What`s Noom?

Ranking high in Google’s trending diets in 2018, beating out vegan, paleo and intermittent fasting, the Noom diet is one that`s worth discussing. The Noom app, with over 10 million downloads, is a wellness app which integrates weight loss with psychology. It has useful lifestyle tools such as a food diary, meal planners, a fitness tracker, and motivational statements. It also includes the service of an assigned health coach to ensure you meet your weight loss goals. Noom’s approach helps you incorporate healthy habits that keep the pounds off long-term, if followed religiously. Noom’s is information-driven and holistic, hence if you follow the advice and meal plans, there are high chances you will lose weight.

How Does Noom Work?

After downloading the Noom app, you’ll answer a few questions on your personal details such as your weight, height, lifestyle habits, and fitness goals, after which Noom will give you some tasks and challenges. As you get along with the app, it might ask you to try a new vegetable, log your weight, read a positive article, or rate your motivation. You’ll also log your workouts and meals. A number of weight loss diets advise that you don’t check your weight daily so you don’t feel bad about the seemingly slow progress you may be making. Noom on the other hand encourages you to check daily, so you’re conscious of it, and you can adjust as necessary. With Noom, you’re conscious of your entire diet and weight loss on a daily basis.

Food items on Noom are all color-coded: green, yellow to red, indicating their caloric density.

Green

• Apples
• Skim milk and nut milk
• Sweet potatoes
• Tomatoes
• Coffee
• Egg whites
• Non-fat yogurt
• Oatmeal

Yellow

• Avocados
• Beans
• Low-fat cheeses
• Quinoa
• Beer
• Eggs
• Grilled poultry and seafood
• Hummus

Red

• Full-fat cheeses
• Pizza
• French fries
• Nut butter
• Beef
• Bacon
• Cake
• Wine

Noom is more particular about moderation than stopping any meal entirely. As you log your meals, the app offers feedback and suggestions for your next meal. In fact, Noom is better described as a way of life than a diet.

Advantages of Noom App

Access to a Health Coach

So you’re not just going online to search for diet suggestions and recipes. You actually have a health coach who recommends meal plans designed by a registered dietician.

You Get a Free Trial

Even though the services on the app aren’t free, you get to access them through a free trial offer.

Noom Group Chat

Another advantage of the Noom diet  and its companion app is that you get to chat with other people who are on it. This motivates you, as you can draw some encouragement from them. You all can share your experiences. You may not get to chat with your health coach at all times, however, you can always send a message to the group, especially at those times when you`re faced with meal temptations. So just before you drink too much beer, for instance, report yourself to your group members, and get as many “don’ts” that would make you stop.

Noom Group Adviser

Every group has an adviser who posts helpful articles on wellness. These articles can be encouraging,

Noom Motivational Statements

The Noom app has some daily motivational statements which can be encouraging in your weight loss journey. Imagine waking up daily to see “Hard work pays off”, “Perfect is the enemy of God”, “Don’t look back today; it’s a new day”; now you don’t need to imagine, as these are some of the many motivational statements from the Noom app.

Noom Assessment

The color-coding system for diets and scoring plan on Noom helps you know just how well you’re fairing with your weight loss plan. You get assessed for virtually every food intake, so you really can tell if you’re improving or not.

Progress Awareness

Keeping a record of everything you eat definitely increases your awareness of your eating behavior. This is particularly helpful to people who eat carelessly or in response to external triggers.

Committing to keeping a strict log puts you in check throughout the day. You would be amazed how many times you eat between meals, or how much unnecessary eating you do.

Accountability

There’s a degree of accountability you get from using Noom. This could be from the coach and/or other people in the Noom community.

Disadvantages of Noom App

Robot-sounding Coaches

There have been a number of reviews about coaches on the Noom app, especially that they sound automated. Users have complained that these coaches, many times, don’t respond in ways that reflect the level of relationship they (users) would expect of a person who has spent weeks coaching them. In other words, Noom users suspect that the app is all Artificial Intelligence.

Unavailable Coaches

Noom app users have also complained about how coaches can be absent and leave messages unattended to for days.

Difficulty Cancelling Noom Subscription

There have been loads of complaints on over-billing from Noom due to difficulty in canceling subscriptions.

Thus far, we have talked about what Noom diet is and what it is not. We have touched on Noom’s advantages and disadvantages as well as the types of food (color coded) you may eat. Central to Noom’s diet is the companion app, available on iOS and Android. With the Noom app, weight loss is possible.

The end goal of any diet program is weight loss or a lifestyle change. So how about some awesome tips to help you lose weight?

21 Weight Loss Tips

Eat Eggs for Breakfast

Eating whole eggs have many benefits, including helping you lose weight.

Replacing a grain-based breakfast with eggs can help you eat fewer calories for the next 36 hours after consumption, and lose more weight and body fat.

But it’s okay if you don’t eat eggs. Any source of quality protein for breakfast should work.

Drink Water Before Meals

Asides the well-known fact that it is healthy to drink a lot of water, drinking some water before eating helps you burn off a few calories. The recommended quantity is half a liter.

Try Intermittent Fasting

Intermittent fasting is an eating pattern in which people cycle between periods of fasting and eating. It is quite helpful for weight loss.

Drink Coffee

Did you know that the caffeine in coffee can boost metabolism by 3–11% and increase fat burning by up to 10–29%?

