I think Abbey is referring to low calories and daily weight is indicative of an eating disorder. It is especially true when you are obsessed with both.
The fact alone that the app is referring to foods like chocolate or pizza as „guilty foods“ is so agitating! What crime am I „guilty“ of if I have a piece of chocolate?!
You are misunderstanding. A lot of people think of those foods as guilty or bad foods and Noom uses that term in quotations to help the User to move away from that type of thinking.
They are all also subscription scams. That is the new business model. Anything you see advertised on youtube or on tv is just set up to get your credit card numbers so they can charge you over and over.
Yesss❤️ agreeed! It encourages me to do intuitive eating and make sure I’m feeding my body the food it needs to get through my day and exercise routine.
Absolutely eat enough! And that means till you FEEL full, like your body tells you you had a good full plate of homecooked turkey, veggies and potato mash with gravy. Have your cake and eat it too🤗 Life is too short to worry about things like weight. We are designed this way that when we eat healthy, we get healthy cravings like pbj sandwich with glass of milk, or a banana with fruit juice, or almonds or raisins. Those are some of my healthy cravings. I mean, strawberries and cream have always been healthy and always been delicious. Of course I wouldn't have all the cream, but most if not all the strawberries will be gone. And honey is delicious especially in herbal tea! But that doesn't mean I'm gonna eat the whole jar of honey in 2 days. So I bake my cake and eat it too. I fry my steak and enjoy with a salad and soda.
@@christinedykema2998 I continued at those calories for the entire duration of my program, so you'd think if it was a glitch they would have noticed. How was I supposed to know it was wrong?
Same. When I was on Noom, I joined to just learn healthy behaviors (no weight loss goal really) and I chose the middle speed too. Still gave me 1200 calories. I mentioned it to my coach and she told me to move it toward the turtle - I dropped it all the way down and still was at 1200 calories 🧐
I tried it after having my second child and I was looking to learn "healthy" eating habits. I indicated to my coach that I was still breastfeeding, and they still recommended I eat only 1200 calories!!!! Crazy and irresponsible in my opinion.
I am using noon and breastfeeding. I told my goal coach that my calorie goal was higher. She didn't question me or make me feel bad. Goal setting is my weak point and the app is actually helping me.
I tried Noom's two week trial period and totally agree with your points! They allotted me 1200 calories (wayyyy lower than any other calculator or expert), and, even in only those two weeks, started giving me terrible thoughts about certain foods/food groups. I found the language of "red" foods very triggering! Thanks for covering this.
Same for me! And while my “coach” did give me a couple of personalized responses amongst the robotic ones, she rarely messaged me and didn’t even check in on the day she was supposed to.
I had the 1200 calorie restriction too! It was ridiculous. It would shame me for not eating breakfast but uhhhh how am I supposed to eat 3 square meals on that low calories?!?! lol silly
Hey!! So refreshing and good news I just had to tell you. I went on the noom website today and took their little quiz. One of the questions was “do you currently have an active eating disorder?” When I clicked “yes” it popped up with “unfortunately, noom does not currently support those with active eating disorders. We recommend you work with a therapist” and I was so glad they put that in there at least!
I use and love Noom. I see where it could be problematic for some users, however for me it’s been a godsend. I’ve been overweight since childhood. I have a hereditary, degenerative spinal cord disorder. I can’t stress how important it is for me to lose this weight. The structure of Noom has been so beneficial for me.
I tried Noom 3 years ago and the system may have varied back then but I had great results. I ended up loosing about 50 lbs. To be fair at that time I was eating way to much food than I needed and my choices weren’t nutritious. Although I do agree with your points about the after psychological affects, I struggle sometimes with eating too low of calories and not eating foods that, even though are healthy, like nuts and chia seeds I stray away from. So I’m trying to rewire the way I see those foods. But overall Noom helped me learn to stop eating when I’m full and to incorporate more veggies and fruits into my diet, and I’ve kept the weight off for 3 years
I'm doing the Noom program right now and so far have had success. I love the little articles about mindful eating etc. I really don't like that they categorize healthier fats and say....chocolate cake as the same red category. I know the red category is supposed to just mean to limit portion sizes but to me, they shouldn't put them in the same category. Maybe they could make an orange category for limiting portions but are healthy.
I tried Noom. I had a bad relationship with food and it helped me cut down on food that was affecting me. My secret was thinking critically about it. I would still have an occasional day of “red foods” and be fine with it, and I would still eat more red foods than Noom recommended. I think what helped me is not following every rule to a T, but there are great articles that helped me a lot, such as eating mindfully and stop eating when I am full. And definitely substitute pastries with more fruits and veggies as well as incorporating physical activity often. I have been able to keep the weight off for a year now, even if I am no longer in Noom. It represented a lifestyle change for me. Again, just my individual experience. I see your points of classifying food and calorie counting though.
@@djpekky There is a FB group of us doing Noom. None of us use it as word - for - word. I eat "red" foods every day. Noom says you can but even if I overeat my reds...nothing happens. My Goal Specialist doesn't bang a gong and "shame" me. The way I use the color groups is that I love almonds. Too much. I could eat a cup in one sitting no problem! I no longer just grab a can of almonds, sit on the sofa and plow through the can watching TV. I portion out one serving and this is where I will try to find grapes or cherries or some low cal dense fruits or berries to fill me up. I 'll often add a lowfat string cheese from the yellow category, too. That's my kind of snack...not 3 celery sticks like Abby said.
You and Keltie O'Connor are changing the game when it comes to relationships with food. She helped me so much to accept my weight and to accept that I will want "soul food" sometimes. I havent gone on a food binge in 3 months now and have consistently lost weight as a side effect of not stressing so hard about food. You two are *chef kisses* fantastic!
Hi Abbey! I have a video recommendation for you: a Q&A style video where people can submit questions about nutrition, intuitive eating, and weight loss. I think that a video like that would be really fun and informative!
Abbey I have a question in case you do! I’ll put my question first so you don’t have to read a bunch of context if you don’t need it. How do you embrace body positivity, intuitive eating, and fitness for mental health and not aesthetics when you know that in the near future your body is going to lose a little weight/fat and move closer to the societal ideal? I’m struggling with it because I want to accept my body through all of its changes over my lifetime but if I haven’t completely rid myself of diet culture mentality I’m afraid that knowing that my body isn’t going to be like it is right now is a mental obstacle that prevents me from fully accepting it. I’ve had some medical problems over the past 7/8 months that prevented me from eating “healthy” and exercising pretty much at all. I had previously been pretty active with a “clean” diet and not being able to do those things anymore was actually very necessary for me mentally because I knew that I had some orthorexic habits and was afraid of how I would look without physical activity and “healthy” eating habits. After I started gaining weight I tried my very best to accept it and would always check my mental health by the answer I gave to the question, “if your body never changed (for the “better), how would you feel?” Luckily I’ve come a long way and I’m well on my way to embracing all foods without labels and eating intuitively for the rest of my life, and very soon I will be able to start exercising regularly. I’m just a little nervous because I haven’t gotten rid of that unhealthy mentality 100% yet and although I’m 99% okay with the body I have right now, I think the knowledge that I’m not going to look like this again for a while (when I’m older, another unexpected medical problem, etc.) is preventing the other 1%. I don’t want to fall back into old habits and be afraid to not exercise for fear that I’ll “go back” or “regress”. I have a lot of affirmations and am very explicit to myself about why I workout, but there’s still that little inkling, you know? I really want to say that if my body never changed, I would be completely fine with it, but I know that although I’m close but not completely fine. Anyways, long question but I really like your channel and you have a lot of great insights, so it’d be really cool to hear your thoughts on this! Ps thank you!
