I know people who have used noom. It, like many other weight loss programs, is pricey and is hard to maintain the results after you stop paying for it. According to them. I never tried it. It wouldn't hurt to see if they have a free trial and see if you like it.....

This month alone,9,count em NINE PEOPLE have told me that they can tell I have gained back the weight I lost last year. These were not family members, friends, or coworkers, or anyone else who should have some concern for me or my health. Just people I know have felt the need to tell me that. 9 of them. This month. Then amazon recommended some workout equipment and videos for me. So 9 people and Amazon called me fat this month.

Good thing I am pretty much unoffendable,i can imagine the despair if I was a sensitive gal......

Any, oh my.

Satine, I found WW a good fit for me but now my local branch is no longer and I’m not going to the only available meeting place.

I think there are some free support groups, I have to google a bit.

ETA

I prefer MyFitnessPal since Noom added all the quizzes etc. I know how to eat, so all I need is the tracking function. If you need more, Noom might be a good choice for you.

All weight loss programs are money grabs. I refuse to pay for any of them anymore. I paid probably a few thousand dollars on Weight Watchers. I lost 40 pounds, then promptly gained it all back. The winner? Weight Watchers. Noom is also a money grab. Any diet program that charges you money is a money grab. They win. You will always lose if you can't stay with the program for any reason. I did Keto. It was free. 100% free. I found all the information I needed online and lost 50 pounds and kept it off for 3 or 4 years. I've fallen off the wagon, but did not lose a dime by doing so. Use My Fitness Pal. It's free. You don't need the bells and whistle add ons that you pay for. Count your calories and track your food. You can do it on your own without someone else taking your money.

A fellow I know has lost 65 lbs on Noom and has done it fairly quickly. Based on conversations with him, IIRC, this is what I've learned. (I've been a lifer with WW since 1989.) It is similar to WW...started by folks who are ex- WW...and has a lot in common. You:

• need to track food & drink
• get a coach
• use an on-line app
• app contains food scanner so you can scan bar codes on prepared food so you can assess what you're eating
• can attend on-line meetings
• get a heavy dose of psychology and why you eat what you eat and hints on how to change behavior

Differences:

• ww uses points that are based on a food's fat, sugar and protein content; noom uses food calorie density (calorie/volume ratio) and total daily calorie intake (red/yellow/green foods)
• ww has 3 different programs to choose from whereas noom has one
• ww charges monthly; noom requires you to prepay months in advance, the more you pay, the lower the per-month cost
• ww holds in-person meetings and weigh-ins; noom does not
• ww gives weekly advice; noom's is daily
• ww has you continue into maintenance and beyond which you can do for free if you are within 2 lbs of goal weight, or a much-reduced monthly rate if you are not; I don't know what noom does for maintenance. My bud plans on trying to continue noom on his own by using a free food tracking app...we'll see how he does
• ww uses both a website for your computer and an app for your phone vs. noom which is only an app
• ww coaches are available in chat 24/7; noom only M-F certain hours

I'm sure there are things I'm missing, but those are the highlights.

One thing I like ww is their program is flexible enough to accommodate any diet you may want/need to follow, be you diabetic, lactose intolerant, avoiding gluten, etc. And they have 3 different programs based on what you like to eat and how much tracking you want to do by offering various lists of "zero point" foods.

One thing I don't like about WW is that they make no distinction for food quality, by which I mean, they make money selling their low-point, highly-processed foods which are full of artificial sweeteners, gums and other non-food products. And their food is expensive. So they're not going to tell you to avoid food that "comes in boxes" as they sell a lot of them. Of course you can choose to avoid those fake foods, but they don't emphasize "eat only real food" as part of their program.

You didn't ask about this, but have you looked into the 5:2 diet? It's what works for me and DH.

I had joined TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) and lost about 40 pounds but that didn't last. Then I joined WW a couple of years ago, lost about 40 pounds and it has stayed off. The $ saving is what motivated me to lose the weight and keep it off, since when you get to your goal weight, you no longer have to pay any fees. I really like the guidance with the points system and the 24-7 support line, and the fact that nothing is a "forbidden" food. It's flexible enough for people to tailor to their own food preferences. To me, having treats every now and again keeps me eating properly most of the time. When I first attended a WW meeting, I was shocked to see a large display of their snack food, seemingly unhealthy, being sold there. I suppose it's a captive audience, many of whom can't resist snacks so a money-maker.

