After having 2 children, gaining a significant amount of weight, and not being able to experience lasting weight loss with any diet she tried, Emily was convinced that she would never be slim again.
With every diet, fitness plan, or 12 week challenge out there, you inevitably go back to real life eventually. If you’ve been cutting out foods altogether or squeezing in a workout schedule that just doesn’t work with your lifestyle, you haven’t been left with any transferable skills when you go back to “normal.”
When she stumbled across Noom though, she felt a glimmer of hope.
I have a background in psychology, so the evidence-based nature of the app held a lot of appeal for me. Noom provides a holistic approach to tackling weight loss through every single avenue – nutrition and exercise, but also psychologically – and always evidence-based. There’s a lot of confusing information out there in the world of health, but Noom sums it all up and presents the facts in simple, short, actionable snippets.
Over the course of her journey with Noom, that glimmer of hope has turned into a flame.
With Noom, I don’t feel like I’ve been “on” a diet or program at all. Everything I’m doing I can keep doing indefinitely, because the habits I’ve developed have been built around my lifestyle and preferences. I mostly eat the same foods as I always did, including cheese and chocolate! I want to be able to enjoy these foods as part of a balanced lifestyle in the long-term, so it doesn’t make sense to cut them out while on a short-term “diet.” Instead I’ve developed skills and habits around portion control and balance, which are far more valuable for my future success.
Noom’s philosophy also helped her develop a more positive relationship with food.
I don’t feel stressed anymore when choosing what to eat when I’m out or at a social event. I’ll sometimes make a conscious decision to indulge and I’ll enjoy it thoroughly — guilt-free. I don’t graze mindlessly anymore and find it easy to stop eating after I’ve had a moderate portion of something I enjoy.
For Emily, accountability from Coach Maddie was key.
Working with a personal Goal Specialist has been a great feature of the app. My coach, Maddie, is so positive and helpful. It’s amazing how a small prompt, like ‘What went well?” or “What do you think you need to do next?” can help you focus. Knowing someone is going to check in, even just with a quick message, makes the task you’ve committed to feel like more of a priority than some vague commitment you make to yourself in your head.
The support from her group and Group Coach Tamara were also invaluable.
I didn’t imagine when I started with Noom that the peer group chat would be a feature that would be very useful to me. However, in those early days, when the scale had a “hiccup,” the reassurance from others further along in their journeys was invaluable. You can post as much or as little as you like, but it was nice to have a space to share frustrations or little achievements (okay, and to brag!). I especially enjoyed getting to know people from other parts of the world!
She loved Noom’s realistic and sustainable approach to weight loss, beginning with simple tasks like food logging and choosing less calorie-dense options, incremental increases in steps every day, becoming more aware of the psychology behind food choices and eating, and identifying and overcoming obstacles to stay motivated long-term. Before she knew it, these “small steps” helped her reach her goals.
In May when I first downloaded [Noom], I remember looking at the graph of my projected weight loss and thinking to myself “wow – if I just do what these guys say, I could actually be slim come Christmas time!” It felt a little unbelievable, to be honest, but I decided to put my trust in the process and see if I could make it happen. It’s a bit bizarre to think back to that day now, when what I felt at the time was an unrealistic hope has become reality.
After losing 48 pounds in seven months and getting her BMI well within the healthy range, Emily is happy to say that she finally feels free. She’s gone from a size 12 to a size 6, and feels more fit than ever.
I used to joke that if you ever saw me running, you’d better start running too, because there would definitely be something chasing me. Now I actually enjoy jogging and I look forward to any kind of exercise, which was hard to imagine before. And I can do real push-ups! I’m still working on a pull-up, but I know now that small bits of progress add up to big changes and that I’ll get there eventually.
For Emily, the best part of her experience has been having the changes she’s made with Noom translate to all areas of her life.
I feel happy, strong, and confident. My view of my own ability to improve myself has also changed drastically. I now believe I can develop in ANY area that I choose to work on.
When we asked Emily for parting words, here’s what she had to say:
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I think what I really want to convey the most, is that I really thought this whole weight loss thing was a lot more complicated than it has turned out to be! Seven months ago, I truly believed that in order to lose weight, I would have to never again eat the foods I really enjoy, and putting myself through torture at the gym. When actually, using Noom, the changes I have made have felt almost embarrassingly easy. You just need to be systematic. You might happen to lose some weight by making a few changes here and there, but likewise, you might not. Without the data around your energy intake and output, you are flying blind. Why stumble upon results when you can guarantee them? Noom provides the framework (and the support) for that methodicalness. With consistency, you will reach your goal. It’s literally maths!
We couldn’t have said it better ourselves, Emily!
Thank you for inspiring us — we can’t wait to continue to be a part of your journey to lasting health and happiness.
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