Our reviewer is committed to trying Noom long-term for one year. Follow her yearlong diet and weight loss journey, plus our dietitian weighs in.
Noom has been around for more than 15 years and boasts one of the most trending weight loss platforms. It’s a blend of a diet and exercise community, expert support, and psychology to round out the trifecta of long-term successful weight management.
According to Noom, people who use the program and adopt a healthy lifestyle can expect to lose 1 to 2 pounds (lb) (0.5 to 1 kilogram [kg]) per week.
But you may wonder whether Noom is a waste of money or an effective program for healthy, sustainable weight loss.
Our newest tester is on board for 12 months to vet Noom’s promise of lasting weight loss and productive paradigm shifts to reframe your relationship with food. And one of our registered dietitians weighs in on Noom’s approach.
Here are their perspectives, along with everything you need to know about Noom, what it is, how it works, what our tester and expert liked, and what they think could be better. See how the features and program measure up.
* All images provided by our tester Kimberly Currin
Noom
Noom is a mobile app you download to a smartphone or tablet. Noom focuses on behavioral changes, so it calls itself a lifestyle rather than a diet.
Noom relies on a color-coded system for tracking food.
It encourages you to eat more “green” foods, which are the least calorie-dense and most nutrient-dense options. These are typically vegetables and whole grains.
“Yellow” foods are foods Noom encourages in moderation. These include lean meats and starches.
“Orange” foods are the most calorie dense, like desserts and red meats. Noom encourages you to eat these in smaller portions less frequently.
Our expert’s take: Noom’s color-coded food tracking
“While any food tracking can lead to obsessive habits and an unhealthy relationship with food, I appreciate that Noom’s color-coded system gets away from the idea that calories are the be-all and end-all when it comes to weight loss and healthy eating.
“Plus, it’s often easier for people to associate a food with a color rather than having to count calories or macros. Still, no system is perfect, and some nutrient-dense foods may get categorized as orange or yellow.”
To support behavior change, the app provides access to the following:
- Weekly challenges and educational information: Topics involve nutrition fundamentals, stress management, goal setting, and healthy habit formation.
- Tools to track your progress: Noom tools allow you to log your meals, set up an exercise regimen, and track your body weight. So as not to overwhelm you, Noom segues into new programs and sub-apps as you follow your daily lessons. Features include Noom 360 Body Scan, Noom Success Kit, Noom Vibe, and Noom Mood.
- A virtual coaching team: Noom guides and interest-based communities, known as Noom Communities, are meant to help you stay on track through video chats, phone calls, and in-app messaging. Individualized support with behavior change coaches is also available via phone and Zoom for an additional fee.
- Biometric tracking: These features help you monitor your blood sugar and blood pressure levels.
Noom offers a 7-day trial if you’d like to test it out before paying the monthly fee.
Daily calorie allowance
When getting started, the number of calories in your daily budget may feel very low.
Our expert’s take: Don’t stress about the calorie budget
“Because Noom is a weight loss app, it’s not uncommon for the algorithm to set a calorie goal that’s initially too low for your needs. When it comes to weight loss, many people think that lower calorie goals are better; however, this isn’t always the case.
“In fact, not getting enough calories could actually sabotage your weight loss efforts. Make sure to take a peek at your goals and adjust as needed to ensure you’re getting enough fuel to support your lifestyle.”
Food logging and color categories
The color category classification is not solely based on calorie content. It also considers the overall health impact of the food. The same food could be categorized differently based on its preparation method, e.g., fried or sauteed with oil versus air-fried or steamed.
Noom explains this is because some preparations typically require ingredients that can lower the color category, including sugar, more salt, cream, or oil.
The Noom app has introduced features to enhance the food logging user experience. Nutrition and food information are now more visible, allowing Noomers to see the calorie quantity and color category of a food item right next to its name without needing to click on it.
Our long-term tester, Kim Currin, said she can see how some might find logging cumbersome, but the updated app allows you to scan barcodes of food items and, if you’re like her, you may actually like the idea of keeping a log.
“I often feel like I don’t know how I gained all this weight, but if I can see my own patterns, I can make more sense of my behaviors and wrap my head around where I need to start,” she said.
Repetitions with healthy habits
Currin added that, for her, “I love seeing infographics that help me to understand my eating habits. It feels like a fun game to me to log my food and then look at the charts and how the calories are divided into the green, yellow, and orange categories. I will notice how full my orange category is and then I will want to fill up my green category.”
If you’re ready to try Noom, here are the steps you can take to get started.
1. Take the online quiz
To start with Noom, you take a simple quiz on the company’s website or the app.
