My Noom Review: Noom versus Weight Watchers

I’ve updated this Noom review. Why?

For two reasons.

One, I fell off the Noom wagon, tried another way to lose weight, and when that didn’t work, came back to Noom.

And, two, Noom recently updated the program.

Whereas before Noom broke foods out into categories of green, yellow and red, now they are green, yellow and orange.

Also, with everything going on in the world in the past couple of years, my anxiety and depression became worse. So, I started working with a professional in cognitive behavioral therapy.

And with six months of that kind of counseling under my belt, I came to appreciate exactly what the Noom lifestyle is trying to teach you. It was something I hadn’t recognized before.

So, I’ve updated this Noom review, which I originally wrote in 2019. That was the first time I did the program. Now, this Noom review is reflective of the program today.

Also, Noom has made a lot of changes to the app–many of things that I’d complained about in my initial review. I’ll address all of that and more in this updated article.

Why I’d tried Noom in the first place

I signed up for the Noom app in 2019 after bloodwork came back with my blood sugar trending towards diabetes and my cholesterol the highest it had ever been.

Plus, my weight was at its highest. Also, at that time, I was three years into owning my Peloton without losing weight.

As so many people told me, you can’t exercise your way out of a bad diet–diet meaning how you eat. So, I had a feeling that if I could combine Noom and Peloton, I’d finally get the results I wanted.

Spoiler alert: what really tipped the scales in my favor was adding strength training.

You can read more about that in my review of the Hardcore on the Floor calendar. It incorporates Peloton classes.

My Noom app review

When I decided to download the Noom app on my iPhone and get started, I knew I was trying a diet plan that focused on calories. Not Points, as I’d followed so many years as a devout Weight Watcher, but good old calories.

Fruit and vegetables would no longer be “free.” Can you tell I’m a former Weight Watchers user?

Needless to say, I was terrified of the chance. When I discovered how many calories I would be “allowed” to eat each day, I thought I would be starving.

I thought the Noom calories were too low. Quickly, though, I realized there was nothing to be afraid of and they weren’t too low at all.

In fact, by setting my weight loss at the tortoise speed (versus the jack rabbit or hare vs the cheetah) towards my goal weight, I have 2,400+ calories to eat each day. I could easily get all the nutrition I needed.

Noom organizes food choices into three categories:

• Eat Noom Green Foods
• Consume Moderate Amounts of Noom Yellow Foods
• Be Conscious About Noom Red Orange Foods

How Noom Green Foods, Noom Yellow Foods and Noom Red Orange Foods work

It’s important to understand that green does not mean go and eat with reckless abandon and red does not mean stop, don’t eat this at all.

The colors are designed so you can balance all three throughout the day with your food choices.

You have to get out of this all-or-nothing, black-and-white or, rather, green-and-red thinking.

In fact, addressing these kinds of “thought distortions” (as Noom calls them) are a big part of the program’s proven psychology.

They call these Noom Psych Tricks and they’re designed to help with behavior changes.

What are green, yellow and orange foods?

Wondering which foods fall into which color categories? Here is a bulleted list I got from the Noom website.

• Green foods are the least calorie-dense and/or contain the highest concentration of healthy nutrients. Green foods (like veggies or whole grain bread or even sweet potatoes) should make up the bulk of your diet.
• Yellow foods (like lean meats and starches) have more calories and/or fewer healthy nutrients per serving than green foods and should be incorporated into moderate proportions. You’ll find beans, eggs and legumes in the yellow category along with lean meats.
• Orange foods (like red meats and desserts) are the most calorie-dense, like olive oil is. So, you should eat, for sure, but just in smaller portions. Also, orange foods might have the least healthy nutrients and should be eaten less frequently and/or in smaller amounts.

Role of caloric density

Noom groups foods based on caloric density or CD for short. Foods with a low caloric density usually are green foods. Anything with a higher caloric density might fall into yellow or orange.

What determines caloric density? Lower calorie count for a food based on volume. That means either the food’s weight in grams or a liquid, in volume in milliliters.

So, one cup of spinach would be a much lower CD than one cup of cubed cheeses, for example. This change in thinking or looking at food or food choices and, in the long run, your eating habits.

Noom update to orange category foods

In fact, one of the reasons that Noom updated this color guide in 2022 was just this: people took red to mean, no, don’t eat it.