Yes I agree! This would be an amazing idea. Although she may not be open to doing it because she wouldn't want her videos to be more than educational and entertaining.
My sister and I were both given the 1200 calorie budget despite being in two totally different calorie brackets and having different physical activity levels. We both had different goals and it seemed very generic. I quit it within the day, she did the full 7 day trial and then downloaded a different app.
As someone who spent 10 years with anorexia I gave this app 1 week before I cancelled it as weigh ins and calorie counting is a HUGE trigger and I was in no way, shape, or form willing to let all my years of hard work getting to healthy weight go out the window
I was on Noom for 3 months. And yes, I lost 25 pounds. But I was on 1250 calories a day, which was completely unsustainable. When I went off Noom, I gained back 5 pounds almost instantly because I went back to around 1800 calories. It was definitely like an electronic eating disorder.
25 pounds in 3 months ? That seems like a lot . . . Maybe I'll download it . JK Just wanted to add that I did the math and technically it's 2lbs per week which is the most they recommend you lose .
lmaoo!! honestly my exact thoughts too.. reminds me of the 2013 triggering tumblr times with those thigh gap pics with the workouts and breakfast idea being like 2 small grape tomatoes and a spritz of lemon juice.. no thank u
I just wanted to respond and say that I've been on noom since March and now the daily lessons are focused on eating intuitively (enjoying foods, eating until satisfied) and joyful movement (exercise that is fun for me). I really like all the cognitive behavioral therapy applications and feel like I have relearned how to trust myself and my body. As a scientist, I loved the lessons about reading research critically (especially about diet fads). No foods are "bad" or "off limits" and I've made peace with a lot of foods that I used to avoid. I'm feeling healthier (more stamina to keep up with my toddler) and happier (eating foods that are tasty and satisfying). No app is perfect but the structure and support of my group and goal coach has been really helpful.
I was in a really dark place of hating myself when I started this app. It only made things worse and I shamed myself more for not being able to avoid the red foods and bingeing when I was consistently depriving myself
Be wary of any company trying to take your money to help you be healthy. The best help is personal, and comes from a medical professional who knows you and your health history.
@@nocause5395 I live in Canada and I don't have to pay to see a dietician. My doctor referred me to one and it is covered by health care (not my health insurance).
I tried noom when I first started my journey to improve my relationship with food. There are some interesting psychological tips that they give but ultimately it comes down to staying within your calorie budget to lose weight. I stuck with it for a couple of months but that's it. I don't actually need to lose weight because I am healthy and fit already. I am learning to reject the idealized photoshopped fitness body and loving my body instead.
As a woman who was diagnosed with PCOS at 16 and has struggled with being "too heavy" most of my life, i have tried Jenny Craig and various other things to little result. I tried noom buying into the hype. That's basically what it is, hype. I totally agree that the "health coach" was probably a robot and the meal plans were totally unrealistic. Throughout my "introductory price" period i found i ignored most of the notifications and articles since none were new information to me. My biggest issue and the reason i deleted it was the mental harm i felt of weighing myself every day. I too fluctuate tremendously throughout the day let alone the week. I decided to focus on what's already working for me - cutting a lot of processed foods out and maintaining my workout routine i found and fell in love with about 1.5 years ago. I've lost fat, gained muscle and self esteem. It's been a slow process but worth it for the balance.Thank you for doing this Abbey!
I have PCOS too! Right now I altered my diet to 50-30-20 carbs-fat-protein. It is such a hassle to try and find the best way to deal with PCOS through diet. 😑
@@AbbeysKitchen The program does a very great job of teaching you to expect the scale fluctuations and also to prepare you for the inevitable plateau. You said they only briefly touched on some of the psych but didn't delve in but the do delve in later. The do also teach us about our horomones, leptin and ghrelin, Just dont think you can make a fair assessment after looking one or two days into the program.
I also have PCOS. I’m so sorry Noom didn’t work for you! That wasn’t the case for me, and actually I thought the coaches were robots too. Wrong! I’ve had conversations with my coach and she is just like any other human lol, she told me she wouldn’t be at work for 2 days during Easter week. They’re very real, trust me.
Ugh. Don't get me started. I was a doTERRA wellness advocate - I boycott all the mlms now! No safety guidelines, no training for their reps, no business from me anymore.
Anyone else disturbed that they put eggs under “better dairy”. There are actually people out there that think eggs are dairy, why confuse the ignorant even more?
Noom completing helped me change my relationship with food and helped me understand nutrition. I used to eat many of the foods they classify as "red" food and that's all I would eat. It's encouraged me to add fruits and veggies into my diet as well as whole grains. As well as decrease my intake of red meat. I have reached out to multiple RDs and all they do is give you a "food plan" often with foods I don't like and say eat these things and you'll lose weight and be healthy. Then stick me with a bill for nothing. Not much difference from an app anyway. Losing weight is a matter of life or death at this point for me. Do I want to die young or do i want to live a long healthy life? Noom helped me lose 60 pounds and taught me a way to eat which I can do for the rest of my life. I do see how it could potentially trigger an eating disorder for some especially people who sign up for it who already a "healthy" or "normal" weight. I kinda dislike the attitude of this video like Noom cannot help anyone. It can but a person has to have some personal responsibility and common sense with themselves. Also, if you're a user for a longer period of time. More than a month or so they do introduce the idea of intuitive eating and encourage you to start to practice, which his how I stumbled upon your channel (by wanting to do more research). I watch your videos because they have helped me learn more about balanced eating. It's hard to watch something that's helped me immensely reviewed with such bias. I guess that what HAES and intuitive eating his about. Thanks.
What about the studies, the lack of proof that the weight stayed off and the discussion with the former weight coach? Even if you you feel Abby coul not be objective, I feel like those are both pretty big red flags. Not to say it can't work for anyone, just that it won't for most long term weight loss or without causing an eating disorder or eating disorder behaviors.
axel who said I was eating pizza everyday? I don’t even like pizza. I was eating granola bars, nuts and seeds, I always ate lots of veggies but the way I prepared them was not great or conducive to weight loss, I ate almost no fruit because some RD I once saw told me fruit was bad-too much sugar, and I did eat a fair amount of processed food. I grew up poor with parents who grew up with poor eating habits. So, I was never taught proper nutrition. So YES I did need an app to teach me it’s okay to have a banana and that’s yes a person should eat whole grains. And it’s okay to have a slice of bread but balance it with something else. I’m saying Noom taught be a lot about nutrition.
Lydia Moss Lydia Moss I agree more studies need to be done. That can be said for everything in the nutrition and weight loss world. I don’t know about the coach that’s really just her experience coming from an intuitive eating perspective. She spoke for very little about her experience of actually coaching people. I wish she would of talked to someone whose done the program in addition to the former coach. I know of so many people it’s helped. I do agree Noom could do a better job flagging people who may have an eating disorder. Or even talk about disordered eating. If someone is already at a normal or lower BMI it should flag those people. If someone wants or needs to lose weight if you compare all the options I think Noom could help some.
@@jamiemaxcold9325 are you at your weight goal to leave noom ? Do you feel like the information they gave you has helped you maintain the weight loss? You said intuitive eating played a roll in Noom? If you went above the 1200 calories was it ok? Was there a 1200 calories limit?
