Noom - Anyone tried it?

[StitchesGr8Fan]

I really want to lose some more weight for health reasons, but I’m struggling. I’ve done WW in the past with mixed results. MyFitnessPal discouraged me from eating fruits and veggies since I wanted to save my calories for treats.

I keep seeing commercials for Noom. It is really intriguing as a lifestyle change, but it is expensive. Has anyone tried it? What do you think?

 

[mnrose]

I tried it for 3 days. LOL. Free period. I found it to be "not worth it." I lost about 25 pounds recently (at goal weight) which I did merely by counting calories (every last damn morsel...NO cheating) and slightly increasing the intensity of my workouts. It was, all things considered, relatively easy. Noom seemed to be for people without a clue of what to do. It was WAY too basic for me. I KNEW what the problem was...I ate too many sweet things. Counting calories was eye opening to me. I measured everything, which for me was huge. What you *think* one serving of something is is often different than the reality. I still count calories to make sure I stay on the right side of things. There are a whole bunch of "free" calorie counter apps out there. No need to spend what Noom wants, IMO. The app I used was "Lose it." It does exactly what Noom did, minus the "coach" (which is really just a computer anyway....not a real person, and NOT very tailored to me, in my experience) and it costs me nothing.

ETA: I really eat anything I want. I just hold myself accountable for it. I eat MUCH smaller portions of high calorie things than I used to. But, nothing got eliminated from my diet.

 

[Cubbiecakes]

MyFitnessPal discouraged me from eating fruits and veggies since I wanted to save my calories for treats.

You're not going to lose weight (and keep it off) until you address this fundamental disconnect in thinking.

 

[Christine]

I've looked at Noom but it's basically a coaching application. I don't need to pay $32 and up per month for that. Noom relies on Calories In/Calories Out just like My Fitness Pal and other apps so I don't think you will gain anything from it.

And there's nothing inherently wrong in saving calories for treats. You need to do what works for you. I do forgo an apple in order to have a fudge bar. Yes, I know the apple is healthier but I can stick to a lower caloric intake if I feel that I get my "treat." If you want to eat healthier and give up the treats, that's a different mindset that you've got to learn.

 

[cinnaminny]

Honestly, I would not ever pay 30 plus a month for a calorie counter.

You don't make all of your changes overnight. So you count your calories and use some of them for treats, as time goes on, and your motivation gets better and you get used to eating lower calories your diet will slowly improve if you want it to. I would say, if nothing has helped you yet, you are probably your biggest obstacle. Do you really care about losing weight? I actually had to ask myself that very question after so many half-*** attempts at getting back to my personal normal weight. It turned out, I actually did care and once I came to grips with that, I was successful. (and even that took me a year)

 

[superme80]

I know you said you did Weight Watchers off and on. Have you tried their new Freestyle and WW? It promotes health and encourages weight loss, but does not require it. So far I am really liking it. The meetings have been super helpful for me. Best of luck to you!

 

[Hrhpd]

Yes I have tried it. No, I hated it. Not only hated it, but it the company is corrupt. I ended up filing a grievance with Paypal to get my money back since it was SO bad.

I liked it during my "free trial." I liked that there was someone to be accountable to (your coach) much like Weight Watchers but you never had to leave your house for meetings.

Then they charged my cc for the $159 and that day, everything stopped. The "coach" who was supposed to check in via text and email if I didn't log my food for 2 days (plan we set up) disappeared. I purposely didn't log my food (logged it in myfitness pal to keep track) for a week to see if there was any response. He never, ever responded again. Well, until I filed my Paypal grievance. The group I was assigned to became non-existent with the leader disappearing soon after payment. No way was it worth $159 every 6 months.

I had to file a grievance with Paypal to get my money back due to not providing the product they promised since they won't respond to customer service requests.

Google it. There are tons and tons and tons of bad reviews of exactly this, the bait and switch of the product.

For what they offered, the $9.99 a month I pay for the premium Myfitnesspal is way better. So is Weight Watchers.

 

[Hrhpd]

I've looked at Noom but it's basically a coaching application. I don't need to pay $32 and up per month for that. Noom relies on Calories In/Calories Out just like My Fitness Pal and other apps so I don't think you will gain anything from it.

And there's nothing inherently wrong in saving calories for treats. You need to do what works for you. I do forgo an apple in order to have a fudge bar. Yes, I know the apple is healthier but I can stick to a lower caloric intake if I feel that I get my "treat." If you want to eat healthier and give up the treats, that's a different mindset that you've got to learn.

And the coaching disappears as soon as they get your money. Then it is just an app to log your food into like any other app out there for lots cheaper.

And the food logging is horrible. They have standard 1/4, 1/2, and whole cups for logging food. I asked how to log in 1/3 cup of something. They said they were working on it. It is a very, very crude and basic logging app.

 

[mnrose]

The lose it app is very flexible. And free. I've never had trouble logging food. And, you can always use a recipe calculator for things you make at home to know how much is in a "serving" (and you decide the serving size). I don't think you need to pay for a good app...unless you are bothered by the ads (which on lose it are very non-irritating).

 

[lifesavacation]

There's really not a trick to losing weight. Eat whole foods and take in less than you burn. I would recommend a fitbit and then track your daily calories. I think most people just aren't honest with themselves about how much they eat. Tracking, and being honest about portions, will help you figure out your intake. And daily exercise is a must.

I have a subscription to cookinglightdiet.com. For a small fee, you can get yummy recipes that are healthy. So if you aren't sure how to cook healthy, it would be a good first step to teach you portion size and cooking with whole foods.

 

[belle032]

No experience with Noom but just posting to recommend SparkPeople. Free app, although you can pay for premium I believe, and a great community.

 

[Christine]

There's really not a trick to losing weight. Eat whole foods and take in less than you burn. I would recommend a fitbit and then track your daily calories. I think most people just aren't honest with themselves about how much they eat. Tracking, and being honest about portions, will help you figure out your intake. And daily exercise is a must.

I have a subscription to cookinglightdiet.com. For a small fee, you can get yummy recipes that are healthy. So if you aren't sure how to cook healthy, it would be a good first step to teach you portion size and cooking with whole foods.

I've often thought about looking into the cookinglight diet for the recipes. I just get turned off on a pay plan. What is the cost for it?

 

[lifesavacation]

I've often thought about looking into the cookinglight diet for the recipes. I just get turned off on a pay plan. What is the cost for it?

It’s around $3/wk or you could buy the magazines and I think they have a cookbook. The nice thing with the subscription is it gives you a shopping list.

 

[Christine]

It’s around $3/wk or you could buy the magazines and I think they have a cookbook. The nice thing with the subscription is it gives you a shopping list.

I used to subscribe to the magazine; however, the diet plan/meal plans were still an extra cost.

 

[lifesavacation]

I used to subscribe to the magazine; however, the diet plan/meal plans were still an extra cost.

Yeah, I only have the subscription to the diet recipes. But you could always just buy Cooking Light at the supermarket and pick through the magazine for recipes and make your own shopping list. I don’t have the time for that. And we’ve been doing it for long enough that we could cancel and reuse the recipes that we love but we’d lose the convenience of the shopping list.

We’ve found the recipes really tasty.