Intermittent fasting has worked for me and for several other people I know.

I personally followed the 5:2 mentioned by nickle and I lost 18 pounds on it. I've since gotten really lax about the 2 days of fasting, and while I've stopped losing any additional weight I'm also not gaining the 18 I lost back. Yet anyway.

It's hard in some ways, and yet ridiculously easy in others. I have a hard time being hungry, and on those 2 days of fasting I've never found enough filling food that is low calorie enough that I'm not starving all day. But I just tell myself I'd rather be hungry than fat and it works...sort-of...to keep me motivated. The weight came off at a steady pace of 1-2 pounds every week and again, it's easy to follow and FREE.

I know someone who lost over 100 pounds on it. She's the one who first mentioned it to me over a year ago.

My weakness is carbs. As long as I watch my carb intake I do ok. Fortunately I'm not a huge candy or sweets eater, and this is where being lactose intolerant helps me. LOL. I need to get motivated to get back on it...

I have an online friend that tried Noom. She had to fill out things to tell them her style, ie did she want tough love, kind guidance, etc(I’m just making up those terms). She had to choose how she’d like to be addressed in correspondence and such. So she then promptly forgot about it. Fast forward about a month and she gets an email that said “ Hey Fat Ass, looks like you need some motivation!”

She totally forgot that was the nickname she put down lol.

It sounds to me as though what's needed most is psychological guidance and support to change how you think. All this concentration on diet can't be good -- counting, fasting, whatever. It gives way too much attention to food as 'the identified problem'.

Maybe look more at 'What's Eating You'? WHY do you eat too much; exercise too little; not feel in charge of your life choices?

Everyone has a Self. Listen to yours. It doesn't understad why you are avoiding it.

Annette, that was hysterical. Thank you. :)

Hi folks! Just passing on a tidbit of info I learned after using Zoom (successfully!) and then not using it but not cancelling it for a couple cycles. When I did finally go in the app to cancel, it offered me a month to month subscription for $19 which is a substantial savings. Just food for thought! No pun intended. :)

Again not daily diet plan related, but one thing I learned from the 5:2 (intermittent fasting) plan: much of your water intake comes via the food you eat. So when you are 'hungry' your body MIGHT actually be thirsty, and need water more than calories. Try drinking a glass of water and waiting 20 minutes, then if you're still hungry, eat.

patriceny, DH and I ate a lot of cabbage on "2 days" when we were actively seeking to lose pounds. The first couple of 500-calorie-days, yes I felt hungry but then my body realized it wasn't going to starve to death in just one day and it's not been a big deal since then. Now we do 1,000 calories days twice a week and it's pretty easy to maintain.

i am on Trim Healthy Mama or THM for 4 years now.

i lost 15 lbs, got to my goal weight and have been there pretty much most of those 4 years.

when i say 'pretty much', i gained about 3-4 pounds because of too many 'cheats' but once back on plan, lost it quickly.

The Basics:

no refined sugar - i use: xylitol erythritol blends, stevia and truvia

no processed carbs, think crackers bread etc. (basically the middle of the food store!!) i use: old fashioned oats, wasa crackers, sprouted bread, jospeh's lavash and pita breads (the low-carb ones- there are 2 kinds) ole wraps

i don't mix my carbs and fats at any meal - either i have a "E" meal (energizing) or an "S" meal (satisfying). "E" is carbs, "S" is fat.

i eat healthy fats: avocados, nuts, olive oil etc...

i eat every 3-4 hours... will do 12 hour fast overnight, gives your digestive system a break

do not eat after dinner, will have cup of tea or glass of water....

there is more to it, but that's the skinny....

your weight is 80% the food you eat and 20% exercise

i lost 10lbs with no exercise.

this is a lifestyle, not a diet.

if you do any 'diet' and lose weight and then go back to what u were doing prior, you will gain the weight back, its that simple.

you have to commit to a food lifestyle and stick with it.

i feel better than i have in years, so for me its a no-brainer to stay wih this diet lifestyle.

HTH!

Nickel - the hardest part for me is actually the day after my fast day. I can go one day without eating almost anything and be fine. But for some reason, when I do that it's the next day that I'm ravenous!