The quiz collects information about your age, weight, health status, and fitness goals. It also asks for details about your current diet, activity levels, and any habits or behaviors that may affect your health.
2. Set your goals
The app uses information from the online quiz to create a custom plan and provide a realistic timeline for reaching your goals.
The app adjusts your estimated timelines for reaching your target weight based on your answers.
3. Start using the app
Noom requires users to spend just a few minutes per day on the app. The app provides daily educational articles, tips, and activities you can complete at your own pace.
Currin said the site is intuitive, and there are sub-communities and sub-apps you learn about as you make your way through daily education lessons.
“Every time I think, ‘It would be nice if the site had this or that,’ I find that Noom does! I needed to find better substitutes for the unhealthy choices I was making. I found that in the success kit, I can put in an item like Oreos and it gives me several better choices that will satiate my desires at that moment,” she said.
The app also encourages you to log your food intake, exercise, and weigh-ins, send messages to your Noom guide, and join Noom Communities, which are coach-led, interest-based communities for added support.
Additionally, Noom offers an in-app reward system called Noomcoin. It’s designed to increase motivation to help you complete your daily tasks.
You can easily customize the amount of time you want to spend on Noom lessons each day and choose from specific ranges, including:
- 1 to 4 minutes
- 5 to 8 minutes
- 9 to 12 minutes
Each day your dashboard will have tasks to log your progress, including:
- body scan to record your measurements
- logging your weekly comittments and sharing with a loved one for accountability
- logging your meals
- weighing in
- logging your water intake
Our tester chose to do the body scan just once monthly, as Noom advises that weight and measurements vary day by day with bloating, time of day, and other variables.
“The body scan is actually a part of my personalized health report. I absolutely love this because it goes several layers deep into what is happening with my body as I progress in my journey. Not only does it scan my body and provide very accurate measurements, but it also tells me my basal metabolic rate, body fat mass, lean mass, and weight-to-height ratio.
“I like this because I’ve actually never looked at my body beyond the scale. … I look at food differently when I’m able to look at the statistics about my body more in-depth; the education is helping me.”
Currin adds that Noom was very clear that our weight can fluctuate for different reasons, so it helps her to look past the scale if her weight is up or her stomach is bloated due to endometriosis.
Here’s a closer look at how Noom works and how it may support weight loss.
Reduces calorie intake
Noom aims to help you lose weight the same way as most other commercial diet plans and programs by creating a
Noom uses an algorithm to estimate your daily calorie needs based on your sex, age, height, weight, and answers to a series of lifestyle questions.
Noom encourages food logging and weekly weigh-ins. These two self-monitoring behaviors are associated with weight loss and long-term weight loss maintenance.
Promotes other healthy habits
Noom encourages regular exercise by setting daily step goals and providing a generic workout guide. Users can log their physical activity in the app, which provides an extensive list of exercises to choose from.
Additionally, Noom Vibe and Noom Communities make exercise social. Friendly competition can help maintain motivation.
If they like, users can enable notifications to set up meal reminders at specific times during the day.
Noom offers the following subscription plans:
- Monthly auto-renewing plan: $70
- 2-month auto-renewing plan: $129
- 3-month auto-renewing plan: $159
- 4-month auto-renewing plan: $169
- 5-month auto-renewing plan: $174
- 6-month auto-renewing plan: $179
- 7-month auto-renewing plan: $184
- 8-month auto-renewing plan: $189
- 9-month auto-renewing plan: $195
- 10-month auto-renewing plan: $199
- 11-month auto-renewing plan: $205
- Annual auto-renewing plan: $209
Noom also offers discounts frequently throughout the year.
If you work for a company that offers a workplace health and wellness program, you can contact your human resources department to determine whether you may receive a financial incentive for participating in a wellness program like Noom.
Still, starting at $70 per month for a monthly auto-renewing plan, Noom may cost more than you’re willing or able to spend.
Note: Noom Med — Noom’s weight loss medication service that provides GLP-1 drugs — costs an additional $49 per month. This does not include the cost of any medications prescribed to support your weight loss journey.
Available add-ons
For an additional cost, Noom offers several optional add-ons.
You can choose from:
- customized meal plans (PDF format)
- customized workout plans (PDF format)
- a metabolism test kit, in partnership with Everlywell
- a mental wellness course called Noom Mood
- behavior change coaching
- prescription weight loss medications
Our expert’s take: Noom addresses the bigger picture
“Compared with other weight loss programs, Noom stands out for its accessibility, … and overall balanced approach to wellness.
“While I’d love to see even more emphasis on whole body health, Noom overall does a good job at encouraging non-scale victories — which are arguably just as if not more important indicators of health.”
