My Noom success story started in early 2021 when I successfully lost 35 pounds. I’ve been able to keep it off, and it’s now 2023. However Noom is constantly making improvements to their program, so I continue to use the app just to see the latest changes and to update this post with the most recent information. In addition, I provide an update on my Noom Success Story and keep the body weight off after time has gone by. I hope you find it useful for your weight loss journey!
Table of Contents
Weight Loss Has to Do with Everything in Your Life
This post has nothing to do with travel, but it does have to do with something 80% of us probably want to do – lose weight. In a recent social media post, I shared my Noom Success Story, and I had so many questions and comments about my losing weight success story I decided to write about it. Plus, my life isn’t always about travel, but I have other interests, too!
In actuality, weight loss has to do with everything in your life: physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Over the last five years, I have felt out of shape, and it has most definitely affected my outlook on traveling and all of the adventures I have wanted to do. So, in a way, it has little to do with travel.
I didn’t just feel out of shape; I felt old, broken, and slightly depressed, and I was worried I was on the road to diabetes (runs in my family) as I continued to gain 5 to 7 pounds a year. That’s 25 to 35 pounds I had put on, and as much as I tried to ignore it, COVID threw me over the edge. Not to mention, with each pound I put on, I lost more and more self-confidence and self-esteem.
Middle Age and Weight Management Woes
I’m 52, and it’s easy to blame weight gain on menopause and aging, but I knew deep down that this was a motivation issue for me. I used to be a really active runner, but injuries while being nomadic for 11 years with crappy insurance brought an end to that. One injury led to another, led to another, led to back pain; I felt as if everything was breaking down. And through it all, I wasn’t really doing regular exercise any longer.
I drank more.
I ate more.
I exercised less.
I made excuses.
I knew deep down it was a recipe for disaster – but I wasn’t ready to face it.
Size 8 stuff started getting packed away as my ‘skinny clothes I’ll get back to someday’ – then size 10, and soon I was shopping for size 12. Even though I loved my life and job, I wasn’t happy with myself…the deep, down me. I didn’t fully attribute that to weight, but I knew it was part of the equation. I don’t think I knew how big a part of the equation it was until I started losing weight through Noom.
Hello Back Pain
The next chain of events was my constant back pain. The MRI showed arthritis in my lower back that was kicking off my back issues. I tried shots, sleep pillows, and physical therapy with no relief. Every morning, I woke up stiff and in pain; I felt like I was 70 years old, not 52.
My doctor said I should try to lose a little weight. She also told me to try biking or swimming since running wasn’t great for my knees or my back. Instead of trying actively to lose weight, I chose the easier and more expensive path of steroid injections and even went as far as burning my nerve endings – but nothing helped with the back pain.
After living up the month of December as if it were a month-long Fat Tuesday, I signed up for the free trial of Noom on January 1st. Cliché New Year’s resolution I know, but it provided motivation for me. I had been flirting around with all of the Noom ads I saw on my social media feeds. I was skeptical, but I was willing to try because I wanted something to work.
And it did. I now have a large weight loss success story…something I never thought I would say!
Note – I paid for Noom on my own completely outside of anything I do on my blog – this was personal for me.
Use my special link for a free 2-week Noom trial – it may be all you need to motivate you to give Noom a try. Just answer a few questions and you are off and running to a healthier you!
What is Noom?
Basically, it’s a phone app in its simplest state. It’s a way of educating yourself about food and your relationship with food, digging into the psychology of that relationship. From there, the app helps you make good choices based on what you are learning about your complicated food relationship.
It’s no fad diet; in fact, it’s not really a diet at all. There are no shakes, no fasting, no off-limit food; there’s not even a food list – it’s just good old-fashioned nutrition and calories in vs. calories out.
Behavior Modification and Change
I know what you are thinking, if it’s not a diet, then what is it? It is an education program that empowers personal change. The change is in the form of how you eat, how you exercise, and how you think about your health and wellness overall.
It’s about habits: how to break bad ones and form new ones. That way, there are no ‘old bad habits’ to go back to. New habits lead to change. And fun fact – our brain doesn’t differentiate from good habits or bad habits – it’s just happy to be doing habits.
The Noom ‘system’ is really about behavior modification and true change.
Does Noom Work?
