorie dense food,...) but the individual coaching aspect wasn't what I was looking for (or willing to pay for). And the tracking aspect wasn't very developed, if I remember correctly. I ended the trial, looked for a replacement and that's how I ended up here :smile:
  • vggb
    vggb Posts: 132 Member
    I looked into it and it's a behavior modification approach. Not worth it, you do that yourself here by logging, weighing, gaining understanding of nutrition and applying it to your daily lifestyle. Bam, for free ;)
  • threewins
    threewins Posts: 1,455 Member
    I've seen a few reviews and as far as I can work out, it's not worth it. So basically it's a dieting app where you chat with a counsellor. Is that going to affect your behaviour? Initially, probably but if you go out to dinner, and have cheesecake, how will you justify it to them? Will you keep it a secret?

    Even if it were free I wouldn't use it because I don't believe that chatting with someone is sufficient accountability. If it works for others, that's really great. It just wouldn't work for me.
  • LyndaBSS
    LyndaBSS Posts: 6,970 Member
    I've seen noom members quit there and come here, but never the opposite.
  • panda4153
    panda4153 Posts: 417 Member
    I tried it to see if it offered anything more then MFP. I think it would be great for someone just starting who does not yet know a lot about nutrition. I like that it has a no good as bad approach it’s all about eating the right amounts. They also take you step by step into changing your behaviors. However even with the coaches I found that MFP has all the same info and the food database is much more robust. I’ve been at this a while, so for me I’ve learned all that stuff the coaches tell you along the way, by reading the forums. It was not worth it to me now, but looking back to when I was just starting out I would have like it.
  • bellabonbons
    bellabonbons Posts: 705 Member
    Yes and I love the free version ! And it doesn’t have constant glitches like MFP does.
  • jaxCarrie
    jaxCarrie Posts: 214 Member
    vggb wrote: »
    I looked into it and it's a behavior modification approach. Not worth it, you do that yourself here by logging, weighing, gaining understanding of nutrition and applying it to your daily lifestyle. Bam, for free ;)

    Okay, that's what I was thinking....it sounds like an accountability app....I find I'm more accountable if I log and I make better choices if I log, I don't need pep talks. And Free!! Glitches and all.
  • jandy180
    jandy180 Posts: 10 Member
    Lietchi wrote: »
    Noom started me on my weightloss journey: I wasn't even trying to lose weight, when I saw an ad on facebook. I tried the app (cheap trial), found the introductory days quite interesting (aspects of motivation and goal setting beyond the numbers, concept of calorie dense and less calorie dense food,...) but the individual coaching aspect wasn't what I was looking for (or willing to pay for). And the tracking aspect wasn't very developed, if I remember correctly. I ended the trial, looked for a replacement and that's how I ended up here :smile:

    Ditto. I did the same two-week trial. It was helpful and kicked me off on my current weight loss journey. However, the coaching was not responsive at all, and the product is way over-priced. So I returned to MFP, and the free version of MFP is really all I need.
  • jandy180
    jandy180 Posts: 10 Member
    I will say, though, that I like their logging system better. They categorize all foods as green light, yellow light, and red light, which is a quick and easy way to see how healthy you are eating. For me, it did motivate me somewhat to try and choose "green light" foods.
  • Shortgirlrunning
    Shortgirlrunning Posts: 1,020 Member
    edited October 2019
    LyndaBSS wrote: »
    jandyprall wrote: »
    I will say, though, that I like their logging system better. They categorize all foods as green light, yellow light, and red light, which is a quick and easy way to see how healthy you are eating. For me, it did motivate me somewhat to try and choose "green light" foods.