I used Noom and LOVED IT! I love the explanation of what makes foods Green, Yellow or Red. I learned to eat so many new foods and you can control your caloric intake depending on how “fast” you want to lose weight. I lost 91lbs and KEPT them off for almost two years and counting. It also helps a lot get started on fitness. The Psychological aspect of weight loss is often ignored and Noom works on that. I no longer use the app, I no longer need it. But it was incredibly helpful. And no. Before anyone goes off on me being a Noom employee, NO. I paid for the app, I used it and these are my results. You do you.
I was literally looking for a comment from anyone that had maintained the weight loss achieved with the app. Well done for you ! But you are definitely part of a very small minority
I lost 100 pounds with noom and had a great time doing it. I learned a lot about health and nutrition and didn’t feel guilty or shamed about it. (Polenta is so delicious, versatile, convenient, and healthy!! I never would have learned about my favorite staple without noom.) I did go a little overboard with keeping my calories low. I got really into finding out how little I could eat while not feeling hungry. I was eating about 900 calories a day for a few weeks until I got bored of that. So that does sound like it was encouraging an ED, but on the other hand I stopped doing that as soon as it wasn’t fun to me anymore. So it seems like it was more me just doin me, not evil noom.
@@rockchik631 Just an update: three years later, close to four and still keeping the weight off. I’ve noticed that the people that use Noom as a tracker (like My Fitness Pal) and completely disregard the Psychological aspect of the app have a rougher time keeping the weight off. Either way I’md glad it worked for me.
Hi Abbey Thanks for the review! I started Noom 6 weeks ago as a diet. I enjoy reading the daily articles. I do not feel the coach gives me much advice, but write her a message weekly. I've lost 18lbs so far. So far I would recommend Noom.
I really like Noom as well. They’ve really helped me in understand why I eat what I eat. You really need to use it beyond two weeks to see the benefits.
When are we going to learn that these programs are BUSINESSES? They’re into making money, not into helping people get healthy. If you get healthy, they aren’t making money.
I strongly encourage you to continue seeking out information in regards to this specific company before making a claim as bold as that. I feel as though you’re making an unfair generalization here, and although Abbey’s opinions are valid & should absolutely be recognized, I think that there are many others that are just as deserving of your attention & might serve to enlighten you in a different way.
That's not really logical thinking. Registered dietitians make money for their services. Do you think RDs are also not into helping people get healthy simply because they charge for their services?
@@acarroll Apples and oranges. That's like saying a guy posing as a doctor in his basement deserves money too because "a real doctor charges for his services." The guy in the basement is not a doctor; a guy who went to school to be a doctor is a doctor. An RD is a board regulated profession whose education revolves around evidence-based science, and a "WW nutritionist" could be absolutely anybody. Not saying the specific individuals who work for WW aren't motivated by a desire to help people get healthy, but they have to follow what WW tells them to do and say, which often is very misled dietary advice.
Normally I like Abbey's reviews, but I think this one is off based. I have used Noom and a large component of the system involves reading brief provided articles on nutrition and craving-control. Then they quiz you on the information. They make many qualifiers to their red-yell--green food system in the reading material. They explain that it's just a shorthand, and that a food can still sometimes be healthy even if it's classified as yellow or red. It's a practical system based on caloric density. Yes, some people can take it too far, but I this app has been very helpful to lots of people. Pay attn to caloric density is a sensible way to lose weight and maintain that weight loss. Noom promotes eating mostly veggies and some healthy fats. If you don't want to lose weight and only maintain weight, then eating more calories of still healthy food is not a bad or unhealthy strategy. I get that you are "pro-food" and "anti-food shaming" but this review seems like it has an ax to gring. Noom works and is safe, healthy, and even educational for large majorities of the population.
Overall I agree with your thoughts except for the issues with weighing yourself every day. If you have a history of depression or anxiety relating to your weight then it is probably good to not weigh yourself at all. But for me, I find weighing myself every day to actually reduce my anxiety about weight. I see fluctuations but they don't bother me because I know that is part of the normal process. I use my average weekly weight to see how I"m doing. When I used to only weigh myself every so often I didn't know if that number was really where I stood or did I just happen to pick a high or low day. Like I said, it depends on the person but for me weighing every day helps me view the numbers as just data and not a judgement about myself.
Same. If I take the 20 seconds to step on the scale every day, I’m not scared of it because I know about where it’s going to be. If I don’t touch the scale for months I almost can’t get on it because I’m scared.
A few months ago I would've agreed with you, but I guess with shelter in place, my weight would slowly, but steadily increase. The daily weight measurements weren't so bad, but being aware that over time the median weight cluster was going up was giving me anxiety. I don't think there's anything wrong with daily weigh ins, especially if you can truly dispassionately view it as data. But for myself, I guess I couldn't. I was only ok with weight fluctuations when it was around my desired weight or even if it was fluctuating down.
When I used Noom (this was a couple of years ago), they suggested a daily weigh in, which was DEEPLY harmful for me. If my weight event fluctuated upwards a little bit (which I know now is totally and completely normal!), I would panic and refuse to eat any of the "red" foods. Definitely triggered a lot of disordered patterns of eating and unhealthy habits. Took up a lot of courage, but I did get rid of my scale and now don't do any regular weigh ins excepting when I see my PCP. So glad you reviewed this!
This happened to me as well!! I stopped Noom a few months ago but I still have the urge to weigh myself every morning because I built that habit thinking it was the right thing to do (I should know better at 38 years of age!!) Now I know the number on the scale can fluctuate due to time of the month etc (I found some days after I exercised I was 2 pounds heavier the next day!) but if it’s a higher number, even by a couple of pounds, I have a worse day. I found having to check in with someone and the whole app experience made me so obsessed with eating. I lost about 7lbs in total and am back to *trying* to eat intuitively.
That was a doozie! Big shout out to Caroline for her insight and commitment to ethical practices. My ED perked up at the opportunity for unchecked weight loss and unconditional support. Lots of intrusive thoughts while watching this, but that is the greatest sign of all that this is NOT for me. If anything, this is a good reminder that my ED is still in recovery and to skip any ad encouraging harmful behaviors. Love you Abbey!💕
I heard 1200 calories a day, and my poor stomach started screaming "feed me!" You would just be so miserable and constantly wanting but hating food. I've done this before. I never want to be in that mental state again.
I fell into this trap at around 19. As strict 1200 and MAYBE would eat 1400 and max 1800 calories because it is what myfitness pal told me how many calories to eat. EXCEPT, I worked three jobs on my feet and would go to the gym 1-3 hours a day. Backfired in a BIG way when I got injured (gained everything lost plus 20 pounds). When I learned more about it, I should of been eating closer to 2000-2200 calories and realistically still lose weight at a good pace. So I was constantly eating 1000 plus calories lower than I should of. 😑 No wonder I was so hungry. And I was so strict with it too.
Noom actually worked for me! I tried so many other apps, and diets and nothing ever stuck until I tried noom, I think it works for some people. I was very unhealthy from being in college, and I struggled to lose weight. I was just gaining, and I was so happy that Noom was working for me. I have never lost weight before like this. I only did Noom until I lost the weight that I needed it. It did not feel like I was on a diet or restricting myself at all, I just did a few small changes and the weight just came off. It is not just a weight loss app, Noom helps you change your bad habits to good habits so the weight loss is not temporary. I stopped using the app last December, and I have not gained a single pound back.
@@AbbeysKitchen They dont even offer a "24/7 personal coach" so I dont know where that came from. Your own friend said she was a goal specialist. The GS is just that...a person to help and encourage you meet weekly goals. They check in with you once a week and are avail M-F.