Just look at my before and after weight loss!
I am a Noom success story; it worked for me. I lost 35 pounds in 5 months. I don’t know if it’ll work for you, but I really liked the program, and most importantly, it fits my personality. There were a few things that were stacked in my favor that helped me be successful (which I talk about below); however, each person is different. I’m obviously not making guarantees, but you really have little to lose to try it. And you can just start out on the free trial for two weeks and see what you think with absolutely nothing to lose!
Noom Before and After – 35 Pound Weight Loss
I filled out the initial information form for Noom (they require everyone to do this), and I put down my goal weight of 147 lbs (a loss of 25 lbs for me). It spits out an answer telling me I could reach that goal weight in 4 months using Noom – I laughed out loud…like a full-on belly laugh. I thought the whole thing was a total scam – there was no way I was going to lose 25 pounds in 4 months.
I signed up for the free trial just to see what magic Kool-Aid they were trying to sell. I basically started the program because I sort of wanted to prove them wrong…which is really weird. But we are all motivated in different ways!
I started the weight loss program, and the damn thing started to win me over. I loved the daily lessons; they gave me a new routine that I desperately needed and wanted. I struggled at first but was determined. The lessons kept me motivated (even if it was because I was stubborn and wanted to sort of prove them wrong), but then something crazy happened – it started to work. It was hard to make the changes, but it was working.
By April I had lost 25 lbs. I lost another 8 in April/May. So overall, I lost about 35 lbs.
I have dug back out my size eight clothes! I feel great, I mentally feel great, and I emotionally feel great. My self-confidence and self-esteem have increased back to where they used to be when I was younger. In fact, I feel younger.
But the best part of my Noom success is that my back pain is gone. All of those aches and pains I had in the morning and while sleeping have diminished. The doctor was right – losing weight did help tremendously with my back and knee issues. This is probably why Noom also works directly with corporate programs to help them decrease their health/insurance costs. It has certainly decreased my doctor bills for the time being.
Use my special link for a free two-week trial of the Noom app
Why Noom Was a Success For Me
Are there people who join Noom and don’t find weight loss success? Yes. However, it was a success for me thanks to some of the following things. As you consider joining Noom, you can consider if some of these things will hinder your success or help you.
Controlled Environment
This was one time when COVID-19 was a benefit. Habits are easier to form when you can control your environment, and the pandemic was good for that in a weird way. I had few restaurant temptations and few social temptations. I cooked for myself at home most nights which allowed me to control my portions and ingredients.
I think if you are starting Noom now when there isn’t a pandemic, then you need to ensure that your friends and your work are supportive of your goals. You have to be pretty disciplined in the beginning and do more cooking at home, where you can control your eating environment.
I Like Exercise
I actually like to exercise; I just have trouble making time for it these days. But thanks to counting calories and earning calories back when I exercised, I made time to exercise. It was a way that I could eat a bit more than my normal 1200 calories a day! But honestly, my weight loss was more about my eating changes than an intense exercise program. I started out just walking every day (about 3 miles). Then I started to walk further (5 miles), and I even started doing a little running. And then I found my ‘thing’ – biking.
It’s crazy because I had poo-pooed biking when my doctor told me to take it up because I didn’t think I could start something new and love it as much as running. It was COVID that got me out on my bike last summer, and then something weird happened…I started liking it. I bought a new bike, and now I’m obsessed. That’s sort of my personality when it comes to exercise – once I get over the hump of being new at something, I start to go all in; that’s what happened to me with running back in my 30s.
It’s fun to obsess about a new sport and learn something new, like biking at age 50…I love that it has taken hold of me.
Weight Loss through Science and Logic Appeal to Me
Honestly, I expected to hate the app and the learning aspect. I thought it was going to be too ‘woo woo’ for me and that I would turn off. However, it somehow struck the right chord with me; it certainly emphasized wellness, but it also used science and logic – and that’s what sucked me in. I am a person who loves learning, and I love learning about how we learn and grow. So, the daily lessons were engaging to me – not dorky.
Plus, Noom somehow did the impossible; they made learning fun and engaging for adults. Many times, I hate learning as an adult because I think it’s too basic; I can anticipate and know what to expect. I feel like I crack the code, and then I’m not engaged. However, the Noom lessons and the overall lesson plan were so well thought out and just darn smart; I didn’t crack the code and stayed completely engaged. I really do believe it is the best learning app I have seen; it’s clever.
