I really wanted to like Noom. I was fully prepared to use the program and the price tag didn't scare me off.
In 2013, I joined the free weight loss and fitness app My Fitness Pal. I weighed 232 lbs. Over the next 14 months, I lost over 60 pounds and I have been maintaining at 170ish. However, I still have about 30 more pounds to lose. I was bored with my program and was looking for something new and different to help me reach my new weight goal. I was intrigued by the "psychology of weight loss" aspect. I was really excited about giving Noom a try and successfully reach my goal weight of 146lbs.
I was disappointed with Noom from Day 1, and after using Noom for an entire week, hoping to find a reason to continue using Noom, I canceled.
Noom categorizes food into GREEN (Great choice - enjoy), YELLOW (Eat moderate portions) and RED (Limit your portions) groups based on "calorie density" or CD. The lower the CD, the "better" the food. There is no consideration of the nutrients or macros of any given food. So a 240 calorie Clif bar is deemed a RED food, even when eaten after a 1500 calorie 3-hour hike. I kinda like a carb loaded energy boost after a good physical workout. A couple of ounces of lean protein in the form of grilled chicken breast is deemed a YELLOW food. The baked potato and couple of Halo citrus fruit were apparently the only "Great choices" I made on Day 1.
Noom assigned me a daily calorie budget of 1200 calories (the minimum requirement for women according to Harvard Health "Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010) regardless of my activity level, age, weight or desired rate of weight loss.
I kept using Noom, hoping I would get to the part about exercise, nutrition, macros to fuel an active body. Even the activity/exercise function is inadequate. The in-app step counter is woefully inaccurate. I usually log 15,000 daily steps on my Fitbit. That includes a daily 2 mile, 4000 step walk with my dogs. Noom gave me 3500 steps for the entire day.
I might recommend this program for the person who is a complete novice at weight loss, who has no idea even where to start, but I don't think their approach (calorie density) to healthy weight loss is advisable. It would take a helluva lot of kale, carrots, and grapes (low CD "green" foods) to fuel me.
I will return to what works for me - CICO - calories consumed less than calories expended with a focus of plenty of protein, fats and yes, carbs to adequately fuel my body and my activity.
Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend