Hi there I am curious if anyone has tried a weight loss program called noom? I had a bypass 21 months ago and I still have 18 pounds left to lose to reach my goal weight Of 128 lbs. The surgery was amazing but I feel like it’s very easy to experience stalls and start to lose focus. They report that most people will reach their goal weight by 18 months and afterwords effects of the surgery will start to diminish which is not an encouraging thing to hear! Would love to hear others stories or advice on how they lost those last 20 lbs etc?


Michele

the last 20 lbs are a BEAR to get off. Soon after year 1, I was losing around 2 lb a month, even though I was working pretty hard at it.

I don't know if any diet programs are going to any more successful at taking the last 20 lbs off quickly, because the fact is, you are likely eating A LOT fewer calories now than you were when you started. I've gained 10 lbs this year, and am working like a demon to get it off. But I'm losing a measly 1/2 lb or so a week (so same as when I was trying to get the last 20 lbs off after my bypass surgery). Reason being - back when I weighed over 300 lbs, it took 3000 (or maybe even more) calories to maintain that weight. Right now, at 160-ish lbs, it takes about 1600 calories to maintain my weight. To lose a lb a week, you have to cut 500 calories a day (or burn up 500 calories a day - which is A LOT of exercise!). To lose 2 lbs a week means cutting 1000 calories a day. That would put me at 1100 kcal/day if I wanted to lose 1/2 lb a week, and 600 kcal/day if I wanted to lose 2 lbs a week. Ah...not happening ( and also not healthy - the only people who should be eating 600 kcal/day should be under medical monitoring, like we were in the early weeks and months after WLS).

On the flip side, when I was eating 3000 kcal a day at my highest weight, I could have easily found 1000 or even 1500 calories a day to cut and still been eating at a healthy level (I'm not saying it's easy - dieting never is - but at 3000 calories, it's very feasible to cut 1000 or 1500 calories - not so when you're only averaging (and maintaining on) 1600 cal/day). So by cutting 1000-1500 calories/day, that averages out to about 2-3 lbs a week. But again, cutting that many calories NOW would be impossible for me.

long way of saying - it's hard to get those last few pounds off because there are only so many calories you can cut and still remain healthy.

I've said this before, but back when I weighed over 300 lbs, I'd mentally roll my eyes at these barely overweight women at Weight Watchers meetings who'd moan and complain about how hard it was to lose 10 lbs. "Ha!", I would think, "try losing 200 lbs!". Now I totally get it...

I'm not saying don't try. Your efforts WILL work. But your weekly losses will be in ounces now, not pounds.

Edited January 15, 20233 yr by catwoman7

Noom works for a lot of people I guess, but I don't really get the draw.

Basically, you pay money to have an app tell you to eat more vegetables and fewer donuts.

A slight oversimplification, but basically foods are categorized as

"green" - go ahead

"yellow" - be cautious

"red" - reconsider whether you want to eat the food

Examples of green foods: asparagus, broccoli, egg whites

Yellow foods: lean meats, beans, whole eggs

Red foods: nut butters, pork, donuts

Basically a simplified, low-fat volumetric diet. Don't eat calorie dense foods, substitute for less dense foods.

Like, I already know to avoid peanut butter at all costs. I don't see why I would want to pay for an app to remind me not to eat ranch dressing, string cheese, and raisins.

It's probably not bariatric appropriate either because it's carb agnostic. Whole grains are green, whereas chicken and tuna are caution foods. I suppose you could build your diet around non-starchy vegetables, egg whites, extra-lean seafood, and fat-free dairy.

But again, why would you want to pay for an app to tell you to do that? I guess it's great if it helps but I just don't get it.

I recommend reading some reviews in the web.

Then there's a free trial (I suppose). If you're still convinced after the trial period - that's when you want to give them your money.

Thanks to everyone for the feedback! I decided to sign up for the fitness pal premium plan instead and just track calories. There seemed to be a lot of hidden fees with Noom and I’ agree doesn’t seem to be worth the cost and the reviews weren’t very impressive….

Noom works for a lot of people I guess, but I don't really get the draw.
Basically, you pay money to have an app tell you to eat more vegetables and fewer donuts.
A slight oversimplification, but basically foods are categorized as
"green" - go ahead
"yellow" - be cautious
"red" - reconsider whether you want to eat the food
Examples of green foods: asparagus, broccoli, egg whites
Yellow foods: lean meats, beans, whole eggs
Red foods: nut butters, pork, donuts
Basically a simplified, low-fat volumetric diet. Don't eat calorie dense foods, substitute for less dense foods.
Like, I already know to avoid peanut butter at all costs. I don't see why I would want to pay for an app to remind me not to eat ranch dressing, string cheese, and raisins.
It's probably not bariatric appropriate either because it's carb agnostic. Whole grains are green, whereas chicken and tuna are caution foods. I suppose you could build your diet around non-starchy vegetables, egg whites, extra-lean seafood, and fat-free dairy.
But again, why would you want to pay for an app to tell you to do that? I guess it's great if it helps but I just don't get it.

I was not a fan of Noom for a lot of the same reasons. Apparently steamed cheesy broccoli that you can find in the freezer section is a red (bad) food. Some of the suggestions they gave on separate weeks were that intermittant fasting is good, then to beware going too long between meals because you would get too hungry. I kept thinking, make up your mind with the advice.