Want to know how to lose weight and keep it off? This program did it for me:
Do you struggle to
- make healthy eating choices,
- squeeze in exercise,
- eat a balanced diet, or
- resist that sweet treat or second helping of dessert?
If you answered “yes” to any of these, I’m guessing you may have tried a diet or two in your day. Maybe a half-dozen. Maybe so many, you’ve lost count.
Maybe you’ve invested hundreds – or even thousands – of dollars in different eating programs, exercise regimes/equipment, and other efforts to lose the weight and keep it off for good.
These are challenges I’ve literally struggled with my whole life – so I know where you’re coming from.
I know your pain.
I have a confession: For much of my life, I’ve been overweight. Not obese, but overweight enough to have a body-mass index.above the “healthy” range. Given my family’s history with heart attacks, high blood pressure, and cancer – not to mention my own history of joint issues – I’ve been painfully aware of the fact that maintaining a healthy weight is essential.
But that hasn’t made it any easier for me to do so.
And mind you, I know all about healthy eating – I’ve been doing it most of my life! Ditto for exercise. Yet still I struggle.
Things reached a breaking point last New Year’s Day, when I stepped on the scale. And found I was 10 pounds shy of my delivery weight with both girls.
Only I wasn’t pregnant.
Sound familiar?
How To Lose Weight For Good
For ages, most diet programs out there just haven’t been realistic for my lifestyle. If you’re a busy parent, you know what I mean:
- You don’t have time to prepare two sets of food – one for you, one for the rest of your family;
- You exercise when you can, but can’t spend all day everyday in the gym;
- You can’t eliminate every single snack from your house because you have kids around;
- You can’t afford fancy, expensive “diet food” for yourself;
- If someone else cooks at least some of the time, you can’t dictate what they’ll prepare;
- Meals-away-from-home are a regular part of your reality.
Enter the secret weapon I stumbled across by accident last New Year’s Day. For which I am forever grateful.
Because thanks to this secret weapon, this is the year I’ve finally lost weight, and kept if off.
This post contains affiliate links.
What’s the secret weapon?
It’s a program called NOOM.
It’s not a diet. You can eat whatever you want on it. (Really!)
A better way to describe NOOM is as a program to retrain your brain and rewire your habits, so you can live and maintain a healthier life.
For me, NOOM has made all the difference this past year.
Before I signed up for NOOM, I was appalled to look back at photos from the previous year and realize that I looked heavier than I’d like in them.
Not to mention that my clothes all seemed to be getting tighter.
And I was finding that every time I bought new clothes for myself, they were in larger sizes than before.
And many of my former fave-things-to-wear no longer looked that good on me. THAT was the real kicker – that, and how I looked in photographs.
Since starting NOOM, I no longer have to buy clothes in bigger sizes. In fact, I’ve been able to start wearing clothes that a year ago were too small for me – and some of my favorite “larger-size” clothes are now too big.
How does NOOM work?
In order to do NOOM, all you need is
- A smart device plus internet connection;
- A scale;
- About 10 minutes per day.
Each day, NOOM delivers a fresh set of lessons to your smart device. It usually takes maybe 5 minutes to work through the lessons. The other 5 minutes is for logging your meals.
Lessons? What kind of lessons?
The reason NOOM is different from any other weight-loss program I’ve ever tried is because it goes way beyond the stuff I already knew. (Face it, the stuff we ALL probably already know, deep down inside).
Knowing how to make healthy food choices, or that exercise is important, is one thing. Consistently doing what we know is the hard part.
Especially when you add in the stress of parenting. And travel, whether for work or for family. And (in my case) those weekly kids’ choir family dinners at church every Wednesday night, when pizza is the main course. (Substitute your own weekly less-than-healthy family rituals here.)
Little by little, day by day, NOOM helps you reexamine everything you think you know about healthy eating and healthy living. It helps you identify the weak links in your lifestyle, and rebuild them with healthier patterns. It does this by giving you the tools you need to make permanent changes to your thinking.
In my case, the weak links became clear just a few months into NOOM:
- As I’ve often written about here, I don’t always get the sleep I need.
- Late afternoon is a challenging point in my day. After having the peace and quiet of the house to myself for my work-at-home-mama workday, the transition to full-time parenting again (when the girls arrive home from school) can be stressful. Coaxing them through their homework, particularly our child with learning challenges, is especially stressful. And I’m usually ready for a snack anyway.
As I now realize, the perfect storm of #2 often leaves me hangry, and grabbing for whatever unhealthy choices I can lay my hands on (chocolate, anyone?). Add in #1, and I’m a goner.
How NOOM helped me lose weight and keep it off
Just realizing the point in my day when I got super-stressed (and started stress-eating as a result) was a HUGE eye-opener for me.
Thanks to NOOM, I not only recognize that trigger in my life – I have a multi-pronged plan in place to handle that stress point, so I don’t stress-eat as a result!