Merging These Habits with My Travel Lifestyle
My challenge now becomes how to travel with my new knowledge. When I travel, I eat out all the time, I get wined and dined on tourism boards, I sleep less, I am more stressed due to the fact that travel for me is work, and I have no routine when I travel.
In case you happen upon this post on Google and don’t know me – I’m a travel blogger who started this blog in 2006 and travel full-time writing.
You can learn more about me and my travels here!
So far, on the trips I have taken (Alaska, Sedona, Grand Junction), I have sort of half-heartedly continued to track my calories and read the daily lessons. I still make pretty healthy eating choices at restaurants, though. Plus, I still tried to control my breakfast and lunch calories pretty closely. In fact, I often took instant oatmeal packets with me to ensure I could get a filling but low-calorie breakfast.
However, I find when I travel, I move and am very active – so that’s a good thing as my exercise increases quite a bit. On each of my trips so far, I’ve actually taken a ‘vacation’ from the logging and reading part of the program and just put the things I’ve learned to work and when I got home I either lost weight or gained very little. Then when I got home, I’d get right back on my logging and cooking for myself.
It made me realize that I could sort of trust myself when I didn’t do all of the logging work.
However, this summer as I ramp up work and travel more, it’ll be a big chance to see how strong those habits really are.
How Does Noom Work
One thing that Noom does that is sort of annoying is that it doesn’t tell you much about the program/app before you get into the trial (that may be for some Phych reason!) – so I’ll try to give you a little information about how it works and what you do daily to start working towards your goals.
You start the process by filling out a form about yourself, your goal weight, and why you are considering Noom. It spits back out some info and tells you how long it’ll take you to get to your goal weight. That’s when I doubled over laughing.
You sign up for the trial and download the app. It uses the info you filled out in the form to set up your daily food intake.
The app has a few daily things you are expected to fill out:
Daily Lessons
This was my favorite part of the day. The lessons were clever, fun, engaging, and inspiring. When you first set up Noom, it asked you how much time you wanted to spend on lessons each day, so I chose 10 minutes. Then it ensures that you only spend 10 minutes on it, and when you reach 10 minutes of reading material, it’ll tell you that you are done for the day.
You might wonder how much they can talk about food daily – but the lessons aren’t really about food; they are about how we look at food and interact with it. It provides tips and techniques to trick your old thoughts about hunger and eating and start forming new habits. They cover wellness, social pressures, sleep, meditation, exercise, eating, change, critical thinking, decision-making, and so much more.
Sometimes, there are exercises/homework to complete. I found that the exercises started really simple and were quick to do, but as you work your way through the Noom courses, they start requiring a bit more time and journaling.
Food Logging
I had 1200 calories I had to try to keep to in a day. At first, I thought this was ludicrous – and even unhealthy. How can a grown adult survive on 1200 calories a day?! However – after I got used to it and figured out how to make some simple changes in my menus – it became easier. Then as the months went on and my new habits were formed, it actually became easy…yes…easy.
You log all the food you eat in a day. It has a bar code scanner where you can just scan the bar code on a package and the calorie and serving information comes up. One of the hard things is logging all of the ingredients when you cook or figuring out all of the ingredients when you go out to a restaurant and order a meal. I’m not going to tell you that food logging is easy – but it is worth it.
One thing that makes it easier is having a kitchen scale to weigh things and start to see what healthy portions look like.
Digital Kitchen Scale with LCD Display, Batteries Included
Noom has a food system that is red/yellow/green, and no food is off-limits (Yay!). You can eat as much green food as you want, yellow in moderation (<540 calories), and limiting red (<300 calories). I watched as my daily food choices changed from mostly red foods to mostly green foods over five months.
The best part about logging is that you learn how many calories some of your favorite foods are – and that is enlightening and depressing at the same time. However, in retrospect, I think it’s good to reacquaint yourself with this info occasionally. It had been probably 30 years since I had counted calories. I thought I knew what food was healthy and what calorie counts are – but over 30 years – that gets pretty distorted.