Thanks so much for sharing this video! I tried Noom a few years ago. I went through the entire program and initially lost 30 pounds, but I was miserable. I was hungry all the time. I felt like I couldn't have any of the foods I loved because they were all "red" foods and even when I was trying my best I went over my "red" foods every day so I was constantly feeling a shame spiral. And, then, after completing the program and reaching my goal, I found there was no assistance with transitioning to maintenance. So, over time, I gained the weight back and, needless to say, I have not returned to Noom. It's expensive and overhyped. I'm so much happier now that I've discovered the joys of nutritious intuitive eating!
I’m so sorry for the people who have had bad experiences or been harmed by Noom. I do want to share that I used Noom for about 6 months consistently, then became unexpectedly pregnant and stopped trying to lose. When I started Noom, I really was someone who needed to lose weight. I needed to lose not simply because I was obese, but also because I felt that my eating and weight gain was out of my own control and I felt clueless and helpless about changing things. I had never had a healthy relationship with food or my body, and I had never been at a healthy weight. Literally never. For a user who comes to Noom with very little understanding of what it means to eat well, Noom really opened my eyes and helped me to recognize my own thoughts and struggles. I never felt like a failure, I never felt like a criminal, and I never felt like I couldn’t succeed in the long run. As Noom progresses, they dig into all of the thinking patterns more deeply and address the challenges associated with weight maintenance. They also eventually encourage you to de-emphasize your weight goal and focus on how you feel when deciding when you want to transition to maintenance. I do agree that the red food budget is too low, because there are a lot of healthy fats and nuts/seeds that fall into the red category. I typically exceed my red budget and I am annoyed when I’m encouraged to fix that. The red budget has helped me to realize that, at least at first, I would be better able to nourish myself if I shifted away from pizza and ice cream most days. Before Noom, I would eat lose weight on a calorie restriction by eating very little all day so I could sink my teeth into pizza and still have calories for ice cream. With Noom, I gradually learned to be more comfortable with spacing those treats throughout my week/month rather than “saving my budget” for them nearly every day. Eventually I learned to be comfortable with going a few days without big bowls of ice cream and deep fried goodies. And, frankly, that’s something I needed to learn how to do. During my six month “break” I did gain a small amount of weight back, but it was also over the holidays, and then I had some COVID stress, and there was 3 months of a failed pregnancy thrown in. I think some gain was unavoidable. Regarding coaches, they can be Robison and they are not available 100% of the time. You are supposed to check in with them just once a week. Talking with a coach has allowed me to write down my thoughts and feelings, reflect on my experience, and then have someone give me a little encouragement. I also like the daily articles. Knowing that there will be something new to motivate me every day has prevented me from giving up on myself. So, I know Noom is not perfect, but when someone feels imprisoned by their own habits, using Noom to become more self-aware and educated can be very freeing. I personally am not the same person I was a year ago, and because I took some time off and naturally maintained some of the healthy habits I had developed, I feel confident that I have changed for good, at least a little.
Thank you so much for doing a video on this. I tired Noom about a year ago and the daily weigh-ins and calorie counting triggered some disordered eating for me. I began obsessing over my weight and starving myself to meet goals. Thankfully, RU-vid channels like yours made me realize how unhealthy this was and I got out. It could have been very bad though.
I signed up for the trial...it gave me 1250 calorie goal. I left. I have lost nearly 75 pounds now and never once ate that little. Yep. I’ll stick to my own ways. And yes, I did talk to a RD and my insurance paid for it!
I downloaded Noom during a moment of panic about how I had gained weight during the COVID quarantine... apart from it costing so much money to basically count calories- it sent me spiraling back into some of my eating disordered habits that I’ve worked to move away from. It also gave me an unrealistic target for how quickly I could lose weight. I’m glad you called out some of it’s flaws because on the outside it seems like a perfect solution but it can so easily wrap people up into its misconceptions.
I am currently doing Noom, and frankly I have to disagree. I love that it gives me an easy guide to watch my portions and chill out on sweets and desserts. It also has encouraged me to be more active and watch my steps per day, and I am getting more veggies in but I don’t feel the need to completely eliminate red foods. I love your channel but not everyone is at risk for orthorexia.
Hi Abbey! I am a (fellow Canadian) recent dietetics grad about to enter internship and I LOVE your videos! I was wondering if you would consider reviewing Nikocado Avocado (former vegan who now performs daily mukbangs). He is unique because he posts everyday, so it's not a 'what I eat in a day' per se, but since he posts one or more videos a day in real time, it can be assumed that he eats this way regularly. I would be so interested in hearing your thoughts, seeing as we see a lot of fitness/health promoting reviews on your channel :) Thanks for brightening my day with your content!
Abbey never talks about obese people or over eating disorders (even though that is a MUCH bigger problem than under eating disorders). She only caters to the intuitive eating/body positivity/haes bullshit community.
I LOVE Noom. I've been using it since February and I've been able to lose 40 pounds so far with it, which is my best weight loss attempt ever (still a long way to go). It's through CICO but I find Noom's tips/guidance really helpful, too - new ways to think about food, my triggers, and how I can change my mindset. The "weight loss speed" with the turtle, rabbit, and cheetah determine what your calorie deficit will be (I'm on "cheetah" right now, which has a lower calorie limit than "rabbit," for example). The coaching part of it isn't very good; the responses from the coach are meh and seem highly scripted. I don't use that at all, or the group aspects. I just use Noom for food logging and going through their articles/tips. It really has helped my change my behavior/way of thinking about food and my body. I probably won't renew after my current subscription ends (because it's pretty expensive), but I wouldn't be where I am without it.
I am on the Noom program, i feel like it really has helped me, i find the articles motivating. I don't follow everything it says and my "red " foods are always "over" but it has helped me lose 30 LB in the last 10 months and I plan on using it until I reach my goal weight, which is 155, I started off at 205 and I'm 5'7 . I do agree with some of the red flags you pointed out. I have suffered from disordered eating in my (pretty distant) past and i feel like for some it would be easy to fall back into those habits on Noom with nobody from the app noticing too much. I also started running , going to therapy, cut back on alcohol and quit smoking all during the pandemic, maybe i just thrive more in chaos and isolation but Noom has been a tool I've leaned on.
Thank you for completing this review. I am currently using Noom. I really want to stop the yo-yo diet. While I agree with some of your claims (the daily weight ins, the lack of one on one assistance, and the lack of macro nutrient analysis) however I do think that Noom has helped me change how I view foods and how they affect me physically and mentally. Here is the struggle for LOTS of people: how the heck do I lose weight? I want to have a healthier relationship with food and lose a little bit of weight (10-15lbs) if I ate intuitively, I would continue to eat as I’ve always eaten, which obviously has never worked for me. What would you suggest? What is a healthy way to go about it?
I've been doing Noom for a few weeks, and I love it. You get out of it what you put into it. It's not a magical fix. If you put effort into understanding and applying the daily articles, you can really benefit yourself in a short period of time. I feel like my relationship with food has already drastically changed for the better. I feel like the articles get better each week, and we are really digging into some topics lately that are blowing my mind and changing my life. Oh my gosh, all these comments about their color system. I eat peanut or almond butter every single day. They recommend nuts and seeds as healthy foods NUMEROUS times. They don't label ANYTHING as bad, and they actually help you to overcome that kind of black and white thinking about all foods. Your daily calorie goal can easily be changed depending on how fast you want to lose weight. I set mine for the slowest pace/highest daily allowance, and that number is completely in line with every recommendation I've ever seen for someone my size.