For my fast days I do a couple salads with a splash of "dressing" (which is mostly vinegar on a fast day), and they are satisfying for me. Lots of crunch, lots of veggies, all is good.

But the next day I'm so hungry I almost can't stand it... Usually by dinner time on the day that follows it takes an incredible amount of will power for me to not go overboard.

This thread has been good motivation for me. I hope to get back to losing a pound or two a week again. Like you said, I just need to keep telling myself I'm not going to starve to death. I hear you, but I don't know how to make my brain believe it. :)

Patriceny -- maybe add 100 - 200 fat calories to the evening of your low-cal day, and drink more liquids than usual the following morning ... something to try. I've been drinking almost 2 cups of milk kefir per day for a year now; making it with 2% instead of fat-free milk adds a few satisfying calories and liquid, so it helps avoid too many splurges.

Sprtphntc, I've never heard of THM. Sounds good except I'm not going to go the artificial sugar route. I have too much of a sweet tooth to resist, so I would fail.

Thanks Nickel - sounds like a good idea and worth a try.

I'm trying to keep *enough* weight on, but I was also having a hard time drinking enough water. A kind KT member suggested putting a pitcher of water on the kitchen counter to drink throughout the day. I still struggled.

A nurse at the cancer center had the solution. Now I put a tiny sprinkle of Crystal Lite into the pitcher (about an eigth of a packet). It makes all the difference, and I can manage four cups a day. My scale tells me this adds two pounds to my 100 parched ones!

It's silly, I know, but the psychology is there of how much water is in a container. I would try to keep a 2- liter bottle of water in the fridge and I could never get it down as it was "too much". But when I put the water in a quart mason jar, it was much "smaller" and I could finish two of them, no problem. Go figure.

erythritol vs. stevia vs. xylitol

another link

unless i am really dense, i don't think these are artificial !!?? if so, please inform me!!

Try artificial as man made chemical processing. Even the stevia does not come in pretty white crystals but as a green leaf. While regular sugar is also processed it is normally not extracted using chemicals but pressure.

I normally just lurk now and then on KT but thought I’d share the following:

I just started ITrackBites. I think it was also started by ex WW members. The tracking app is free. Regular cost is $60 a year, but they just had a special for $20 a year which gives you access to recipes, posting on their forums, etc. They have 6-7 diet programs to choose from depending on what you think will work for you, but you can switch programs at any time. I have not been doing it long enough to have figured out all the ins and outs of using the app, but tracking food is fairly easy.

I started on Noom in January 2020. Since then, I’ve lost 50 lbs. I‘ve done WW a few times, never reaching my goal weight, then gaining back, plus more. I stopped the Noom subscription after 1 year, figuring I know the routine. Mostly miss the logging portion of the app which made me more accountable to myself. I haven’t gained anything back since being off Noom, and have actually lost a bit more. Still have 25 more I want to lose. In all, Noom helped me get through Covid without gaining weight. It actually has made me eat more healthy and plan my meals better. Having retired in March 2020 certainly helped give me more time to experiment and cook more.

Things that have worked for me ( as I tend to "allow" myself to gain weight in winter):

Drinking lots more water (including my AM coffee or tea). I realized that when I catch myself going to the fridge looking for "something", I am thirsty not hungry. I will drink as much as 3 quarts in a day most days - hard to believe even for me!

Likewise when I find myself almost subconsciously wanting something sugary (always worse in our gray winters) - I realize that I am thinking of it as "treating myself" - Maybe I am upset about something or have some other negative feelings lurking -and once I notice and recognize that thought, I can stop. Also I have weaned myself off needing sweetener in my tea, and only a smidge of stevia in my coffee. Over time, the less sweetener/sugar I have, the less of a "sweet tooth" I have.

Eating lots more vegetables - making sure to have some each meal, and a solid 2-3 cups each day - protein and natural fat with each meal (hard boiled eggs to the rescue!) - breads and such refined carbs down to 2-3 times a week or less. I don't worry much about eating natural fats anymore, but I also never fry much of anything nor add much oil to a pan.

When I am fairly consistent with this, the weight comes off without much effort, and I don't fight hunger pangs although I will be taking in less calories (with more satisfaction without the peak and crash from refined grains.)

This in addition to getting exercise - even a little bit helps