Weighing In
The first thing I did was buy the cheapest scale I could find (still thinking this was a hopeless cause). I also hadn’t had a scale for 30 years. Every day you weigh yourself at the same time-ish of the day. I normally hate scales and stay away from them because I thought they were unhealthy and distorted your view of yourself. However, when you are trying to lose weight, they are pretty important.
I still continue to weigh myself daily for years after I lost the initial weight. It helps me stay aware and not get complacent.
Precision Weighing Scale with Step-On Technology, Large Display, Batteries and Tape Measure Included,400lb
I think the best thing about weighing yourself every day is that you learn that SO MANY THINGS factor into your daily weight fluctuation: hormones, sleep, water, stress, and what you are eating. The lessons really pound this into you, too. So you will see your weight swing wildly from day to day – but you learn not to worry about it and obsess about it. Eventually, the downward trend is what you are looking for. Mine had an overall downward trend, but it was up and down every day! And, of course, you can expect some Noom weight loss plateaus.
Log Exercise
You also log your exercise every day. The app integrates Fitbits and similar trackers, so it adds to your steps automatically. However – you still have to add in your exact exercise (you can enter the calories directly or enter your time or distance, and it will calculate the calories). This seems a bit silly to have to add this yourself, but I think they make you add in your exact exercise because when it calculates the calories, it only adds half of those calories burned back into your total calorie allotment for the day! Sneaky and mean…but it works.
Groups and Personal Coach
After you finish the trial and pay for the app, you are assigned a personal coach and eventually are also assigned to a group. The group is made up of a Noom facilitator and people at a spot similar to yours in the program. I thought this was going to be awesome, but I honestly didn’t use the Coach much at all except for a couple of questions. I did enjoy the group interaction, though. Since I was doing this on my own, it was nice to be able to talk to people about the process, frustrations, and accomplishments.
My Coach was pretty lame and wasn’t very involved, but it didn’t bother me too much. I was getting what I needed from the lessons and the group. However, for some people, this may be something that is really important to them. I have had other people say they loved their Coach – so I think it’s a bit hit or miss. When they did assign the coach, they asked a bunch of questions on how you best liked to learn and be coached, so they tried to pair you with a Coach that fits your learning style.
2022 Update – Noom seems to only allow you to choose a personal one-on-one health coach now OR a group to communicate with. I think the group is more effective – but that’s my personal opinion.
My Noom Success Story and Behavior Modifications By Month
January
I can’t do this – it’s impossible. I can’t believe how many calories are in cheese and in olive oil! My sweet tooth (which is really strong) was in full withdrawal mode. I was angry until I discovered broiled bananas with spices and a little brown sugar. I also discovered the use of spices for flavor, and I started giving up or modifying little things that were less important to me, like milk in my coffee. My nightly cheese plates became occasional skinny cheese slices on a small plate (to make it look like I was eating more to my eyes). I found that if I just sliced the cheese thinner, I still felt satisfied with the cheese taste I was craving, but I was taking in fewer calories.
February
I was starting to get a few results. I started to use exercise to ‘buy back’ calories for the day. This was my strategy whenever I wanted to eat something higher calorie, or have drinks with friends, I would just go out and walk further so that I could earn back those daily calories (even if it was only half the calories I was earning back!).
I also started changing more little food things like eating different lower calorie foods (I found a bread that was lower calorie, I started using cauliflower rice instead of real rice, I switched to lite mayo for sandwiches and used more mustard, I stopped using salad dressing). I only had my skinny cheese plates when I really craved them. I took to drinking a lot of tea at night instead of having sweets late at night. I switched my cocktails to alcohol-forward ones instead of mixers with lots of calories.
March/April
My whole grocery cart was now filled with fruits and veggies (this was a huge change). I started getting really into biking, thanks to my new bike. This amped up my exercise even more. I fell in love with salads and making fish. My sweet tooth withdrawal had tamed down, and I was eating more fruit for sweets. I’m not sure how to explain it, but things have changed. And because I could see the results, it motivated me even more. Yes – I hit some plateaus, but for me, they weren’t that long. I also really focused on getting more and better sleep.
How does it end?
I’m at a weight that I haven’t been in 25 years, and that’s more than good enough for me. Now I’m in maintenance mode, continuing to work on putting all of my new habits around food and stress to work every day.
