MyFitnessPal Vs Noom Review

Myfitnesspal vs Noom Review

There are many different calorie trackers to choose from. So many that it can be hard to know which one to pick. Lucky for you, I exist. Sure, there are lots of reviews out there about weight loss programs. I’ve read a lot of them. The thing is, most of them are written by people who have barely used the apps they are reviewing. Rest assured, this MyFitnessPal vs Noom Review is written by someone who has done them both, a long time at that!

I am a professional dieter (been in the trade for 16 years and certified) and I know a thing or two about weight loss programs and applications. Not to mention, I’ve lost 55-60 pounds (depending on the day) over the last four years. See? Check out the picture below.

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Being well acquainted with both, allow me to share thoughts and give the full picture of my experiences with the MyFitnessPal and Noom apps.

Here’s my credentials with both programs:

I have used MyFitnessPal off and on for probably 2 years when you add it all up. Interestingly enough, I never lost a pound with MFP. By comparison, I’ve dropped 10-15 lbs since I started Noom 8 months ago.

Update 2/17/21: I have created a Life and Fitness Planner which will result in weight loss when used in conjunction with Noom or MyFitnessPal, and any food tracker for that matter. It’s an awesome weight loss tool to help you reach your goals. Learn more about that here. It might be the missing piece of your weight loss puzzle.

But before we go any further, let me convince you of why you should track your food.

WHY TRACK FOOD?

I read a study once that said that people who track their food lose twice as much as those who don’t.

If you decide to go this route, do yourself a favor and purchase a food scale immediately. Otherwise you will go crazy trying to tediously measure everything in measuring cups, spoons, or resort to counting individual nuts.

The great thing about both Noom and Myfitnesspal is they are online food diaries. With either program you will have the ability to track your food quickly and easily at your fingertips.

Either app would be a great choice. Especially because both come highly recommended as a top 10 weight loss app.

Read on to learn more about each program and decide which one is best for you!

NOOM

Noom is, at its core, a calorie tracking, weight loss app – but it is so much more than that.

IT IS SCIENCE-BASED WEIGHT LOSS

Noom focuses on the science of weight loss. Each morning when you open the app there’s about ten minutes of material to read. This information ranges from the process of weight loss to helping you overcome mental hurdles that have tripped you up in the past.

Although it is easy to skip this, it is EXTREMELY helpful. I would advise reviewing this info each morning. It helps start your day focused and prepared for the hurdles you will face over the course of your journey.

SUPPORT SYSTEM

Support is so important when you are trying to lose weight, and Noom offers a LOT of it. During the first week or so you are assigned your own weight loss coach. Your coach is there for you when you reach out, plus they touch base with you about once a week. Your coach won’t necessarily respond immediately, but they will get back to you as soon as they can.

After that, in addition to your one-on-one coach, you are assigned to a weight loss support group. This group is made up of other Noom members and is led by a group coach. Within this group you can share your ideas and struggles for feedback and encouragement.

Personally, I haven’t used this feature because I have such a great support system in Mom’s Kids. Even so, my assigned group seems to always be talking and sharing, which I think is great. Virtual support is so important because oftentimes a solid support system is hard to find in real life.

DAILY WEIGH-IN

Noom encourages you to weigh daily. I have enjoyed that much more than I thought I would. It’s been fun to watch my weight graph (I actually post it daily on Patreon), but mostly it has helped me learn how the way I eat affects my body.

COLOR-CODED FOODS

Color-coding is how Noom tries to guide your food choices. Foods are divided into three categories: green, yellow, and red. The purpose of the color coding is to get you to view your foods similarly to the way you would look at the colors on a traffic light.

Green is go! Eat as many green foods as possible. These are mainly fruits, veggies, and other random foods like oats. Yellow is slow down. These foods have a suggested amount of calories you should consume in a day. They include eggs and chicken breast. The red doesn’t mean stop, but to be mindful. Nothing is off-limits, but they suggest eating fewer red foods compared to green and yellow. High fat dairy, fatty meat, and junk food is red.

THE TRACKER

I’d like to mention that while Noom tracks calories, their calorie tracker is anything but average. I like it so much more than the MyFitnessPal tracker. Noom has the easiest tracker I have ever logged calories in, and I’ve been logging food for over a decade. I’ve also read it was the most accurate tracker.

If the only thing Noom offered was the tracker, I would pay for it. That’s how much I love it. When you go over in calories, Noom doesn’t display red numbers or negative signs that make you feel like you failed. It simply says “over” and shows by how much. Talk about stress relief! I used to crumple each time I saw a negative sign or red number (That may sound silly, but it can be so discouraging).

MYFITNESSPAL

Myfitnesspal (MFP) is a calorie counting app that offers a free version or a paid (premium) version that costs 50 dollars a year. The free version has ads, but it allows you to track calories and macros. To see your macros, go to the bottom of the food diary page and click “nutrition.” At the bottom you’ll see three options: “calories”, “nutrients”, and “macros”.

The premium version has no ads and allows a more detailed breakdown of your macros. In addition to viewing your calorie information for individual meals, you can similarly view macros, as well. This is very helpful when you are trying to lose weight, and it is really interesting to learn more about the things you are eating.

You can also make more specific goals in the premium MFP version. If you are on a budget, however, it’s never fun to spend extra money when the free version gets the job done!

Here are some pros and cons for each app to help you decide which is right for you.

MyFitnessPal Pros

Entering Recipes

MFP is light years ahead of Noom with its recipe tracker. The best, most glorious thing about it is you can copy and paste the URL and it puts the recipe together for you (see the bottom of the picture below). Simply review and edit the ingredient list to make sure it translated correctly. Sigh. It’s absolutely magical, and I love it.