Ensure you don’t add a bunch of sugar or other high calorie ingredients to your coffee, to avoid negating the benefits. Note that black coffee is preferable.

Drink Green Tea

Green tea is loaded with powerful antioxidants called catechins, which enhance fat burning.

Take a Glucomannan Supplement

Glucomannan is a fiber which has been linked to weight loss. It absorbs water and sits in the gut for a while. This makes you feel more full and helps you eat fewer calories. Glucomannan helps you lose some weight.

Cut Back on Added Sugar

Sugar and high-fructose corn syrup can make you gain weight. They are linked to an increased risk of obesity, as well as conditions like type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

Eat Less Refined Carbs

Refined carbohydrates include sugar and grains that have lost their fibrous, nutritious parts. White bread and pasta fall in this category.

Refined carbs spike blood sugar rapidly and lead to frequent cravings that may result in obesity.

It is advised to eat carbs with their natural fiber.

Go on a Low-Carb Diet

Committing to a low carb diet can be great when considering shedding some weight.

Use Smaller Plates

Using smaller plates has been proven to be helpful psychologically. It helps some people with portion control, hence they consume fewer calories.

Practise Portion Control

Portion control is eating less, more of eating calculatedly for the purpose of healthy living and weight loss. Keeping a food diary may be helpful in portion control.

Stock Up on Healthy Foods

Keeping healthy foods nearby can help you prevent careless food consumption. You Should have healthy food like whole fruits, yogurt, nuts, or hard-boiled eggs on hand for times when you have to snack.

Eat Spicy Foods

Chili peppers contain capsaicin, a spicy compound that boosts metabolism and reduces appetite. The long-term effectiveness of capsaicin may be affected as people develop tolerance to it over time.

Eat More Vegetables and Fruits

Vegetables and fruits have essential properties that make them effective for weight loss. They are rich in fiber and contain only a few calories. Their high water content gives them low energy density and makes them filling. All of these and more make them nutritious, and particularly great for weight loss.

Chew Slowly

Research shows that chewing slowly can help you eat fewer calories and increase the production of hormones associated with weight loss. Chewing more thoroughly may also reduce calorie intake.

Get Enough Sleep

Sleep is as important as eating healthy and exercising. Poor sleep is one of the major causes of obesity with 89% increased risk of obesity in children and 55% in adults.

Do Aerobic Exercise

Doing aerobic exercise (cardio) is quite effective in burning calories and improving physical and mental health.

It is particularly effective for losing belly fat which is unhealthy and causes metabolic disease.

Beat your Food Addiction

Food addiction is that seemingly uncontrollable craving for food. It is impossible to lose weight without conquering food addiction. Achieving it alone may be a lot of work. You may consult a professional for help.

Eat More Protein

Protein is an important nutrient for losing weight. Did you know that eating 25% of your daily calories as protein can reduce obsessive thoughts about food by 60% while reducing the desire for late-night snacking by 50%?

Avoid Sugary Drinks

Sugar in liquid form can be terrible if taken in excess. Sugar-sweetened beverages are responsible for about 60% increased risk of obesity in children. Note that this applies to fruit juices too, as they contain a similar amount of sugar as soft drinks. Eat whole fruit instead.

Eat Whole, Single-Ingredient Foods

To lose some weight and be a healthier person, you should form a habit of eating whole, single-ingredient foods. Such foods are naturally filling, and it’s difficult to gain weight if the greater part of your diet is based on them.

Weight Loss Foods

Have you been trying to shed some pounds? Here are some foods you should consider eating to achieve your goal.

Avocados

Avocados are bursting with monounsaturated fats, potassium, magnesium, folate, and vitamin C and vitamin E. It`s been discovered that people who regularly consume them weigh less and have smaller waists than those who don`t. Avocados are also great for improved vision, good heart health, and a reduced risk of certain cancers.

Almonds

Almonds are rich in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, helping you lower cholesterol. They also contain fewer calories than most other varieties of nuts, as well as lots of fiber and vitamin E.

Apples

Apples contain pectin, an ingredient that slows down digestion and encourages feelings of fullness. Eating a whole apple with your meal, instead of apple juice or apple sauce, gives the effect of a natural appetite suppressant, helping you consume fewer calories without feeling an inadequacy.

Artichokes

Artichokes are one of the highest fiber-rich vegetables; they`re super-filling. One boiled artichoke contains 10.3 grams of fiber— that`s about half the recommended daily amount for women.

Bananas

Asides potassium which we know bananas for, they`re also rich in resistant starch, a type of starch that’s important for weight loss. Your body digests resistant starch slowly, thereby helping you feel full for longer, and aiding your liver to switch to fat-burning mode. Here`s an extra tip: bananas contain more of this ingredient when they’re still a little green.

Blueberries

Did you know that a cup of blueberries contains only 80 calories and 4 grams of fiber? The fiber content helps your body feel full for longer. They’re also rich in manganese, which speeds up metabolism and makes you feel energized.

Blueberries also contain a compound that attacks cancer-causing free radicals. They also eliminate UTIs, keep the skin bright, and reduce age-related memory loss.

Black Beans

Black beans are a member of the pulse family, and this food group is popular for burning calories, reducing belly fat, and curbing appetite. A cup of black beans contains 15 grams of protein without the saturated fat present in other high-protein sources like red meat.

Now that you know…

We have discussed at length the Noom diet and its companion app, do you think this is the right type of weight loss diet for you?