Negative thinking, stress eating, social pressure, and boredom eating don’t go away – ever. However, the goal is to learn to recognize them and make better decisions. That’s one of the things I really liked about the lessons; they teach you what things like stress eating are and how to have less stress in your life. You understand all of the things that lead you down the destructive health path, and you are better equipped to make good decisions for yourself.
It’s funny because the last part of the lessons takes this weird turn about how to undo all the stuff you did…how to live without counting calories, how to eat whenever you are hungry, how to not plan your meals, and how to exercise when you want to. It’s been an interesting journey, and it uses all of these tools and tips to get you there. It then educates you on not using all of the tools they teach you as a crutch. Instead, you really just know that this is your new healthier life and habits you’ve chosen, and they should come more naturally.
Foods and Recipes that Led to My Noom Success
Raw carrots – not the tasteless baby carrots…but real carrots (preferably from a farmers market) that you have to peel and cut up into little bit size ‘baby carrots’ yourself. Once you do this – you realize that a real carrot tastes pretty darn good, while those baby carrots you’ve been eating are tasteless. I fell in love with carrots again for their texture – they sort of replaced the need to eat something crispy, like chips.
Spinach – I always liked spinach as a kid…but during this journey, I fell back in love with spinach – I put it in everything – eggs, soups, stirfry, and salads.
Honey – I use it in place of sugar most of the time – sure – it helps that my sister raises bees and I get her delicious honey all the time!
Cardamom – I always loved cardamom, but I really loved cardamom while counting calories. I’m talking about cardamom seeds. Get yourself a cheap mortar and pestle and some cardamom seeds; I ground them up and use them in coffee, oatmeal, and yogurt. It gives this sweet yet tart flavor that allows me to forgo other sugars or just simply provides an abundance of flavor for no calories.
Cherry tomatoes – another snack I always have on hand now. Low calorie but filling.
Feta cheese – surprise, feta cheese is the lowest calorie cheese. There was no way I was giving up cheese, but I did want to find something that I could use on eggs and salads that was creamy and cheesy. Crumbled feta to the rescue!
Flavored vinegar – I have stopped using salad dressing and went to the European way of just using oil and vinegar. To spice that up – I started trying different flavors of balsamic vinegars like peppercorn balsamic, cinnamon pear, fig, pomegranate, and more.
Chickpeas – I started using a lot of chickpeas and making things with chickpeas. Here are some of my favorites:
Chickpea and Kale Shakshuka
Spicy Chickpea Stew
Stir-fried kale, pear, and chicken apple sausage – a go-to lunch that has only three ingredients, and I can cook up in 5 minutes. And the beauty is you can get it all from Trader Joe’s.
Noom Recipes I Loved
Noom also provides recipes in their app. In fact – it’s kind of cook how the recipes integrate with the calorie logging. Each recipe has all of the calories associated with it, and then you can simply say – I ate one serving for dinner, and it adds all of the ingredients and calories to your daily log.
Plus – it also has a feature where you can go into recipes, and it filters them by how many calories you have left for the day so you know what kind of food you can eat. This is a great way to feel better about your calories if you only have 350 left for dinner and you think – there’s no way I can eat a filling dinner for 350 calories, but then you look at the recipes that would fit into that and realize you can actually have a lot of food for few calories.
I used these recipes from the app:
- Shrimp Biryani
- Spiced Moroccan Chicken Soup
- Grandma’s Mushroom Barley Soup (I added chicken and more spices to this)
- Broiled Mustard and Brown Sugar Glazed Salmon Fillets with Dill
- Salmon Cakes with Scallions
It Was a Noom Success Story For Me
A weird thing happens when you lose weight. Weight that you thought was going to be with you forever, and then you look in the mirror one day and say…hey…it’s working.
Noom Before and After
You not only lose weight and improve your health – but your mental and emotional well-being also moves along with it – at least it did for me. When I lifted the burden of not being happy with my body from my brain, it’s like it gave me room again to clearly look at my mental and emotional well-being and how that related to the weight burden.
I am literally giddy with life again, my confidence is back, I feel grounded and hopeful about my future.
Hopefully, this helped you learn more about the Noom journey, and I wish you the best of luck with your own Noom success!