While any reduced-calorie diet plan or program can help you lose weight if you follow it, sticking with a diet can be difficult for many people. In fact, most diets are unsuccessful because they’re difficult to maintain.
What our tester says: Month 3 on Noom
True to Noom’s claim that users can expect to lose about 1 lb (0.5 kg) per week, Currin is now past her 12th week on Noom and has lost nearly 11 lb (about 5 kg).
What the research says
A 2023 study found that most overweight Noom users experienced lasting weight maintenance for 1 or even 2 years after leveraging a digital commercial behavior change program. (This study was funded by Noom.)
One
Researchers also found that those who tracked their diet and weight more frequently were more successful at losing weight.
Additionally, a 2020 study including 225 adults with binge eating disorder found Noom to be more effective at reducing the number of days participants engaged in binge eating over 52 weeks compared with standard care offerings.
While all participants in the standard care group were given access to eating disorder services through insurance, only two participants actually received these services during the study. The rest received no treatment.
It’s important to note that the study above was funded in part by Noom, too, and several authors have conflicts of interest because they’re employed by or have equity ownership in Noom.
Overall, more comprehensive research on the program is needed.
Heads-up
Trying to “do it right” when it comes to nutrition may feel tempting, but it can backfire.
If you’re preoccupied with food or your weight, feel guilt surrounding your food choices, or routinely engage in restrictive diets, consider reaching out for support. These behaviors may indicate a disordered relationship with food or an eating disorder.
Disordered eating and eating disorders can affect anyone, regardless of gender identity, race, age, socioeconomic status, or other identities.
Any combination of biological, social, cultural, and environmental factors can cause eating disorders — not just by exposure to diet culture.
Feeling empowered to talk with a qualified healthcare professional, such as a registered dietitian, is welcome and wise.
As with many weight loss apps and programs, Noom’s reviews are mixed.
Positive reviews note that the program provides plenty of guidance, support, and motivation and is effective for long-term weight loss.
On the other hand, less favorable reviews report issues with the food tracker and the app’s functionality as well as dissatisfaction with the responsiveness and level of support Noom guides offer.
Many popular weight loss plans have several similarities to Noom.
Here’s a closer look at how Noom stacks up against two competitors: Calibrate and WeightWatchers.
• promotes long-term behavioral changes
• interest-based communities
• behavior change coach
• focuses on nutrient density
• not overly restrictive
• provides support
• may not provide enough structure for some people
• offers several plans with varying degrees of flexibility
• meal planning tools
• workout plans on app
• not overly restrictive
• encourages healthy habits
• provides support
• virtual doctors’ visits
• smart scale
• personalized support from a health coach
• includes an initial consult with a doctor
• may be covered (fully or partially) by insurance
• strict eligibility criteria
• requires injectable medications
Noom may be a good option for people who:
- are trying to lose weight but unsure how to get started
- need extra motivation from coaches or peers to stay on track
- are looking to build healthy habits and seeking a more sustainable alternative to fad diets and other short-term solutions
However, Noom might not be suitable for people who:
- regularly cook homemade meals, since logging each individual ingredient may feel tedious or inconvenient
- enjoy cuisines from a variety of cultures or use ingredients in their cooking that are less common in the United States, as the selection of foods available on the app is somewhat limited
- are very active or have increased calorie needs, as Noom provides very low calorie recommendations
If you have any underlying health conditions, such as type 2 diabetes or kidney disease, talk with a healthcare professional before changing your diet.
Noom emphasizes choosing foods with a low calorie density, which may be an effective strategy for weight loss.
One 2016 study found that Noom was effective at promoting weight loss in nearly 78% of users. However, whether Noom will work for you depends on many factors, including your diet and activity level.
Noom’s monthly auto-renewing subscription costs $70. Meanwhile, an annual auto-renewing plan costs $209, which is about $17.42 per month.
However, this cost doesn’t include any optional add-ons, such as behavior change coaching, weight loss medications, custom meal plans, or custom workout routines.
According to Noom, users can expect to lose an average of 1 to 2 lb (0.5 to 1 kg) per week while using the app, though this may depend on several factors, including your diet, lifestyle, health status, and activity level.
While Noom may be a good fit for some people, there are some downsides. Most notably, Noom does not offer in-person interactions with coaches or other Noom members. The cost, concerns around low calorie goals, and potential pitfalls of food tracking are among other downsides of the program.
Noom is an app you can access using a mobile device, such as a smartphone or tablet.
The app may help people lose weight by promoting low calorie, nutrient-dense foods and encouraging healthy lifestyle changes.
If the cost, manual food logging, and accessibility requirements are acceptable to you, Noom may be worth a try.