I love it so much, in fact, that when I am feeling ultra lazy I use it to create a recipe first, then just log the calories in Noom.

Macros

If you would like to utilize macro tracking to lose weight, you will need to use MFP instead of Noom. MFP wins here, hands down.

Free

It’s completely free to use MFP (unless you buy premium but you can easily get by without it). It’s important to note, however, that when things are free we can feel less drive to use them. At least that is how I am.

Noom Pros

Support System

Noom works overtime to connect their weight loss community. Everyone is working toward the same goal: weight loss. Your group and coaches can become a great support system. In my experience, a strong support system is the difference between success and failure.

Daily Education

As I mentioned above, Noom has about 10 minutes of reading each day. It includes the science and psychology of weight-loss, motivational stories, and pep talks.

I had a major breakthrough in my weight loss journey when I read this book. The Noom articles echo a lot of the same concepts. It’s allowed me to grant myself grace during my journey and in my struggle to understand the science of weight loss. If you don’t choose Noom, at least read that book.

Noom Only Counts Half Your Exercise

On Noom, if you exercise and log it, you will automatically get half of what you burned added to your daily calorie allotment. With MFP I always felt like I was undoing my exercise if I ate the calories I burned, yet I felt super hungry if I didn’t eat them. Noom is the perfect compromise.

MyFitnessPal Cons

No Built-In Support System

I’m sure if you root around long enough you could find someone on the same path as you, losing with the same strategy, in MFP. The problem is that MFP is used for so many different reasons. Some people want to gain, some want to lose by tracking calories alone, some want to manipulate body composition using macros, etc. Everyone has different goals so it can be harder to connect.

Pro-Tip: If you’d just like to lose weight while tracking and need support, do MFP for free and join Mom’s Kids.

The Negative Red Number

The way MFP shows that you’re over your calories is the worst. Not only is there a negative sign, but it’s also red. I bet I’m not alone when I say, I HATE THAT. It makes me feel like a failure, and those feelings make me want to give up.

Noom Cons

Can’t Track Macros Easily

On Noom the main focus is calories. It does not keep track of your macros in an easy-to-find location. If you want to view nutrient details for food you ate, you have to click on “more” and then hit “nutrition facts”. You could keep a manual log on your phone, but seriously, who is going to do that when it is so easy on MFP?

I don’t enjoy tracking macros but I have been trying to increase my protein lately. It would be nice if Noom made it easier to track and view macros. Then it would be the perfect program!

Costs Money

While Noom does cost money, you can check out the program by signing up for their week trial. During this trial you can decide if you prefer it to Myfitnesspal.

Costing money isn’t always a con, though. Oftentimes I find myself more invested in a program if it affects my pocketbook. Sticking with the BBG exercise program, despite how difficult it was at first, is a perfect example of that!

The Android Version

I first used Noom on an Apple phone, and loved everything about it. Then my phone broke and I borrowed my friend’s android while waiting for my new phone. It was a completely different experience – and terrible!

I recently learned you can’t “create a recipe” with the android version of Noom either! Plus the weight graph is much less satisfying on the android. All that to say, I wouldn’t use Noom if I had an android. Maybe that’s just me, because I’m picky like that. Check out the trial to decide for yourself.

Noom vs Myfitness pal: cons to both

Tracking every calorie you eat in a day can be hard at first. A lot of people dread tracking because they think it is overwhelming. If that is you, you might want to check out WW. However, I promise it is something that gets easier over time.

The other con is that BOTH programs will set your calories TOO LOW, even on the slowest weight loss setting. I currently eat 1800-2000 calories a day and lose a pound a week. You really should go read more about that here.

That’s really the only con I can think of with tracking calories! It’s super freeing because you can eat whatever you want as long as you stay within your calories – and lose weight! You can’t get a better set-up than that.

Noom Vs Myfitnesspal: Pros to both

You will lose weight if you commit to sticking with it and logging everything. Simple as that! That’s really all you could ask for from a weight loss app, isn’t it?

Pro-Tips from a Professional Dieter

Log it all

One mistake new loggers make is they don’t log “a bit of this” or “a handful of that.” Log it all because all those bites and tastes can add up to hundreds of calories in the course of a day. When people don’t log everything, they seem to become convinced that they can’t lose weight tracking calories. You can, trust me, but you must be meticulous with tracking.

Weigh Daily

I recommend weighing daily during this process no matter what program you choose, so you can get a better understanding of how what you eat translates to the scale.

Don’t Give Up

If dieting were easy we would all be at our goal weights. It can be easier on some days than others, but there will be daily sacrifices. Some days you will be hungry and sad. It’s just how it goes. Stick with it and you will be glad you did!

Related Post: How to Lose Weight

I hope this review of Noom vs Myfitnesspal helps you narrow down which program is better for you. If you need support with your weight loss journey, join Mom’s Kids. It is run by someone who understands how you feel 100% – ME. Hope to see you there.

Follow me on Patreon to watch my weight loss journey in real time! Also, I’d be happy to answer any questions you have or hear your thoughts in the comment section. Thanks for stopping by!

Posts you might be interested in if you enjoyed Noom vs Myfitnesspal:

Live Free Life, Fitness, and Weight Loss Planner
The Pros and Cons of Weight Watchers
5 Weight Loss Myths That Are Holding You Back
MyFitnessPal vs Weight Watchers
Weight Watchers vs Noom

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MyFitnessPal Vs Noom Review

Myfitnesspal vs Noom Review

WHY TRACK FOOD?