I use noom too and not once has it told me to not fulfill a craving or that I can't raise my calories. In fact it constantly stresses that going over your calorie limit is okay when it happens and to not feel bad. I raised my calories to 1700 a day. No problems. It doesn't say don't eat red foods. It wants you to be aware of fulfilling a craving vs bingeing on high calorie foods. I feel like there's a lot of over reactions here.
@@kales2293 glad it's working for you. My problem with it is the fact that it is nothing new. Just another way to charge people for something they can do on their own. Everything they offer is available in free apps. They also use an advertising tactic that makes it sound like they are offering some brand new EASY way to loose weight. I'm just looking for some more honesty in advertising. (silly right?)
@@kales2293 I only charge 10 a month to tell people to eat less and move more. I can also direct you to online articles about the mindsets behind weight loss.
So I’ve been doing Noom for 11 weeks and I’ve lost 35 pounds. I was quite overweight (and still am) when I began, and I was also recovering from ankle surgery in January. My calorie goals began at 2200 and are now 1600 with no exercise. Once I take steps, the resulting calorie goal increases to around 1800. Speaking of steps, their incremental goals were so useful for me. I began with a goal of just 2000 steps and now my goal is around 10,200. I never felt a real stretch to meet the step goals and it really helped my post surgery mobility. As for the color coding, I never look at the breakdown of my daily intake, but I do try to eat a “green food” at every meal. My biggest concern was about the daily weigh ins, but actually the constant fluctuation was discussed in the reading and I feel far less awful about it than I did when I just stepped on the scale at random. I will say that your review has exposed me to some concerns that may end my use even though I’ve had success.
If it is working for you why to stop? I have also been successful with Noom and don't plan to stop. Each person is different and this review is clearly targeted at people who actually don't want to loose weight.
I don't see a reason to stop if it's working for you! It can encourage do disordered eating in a lot of people but if you're getting on great I see no reason to stop.
Hello, I would like to tell you that I have been following you for several months and it really made me think about my own behavior and my relationship with food. Since I was a child I grew up with bad self esteem and seeing food as the enemy rather than an ally for my body. I never ate enough, and kept binge eating, and I just couldn't understand why. It is also a very rare behavior in my culture. Only by learning English did I realize I wasn't the only one. I am finally healing, little by little, I can finally go more than a week without binge eating, and when I do it is finally not the end of the world it used to be. The changes are tremendous. I feel so much better physically and more importantly, mentally. Your dedication to your videos really made an impact in my life, and I am very grateful for your work. In a world where everyone seeks to manipulate us to make profit, you helped me to free myself from my mental prison. I truly wish the best for you and your growing family 😊
I’m glad your content is always promoting the idea of eating enough! ❤️ Too many impressionable young girls fall victim to toxic diet culture/health gimmicks/low calorie lifestyle! 🙌🏻
You guys! I love Abbey and I love noom! It makes me sad that everyone is hating on it. The articles are really good and it has taught me so much! I finally feel like I have a good relationship with food, which has not been the situation my entire life.
Me too! I have actually changed some of my food habits for the better and I'm learning how to set accomplishable goals and trusting my body to know when I'm hungry or full!
I tried Noom to loose weight and instead gained about 10lbs. I also felt like it wanted me to become a vegetarian or vegan. I would have chicken with my dinner and go over the yellow with just I chicken breast. That was my experience .
I also gained weight when I used noom. A 900 calorie diet was suggested for me which is not healthy or enough. Im pretty active and found out the hard way that not eating enough can tank your metabolism and lead to weight gain. I also regularly eat salad with chicken, the app consistently sent an alert that this was over the yellow for a few ounces of chicken. On a salad.
I did Noom from July 2020 to November 2020 and lost 30lbs. Over the last year I’ve gained 15lbs back. I actually complained to my coach about the low calorie count. It gave me 1200 even though I was (am) a very active breastfeeding mother. I had to alter the calorie allowance based on my own knowledge of what my body needed but not everyone can know that and another breastfeeding mother could have run into serious problems eating too little. I was also upset that they tried to claim there are no bad foods but they have red foods that you should avoid, many of which are healthy. About the actual program- It worked for me only because I was in a calorie deficit. But the program gets to a point after about 4 months where they try to teach you “intuitive eating”. Because I was used to a calorie deficit, when I started the intuitive eating I stopped losing weight for several weeks, got frustrated and quit the program and have since gained half of the weight back with “intuitive eating” (aka just not doing anything to improve my diet and eating what I want). I learned a lot from Noom, but I want to learn more sustainable behavior changes like intuitive eating that I can stick with and improve my relationship with food.
I'm glad you did a review of Noom. I actually considered applying for a job with this company but had reservations. On the companies job description for a "health coach" the only qualification was to have a "health related" bachelors degree and do not require a health coaching certification like other companies, they also really encourage new graduates to apply. Secondly on reviews of the company from employees I noticed a lot of health coach employees talked about the high caseloads as Caroline mentioned and the pay was reported at about $15 dollars an hour which is below the national average for a health coach. This could explain the why users are feeling like it isn't personalized or a real person because some coaches may not feel like they are being paid adequately for their workload and just be doing the bare minimum.
Thank you. I tried Noom for 3 days, lost 4kg in 3 days, ate less calories than what I was burning, thought I was constipated, but there was nothing to go cause I didn't eat enough for my body. I really thought it was an awesome app at first, but then I saw what I was doing to myself, to my health, to my body through this app. And thank you for sharing that our bodies are in the weight it feels most comfortable in because of our genes, that was such a confidence booster! And overall I eat healthy food, I love healthy food, and I eat what I need, I don't like over eating at all. And I feel healthy. Just because society says I should loose 25 kg doesn't mean that would be healthy for me. I would look ugly if I lost that much weight, I'm not 29 anymore. This thing that we all should be a size 6 or we're overweight, is utter nonsense. And I was just as surprised that there were no questions on have I had a hip replacement surgery or do I have epilepsy and use chronic medication? Because these things plays a huge factor in what people can eat and if they should loose weight at all. Also nothing on things like chronic constipation or menopouse or water retention. All huge factors in someone's weight. I should know. I had chronic constipation, went for a colonoscopy and came back more healthy than I felt since I was 20! And I lost 14 kg just through that colonoscopy. No so called diet can do that! Keeping in mind most of the weight was water! And now Noom wanted me to consume 8 glasses of water where I feel sick after the 5th glass of water. My cousin is a nurse, and she told me 8 glasses of water a day is a myth. You could kill yourself by drinking too much water. When my Dad was still working, a colleague of him died from drinking too much water, his kidneys gave in. The secret is that we should "listen" to what our bodies need. If we find out we get gas from lentils, best to avoid or keep to very minimum. If we find we feel more energetic after a green salad, eat as much as we LIKE! Never overdo it! If we feel faint, like low blood sugar, drink some hot chocolate. Keep a healthy balance.
This video helped me to confirm and validate my gut instincts regarding the Noom program. I'm 5'9, 200+ pounds and it recommended my daily calorie target to be 1250-1300 depending on my daily weigh in. If and when I was ever able to keep my calories that low I felt physically ill with the worst headaches I've ever had. Thank you ❤️
Dude no one should be paying $59 a month for noom. I pay $19 a month. Protip: If you do the trial and say I want to cancel near the end they reduce the price to $19 a month. I do this for anything I have to pay for. They typically give you a lower price. Overall for me Noom has been helpful for me in eating healthier. I don't really worry about the color options or calories but I do use it as a way to choose a variety of healthier options. Edit: Also going to a registered dietitian isn't always an option because of the expense.
