Alternatives to Noom that helped you?

[u/iheartyoulaine]

Cancelled my Noom subscription last week after fr months of struggling to log food. And no its not my first day on this earth using tech. Every single time I searched for like a tofu scramble or a vegan protein bar it either didn't exist in their database or the closest match was some dairy version with different macro profile. The lessons weren't much better. Felt like they were written for someone eating chicken breast every night and vegetables were just a thing to have on the side. I liked having something to check in with daily and the structure kept me from falling off. But got tired all the searching and doing extra math in my head every time I ate.

Got any recs for some alternatives to Noom that worked for people here?

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[u/plantbasedpatissier]

Is there any reason you can't use cronometer and make meals or recipes by scanning the barcodes of the foods you have with the app? A generic tofu scramble can be anywhere between 200-800 calories depending on what's in it

[u/putaka-19 → u/plantbasedpatissier]

been in the exact same situation with Noom’s database where Im searching for tofu scramble or a specific vegan protein bar and either getting nothing or some dairy version with totally different macros was exhausting. The lessons feeling like they were written for someone living on chicken breast every night didn’t help either.

What finally worked for me was trying MyFitnessPal. The food database is massive the way better about plant based options (including a lot of the more obscure vegan bars and homemade style meals). I was able to still scan barcodes, create my own recipes so Im not re re-adding the same tofu scramble every morning and the nutrient breakdown is solid. It doesn’t have same psychology lessons but the daily logging and the ability to set reminders or just check in with yourself keeps that structure without the frustration.

A lot of people heat swear by Cronometer (and it’s excellent for micronutrients if that’s your thing or priority) but MFP has been the one I stick bc the search just works better for the foods I actually eat.

[u/Odd_Round5515]

I did noom for a little while because it was free through my employer. I was not a fan at the time. The articles were just a little too weird for me and everything was written in a way that assumed everyone using the app worked in an office or behind a laptop. As a blue collar factory worker I felt completely left out. Some of it got a bit too "woowoo" for me. all I need is science. 

I've used Cronometer to track my nutrition for about the past decade. I don't always track everything every day, but when I do that's my app. The database is very extensive, both the mobile app and the desktop app are easy to use. 

[u/smurfette8675309]

I've been meeting with a dietician - an actual human. That is what has helped me that most.

[u/ea_slop]

Can I ask what your main goal is in having an app? Is it to track nutrients or mainly just to maintain more consistency? 

The podcast Lean with Plants really helped me, because it centers around habit change and behavioral science.  But huge warning that it has a lot of weight loss related stuff, so not for folks with a history of ED or prone to it. The earlier episodes I find to be most helpful around how to stay on track and not beat yourself up or totally fall off when you’re not perfect. “Next best thing” mindset. 

Other podcasts that help me stay on track are Nutrition Facts with Dr Greger & Plantstrong with Rip Essylsten. I find podcasts to be more effective than tracking, because it’s changing your environment and setting up queues for following through / reminding you of your “why.”

[u/CanineTempo0595]

i track with cronometer because the database is way better for whole foods. not as hand-holdy as noom but the nutrient breakdowns are actually useful if you're eating mostly plants. plus you can scan barcodes and it usually has the right vegan version.

i also just use a physical notebook some days. less data entry, more just writing down what i ate and how i felt. works better than any app when i'm cooking from scratch.

[u/holly1027]

the check-ins were the only reason I stuck with Noom as long as I did

[u/iheartyoulaine → u/holly1027]

Yep the accountability is what I miss most. Just wish it came without the other headavhes

[u/SlowDescent_]

I really like MyNetDiary. It's comprehensive and easy to use.

[u/hillbillyheartattack → u/SlowDescent_]

This. It's better than noom and is 9 bucks a month for all the same or better features

[u/tofeethecatto]

Might just build my own spreadsheet at this point. At least then nothing’s guessing whats in my food smh

[u/Bones1973]

MacroFactor is my favorite app for tracking calories and the vitamin and mineral breakdown.

[u/ttrockwood]

Why do you need it?