Even though Noom explicitly said this was not the point of red foods.

So what did Noom do?

Changed red to orange.

Now, you’re day should ideally breakdown this way:

• Green food: 30%
• Yellow food: 45%
• Orange food: 25%

FYI, thought distortions are a legit concept that cognitive behavioral therapy works with.

I’m amazed at how my perception of Noom Psych Tricks has changed now that I understand and use CBT in my daily life.

Noom Psych Tricks

For example, I’ve had peanut butter toast every morning for breakfast for the past 25 years. My favorite peanut butter is considered to be an orange food.

That hasn’t stopped me from enjoying peanut butter each morning. I’ve just adjusted how much peanut butter I put on my wheat toast.

In addition, I’ve added sliced apples as a topping to my toast. My apple is one of the Noom green foods. So is the whole wheat bread, which is considered to be whole grains.

These small changes were no big deal. But what is a big deal is that I, as a Noom user, can still enjoy my favorite breakfast without feeling deprived.

I’ve learned to love avocado and guacamole, below. Avocados are Noom yellow foods

Interested in my Noom before and after? Check out this blog post! For now, you can check out my Noom before and after pictures, below.

Noom versus Weight Watchers

For years I’d followed Weight Watchers. I was a long-term WW devotee. My first successful run at Weight Watchers was after I’d had my last child and was finally ready to shed my postpartum weight. That was in 2000, and it worked.

However, every time Weight Watchers (now WW) would change how the Points system worked, I would get discouraged. I always felt like everything I learned needed to be relearned. Suddenly, I would feel myself out of my comfort zone. I hated that feeling.

After about 15 years of going back and forth on WW and feeling the pressure of needing to learn it — again — not surprisingly, the program stopped working for me.

Interestingly, I decided to give Weight Watchers a try once more. Some GenX friends on Facebook had reported the program was working for them again.

So, I signed up for a free trial (that offer has expired). And you know what happened two weeks into it?

WW changed the program. AGAIN. One day I woke up and I had fewer points to eat in a day. WTH?

So, back to Noom it was. That’s why, when thinking about Noom versus Weight Watchers, I’ll take Noom.

Sidebar: Why did I try Weight Watchers after being successful on Noom in 2019? Two words: the pandemic. Like so many people, the chaos of 2020 affected my mental health. And, to be honest, I’m a stress eater. So, once we came out of the pandemic and I started cognitive behavioral therapy to deal with my social anxiety, I was able to focus again on the Noom program.

Noom Review: Noom Pros and Cons

I will say upfront that in writing this Noom review and considering the Noom pros and cons, the Noom pros do outweigh the Noom cons.

But like with anything, if you’re being honest, there are always cons.

I pride myself on providing honest reviews and content in my writing.

I never sugar coat anything.

So here is my honest Noom app review. I’ve included both pros and cons.

Noom Pros

It’s important to understand that the Noom app is a daily program.

Every day that you open the app, you’ll have articles to read, tasks to do and thoughts to share with your personal goal coach as well as your accountability group. These are your daily lessons.

There is a lot of content to keep things fresh for you as you endeavor on your journey towards your weight loss goals.

It’s a great and constant reminder that in order to change your behavior–and thus your weight–you must work at it daily.

Even so the Noom app approaches these daily tasks in bite size chunks.

Reading through the information and taking the quizzes each day takes maybe five minutes.

That’s not a lot of time.

I have started doing the Noom daily tasks as I’m enjoying my first cup of coffee.

If you spend time in the morning catching up on Facebook, you could carve out those five minutes for the daily Noom tasks.

Weighing in daily

Another way that Noom keeps you on task is with those daily weigh-ins. How is this a Noom pro, you may be asking?

Well, Noom wants you to get over what it calls “scanxiety” (or scale anxiety). Right up front it explains that you will be stepping on the scale each day.

Period. Full stop.

Have you ever heard of exposure therapy? The Cleveland Clinic describes it this way:

“Exposure therapy is a type of therapy in which you’re gradually exposed to the things, situations and activities you fear. There are a few different approaches to this therapy. It can help treat several conditions, like phobias, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and panic disorder.”

The Cleveland Clinic

My sense is that by asking you to weigh in every day, Noom is trying to make stepping on the scale less scary. The more you do it, the less you’re likely to get upset doing it.