Other people have other triggers. NOOM is designed to help each person recognize the weak links in their own healthy-living chain, and make permanent lifestyle changes:
- Once you join NOOM, you get a daily set of lessons sent directly to your smartphone. They take about 5 minutes to read.
- Several months in, you will get different mental exercises to try that might take an additional 5-10 minutes per day to complete.
- Each day, you’ll weigh yourself first thing in the morning. Afraid of the scale? NOOM talks you through this, too! I now know, thanks to NOOM, how to see fluctuations in my daily weigh-in as normal rather than panic points, and how to stay focused on the big picture.
- Then throughout the day, you’ll log what you eat in the NOOM app. This is so much easier than I ever thought it would be! NOOM classifies all foods as either “green” (eat as much as you want), “yellow” (eat in moderation), or “red” (eat sparingly), based on their calorie density.
- And in addition to the lessons and the food-logging, you get access to a personal coach AND a support group of other NOOMers all over the world.
But what about other people who’ve tried NOOM?
You don’t have to believe just me. I was totally skeptical before I signed up that this program would make a real difference. So I did some research to see if it was too good to be true. (Which, honestly, was how it seemed.)
Turns out, various scientists have been studying NOOM for awhile now. Here are some of the results they’ve published:
- In one study, 2/3 (64%) of NOOM participants lost over 5% of their body weight and kept it off;
- In another study focused on diabetes prevention, those who stayed engaged with NOOM dropped over 2.5 points off their BMI at the 24-week mark; by week 65, they were down over 3 points total on their BMI.
- Yet another study found that after 9 months with NOOM, 77.9% of those who’d stuck with the app had lost weight and kept it off.
It’s worth noting that like any program, the app doesn’t work if you don’t use it. I’ve been completely cut off from the internet for two weeks this past year. Which meant I wasn’t getting my daily lessons (though I was still able to log what I ate, and get real-time feedback on my choices). It was hard to get back to the lessons after this first “break,” and my weight loss started to stall as a result. But I’ve kept the weight off.
As I type this, it’s Christmas week and I’m surrounded by all sorts of excuses to make less-than-healthy choices. BUT my coach has been right there with me, checking in with me to see what challenges I’m facing, and giving me the positive reinforcement I need to stick with my healthy-eating plan while away from home for several days.
Want to give NOOM a try?
If you’re intrigued, you can try NOOM for free for two weeks with ✅this link – AND get an extra 20% discount if you decide to stick with NOOM after that. To get started, NOOM will ask you a number of questions about your current stats (age/height/weight, etc.) as well as your overall goals (healthier lifestyle, weight loss, etc.). Then NOOM will customize a program just for you and YOUR needs.
If after two weeks you’re just not into it, cancel with no obligation. If you do like it, I’m willing to bet that with the extra 20% discount, you’ll end up paying way less per month for your first few months with NOOM than that gym membership you’ve been debating. (Or debating canceling because you use it so rarely).
When I realized how little NOOM cost compared to the other options I’d been considering, giving it a try was a no-brainer. And as you can see from the pictures above, I’m so glad I did.
Ready to say “yes” to your healthiest year yet? ✅Click here to get started and snag that 20% discount!
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I keep hearing about Noom – great to hear that you love it!
Congratulations on your accomplishments. You’re looking fabulous! Keep up the amazing work, and for inspiring me to get back on the band-wagon again. I don’t diet either. I just watch what I eat, and exercise. I’ve seriously slacked off over the holidays, and need to get back to it.
Congratulation on your milestone done!
I am so happy to read such success stories, I am sure your story will inspire other people who is struggling with their weight loss.
Yup! It’s a YES for me and this is exactly my dilemma. Thank you so much for these tips. I would love to give this another try. Thank you for sharing the details about NOOM. Will check this out.
You are so welcome! Can you believe that after reading this post, my coach actually helped “reset” my NOOM clock so I could more easily catch up on the lessons I’ve missed? Have NEVER had that level of help/accountability before! (You ROCK, Heather! 🙂 )
Congratulations on your weight loss success. I’m glad you found something that works for you and found success with.
Thanks so much! Everything I’ve learned has made a HUGE difference for living healthily with minimal effort!
Wow!!! Well Done girl, I’m so happy for you
thanks! 🙂
I am so glad you found what works best for you. I love having a healthy balanced lifestyle & eating plant based! ☺️
Totally! If not for my hubby’s love of red meat, wed eat more meatless/plant-based meals than we do, for sure. Cutting out ALL animal products (eggs/dairy too) would be much harder for us, but baby step by baby step, we’re making positive changes as a family 🙂
You look great, I love the before and after pictures. I used the Noom program to get me on track with healthy eating and loved it! I struggle with getting enough sleep too and need to work on it!!!
Aww, thanks! It’s funny, most weeks my NOOM coach says to me “What are your goals for the week?” and my reply is “Same as before – work on sleep!” To be fair, some weeks it’s working on consistent 8+ hours, others it’s consistent bed/wake times – but even just maintaining gains/good habits there is often more what I need to work on than maintaining healthy eating habits, since those are more ingrained for me 🙂
This is interesting. I’ve never thought about losing weight as a mental obstacle versus a physical one. Thanks for the insight. Great work on getting and keeping the weight off.