There are also discount codes all over the internet. I love Noom enough I went for the 8-month program and paid 111.00 which works out to be only 13.87 a month.
I lost 20lbs in the span of two months, unintentionally, and so so many people that didn't know me as well told me how GREAT I looked!! I don't think they realized I was so physically ill that I couldn't eat even an entire meal a day from nausea and lack of appetite. I got so sick and weak that I had to resign from my job and could barely get out of bed or brush my teeth without having to switch arms because my arms would get tired within less than a minute. My PCP was shocked at how much I had lost and marked it as a big red flag symptom. I was miserable. But hey! At least I was losing weight and looking super hot with my new "fit" bod!! That really softens the blow huh? It's lucky that I grew into loving my body over the past couple of years because if I was still managing a poor body image and disordered eating when I was already super sick, and people told me I was looking good because I was losing weight, I think I might have truly spiraled. Luckily found the cause and I'm physically and mentally healthier than I've ever been! So I'll give myself a "hell yeah" for that one.
I wish you would review the Naturally Slim program. I found it really troubling for a number of reasons. My husband's company offered it to him as a perk of his insurance, but it had almost a cult like feeling, and some suggestions (like guzzling super diluted orange juice, avoiding all sugar, using a meal timer) upsetting.
Thanks for sharing this! I have been so intrigued by noom given their focus on behavior change. I have my PhD in psychology and did postdoctoral training in nutrition. The behavioral aspect of health is so important and doesn’t get enough attention. I hope that changes and that my research can be part of the change.
I did Noom for a few months but quit when it became clear that I actually already knew most of the information. The main thing I gained was a reminder of mindful eating and that it’s okay to leave food on your plate. About the psych stuff, there are CBT techniques included; they don’t just say “you might have black & white thinking and here’s what that is,” they continue with a few methods of combating that thought distortion. I think my calories were a range and the top end was around 1700, which is about what I get with other apps, like SparkPeople. I didn’t change much of my diet though, and never do. I just do my thing and see where that gets me. Most of the time my calories were okay but I went over on the red. Which is not actually a problem for me since I know I would be starving otherwise, and I know that dietary fat isn’t actually the end of the world. I have about 90 extra pounds on me (I would still be overweight by BMI). I lost 10 doing Noom and have kept that off for about a year. Mostly I think I just started eating more vegetables (which is something I still need to do more of).
Two principals really changed my life and they were the hardest concepts for me to understand and master. The fact that I can eat whatever I want and that I don't have to eat anything I don't truly want to eat. All or nonthing mentality is truly toxic and really challenging to overcome. Food is a source of joy and pleasure and we all deserve to take time everyday to remember that 💕
I was curious about the app and then it said "you can lose 20 lbs in a month" and I was like, um...wt actual f? BYEEEEE. I weigh about 170 (?) and that is NOT a healthy pace for me. Also me, snacking on almonds while watching this---dodged a bullet there. It's difficult for me to eat large meals and I NEED calorie dense snacks.
I seen an ad for Dr. Oz new diet.. 16 pounds a week. I was like, wtf? Pointed it out to hubs "that ain't healthy!" I also found a channel that regularly posts videos like "10kg in 10 days" 🤦 Some people naturally lose a lot of weight starting a new lifestyle, but that is a lot! And likely way less calories than needed. 😕
@@ahuman5772 Ugh, same. I've slowly been gaining weight, and am almost at the goal my doctor gave me. Yay! I hope your health and weight journey goes well😊
I’m not trying to argue with anybody but I just want to point something out - the 1200 budget assumes you take no logged steps and perform no logged exercise, but still want to lose weight. I am using noom right now more as tracking than as a real “plan.” Everyday, when I wake up it gives me a goal of 1200. By the time I go to bed, my goal is usually 1800. That increase is just from walking around for my commute and sometimes a little bit of weight lifting. That’s completely reasonable for someone my size. So this panic about the 1200 budget is a little disingenuous. Also, the whole point of weighing in everyday is so you can see for yourself that your weight fluctuates a lot and it has nothing to do with things you can directly control. So the presenter actually agrees with noom - your weight fluctuates, so it makes no sense to beat yourself up over “gaining” five pounds!
@@gatordays1538 you missed the point completely. It doesn’t expect you to actually eat 1200 calories a day. It gives you 1200 to start the day off and you get more calories back with every step you take. If you took literally no steps and logged no activity and just laid in bed all day, only then would you still have the 1200 calorie goal.
I am currently using it. Some of the early readings were helpful and helped me understand how to fuel myself better. I don't really pay attention to the colored foods, so I just eat what I want. It holds me accountable in a way I have struggled to do on my own. I also understand the daily weigh ins because Noom talks about how your weight fluctuates in life, so it's important to get comfortable with it. It's definitely not worth the money bc I can do the food tracking by myself. I already paid for 3 months tho, so we're gonna stick with it for the last month
Everyone keeps mentioning the 1200 calorie budget, but what I think people don’t realize is that your calorie budget increases with your activity...I work out everyday and I usually have 1700-2000 calories in my “budget” by the end of the day. It also counts your steps so even if you aren’t working out, but you’re moving around, you’ll get extra calories. Pretty sure the 1200 calorie budget would only be if you literally didn’t leave your bed all day. I don’t personally get triggered by the stoplight system so I can’t say what it’s like for someone who does, but I never feel like I can’t have a red food, but I’m focusing on increasing my green and yellow, which has been a healthy mindset for me. Obviously, no program will work for everyone, but I think if you go into it with the right mindset Noom can be effective.
When I was doing the quiz for Noom they kept moving my weight loss achievement date closer and closer to as little as 3 months away (for 50 pounds of loss!) even though I put my actual "goal date" *over a year* away. That made me turn away from it so fast.
I've watched so many of your videos at this point and I'm now realizing that I've had really disordered eating for as long as I can remember. But when using Noom, as encouraged by my school nurse, I felt like it increased my anxiety about food and weight loss. I always felt so guilty for not entering meals or eating too many red foods.
The Noom app works. I used it and I lost weight. Sadly it didn’t fix me and I put some back on during quarantine. Nothing can fix me because I eat for comfort. I would do it again though. I don’t find it to be extreme, obviously you’re dumb if you choose cheetah speed. I choose just a little above turtle and I lost weight slowly. It gives you more guidelines than just counting calories which helped it to be a lot easier and less painful to lose weight. I started out being able to eat 1800 calories which is quite comfortable for me. Idk what the perfect solution is for weight loss. I feel like Noom is pretty good for weight loss and more balanced than some other programs. The bottom line is you’re not going to keep weight off unless you completely change the way you eat forever, which is really hard- especially cause life happens (aka pandemic).
Thanks for this! I keep getting ads for Noom, with the tagline looking at a sort of slender person saying, "you look great!" OVER IT. I work so hard to remove that kind of crap from my daily life, it's annoying when it pops up in an ad. I appreciate your perspective - I can continue to ignore and resist this kind of messaging armed with your knowledge.
Could you review the daily dozen "plan" from Dr. Gregor's How Not to Die? also- do you have any recommendations on books or other resources on food psychology?