    That seems like a great way to make people feel guilty about their food choices. 😒

    Then maybe it’s not the best option for some people, doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be an option for people it will encourage to make healthier picks without feeling guilty about when they don’t.
  • waterberdoo
    waterberdoo Posts: 1 Member
    I paid for Noom for about three months. I lost weight and liked it a lot because it focused on the psychological aspects of overeating. Once you know you have to eat 1200 calories a day to lose weight, and you know what a day's worth of food is, you dont need to hear that over and over again. It was interesting scientifically and you learned from daily blogs about studies of goal -setting, motivation, failure, behavioral modification, etc. They try to make it entertaining too. I would recommend it for 3 or 4 months. That's enough.
  • pennyks88
    pennyks88 Posts: 167 Member
    I tried it for a few months and managed to lose 12 pounds, but then I stalled. I'm back here because I haven't been progressing at all. The coaching wasn't that great. I did like the behavior articles and being a part of a group. I wouldn't say it was worth the amount I paid for it though.
  • babyj0
    babyj0 Posts: 531 Member
    I signed up for Noom, and soon as I saw that I could only eat 300 calories of red meat a day... I left. I just can't stick to 1200 for myself. It seems too low. :(
  • shorepine
    shorepine Posts: 258 Member
    I tried Noom and actually completed the 16 week program but honestly, the articles you have to read each day become onerous. They jump around a lot too, one day you're working on a goal and then the next they introduce something totally different that you have to get your head around. Then there is little continuity about the goal you had been working on, you only briefly hear about it.

    My coach just gave me a ton of stock responses. Anytime I asked a question she would reply somewhere along the lines of "why do you think you feel that way?" or "is there something you can do to overcome that?". Basically a quick and easy way of turning it around back on me without offering anything of real substance or advice. I can do that myself. Your coach also checks in with you once a week, which basically means shooting you a quick message. Often times, when you respond, it takes a while to get a response back. So, not worth it for the coaching.

    A major downside for me is that it is only an App, and no desktop website at all. So for those of us who like to type in the group forums, the interface was really challenging. They wanted me to do a lot of journaling, but did not provide a place for it. And I am just not one of those people who likes to write on my tablet or smartphone. As a result I did not do a lot of the journal activities.

    Essentially, it's a glorified food logger like MFP, only their food logger is not as good with not as many foods in it, and they require you to stress about the "red green yellow" food thing. Red foods are more calorie dense. They claim there is nothing "bad" about red foods, but in reality it made me feel guilty when something I ate was assigned the red color. I like the nonjudgmental aspect of the MFP food logger.

    The good? I did lose 10 lbs during the 16 weeks, but I was just diligent about my food logging and I don't think anything about the Noom program in particular led to that. When I am diligent about food logging I do lose weight.

  • matti422
    matti422 Posts: 26 Member
    It's super pricey, but I decided to give it a try for a few months since I had access to disposable income. There's a lot more psychological tips on how to recognize food or overeating triggers and respond to them. That said, there's nothing really new in the tips - its kind of like getting a daily update from Psychology Today on recent trends in mindful eating and distraction techniques.

    Also, with their "Green Yellow Red" labels really aren't much different than "Non-starchy vegetables and fruits" (green, or WW zero points), "starchy plain vegetables and lean meats" (yellow) and "added sugar, fats and meats that are not lean" (Red). But then, things get weird and, quite frankly, the food and exercise databases are terrible. Fat free yogurt is "Yellow" even if it's packed with added sugar. Two different brands of raw vegetables can be given calorie differences of 10x. Exercise calories are WAY over estimated (but they only give back half of what you burn in your daily goal). The coaches can't tell you what the accurate information is, only how to tell Noom it's incorrect (which, well...how do you know which one is correct and which one isn't?)

    The app is also really, really difficult to add your own recipes. There's no cut-and-paste or analyze web link like MFP. And you're limited in how many servings it might create, so if you weigh a recipe and use "servings" as ounces or grams in MFP, no similar option exists in Noom.

    Finally, while it doesn't keep you from following a paleo or keto diet, it doesn't allow you to track macros.

    Overall, Noom is probably a good choice for someone who is unfamiliar with psychological eating triggers, wants encouragement to eat apples instead of apple pie and who dines primarily on packaged or restaurant food or only cooks simple meals. If you have more specific nutrition goals than "loose weight", or are already reasonably educated beyond a junior high health class on the MFP appears much better option.