What you’ll learn:
- Self-efficacy, or believing in your ability to succeed, is crucial for lasting weight loss.
- Higher self-efficacy leads to better adherence to healthy habits and greater weight loss success.
- Noom’s approach integrates self-efficacy, personalized coaching, and community support to help you achieve long-term weight management.
When it comes to weight loss, the focus is often on diet and exercise. But what if the key to long-term success lies in something deeper? Research shows that self-efficacy—belief in one’s ability to succeed—plays a critical role in weight management. In fact, believing in one’s ability to lose weight might be the missing link to breaking the cycle of yo-yo dieting and unlocking sustainable success.
But as you probably know, believing in yourself is easier said than done. Whether your motivation is to stay healthy for your grandkids or to feel better in your own skin, building that belief can be challenging.
In a recent podcast on Noom’s sister app, Noom Vibe, CEO Geoff Cook spoke with Dr. Pouran Faghri, a UCLA professor and expert in behavioral interventions, to explore this question. Geoff asked, “Why is weight loss so hard to achieve and maintain? What’s the difference between someone with low versus high self-efficacy?”
“Self-efficacy is the belief in one’s ability to succeed in specific tasks, and it plays a critical role in weight management,” Dr. Faghri explained. “When individuals have high self-efficacy, they’re more likely to set realistic goals, persist through challenges, and adopt healthier behaviors.”
The good news? Self-efficacy is something anyone can build with the right tools and support. Studies show that Noom’s approach to building self-efficacy—through goal-setting, group support, and verbal motivation—helps people make sustainable changes. This emphasis on confidence-building plays a key role in achieving and maintaining health goals.
Read on to learn how Noom helps you develop the confidence needed for sustainable weight loss—and how self-efficacy can make a lasting impact on your journey.
Understanding self-efficacy in weight loss
Self-efficacy is about believing in your ability to make changes that improve your life. When it comes to weight loss, it helps you set goals and stick to them, even when things get tough. According to Dr. Faghri, people with higher self-efficacy are more likely to set realistic goals, persist through challenges, and adopt healthier behaviors.
Think of it this way: if you set a small, achievable goal—like walking 15 minutes for four days out of the week—and then hit it, you feel successful. That sense of accomplishment boosts your confidence and encourages you to keep going. By tracking your progress and celebrating those small wins, you build belief in your ability to succeed. “These small wins provide continuous feedback and a sense of accomplishment that boosts self-efficacy,” says Dr. Faghri. And that belief helps turn small changes into long-term results.
How to build self-efficacy for weight loss
Dr. Faghri says lasting weight loss involves more than what you eat and how much you move; physiological, psychological, and environmental factors shape it. Staying motivated while facing multiple internal and external challenges can be exhausting, often leading to what she calls “diet fatigue,” which makes slipping back into old habits easier.
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Here’s a look at what the average person faces day to day:
- Physiological factors: Metabolism, hormones, and genetics can affect how the body stores and loses fat, influencing weight loss strategies. These generally remain stable day to day, but aging can slow metabolism and alter hormone levels, impacting how the body stores and loses fat over time.
- Psychological factors: Motivation and emotional well-being play key roles in sustainable weight management. How you feel can fluctuate daily due to stress, sleep quality, social interactions, hormonal changes, and personal experiences.
- Environmental factors: The surrounding environment, including access to healthy foods and opportunities for exercise, significantly impacts weight loss efforts. These might not fluctuate daily, but events, gatherings, or holidays can impact weight loss efforts.
“Addressing self-efficacy through behavior-change theories, such as cognitive behavioral therapy, can help individuals build confidence in their ability to control their weight and make lasting lifestyle changes,” Dr. Faghri explains. Here’s what you can do to boost your confidence when facing setbacks:
- Set SMART goals: Focus on small, achievable goals to build confidence. Losing 15% of your weight in one year might seem overwhelming, but setting a goal of losing 5% in three months can keep you moving forward.
- Track your progress: “Using journals, apps, or visual charts provides continuous feedback and a sense of accomplishment,” says Dr. Faghri. Noom’s tools and progress reports allow you to see how far you’ve come. If you slip up, you can confidently continue without feeling like you’re starting over.
- Seek support: Social support strengthens self-efficacy. “Social support can provide emotional encouragement, practical assistance, and a sense of accountability,” Dr. Faghri notes. Noom’s community can help you stay on track, offering encouragement and accountability along the way.
- Align your goals with your values: Choose goals that align with your interests to stay motivated. For example, if running isn’t your thing, don’t force yourself into it. Instead, pick activities you genuinely enjoy. “Intrinsic motivation is more likely to sustain over time and lead to greater well-being,” explains Dr. Faghri.
- Consider medical options if needed: Medications like Ozempic or other GLP-1s can jump-start weight loss and help build confidence. “But it has to be combined with counseling, education, and skill-building to sustain the results,” cautions Dr. Faghri.
Integrating self-efficacy, social support, and motivation for lasting weight loss
Achieving lasting weight loss doesn’t happen in isolation. It’s a combination of believing in yourself (self-efficacy), leaning on your community (social support), and finding ways to stay motivated (incentives). As Geoff Cook and Dr. Faghri discussed, these elements work together to help you stick with healthy habits and see long-term results.
Noom’s approach integrates all three. With Noom, you have access to a supportive community, personalized coaching, and rewards that keep you engaged and motivated. Whether you’re tracking your steps, hitting your daily goals, or cheering on others, Noom provides the tools to build self-efficacy and make lasting changes.
Tune in to The Noom Room as host Geoff Cook, CEO of Noom, welcomes UCLA Professor Dr. Pouran Faghri for a conversation on the crucial role of self-efficacy in weight loss success. Dr. Faghri, a specialist in behavioral interventions, explores the science of self-belief and its powerful influence on achieving and sustaining a healthy weight.