I totally get the concerns. Ive watch Abbey for a while now and I learned alot about intuitive eating. But on the other hand- I like noom. I wanted to drop at least 10 # before getting pregnant. I saw it as a guide and didn't follow it to a T. I saw the 1200 calorie limit and was like umm no. I ate between 1700-2100. Some days were 2200 or 2300. I never thought I would like counting calories but it helped me realize how much I was eating. The first few days I ate like I normally would and tracked it. I was eating 3000 - 4500 calories! Mostly carbs and desserts. So the color system helped me focus on choosing better foods. I liked the articles- it helped me realized the mindless eating i tend to do. And one dessert a day is plenty, not 3! I was only on it for a month and got pregnant with baby #3 so I canceled. I would join again sometime after birth. It helped me stay accountable.
My take away from Noom was mindfulness. Of my body and of my cravings. I did lose weight *woot woot* and I haven’t gained it back (fingers crossed). I did find the personal coaching lacking. A lot of “What do you want to do?” type responses to my questions. I understand the need to be proactive, but if I knew what to do, I wouldn’t need a coach. There were also a few responses from my coach that were addressed to the wrong person. Copy/paste mistakes - gotta love it, but I didn’t really fault her for that. I definitely lost interest with the program when I realized that a lot of what I was getting from them were things I already knew. The articles just started to feel like they were spouting acronyms, because Noom Nerds LOVE acronyms! 🤷🏻♀️ It was actually on this channel that I learned about recognizing satiety and intuitive eating, and it didn’t cost me a dime. So many thanks to you and your team for that.
I tried this app and like everyone else, i also got a 1200 calorie limit per day. For me, the daily weighing wasn't as much of an issue as the ridiculously low calorie limit and the red food limit. They want you to only get about 25% of your calories from red foods. If you're only eating 1200 calories, that means you'd exceed your red food limit for the day - any nuts, nut butter, oils, red meat, whole dairy, etc. - if you ate a granola bar and half an avocado! It was practically impossible to stay within the goals without eating dry salad like a rabbit and completely avoiding even healthy "high density" foods for the rest of the day. It sucked and made me feel like a failure every day when I couldn't limit the "high density" foods *that* much and kept exceeding the calorie limit if I ate even 1500-1600 calories ("ooh, what a pig, right???"). "Not a diet" and "no food shaming" my ass...
I don't see it. I'm using Noom, it's worked for me. I mean if you're an extremely literal person who needs to be scolded to get your ass in gear then yeah, it won't work for you. First off? When I first downloaded the app, it stopped me when I put in how much I wanted to lose and it suggested a more realistic healthy goal. I just needed to be reminded to eat the right portions, aka a BAG of family sized Doritos compared to the suggested 16 chips. I needed help to figure out WHY I ate like food was going to be taken away from me and it guided me through that thinking. You have to use it past the free two weeks. If you're on your phone alot, it's worth it.
@@AbbeysKitchen I feel like I should add I'm a type one diabetic who has seen her share of dieticians before finding Noom. My problem was never WHAT I ate but how much. I eat almonds anyway - a handful of almonds that's the equivalent to one protein compared to finishing a bag in one sitting.
I'm seeing ads for it multiple times a day and as someone who had an eating disorder for 15 years and is trying desperately not to fall back into it, it's really horrible. Several times a day I'm getting adverts telling me it's easy to lose weight so I kept considering downloading it. So glad I found this honest video, otherwise all the reviews are of people happy they've lost weight (you will lose weight if you follow tips that basically force eating disordered habits on you!!!) At least now I know to stay well away. I just wish I could stop ads appearing everywhere. In some apps I can report the ad or say I don't want to see it but on RU-vid I can't escape :(
Hi Abbey, love the video but just want to say that find daily weigh ins help me notice a trend. Its only helpful if you see it as Data and do not have a history of disordered eating. It helps me as I look at 6 weekly trends based on my cycle rather than random weigh ins... I do understand what you're saying though. I also wanted to ask.. if you do want to lose weight, is that Ok? Your videos give me the idea that you are against anyone counting calories to lose weight. What if you're eating 1800 calories/ day & eat everything in moderation but just feel happier counting them. Is this wrong? I am genuinely asking .
I am a current Noom user(this is my 4th months using Noom). The reason I signed up was to improve my relationship with food, and to loose a little bit of weight. Honestly I don’t think this video is very fair to the Noom experience at all, because it actually supports everything you support. The course started with basic nutritional knowledge, then food behavior and it’s relationship to emotions, how to fight thought distortions, cravings, loosing “bad food” mentality, then moved into intuitive eating/tune in to your hunger cues and mindfulness. It did categorize food into red yellow and green based on calorie density, but it also emphasizes that it is only an indication of calorie density, and encourages users to eat moderate amount of high calories density Whole Foods like nuts. I admit I was also skeptical like you when I saw the advertisement, as the ad is not very true to the using experience at all. it’s more like taking a daily course, instead of a “weight loosing program that teaches you to count calories”. It significantly improved my relationship with food, helped me loosing 10lbs and becoming a much more mindful eater. It even helped me with other aspects of life as relationship with food is really just relationship with self&the world. I am your subscriber, i find a lot of your videos very informative and backed with science. But to be honestly a little disappointed about how much this particular video jumped to conclusion too quickly.
THANK YOU!!! I totally agree. It seemed like she only had access to the first day or two of the program. The do delve much deeper into the topics she mentioned. They aren't to fully cover it in the first 3 days of the program. She gave her explanation of her scale fluctuating -- yes, we know because Noom is quite thorough in explaining to expect that.It never bothers me if my scale didn't drop or if it even went up because every day I recognize non-scale victories. She should have interviewed some of us who are currently doing the program to get a more thorough view of how the program truly is.
Thank you for addressing the downsides of the traffic light system! I tried out the app and logged that I added 2 dates to my oatmeal one morning, and it was marked as "red." I could have added a handful of MnMs and gotten the exact same result! Why not praise whole foods instead of punishing calorie-dense foods?
This was really helpful and informative. I am currently trying it for the second time, and have been struggling with feeling triggered by the 'red' labeling of my favorite healthy fats that took me years of work to accept into my diet after battling an eating disorder that convinced me all fat was evil. I do find the psychological aspects of it helpful, but I have found that my "coach" feels cold and robotic. I received a message asking how I was doing after not weighing in for two days and, when I opened up and admitted that I was having disordered-eating thoughts, I was given a response two days later that was unrelated to my statement or the previous question. Still not sure how this is going to go and if I'll need to abandon it for my mental well-being, but all of your videos have been really affirming and educational for me, so - thank you!
I did try Noom and ultimately ended up doing what you said - just tracking my meals and ignoring the articles. It always bothered me that they rarely cited their sources for their research, and even when they did cite sources they threw so much at you, it became information overload. I will say that my coach did fairly frequently recommend I talk to my doctor and seek advice of a dietician. Even though the app was constantly giving me messages that weren't so great, my coach helped me set non-food or exercise health-related goals and actually did help me figure out ways other than losing weight to feel more comfortable in my body and that helped a lot. I found I was not able to lose weight, but it did help me stop gaining weight. But then when I quit the app (not worth the money), it wasn't something I was able to maintain and started gaining weight again. One thing that really bothered me was just that even though I put that I didn't want to lose any weight, it still put me on a weight loss plan and every single article was about weight loss. And when I finally put in an amount of weight loss I actually wanted, it automatically put me at "lose 2 pounds per week for 6 months" even though my goal was much lower.
What about a video explaining racial inequality when it comes to food and why Black women, and BIPOC more broadly, are not adequately represented in the dietetic field?
