As a woman who grew up in the ’80s and ’90s, I have a complicated relationship with my weight. My grandma told me I was fat when I was 8. And even though I was a size 4 in high school and college, I still didn’t think I was thin because my thighs touched when I walked.
I was what most medical professionals consider a healthy weight until a few years after I had our daughter. It was very hard for me to prioritize my overall health between being the default parent and working full-time. Although my blood pressure has always been and continues to be fantastic, my cholesterol crept up in tandem with my weight. My primary care provider suggested that if I lost weight, my cholesterol would benefit.
As someone who thrives with a plan, I needed one. My sister had told me she used an app called Noom to help her with some health goals and suggested I check it out. So I signed up for the free trial.
I dove wholeheartedly into the app, which encourages you to weigh yourself daily, track everything you eat and complete daily lessons that help encourage healthy behaviors like mindful eating and movement. After the free trial ended, I officially signed up. I tossed together bountiful salads for lunch, snacked on fruit for dessert and tracked every bite I ate even if I (frequently) went over my daily calorie goal. I completed the lessons dutifully while I sipped my morning coffee. I lost weight—until I got busy and stopped using the app. Then the weight crept back up.
Not to be deterred, I tried it again a few months later. I thought if I started the lessons over, I’d feel more motivated. But I just got bored. And I got mad that I had to weigh myself every day. Our weight is not the only measure of our health, I said to myself. I was active and largely ate healthfully! I didn’t need Noom for my cholesterol to go down.
Then I got my blood work done at my annual physical last year. I had to step on the scale. Not only had my weight crept up to a number I had only seen during the last trimester of my pregnancy, but my cholesterol was at an all-time high. I want to grow old healthfully, and not need to be on a barrage of medications. I want to stay active so I can be active with my potential future grandkids. So I downloaded Noom again. Here’s what happened this time.
I’m Losing Weight Very Slowly
Very slowly. I’ve lost 18 pounds—since the end of May. No, that’s not the 10 pounds in a month that you see headlining weight-loss articles, but is that 10-pounds-a-month goal sustainable? It wouldn’t be for me, and I don’t think it is for most people. As I was recently considering my turtle-like progress, I began to see it as a benefit. Since I’m making changes slowly, I feel like that means my body is appreciating the slow pace—it gives me time to adjust so weight loss doesn’t seem so hard.
Any Movement Helps
While some people may pair weight-loss attempts with crazy bouts of exercise, I haven’t done that. I’m just doing what I love to do—taking a 2-mile hike on the trails at the end of my street with our dogs, going to yoga or doing a 30-minute Pvolve workout (the functional movement program that I started before Jennifer Aniston made it popular) a couple of times a week. Or sometimes I go for a lunchtime walk when I go to the office. The point is, I didn’t join the gym or buy a Peloton—I’m moving in a way that makes me feel good most days of the week, and it’s helping me meet my goals.
Drinking Is Caloric
One of the things Noom recommends doing is keeping track of what you eat every day. As I dutifully logged what I ate every day, I quickly noticed something. Damn, double IPAs have a lot of calories in them! Some of my favorite beers clocked in at more than 300 calories a can—and sometimes I’d have two. I scaled back on my alcohol consumption, even deciding to mostly give it up. I felt better overall, and it was easier to meet my daily calorie goals.
Our Weight Fluctuates a Lot
On top of tracking what you eat, Noom also recommends weighing yourself every day (although they do say that it’s just a recommendation and everyone should track their weight as frequently as they like). This was very hard for me at first. I really hated stepping on the scale every morning, especially at the beginning, but it turned out to be the most helpful tool for me. I realized my weight could literally fluctuate 5 pounds from day to day, particularly if I ate a lot of salty food. And after eating out a lot on vacation and seeing the number on my scale edge up, it was satisfying to see it go back to my pre-vacation weight a week or so later—once I returned to my typical eating habits.
Bodies Adapt
Instead of a specific calorie goal, every Noom user has a recommended calorie range to stay within. When I first started, I was definitely at the high end most days, if not surpassing it (which I honestly did a lot). But I’ve noticed over the past several weeks that I tend to finish my day in the lower end of the range. As I pondered why that might be, I realized that on top of the alcohol that I’ve mostly cut out, I haven’t been snacking as often as when I started. I’ve also been eating more slowly and mindfully, which means I’m not reaching for seconds at dinner as much. And when I want to enjoy dessert or a salty snack, I just have some and enjoy every bite. All this is to say, I think the slow progress I’ve made has helped me more naturally eat less without feeling like I’m sacrificing anything.
Planning (Even a Little) Helps
While I’ve never been a major meal-prepper, I have found that some minimal planning over the weekend sets me up for success. I hadn’t really been one who thought about lunch when grocery shopping, but now I put plenty of interesting ingredients to make satisfying salads on my shopping list, like baked tofu and crunchy chickpeas. Sunday or Monday morning, I make a veggie-packed frittata or egg bites to enjoy throughout the week. And on Sunday night, my husband and I take a look at what’s happening over the upcoming week, which helps me sketch a movement plan for the week. We discuss who will walk the dogs each day, then I sign up for a virtual Pvolve class and block my work calendar so I can get in a lunchtime walk.
Bottom Line
Noom isn’t for everyone. And some of the tactics they recommend using, like calorie tracking and daily weigh-ins, can potentially lead to disordered eating behaviors. But I’ve found success with it. Tracking what I eat makes me more mindful of portion sizes, and weighing myself daily has opened my eyes to how widely our weight can vary over even a few days, which made that number feel more like a piece of information versus the one-and-only goal.
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