Feel free to ask me any questions in the comments – I’ll give you honest answers.
What Does Noom Cost?
After you complete the 38-question free assessment, Noom will outline a personalized course for you of 2-6+ months and present you with your free 2-week trial. After the two-week trial is up, you will automatically start to get billed on a monthly basis. However, at the end of 2 weeks, you can also choose to cancel if you don’t like the program.
Costs are as follows:
2023 Noom Pricing and Advice on How to Get a Discount
- Monthly auto-renewing plan for $70 USD
- 2-month auto-renewing plan for $129 USD
- 3-month auto-renewing plan for $159 USD
- 4-month auto-renewing plan for $169 USD
- 5-month auto-renewing plan for $174 USD
- 6-month auto-renewing plan for $179 USD
- 7-month auto-renewing plan for $184 USD
- 8-month auto-renewing plan for $189 USD
- 9-month auto-renewing plan for $195 USD
- 10-month auto-renewing plan for $199 USD
- 11-month auto-renewing plan for $205 USD
- Annual auto-renewing plan for $209 USD
- *All prices are prior to any applicable sales tax or discounts
*The prices vary based on how much weight you want to lose and how long you sign up for. So it’s really hard to nail down an exact price. But the longer you sign up, the cheaper it becomes, of course. Normally, though, in the past three years that I’ve been tracking it, the cost for one month hasn’t gone above $60 for one month.
If you enjoyed the trial, want to keep going, but want to try to get a discount then my best advice is play hard to get. If you cancel, normally within a week or so you will start to get offers from Noom that include discounts lower than this pricing listed. Granted – this is a gamble, but if you are looking to save money, then it’s worth a try.
Have I kept the Weight Off?
It’s been 2 years now and I’m happy to report I have gained about 4 lbs and have essentially kept the weight off! I have continued to eat pretty healthy most of the time (more on that below), and my grocery cart is filled with 85% fresh fruits and vegetables instead of processed foods. I actually love cooking for myself and trying new healthy recipes thanks to Noom.
In addition, I’ve continued to exercise and have really gotten into biking, which helps me keep it off – especially in the summer when I’m most active.
One nice thing to keep in mind is that when I was on the program, I was allotted 1200 calories per day, which I tried to stick to. This was the amount I could eat to lose weight. However – I am not really looking to lose weight any longer since I reached my goal, so I am able to eat a bit more calories per day now as I’m just maintaining weight. The key thing is that the habits have stuck.
However, I still have challenges – and that’s mainly around when I travel or eat out socially. These are the times when I don’t have control over my food, and I still am trying to find ways to not let that get out of control especially since I travel a lot for work!
Noom Program Changes
Because I have many people asking me about average weight loss on Noom, I wanted to stay up to date with the Noom program and have decided to stick with the subscription mainly to just see what’s new in the way of lessons, and also to continue to work on my challenges around eating out now and having more of a social life post-pandemic.
They’ve Gamified it with Coins
I’m not sure why people need games (badges and coins) to motivate them – but apparently, they do. Noom has added a few features around collecting coins when you do things like log meals, exercise, and weight. I think it’s silly but some people may like it. I’m not exactly sure what the ‘coins’ are used for yet – but time will tell.
Audio Lessons
They’ve made it possible now to listen to the daily lessons as an option for people on the go. I personally don’t use this as I prefer to read things as I retain them better that way. Plus – I love my routine every morning of eating breakfast and ready for my daily Noom lessons – I wouldn’t want that to stop!
One on One Coaching OR Group Coaching
It seems that Noom now only offers one or the other which is a shame. I personally think the group holds you more accountable and there is more communication in the group than the one on one coach. But choose what you think is right for you.
You Can Purchase Meal Plans
Noom has gone the way of Blue Apron and is now offering food planning and meals to people who don’t want to cook for themselves. I personally love to cook, so I don’t have any interest in it – however, I can see how some people would love this.
Use my special link for a free 2-week Noom trial – it may be all you need to motivate you to give Noom a try. Just answer a few questions and you are off and running to a healthier you!
I’ll continue to use Noom and employ all of the weight loss techniques I learned and I’ll continue to keep you updated. If you decide to do the free trial I’m offering and you join the program – please share your losing weight success stories with me! I’d love to hear how you liked the program and how you feel now after you lost the weight!
