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Noom Diet Review for PCOS + Discount – Ten Pounds Lost in 10 Weeks

My honest review of the Noom program for weight loss! I'm finally losing postpartum weight with PCOS and Hashimotos

Losing weight with PCOS and Hashimoto’s Is Hard, but NOOM Weight Loss App Can Help

Weight loss has never been easy for but something that takes a lot of work and maintenance. As a woman, it’s more difficult. As a woman with PCOS, insulin resistance and Hashimoto’s hypothyroid disease it’s even harder! Then add to that [amazingly!] getting pregnant, having a baby and being a career mom and it’s not difficult to understand why it has been so hard for me to lose all of the baby weight.

Update!: I’m also trying the new Zoe personalized nutrition program that also analyzes blood sugar and gut helath.

Whenever I’ve needed to lose weight in the past I knew ultimately it would also come down to advice from one of my endocrinologists: exercise is good for mental health but for women like me, food will make the difference. calories will make a difference. 1300-1400 is maintenance but 1200 calories a day is losing. (you can imagine that was a tough pill to swallow after paying for a personal trainer for a year – who unfortunately hadn’t dealt with enough women with hormonal issues).

Sure enough, when I counted calories in the past it worked. The weight would come off. I would feel better! My cholesterol, triglycerides, thyroid etc would all improve. And for someone whose’s ovulation would cease with just a 5-pound weight gain, weight loss was a huge impact on maintaining hormonal health.

But Postpartum PCOS Weightloss is Even Harder

Weight loss after the baby has proved to be infinitely more difficult than I always knew it would be.

  • I always thought on maternity leave I would at least have had the time and energy to take a walk a day. WRONG (ditto for a load of laundry 🙂 )
  • I’m great at time management and as a career mom, I thought I could balance it all I find time to workout more and cook those first months back at work. WRONG
  • I increased my protein and tried to decrease my carbs. Doesn’t that work for everyone? WRONG
  • I breastfed for almost 7 months. Doesn’t breastfeeding help moms lost weight? WRONG for this mama!
  • Conversely I was told by some moms that I would also jumpstart weightloss after I stopped breastfeeding. Also WRONG for this mama
  • Everyone said my metabolism would improve after a year when my body was more relaxed. WRONG again for me.

Ultimately I’ve been worn out and feeling off-balance. My hunger has been so out of control since I became pregnant and during breastfeeding. I thought that feeling would go away but my body didn’t get the memo yet. Maybe it wanted me to breastfeed again or have another baby so it was holding onto the weight?

Running is hard. But getting back into running while weighing 20 pounds more (and being a very short person) than you used to weigh when you used to run is even harder!

I looked into keto but fruit gives me fuel. I don’t feel great after tons of meat and cheese. And I mostly just want to eat vegetables.

I’ve heard intermittent fasting (and the Faster Way to Weightloss Program Works) but how on earth would I wait to eat until almost lunch time when I was so hungry when I woke up and needed calories to take care of a kiddo before heading off to work?

I started counting calories again. But it wouldn’t take. I wasn’t seeing progress. I had to switch primary care doctors and unfortunately, my new doctor never saw the “old me” so she just thought at first that body’s change so much after pregnancy this might be the new me. (for real though things have changed – I’ve been back in my pre-pregnancy pants for over a year which is odd but my new larger previously milk-producing friends 🙂 haven’t shrunk :/).

I’ve continued to get my thyroid check but I’ve already been at the highest thyroid medication I’ve been on in 15 years and the doctors thought that I didn’t need more.

How Noom Weightloss Program Works and Why It’s Worked for Me

Finally one Friday night I signed up for Noom after seeing it over and over again in Instagram advertising. What did I have to lose? (apparently actual weight!)

What is Noom?

From my own experience, Noom is an accountability program that uses psychological tricks to help you stick with a long-term weight loss program that will work. You do have to log your weight every day. And track your calories every day. It gives you daily “assignments” and tips to think through and quizzes to take to check your knowledge and keep you engaged. Sometimes it’s cheesy. Sometimes it is funny. But it works! I’m about ten pounds down in about 10 weeks!

Why has Noom worked for me?

  • Tracking your weight every day seems hard but after about a month it’s easy. And its motivating as you see what is normal daily fluctuations for your body and you can visualize the weight loss.
  • Counting calories every day takes work but it’s worth it! The app is similar to My Fitness Pal in the food inputs but you can’t copy from one day to another (which would be great). I’m not logging my food consistently and now it’s not surprising to me that it was so hard to lose weight – if you aren’t logging your food you are underestimating your calorie consumption and living in denial!
  • The easy food categorization makes it simple to understand what foods you should be eating more of or less of. Each day you are given a calorie bank for ‘green’, ‘yellow’ and ‘red’ (fats, process foods). As you log your food you can see how many calories you have left of each. Applies are green – easy! Most cheeses are red. Nuts are read.
  • My body has adapted very well to the low caloric density eating tips! This style of eating really helps me feel fuller longer which was my biggest initial hurdle to not overeating.
  • I don’t look through all the tips and quizzes daily, but when I do they are helpful! Ditto for my “coach” and “group”. Very helpful tips reminding me how good for me exercise is but why they don’t “give back” all exercise calories back into our calorie banks.
Noom provides great tips daily to help you stay on track. The low caloric density eating program works well for me :)
Noom provides great tips daily to help you stay on track. The low caloric density eating program works well for me 🙂
  • With each pound, I lose its now easier to stick with the program and exercise more to reduce stress.
  • We’re eating out less! While Noom is adaptable for eating out, I’ve found better calorie control and continued motivation by cooking more. So we’re saving money too. If you eat out or take out too often and aren’t tracking you’re calories, I can’t imagine how you could actually lose weight.
Noom provides great tips daily to help you stay on track. Love this exercise tip!
Noom provides great tips daily to help you stay on track. Love this exercise tip!