At this point you probably know what’s in the calories and macros range of what you usually eat

[u/GnuIdeas]

I feel you, having to hunt down every food entry would get old real quick.

[u/Accomplice_Lynx]

i feel you on this. i stopped trusting the Noom database after it logged my oat milk as 2% dairy milk. now i just weigh everything and hope for the best lol

[u/Curious_Yam_9000]

I’ve been using Cronometer for the past month or so after using MyNetDiary for a while. Both are good and include large databases and the ability to create your own customer recipes, foods and meals. Both allow you to scan barcodes on packaged foods, as well. But I find Cronometer is a bit better geared toward generic, whole foods.

[u/livingonavolcano]

It’s not a one-to-one replacement, but I much prefer Cronometer for tracking. Better, more reliable database of foods (because they vet and add foods, not random users - you have to request an addition of something not in, or add all the info yourself and make it a favorite, but they do add things), easier to add recipes/favorites, and has in-depth nutrient tracking if you want that (it may require a subscription level for some features, but found it well worth the cost). Also feel like their photo logging was higher caliber than Noom. You can select plant-based to track nutrients pertinent to thst. They have a blog that has some information, but I prefer to get my food/meal recommendations from vegan bloggers anyway (Noom was utterly useless in that department, as you found as well). The one feature I wanted wasn’t available in Noom either, which was to share food logging/recipes with another family member. My partner and I were doing this together, and I’m the main cook, so sharing was valuable (and non-existent on Noom). Also highly annoying to constantly have their GLP-1 advertising shoved in my face and not be able to opt out

[u/BigFatIdiotJr]

Nth-ing Cronometer. I use it for both calorie tracking and to expose any nutritional gaps in my diet.

[u/Accomplice_Lynx]

does it still make you manually enter stuff constantly or is the scanner decent?

[u/forevergreentree]

I really love Macrofactor. There's a bit of a learning curve (I'm not very much into tech but I figured it out) and you definitely have to track every thing you eat. It has an algorithm that adjusts your calorie recommendations based on what you've previously eaten and what your goals are.

For example, if my goal is to lose weight at the rate of 0.5 lbs/wk (you can set your own rate). The app recommends that I eat 1800 calories per day. I log everything that I eat and weigh myself daily. Depending on my activity level, every week my recommended calories may go up or down. It has helped me be more active because then I can eat more! I've used it for 18 months and still really like it. You can also use it if you want to gain weight or maintain your weight.

They have a lot of tofu and produce options you can choose from. Their barcode scanner works well. You can put in recipes and change them easily (if I want 5 grams of flaxseed in this today instead of 7, for example). It also has AI which is actually helpful and not obnoxious - you can take a picture of your meals and/or describe them and it will find a match in the database for you. I use this when I get free food at work or eat out.

The developers are also active on the subreddit r/MacroFactor and use feedback from the community to make it better.

All that being said, I think chronometer has an edge on this if your goal is to see exactly the micronutrients you're eating. MF tracts micronutrients but some of the food in the database doesn't have complete nutritional information, so it's a little incomplete there. Chronometer was kind of a pain to use for me though, which is why I found and switched to MF.

That's a lot about it. I don't have affiliate links or get any perks or anything, I just think it's a really cool app and it's the first one I've been able to stick to. It's not for everyone though. If you aren't consistent about logging you'll get inaccurate recommendations.

[u/shoebeee95]

The database problem mostly goes away once you log your regular meals as your own recipes instead of searching for them. Weigh the tofu, spinach, nutritional yeast and oil for your scramble once, save it, and from then on it's one entry with the right numbers. For packaged things like a vegan protein bar, type the label in straight from the wrapper, since that beats any near match. And if the daily check-in was the part that worked, a two-line note each evening, what you ate and how you felt, keeps that structure without lessons built around chicken breast.

[u/all_of_the_colors]

I lost 30lbs two different times with weight watchers.

I am currently losing weight again (for the final time, no more babies) and I am just using what I learned from weight watchers and counting my calories. I am about 26lbs down now.