Also – feel free to ask me any questions about Noom, weight loss, or eating healthy – I’m happy to help if I can!
By Diane June 1, 2021 - 6:51 pm
Sherry, I saw your IG post about this and it really struck something in me. I’m also in my early 50’s and for the past 4-5 years have steadily gained weight (somewhere around 30 pounds but I stopped counting). I also hear people blame age but I knew, like you, that it was more about motivation and bad habits. After reading your story I was so inspired that I downloaded Noom (again) and decided to give it a try. This time it’s working! Although I didn’t want to pay the monthly fee for Noom (I thought it was high since I wasn’t planning to use the coaching component) so I switched to Lose It! which I LOVE! It’s so much easier to track what you eat these days – with the bar code, and the way the app remembers what you’ve eaten previously. And although I’ve tried the tracking apps before I NEVER stuck to them – until now.
So far I’ve been at it about 8 weeks and lost 12 pounds. I used to live in Denver and was SO into cycling, but haven’t done much of anything for that past few years. I completely understand what you said about the confidence thing. It’s like the weight adds a layer of resistance to things that I normally liked to do. And I didn’t want to go out much, because I never had anything to wear – even before COVID. But now I really want to start riding my bike again!
And yes I thought the same about the whole 1200 calories thing too. But my body has really adapted and I feel SO much better eating what I need instead of shoving all that extra food in there.
Thanks so much for posting your story. For some reason it was the inspiration I needed to really push me into action. I’d tried and stopped, tried and stopped a few times over the past year. But this time I’m doing it. And I thank you for your part ????
By Sherry July 8, 2021 - 5:00 pm
Diane – I’m so happy you found something that is working for you! And yes…get back on that bike! Sometimes we just need to add some new things to our routine to get out of a rut…even with weight.
By Susan Stephens June 3, 2021 - 5:04 pm
I’ve been on Noom for two months now, and while I’ve only love 5 pounds of my 20-pound goal weight loss, I feel like I’m getting the education of my life. My metabolism is slow so I’m taking it day by day and staying the course. But I kind of dig the process and the app makes it fun. For anyone who is looking to lose weight, no matter who you are, at least try this program out. The ONLY thing you have to lose is weight!
By Sherry July 8, 2021 - 4:58 pm
So true Susan! Good luck!
By Hugh Burton June 13, 2021 - 11:00 pm
Sherry Read this with interest I’ve filled in the Noom info 2x in the last year. but never activated it. False starts. Wasn’t sure if was for me etc.
We did get really active this winter in spite of no curling, skiing 100 days lost 20# Lagging a bit in the food uptake as summer rolls around. Keeping active with hiking but are off to our sailboat where inactivity is the norm.
By Kaylini July 15, 2021 - 4:29 am
Congrats on your noom success! Weight loss is such an incredible journey, During lockdown I managed to lose weight in ordfer to turn the COVID pandemic into a life changing happy experience for myself. I am always so enthralled and proud of those who lose weight as I know the drive, committment and will power thats needed, so I appreciate your story and glad you were able to achieve success with Noom 🙂
By Sherry August 29, 2021 - 1:48 pm
Thanks – and congrats on your weight loss too! Thanks for the kind words!
By Ann Teget July 26, 2021 - 4:13 pm
Fantastic article, Sherry! Congratulations on your weightless. Like you, I’ve also found success with Noom and have lost 132 pounds so far. I’ve enjoyed creating new recipes and trying new foods, as well. Wishing you all the best.
By Sherry August 29, 2021 - 1:42 pm
Congrats Ann – that’s super!!
By Erika August 31, 2021 - 3:40 pm
congratulations! after 50, this weight loss stuff becomes so much more challenging, but I’m happy to hear you found that this system worked for you. Thank you for posting your photos, such great inspiration. I’m happy you are feeling better and the back pain is gone. I feel better about trying something like this as well and now I have your inspirational story to get me motivated, thank you. Happy travels!
By Sherry September 4, 2021 - 5:59 pm
Best of luck Erika!!!
By Cynthia Macasaet September 4, 2021 - 4:07 pm
Thank you for your story.. very inspiring. The code/link for 20% off doesn’t work. May I get the code?
