Making a commitment to a healthier lifestyle is one of the most empowering things anyone can do for themselves – but it’s often easier said than done. After all, humans are creatures of comfort and taking on a new challenge - even if it is for the benefit of our own health - can sometimes be daunting.
In times of doubt like this, it can be helpful to find a community that can encourage you in your journey towards wellness. Humans are inherently social, and surrounding ourselves with those who have shared experiences can provide the motivation to reach your goals. Plus, it can make getting healthy an even more positive experience.
Enter Noom: a digital health platform driven by psychology and powered by people to help people everywhere achieve their health goals – from weight management to reducing stress.
Noom works by giving its members access to its dynamic health curriculum and coaching. The platform breaks down complex health and wellness concepts, which can be vague and full of jargon, into smaller tips that people can incorporate into their daily lives and change the way they think about food and nutrition little by little.
But perhaps more importantly for our social nature, Noom also brings together members for support and community. Led by expert coaches, these groups help foster a sense of togetherness and accountability, making you feel less alone in your wellness journey.
Don’t just take it from us. We spoke to four members about how Noom helped them achieve their goals and how it shifted their mindset in every day life:
On weight loss
Tracey Johnson, a finance officer, said she began feeling low about her weight after gaining a stone over Christmas in 2019.
Soon after coronavirus hit, forcing gyms and other exercise facilities to close for months. Tracey, who at the time weighed in at 16.5 stone (around 104kg), felt unhappy about her limited options for weight loss.
But after some online research, she discovered Noom and Noom Weight.
“I started it on a trial and was surprised by how quickly I could adapt and work with the platform’s tips.” Tracey, 51, said.
During the two-week trial, she lost the weight she gained over the previous festive period and officially started the programme at 15.7st (around 99kg).
“I wanted to join Noom as I felt I finally found a weight loss programme that could work for me,” she said.
Tracey pointed towards Noom Weight’s food tracker as the most useful feature for her unique wellness journey, and said it gave her the ability to reduce her daily intake to suit her body’s needs at that particular time in her life.
“It allowed me to eat what I liked within the suggested daily calorie intakes, and through this journey, I learnt how to eat better and about how my body responds,” she added.
“I have tried many diets over the years, including shakes, meal plans and food deliveries. Although I lost as much as a stone with these diets, none of them were sustainable for me in the long term.”
After just under a year on the programme, Tracey lost 4st (25kg), and said the most motivating result for her to keep up habits she learnt from Noom was the joy she felt when her family and other people noticed her weight loss.
Even after struggling with her weight plateauing, she was able to keep the weight from returning throughout 2021, albeit with “wild variations”. So it isn’t always smooth sailing.
But after last Christmas, Tracey said she was able to get back on her weight loss journey and added: “Thankfully I have been able to do this with the tools I learned from Noom. Now I’m at 11.2st (71kg) very near to my goal.”
Sign up to Noom Weight from £1 now
On improving relationships with food
People who go on fad or crash diets often risk developing unhealthy relationships with food, and find it difficult to stay on track after a certain point in time.
Traditional diets that restrict certain food groups can also result in the “yo-yo” effect, which means losing weight in short bursts but being unable to keep it off in the long term.
But with Noom Weight, mental health worker Ruth Ashton found that the programme’s daily lessons gave her the tools she needed to continue her wellness journey.
Describing Noom as a “lifestyle overhaul” and much more than a diet, Ruth, 35, said: “Noom totally transformed my relationship with food.
“The daily lessons keep me on track and I love how they change as your journey progresses. I also love the community – my coaches have been amazing.”
All the tools Noom Weight gave Ruth access to – expert content, routines, coaches and communities – helped her to “dismantle my toxic patterns around food”.
Ruth also credited Noom’s specialist psychology-based approach for helping to improve her wellbeing.
“There have been ups and downs,” she admitted, adding: “But ultimately, I know that I am in control.”
Sign up to Noom Weight from £1 now
On improving mental wellbeing
Our health encompasses our entire being – not just our physical body, but also our mental state. Noom’s unique approach understands this on a deeper level and wants users to see how closely the two are connected.
This habit-changing method helped Steven Crocombe, a company director, lose two stone (14kg) in just 26 weeks with Noom Weight.
Steven, 34, said he originally started the Noom programme because his girlfriend had “great success” when she tried it beforehand.
He was driven by a diagnosis of high blood pressure and needed to lose weight for his health – but how he felt about his body was also a motivating factor.
“I was fed up of being overweight and wanted to feel better in my skin and to improve my horse-riding activities,” Steven said.
“From the moment I started Noom Weight, I knew it was working as I was finding myself more accountable.”
Noom’s way of addressing weight encompasses the many areas of life, from relationships, to work and social events. It also equips Noom users with the tools and ability to address these (such as managing stress), and helps them understand the connection between them to make real and lasting change.
Steven said in the first few weeks of using Noom Weight, he found his weight “trending in a downwards direction”, giving him the confidence boost he was after and motivation to continue on.
Sign up to Noom Weight from £1 now
On improving fitness
One of the top health goals people often set for themselves is improving their fitness – but excess weight can pose a hindrance for some.
For Ashley Graeme Thomas Charlton, a management consultant and skills trainer, it’s taken 15 years to find the right weight loss programme – and by the end of 70 weeks with Noom Weight, he had lost 4.7st (30kg).
The 62-year-old said one of the best things about Noom was that he had “great fun” right from the start.
“My group was great, the coaches were wonderful and the lessons were fun. That’s the main thing for me – it’s great to have lost weight, but it was SO much fun doing it!”
He’s remained friends with the people in his Noom support group and the lessons provided him with sustainable habits he keeps up with to this day, he said.
Slimming down also made Ashley more sporty, pushing his fitness levels to new heights.
“I went from being sedentary to doing a 300-mile sponsored cycle ride in four days and raising £2,000 for Cancer Research UK,” he added.
Every Noom journey is unique, start yours by trying Noom Weight from just £1. Sign up here.
