Have you heard of the Noom diet? It is a new method to maintain a healthy lifestyle that helps to lose weight. See how you can apply it.
Currently, the global context has generated greater use of mobile phones for health care . So applications related to fitness and a healthier lifestyle have grown like foam. In this sense, the Noom diet has positioned itself as a weight loss application with more than 45 million followers.
But what makes the Noom diet so famous? Unlike other programs and applications, it goes beyond a general eating plan and strict tracking of calories eaten. It includes a psychological component that helps change the way you think and approach weight loss.
The Noom diet leads to healthy eating, increased regular exercise, stress management, and better sleep hygiene. Finally, change the lifestyle.
What is the Noom diet?
The Noom Diet is a digital weight loss program. It works as a personalized nutrition app that helps develop a healthier lifestyle. The company was founded in 2008, but launched as an app in 2016 to download to mobile phones or tablets.
Followers receive weekly challenges on nutrition issues, goal setting, developing healthy habits, and stress management. The entire process is conducted by a virtual team of specialists certified by the same company.
The Noom Diet provides tools to drive progress within the program, by recording meals, exercise regimen , and changes in body weight. Blood sugar and blood pressure also evolve.
The weight loss plan is based on cognitive behavioral therapy. However, despite the fact that several specialists believe that it is difficult to maintain this type of diet over time, others believe the opposite.
Scientific Reports magazine published that 78% of Noom users experienced weight loss over 9 months and 23 % lost more than 10% of their initial weight. Self-control behaviors were critical to success.
In terms of costs, the subscription to the application costs about 150 dollars for 6 months or 25 dollars per month. Users can invest in customized meal plans with restrictions or fitness training plans at a cost of $120 each.
The app proposes lifestyle change goals to promote weight loss.
How does the Noom diet work?
Users complete a survey by creating their profile, which includes age, height, current weight, and target weight. Questions about daily habits and health risks are answered.
With this information, an algorithm is run that calculates the calories needed to ingest per day and the time it will take to reach the goal. For safety, the minimum number of calories is 1,200 daily for women and 1,400 for men.
The program also develops self-control behaviors spread by some experts. This involves daily recording and weighing.
The last part of the survey is about activity, nutrition and cognitive behavioral therapy. Other areas that you want to work on are selected, such as sleep, stress and digestion.
At the end of the survey, the Noom diet account is created and a subscription plan is chosen. The first 14 days are free and then the subscription starts for 6 months.
Application of the Noom method
The Noom method classifies foods into reds, greens, and yellows . Reds are high in calories and should be eaten less frequently. The program does not label food as good or bad .
When users enter meals into food logs, the program analyzes the data and breaks down items according to their color. The Noom diet balances all 3 types in the right amount for the user’s goals.
Implementation
During the first months the diet contains a caloric deficit to promote weight loss . Then comes the maintenance phase. For any guidance, the user has access to certified specialists and a group chat .
What foods can you eat on the Noom diet?
The Noom diet does not exclude any food. Even those labeled in red can be eaten in moderation.
Let’s take a look at each of them:
- Green Label Foods – These include vegetables such as carrots, broccoli , spinach, and sweet potatoes. Fruits like oranges, apples, bananas, tomatoes, low-fat dairy products, and whole grains also fall into the group.
- Yellow Label – Caution should be exercised with consumption of these. Include lean protein from chicken, turkey breast, salmon, low-fat dairy, eggs, and healthy fats like avocado, olives, legumes, and grains.
- Red Label Foods – This group is not completely off-limits, but should be eaten much less frequently. Includes processed meats, peanut butter, oil, sugar, seasonings, and high-fat foods (pizza and chips)
Products with a high fat content are not eliminated, but a very reduced consumption of them is postulated.
Pros and cons of the Noom diet
The Noom diet may not be the best for everyone, but it does have a number of advantages that are absent from other applications or programs of this type:
- Certified Health Specialists – Before entering the program, health specialists train for 4 weeks to handle cognitive behavioral therapy.
- Focus on eating whole foods – With the Noom Diet the focus is on eating more of the foods that provide dietary fiber and plenty of vitamins and minerals.
- Psychological aspect : through cognitive-behavioral therapy, it helps to identify feelings about food.
- Long term : the base of the program is the change of habits to lose weight in the long term.
On the other hand, the Noom diet has some drawbacks to be considered by the user:
- Cost: The value is more than many people are able to spend on such a program.
- No face-to-face interaction: the chat service is the way to contact your personal health advisor.
- Problematic Color Approach: For some people, color labeling for food could result in habit disorder.
Not a tool for everyone
The best diet is one that maintains balance, harmony, variety, quantity and quality of meals. In addition, it must be adapted to a particular lifestyle.
The decision should be based on nutritional needs, budget and goals. If you believe that the Noom diet gives you those tools, then apply it.