By Sherry September 4, 2021 - 5:58 pm
Hi Cynthia – sorry – apparently that one expired – but here is a new one – https://www.talkable.com/x/APl3Gd
And I updated it in the article too. Thanks for reading!
Sherry
By ANUKRATI DOSI September 14, 2021 - 7:13 am
You are right, this post is related to travel in a way that eating healthy and being at your fittest does help in preventing travel fatigue in the long run. Your behaviour with the food that you are consuming decides it all.
By Sherry September 28, 2021 - 5:03 pm
Very True!!
By Nicki December 1, 2021 - 3:39 am
I just started Noom (day 4) and decided to Google Noom before and after pics. For whatever reason I stopped on your pic (divine intervention). As inspiring as your pics are, your story is that much more inspiring! I’m 52 and my back aches way more than it should at this age. Something in my spirit keeps telling me that it’s likely the 40 extra pounds on my frame. I can’t believe I’m destined to live with this kind of pain and increasing limitation. Your story convinced me even further. I will succeed with this journey! Thank you.
By Tonya December 21, 2021 - 12:08 am
I just read your blog about Noom and it was very informative. Thank you for taking the time to enlighten us on your weight loss journey. I just had a total hysterectomy and my hormones are out of control and I’ve got to get this weight off. I’m also 51 so I know it can be difficult for us women at this age to get weight off but I am determined to lose the weight for myself first and then my health. thank you for helping me make a decision to also join Noom I wish you the best.
By Mary January 3, 2022 - 9:23 am
I’m so happy I stumbled upon this article! Your very inspirational journey was just what I needed this Jan ‘22..I started Noom a year ago..minimal success but I love the concept..some personal challenges came into play for ‘21..derailed me at times..I am late 50’s and need to see more stories like this I can relate to! I love biking as well and have been on/for past 12yrs! Thank you for inspiring me ??
By Rebecca Brock February 24, 2022 - 5:04 pm
Congratulations! I lost seventy pounds overly the course of a year through walking twice a day and healthy nutrition. Unfortunately, Covid hot and I gained most of it back. I was toying with the idea of trying Noom and I have decided, after reading your article, to give it a serious go.
By Mary Bell April 9, 2022 - 5:28 pm
This is so helpful to read. Your honesty makes it more realistic than anything I’ve found trawling in desperation on the internet for an extra kick. I’m in week two of noomin’ and feeling good about what I’m eating but just not yet convinced this will really work for me, I just can’t imagine ever being slim again, I will surely just find myself looking back in a few weeks going, oh yeh, I was on it for a while then…. but your genuine and relatable way of telling your story is hugely helpful so thank you, thank you for making it accessible here.
In addition – your life is fascinating – (as if you don’t already know, surely?). what an inspiring way to live.
By Sherry April 24, 2022 - 12:36 pm
Mary – congrats on joining Noom – I hope you are still chugging along…it does get easier. the first month and a half was really hard for me as I had to adjust so much of what and how I ate – but eventually I got it and everything started working! AND…I ‘ve kept it off over a year later! Good luck!!!
By Ashley Ronnell May 17, 2022 - 5:40 pm
Thanks for sharing your story. I just started my free trial this morning for similar reasons around wanting to be my best for traveling and adventuring around. I’ve gained about 70 pounds in the past 11 years, and want to lose 50 of them. I’ve tried calorie counters before, and I’m hoping the psychological and educational supports will help me develop new habits and mindsets. Hoping to have my own success story to share one of these days!
By Sherry June 6, 2022 - 1:20 pm
Best of luck on your journey…it’s hard – especially in the beginning…but stick with it!
By Sarah Brookes November 13, 2022 - 9:54 am
I just started Noom a week ago and am really enjoying the lessons and already can see that my food choices are leaning towards green and yellow a lot more! Very much enjoyed your article it has helped motivate me to keep going with Noom. Thank you.
By Sherry November 14, 2022 - 12:44 am
Congrats Sarah! It sounds like you are off to a great start!!
Keep it up…it gets easier as you go.
By na7 WhatsApp June 7, 2024 - 9:28 am
“I’m so inspired by your story! Congratulations on reaching your weight loss goal! I’ve been thinking about trying Noom myself, and your success story has given me the motivation to take the step. Thanks for sharing your journey with us!