Save 20% on off your Noom program!

If you enjoy buying coffee or lunch on occasion, then I don’t think you will sweat the cost of Noom but through my affiliate link, I can save you 20% !

I’m so happy with the program and will continue it as I still have more weight to lose until I’m at my new healthy normal. Leave comments or send me a message or connect on Instagram – I would love to hear your postpartum weight loss tips and tricks or what you think about Noom.

I’m hoping eventually I’ll be able to decrease my thyroid medication too. And during my Noom journey we did decide to put me back on Metformin (previously on for over 10 years before I gave birth) to help further help in this journey, better control my insulin and hopefully help my PCOS again. But Metformin has never fast-tracked anything for me. Calories in and calories out of the right foods makes the difference for me in weight loss success.

10 Comments

  • Betsy L. Miller
    September 26, 2020 at 6:08 pm

    Hi, thank you for this article. I have thyroid issues and was afraid that noom would not work because of this. I now have hope that I can succeed. Thank you!🙂

    Reply
    • Maggie
      September 27, 2020 at 10:32 pm

      It works very well when you are mindful and follow it! I’m always amazed how it gets me back on track. I’m a bit of a stress eater and it has been a tough year and our dog passed a few months ago and since then i’ve found that by doing a half-hearted effort in Noom i maintain (better than gaining) but when i really follow it I start losing again. I’ve got thyroid and insulin issues but it works 🙂

      Reply
      • Anonymous
        February 18, 2021 at 2:15 pm

        I have Thyroid issues Is Noom still working for you? Im Skeptical

        Reply
        • Maggie
          March 8, 2021 at 7:05 pm

          Hi! Great question! I’m back on noom again after I.F. majorly slowed my metabolism 🙁 I’ve heard from others now that IF isn’t great for thyroid issues. So back on Noom and it does work IF you fully do it right – I’ve learned that especially as I work from home I have to record everything I eat or else I snack too much. And eating low calorie density foods as Noom recommends really helps me. Sweet potatoes (as like the less-sweet white kind) have been a staple as I’m doing Noom again.

          Reply
          • Heather
            May 22, 2021 at 2:40 pm

            What is I.F.?

          • vivavitiligo
            June 6, 2021 at 4:03 pm

            Sorry about that! intermittent fasting 🙂

  • Emily
    March 23, 2021 at 9:58 pm

    Just came to say, thank you for writing this! I have PCOS and Hashimoto’s too, and having two kiddos in three years has left me ~35 stubborn pounds heavier 😳 with my youngest at 18 months old (still breastfeeding, though in the long process of weaning). And my body is acting especially funky after this second kiddo. I’ve considered Noom before, and it’s something I’ll look into again to supplement work I’m currently doing with a Registered Dietitian. It’s frustrating to gain easily, to feel it’s impossible to lose anything, not to mention not having time or energy and feeling like just throwing the towel in on the whole thing. Anyway, just a late night post to say, thanks for the article. It was the glimmer of hope (not to mention solidarity!) I need to stay the course!

    Reply
    • vivavitiligo
      June 6, 2021 at 4:02 pm

      So great to hear from you even to read your comment is solidarity to me as well. Hang in there!

      Reply
  • Wenda Coburn
    October 7, 2021 at 9:05 am

    does NOOM specifically take into account hormonal issues? i.e. hashimotos, hypothyroidism, memopause, isulin resistance… I can never find a diet program that actually addresses these issues and is not a one fit for all.
    So frustruated as I just returned from a 700 mile (YES 700 mile) cycling road trip and did not lose 1 lb (don’t tell me muscle weighs more than fat crap). Yes I ate healthy, and was in a calorie deficit everyday… but seriously not even lost 1 lb! i am so depressed about this.

    Reply
  • Cathy McDermott
    January 9, 2022 at 2:21 pm

    I have thryoid cancer and had my thyroid completely removed in July of 2019 since then I have now went into menopause thanks to the radiation I had to do for treatment of my cancer. I have gained 30-35 lbs and I cannot lose weight. I want to sign up for Noom but where is it you can tell them your medical history as it does not say any thing about thyroid? I am tired of paying for things and them not working. I am getting very depressed over this.

    Reply

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