TW: disordered eating I was on Noom 2 years ago. I remember crying whenever I went out to restaurants because I felt I couldn’t imbibe. I lost a ton of weight but I was sleepy all the time and very emotional. I was told to eat 1200 calories a day my meals were limited to safe foods: Velveeta mac and cheese cup Tomato soup in the drinkable can Grapefruit Green tea Chipotle salad These were safe foods for me. I struggled so much. I looked good but I had a lot of fear. I’ve gained it all back and then some but have been losing it for my own health and I am feeling better. I’m able to eat foods that made me nauseated. I am active and getting the help I need to continue this journey the healthy way.
I’ve been using Noom for a little while now. Some of the beef Abbey has with the app is addressed in the program. The app gives you a smaller daily calorie allowance but it adds back half of the calories you burn from activity. Promoting more movement. The app classifies some foods as red but these foods are not off limits. They say the green foods will help you feel your fullness which in turn helps you loose weight. The app says to weigh yourself everyday to hold yourself accountable, but mainly to confront scale anxiety. They acknowledge that there are discrepancies in your weight from day to day.
Wow I wish I had seen this before using Noom. I had great weight loss results with Noom about two years ago. I lost it slowly but the side effect was that I became obsessive about avoiding red foods and eating tons of veggies. I learned alot about changing my thinking/behavior and how that could impact my emotional relationship with food but I picked up some really unhealthy habits based around restrictions. I did take issue with the "coaching". Basically, you ask a question and they send you a "Noom's guide to "x"" in response. I am convinced that they don't actual know anything about nutrition. Obviously all of the weight came back (and then some). Thank you for reviewing Noom. I think it will really help people like me who just thought of my "failure" as lack of self control. I know now that reatrictive diets don't work for me in the long term. Thanks again.
Using NOOM currently. It’s working great for me. My daily calorie budget is 1200 and if you make wise choices, it’s not that hard to stay within that limit. I haven’t had any real bouts of hunger either, and I’m eating healthy foods.
I always wondered if quiting noon was the right decision and this absolutely confirmed it. I was new to my weight-loss and it counted my no salt 100 calorie pack of maybe 15 almonds once a day as a bad snack option! It was unacceptable and I quit!!
Watching these videos got me thinking today, because I'm slipping back into what other people call orthorexia. Psychs can't help. I find myself attempting to make better choices but... any time I do, I fall RIGHT BACK into orthorexia and obsessive logging of not only calories, but a whole lexicon of nutrients, fats, sugars, etc. And today I think I figured out why I, like so many autistic people, are considered so hard to treat when it comes to eating disorders: it's because psychologists and nutritionists treat us like they treat NT people. They treat the baseline disorder as for how it presents in allistic people. Let me explain the hypothesis: Lots of allistic (non-autistic) people find solace in certain foods because it's an extension of control and approval. Eating a food (or not eating a food) in itself is the rewarding factor. You, say, eat the celery, not the chocolate -> you exerted control -> good job -> carry on. So when an autistic person shows up also with orthrorexia or anorexia, we get treated by telling us that foods are okay. We're "allowed" to eat food and change our relationship with food. Our limited diets are bad, we're just really really picky, we need to fix that because malnourishment and blah blah blah... why are we SO DIFFICULT oh it MUST be because autistic people don't like change, so we must want to suffer and die. Except... those foods are often Not Good. People tell me allll the time "JUST GO VEEEEGAANNNN" and I won't feel like crap anymore but lol, I am allergic to everything in vegan food. Grains? Yep! Legumes! Ohhh yeah, I used to eat peas daily. Turned out it wasn't lotion allergies causing hives. It's peas and lentils. Guess what protein is in EVERYTHING now? Pea protein. ugughhh... And no one believed that until an allergy test showed that. This year. I'm 32. Guess how many years I've been forced to eat the freaking peas, the most tolerable of the green vegetables. Yeah. Exactly. Did you know that too much prednisolone isn't good for you? hahahaha... Broccoli, spinach, brussels sprouts, asparagus- basically anything very green like that, causes terrible GI distress. I'm "just picky," though. CLEARLY it's because sometimes I drink soda (which is actually a very safe food, turns out). I've been told that I'm just picky and anorexic for so long that even I believed it. But, it turns out, approx. 1 in 4 of us have major GI disorders- that's Chron's, GERD, Celiac's (often asymptomic except anaemia and intestinal death), etc. Many more of us have autoimmune issues. OF COURSE I "only" eat "white" foods: chicken, potatoes and rice, sometimes corn. You know what else autistic people tend to do? Categorize things. Create systems. Collect things. We need* networks of stuff to make sense (black/white thinking, hard parameters, like in computer coding) to give structure to the world. Creating habits that we absolutely cannot break from without physical pain resulting from stress transferring into sensation. Lets' see. What really appeals to that sense of safety when dealing with food-related illness. Maybe... calorie-counting? Counting sugar grams, fat, etc.? Putting them into spreadsheets endlessly? Collecting as much data as possible at our individual levels for how to achieve a desired goal, like a particular body shape demanded so we fit in? Wouldn't something nice and *safe*... like... an extreme elimination-style diet... be super-appealing... because it takes away SO MANY FOODS... that likely set off a Bad allergy or GI response (possibly one undiagnosed)... that you can count and categorize and conquer... be not only physically rewarding because it would stop so much pain and illness, but also give structure and accomplishment? It isn't the control of denial that gives reward, like the neurotypical denying themselves chocolate. It's the ability to successfully eat something without penalty that gives reward- being ABLE to eat a food without a horrific texture or smell or taste issue, and without pain, bloating, or fatigue afterwards. And the categorizing is actually soothing, meditative- rewarding. Familiar. *What if* we don't get treated properly by nutritionists and psychs because we are categorized under the same illness headers, "Orthorexic", "Anorexic", the same ICD-10 codes... but the motivation is totally different, and neither doctor nor patient ever figures it out because we don't have the toolkit to even begin framing it that way. Because all the books say we're just picky and stubbourn and just need to eat, it seems. Not focused on "what have you successfully eaten" and "what is it about that thing that is appealing" followed up with "based on that, let's try this." I wonder if that hypothesis turns out to have any merit to it. It would be an interesting thing to find out, for sure.
This is hard for me to write because I feel a little stupid. But here goes. I really value everything you say, Abbey. I’ve found that I almost always shape my opinion to match yours because I think you’re wise and really educated on every topic. But I have been using Noom for a few weeks now, and absolutely love it. And ever since watching this video I’ve been focusing on my goals less because part of me is like “Abbey doesn’t think this is a good app.” But here’s the thing - I actually *do* have a weight loss goal and really felt like I needed help to achieve it. With Noom I’ve been seeing real results and have felt empowered to make the best decisions to help with my goal, and excited that I don’t have to restrict any “bad” foods along the way. The color system works really well for me. I still eat nuts and oils and cheeses, but in greater moderation. Isn’t that the goal?? I don’t understand how someone is supposed to lose weight in a “better” way. Hiring a personal dietician? Ok, I don’t have the money for that. It’s just frustrating. It feels like no matter how many disclaimers she makes, abbey thinks that anyone trying to shift their eating habits or lose weight for aesthetic reasons is doing something wrong. I had a huge overeating problem and Noom is really helping with that. So yeah. I’m gonna just vehemently disagree with abbey and keep paying for this app. Because I don’t think abbey would ever offer any advice herself on how to lose weight in a healthy way.
Hi Abby! I loved this review. Fell into their trap and downloaded the app, realized it didn't work for me, and then forgot to cancel before I got charged. Ugh. So glad you're taking this on! Also, if you haven't looked at reviewing the F-Factor diet yet, that could be a possible video topic. Its pretty trendy in certain circles rn.
