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 turn to a community that can help encourage you in your journey towards wellness. Humans are inherently social, and having others around us who have had similar experiences and can provide the motivation to reach your goals can make getting healthy an even more positive experience.
Enter Noom: a digital health platform that is 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 human nature, Noom also brings together multiple members for support and community, led by group coaches. These groups are essential to fostering 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 Noom members about how the platform helped them achieve their goals and how they feel about life these days:
Tracey Johnson, a finance officer, said she started 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 free 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.”
Ashley Graeme Thomas Charlton became ‘sporty’ after losing weight with Noom
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) at very near to my goal.”
Sign up here for a 14-day trial for £1, Noom Weight
Steven Crocombe with his beloved horses