It was the same with my CBT. Gradually, I exposed myself to things that previously had caused panic attacks. Eventually, I was able to meet a friend for coffee, shop at Costco on a weekend — IYKYK — and get on a plane to fly to NYC so I could ride live at Peloton Studios New York (PSNY).

Getting over WW way of weighing in

I’ll admit that weighing in each morning was hard at first.

I was so used to the Weight Watchers way of weighing in each week.

However, after a few weeks of weighing in daily on the Noom app, I discovered something.

When I think about Noom versus Weight Watchers, I realize the anxiety that would loom before a weekly weigh in.

Also, I tended to overeat or cheat the day of a weigh in, after I’d stepped on the scale, knowing that I have six more days to “fix” things.

With Noom there is immediate accountability.

I’ve gotten to the point of being in a Zen-like mantra each morning before stepping on the scale.

I tell myself “I will accept whatever number is there and move forward.”

Finally, I’ve also come to accept that if the number goes up, I’m not a failure.

Also, this is no reason to give up.

The Noom app normalizes the ups and downs of weight loss

When you log your weight in the Noom app, you see it as a point plotted on a chart or graph.

I’ve included a picture of my weight loss graph to date.

You see that there are a lot of ups and downs.

I’ve also included a picture that Noom recently shared in one of my daily content readings.

The Noom app wants you to realize how normal it is for weight loss not to be in a straight line.

So when you’re not losing weight on Noom, remember this up and down is normal. It did make me feel a bit better.

In addition to sharing pictures of charts and graphs, Noom acknowledges that there are small, tangible things you can do within your day to continue things in a downward trajectory.

One example is drinking more water.

To be honest, on the days when I’m not losing weight on Noom, I realize I’m dehydrated.

Conversely, I’ve found that on days when I stay hydrated, the next day I see a decrease on the scale.

Even if it’s only .2 pounds, I’ll take it.

Does Noom adjust calories for exercise?

Guess what?

The more you move, the more you can eat.

That is, if there is one thing Noom doesn’t want you doing, that is eating less.

In fact, the more you move, the more you can eat in a day.

Noom gives you “back” 50 percent of the calories you’ve burned in exercise for more food.

Noom and Peloton

So if I burn 400 calories in a spin class on the Peloton, Noom tacks on 200 calories for my daily total.

Noom and Peloton–it’s a great combination.

Speaking of Noom and Peloton, here’s my article on what to eat before and after your workout.

Why at 50 percent?

Because Noom still wants you to be at a “deficit” with the calories in, calories out so you’ll lose weight.

This works so much better than Activity Points.

Need new workout clothes? Check out my review of the best workout clothes subscription boxes. I treated myself to new leggings once I started my Noom journey.

There is a Noom restaurant tool

Within the Noom calorie counter is the ability to use the Noom restaurant tool.

It’s not separate from the Noom calorie counter but rather built into it.

According to the Noom blog, the Noom restaurant tool within the calorie counter lets you “look up the meals at over 850 restaurants and chains.”

I’ve used this Noom restaurant tool when dining at Panera Bread, Sheetz (the convenience store) and Starbucks.

How much does Noom cost?

With Noom, you will be charged a fee based on how long you sign up for.

I decided to try Noom out for four months. I’ve since extended it to a year.

The Noom cost for four months was $169 or $42.25 per month.

However, if I’d signed up for a full year–and maybe I should have at first–the Noom cost would have been $209.

Weight Watchers, by the way, costs $19.99 to use the app. That does not include the cost of in-person meetings.

By the way, the pricing for Noom Weight* hasn’t changed in a couple of years. When was the last time you heard that, that prices had not gone up.

Here is more about the Noom pricing:

• Monthly auto-renewing plan $70 USD
• 2 month auto-renewing plan $129 USD
• 3 month auto-renewing plan $159 USD
• 4 month auto-renewing plan $169 USD
• 5 month auto-renewing plan $174 USD
• 6 month auto-renewing plan $179 USD
• 7 month auto-renewing plan $184 USD
• 8 month auto-renewing plan $189 USD
• 9 month auto-renewing plan $195 USD
• 10 month auto-renewing plan $199 USD
• 11 month auto-renewing plan $205 USD
• Annual auto-renewing plan $209 USD

You can sign up for a seven-day trial for as little as 50 cents.

Or, you can get 10 percent off your subscription when you pay in full on signup.

(*) I put an asterisk because Noom is now much more than just weight loss. There are a number of different ways Noom can help with your overall health. This includes:

• Noom Med (which includes labs and prescriptions)
• Noom Mood

Noom Med

Here is how Noom describes Noom Med:

“Noom Med is available to you if you have a BMI of 30 or higher, or greater than or equal to 27 with a weight-related medical condition. Noom Med patients receive a health evaluation by a board-certified physician or a physician-supervised nurse practitioner, including comprehensive lab work. Your clinician will create a custom care plan specific to your concerns, biology and overall health goals. Noom Med’s clinicians follow protocols based on the latest science and current clinical standards of care, and only prescribe medication to those who medically qualify.”

Noom Med

Noom Med includes labs, which your insurance company may cover. You can learn more on this Noom Med FAQ page.

Noom Mood

Starting in 2020, we all had to get used to telemedicine for doctors visits. That aforementioned cognitive behavioral therapy that helps me? Every single session was done via telehealth.

Noom Mood is the company’s version of telehealth for mental health. Here is how the company explains what it offers in the realm of psychotherapy and mental health services:

“Learning to manage your daily stress is a journey, and the first step is often the hardest. That’s why we’re here to guide you, step by step, to mental wellness – and help you develop the techniques, emotional awareness and resilience to reduce stress and live a happier life. We’ll give you the knowledge and support you need, so you feel empowered to take on whatever comes next.”

Noom Mood

As far as pricing for Noom Mood, this is what it costs: four-month, auto-renewing plan for $149.

Noom is available internationally

Great news, potential Noomers worldwide.

Now Noom is available in countries other than just the United States.

Currently, you can sign up for Noom if you live in one of the following countries:

• Australia
• Canada
• Germany
• Ireland
• New Zealand
• United Kingdom

Noom no longer shows you food breakout after logging–and that’s a good thing

When I first tried Noom in 2019, here’s what happened whenever I logged my food.

After I was done, the Noom app would bring up the “map” of the green, yellow and red foods I’d eaten for the day.

It felt really judgy, especially if I went over in the red category.

However, when I relaunched the program recently, I noticed a big change.

Now when you log your food, you just log your meals.

On the top right of the app screen, you’ll see a green, yellow and orange bar graph that says “Analysis.”

If you want to see how you’re doing with eating a balance of the orange, yellow and green foods, you can tap “Analysis” and see the map.

But if you find this visual reminder to be demeaning, you never have to look at it.

I like this update very much.

Noom grammar has improved

In my original Noom review, I’d complained about the grammar in the Noom app.

For example, it would say things like “Us Noom Nerds” when it should have been “We Noom Nerds.”

Well, all of those grammatical errors seem to be gone.

That’s good, because I didn’t enjoy yelling at my phone whenever I spotted one of them while doing my daily reading.

Noom has gamified losing weight

In this article about Peloton badges, I talk about the gamification of exercise and how people are incentivized to workout so they can earn badges.

Well, Noom has now joined the gamification bandwagon.

Now, every time you finish a certain task on the Noom app, you get a “Noom Coin.”

So, when I log my weight, I get one.

When I finish my daily reading, I get another.

And then when I log all my meals for the day, another one shows up.

You can’t trade in these coins for anything.

But if you were the kid who liked getting gold stars on your sticker chart for a job well done, you’ll love this newer feature.

Noom Diet Plan Review Cons

In this Noom review, my “cons” list is much smaller than the Noom “pros” list.

But the cons are definitely worth mentioning.

Because what’s a review if it’s only glowing pros.

People, I’m going to be honest with you in this Noom review.

There is no Noom online

Perhaps this is my age showing, but one of the biggest cons for me is that Noom is the Noom app only. There is no Noom online.

You must do everything you want within the program on the app.

Sometimes I want a break from my phone.

I wish there was a Noom online option.

Information from previous tasks not saved

A couple of times a week, the Noom app asks you to answer questions.

You type in responses and then Noom parrots those back to you.

If I wanted to go back to a previous day’s task and review what I wrote, when I get to the screen where I’d answered my questions, my answers are gone.

The whole thing is blank, as if I’d never done it.

The app is buggy

One of the ways that Noom gets you to move more is it counts your steps.

With my iPhone, it does it by connecting with the health app from Apple.

Noom starts everyone at 2,000 steps per day.