It was really amazing how simple things like looking at actual typical weight-loss patterns (a constant up-down zigzag) so you can stay focused on the bigger picture (the larger trend over time) can help you NOT to think “defeat” and overreact. (Or, for some people, “cheating” – it’s hard to “cheat” when no food is off limits and you can eat whatever you want, in moderation, so long as you focus on the bigger picture of the day!) I really liked how everything they teach you is 100% grounded in science, so you can always go to the source and learn more if you want 🙂
You look amazing! I’ve been seeing a lot of commercials for Noom but had no idea how it was different. It sounds like such a smart way to improve health and increase knowledge.
It really has been quite impressive in that regard. A lot of the “basics” that they cover – how to eat healthily, what to eat, don’t sit around like a lump all day, get sleep or your metabolism will slow way down, etc. – were NOT new to me (though it’s good they covered them for those ppl who didn’t already really know this stuff). BUT the total ***rethinking*** of how you approach food, the scale, and living a healthy lifestyle, was way more impactful to me than I expected – partly ’cause I had no idea how different this whole approach was to anything else I’ve seen. After the 14 day trial, I was like, wow, I need this! And I haven’t been disappointed!
Firstly, you look amazing! Congrats. This post was super useful. Thank you for sharing your experience.
You are so welcome! (And thanks!)
That is so exciting for you! I’ll take a look at it.
Thanks! It’s really been a total game-changer for me!
This sounds like a great program to try. It is good to have some different strategies to find. It’s great this worked for you!
I’m so glad it did!
Thanks for the info I always have problem with weight loss programs. Maybe this on will be different.
Flossie, you look fantastic! I lost weight by eliminating sugar and carbs from my diet. I agree, incorporating exercising is very important too.
Aww, thanks! I have always known that watching the sugar and carbs is critical, but the color-coding with NOOM has been the first workable thing that has really helped me SEE how healthy choices play out in real-time, which has been the trick to helping me curb those cravings!
First off, congrats!!! And secondly, NOOM sounds like a great weight loss program. Thanks!
Thank YOU! 🙂
Your website is very cool and inspirational. I have a friend who has been trying to lose weight for years. Unfortunately it always came back, I will recommend this to her.
Thank you for passing it on! I am honestly amazed at what a difference the total brain retraining from this program has made – such a difference from everything else I’ve tried.
I do want to lose and keep it off for good. This post is motivating to resume my good habit. Thanks for the inspiration.
You are so welcome, Marjie; ’tis the season! 🙂
I’ve heard of Noom before but not this in-depth. I’ve tried a few things before but it’s hard to stick to it. I think paying for something will make me more committed. How well does it handle entering meals when you cook from scratch all the time like I do?
A lot better than I thought. This is one of the trickier things I was worried about, too – since we also cook from scratch most of the time. It does have a lot of general settings like “Beef lasagna” (what my husband cooked two nights ago for dinner) or “White rice” and “Cooked lentils” (which are the leftovers I ate last night). Also, a lot of the things I eat/cook regularly, I have learned the commercial equivalents they are closest to – e.g., the easy Caesar salad recipe I posted on my blog is meant as a copycat of the Dole bagged salad kit, so whenever I eat that, I start typing “Caesar salad” and the Dole chopped kit comes up, so I use that. It also has lots of variations in its general listings – “Tossed salad,” “tossed salad with feta,” etc. so even if you’re cooking from scratch, you can get a general sense of how whatever you’re making/eating works. And if all else fails, I break it down by ingredients if needed – e.g., a lentil “risotto” I make that is roughly equal parts lentils and rice, I enter as those two components (1/2 cup cooked lentils, 1/2 cup white rice). I suppose these “approximations” are challenging if you’re 100 percent concerned about accurate calorie counts, but again, I am mainly interested in the general sense of balancing my green/yellow/red food intakes for the day, as that is what’s been most useful for me. So for that, it does a good job. And yes, paying = helping with the commitment, but honestly, the lessons have been SO useful that I’d look forward to each new morning’s lessons for the first many months! (after which they taper off into different types of activities)
Sounds like a good plan! I’ve tried a few calorie counting apps before and that was always the hardest part for me. I’ve also tried entering the recipes into the cards for my own blog and having it calculate the nutrients then make a “custom food” and entering the numbers by myself. We are out of town right now but I’ll have to check it out when I get home.
Me too! I have really been pleasantly surprised at how easy their logging app is to use, and how comprehensive. WAY better than tracking food intake by hand (which I used to do), and much more user-friendly than any other app I’ve tried. Safe travels back home from (I’m guessing?) visiting your family for the holidays! 🙂
This sounds like a great programme… and you look like you have lost lots of weight using it! I definitely think it’s all about finding what works for you when it comes to weight loss…
So true!