So, you get a daily goal for steps.

Then, if you meet that goal, Noom adds 300 more steps to your goal.

Miss the goal?

Noom subtracts 200 steps and encourages you to try again.

Step counter not consistent

However, I’ve discovered that the step counter and the goals are not always consistent or reflective of how much I’ve walked.

However, some days it works perfectly.

Go figure.

Also, one day last week, Noom thought I hadn’t reached my step goal (which I had), which was in the 4,000 range.

But instead of dropping back 200 steps, it dropped it back to the original 2,000.

So, I’m not sure what’s going on with these inconsistencies.

However, if you want to look back and see how you’ve done over time, you may not get an accurate assessment.

Noom should really chart steps the way it uses the weight loss chart.

Then, you could see your steps plotted on a chart.

Logging exercise isn’t user friendly

When I re-activated my Noom account, it asked me how I was working out.

One of the options I could choose was Peloton.

However, when it comes time to log my “extra” exercise in the app–beyond steps–which is done in the “Track More Progress” section, the choices do not include Peloton.

Also, if you did weight lifting, you have to scroll all the way to the bottom.

Why?

Because activities are listed in alphabetical order.

Well, some are.

Why isn’t there a search box at the top of the exercise screen?

Wouldn’t it be so much easier to start to type in what exercise you did, have Noom auto fill it (like Google), and then you could select without all of that scrolling?

Anyone? Bueller?

Overall thoughts on the Noom app

You’ve heard me compare Noom vs Weight Watchers throughout this Noom review.

I’ve shared with you my hesitancy to return to calorie counting after so many years of relying on Points.

But here’s the thing.

With Points values, things change whenever WW decides to change up its program.

With calories, they are just that–calories.

Calories don’t change.

So even though I was terrified of returning to counting calories and worried I wouldn’t be able to eat enough, I’ve learned I was wrong.

I got over my fear and Noom worked for me to lose weight.

Also, these days Noom lets you track macros, too. So if eating a more keto way works for you, then you can use the macro calculator to help you track your intake of things like lean meats like chicken and what not.

Why you can lose weight for good

Noom’s taglines include “The Last Weight Loss Program You’ll Ever Need” and “Lose Weight for Good with Noom.”

After a month on the program, I believe those taglines to be the truth.

Here are some must-have tools for starting your weight-loss journey. I’ve made a list over on Amazon for ease of shopping!

Yes, you can eat doughnuts

I feel so much more in control of my eating.

WW can say there are no off-limits foods but let’s be honest: if you want that glazed doughnut and eating it will take away half of your daily Points, you’re not going to eat the glazed doughnut.

Then you’ll spend the rest of your day thinking about the glazed doughnut you cannot eat.

I was so pleasantly surprised to learn that a glazed doughnut has 180 calories only.

Sure, it’s one of the Noom orange foods.

But the day I wanted a glazed doughnut, I had one.

In fact, I had two.

That same day I also ate plenty of low calorically dense foods from the Noom green foods list.

In addition, I drank tons of water.

The next day, do you know what happened when I stepped on the scale?

I’d lost .4 pounds.

So after getting back on the Noom wagon, how are my blood sugar and cholesterol doing?

They’re at some of the best numbers I’ve seen in my adult life.

Noom can be part of your New Year’s resolutions.

Also, now Noom has something called Treat Days. These are pre-programmed times when you can take off from using the app all together. Noom gets it — sometimes you need a break.

My Noom review: Does Noom work?

So, does Noom work?

Yes!

“Yes, Noom works.”

More importantly than numbers on the scale, my clothes are fitting better.

Do you have those pairs of pants that you love but which you judge your self-worth by according to how well (or poorly) they fit when you put them on?

Yeah, I do, too.

And those pants now all just slide right on and fit great.

One pair, I’ll admit, I have to wear with a belt now.

Pretty soon I’m going to have to buy some new pants, and I’m totally OK with that, thanks to Noom.

Addressing eating disorders

One last thing: Noom is not designed for those with eating disorders. In fact, in the original questionnaire, when you go to sign up for the program, the app asks you if you have a diagnosed eating disorder.

If you answer honestly, the app will not let you proceed. And that’s a good thing. With a diagnosis like that, you should be working with your primary care physician and not an app on a device.

If you’re shopping for a new wardrobe, my review of online stylists can help.