#noom team

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Google Fit will further enhance Noom users’ experience

Google announced their brand new health platform -- Google Fit -- yesterday using screenshots from Noom Weight Loss Coach to illustrate this exciting new venture. Designed to help people keep better track of their wellness goals, Google Fit acts as a central point where all health information about a user is stored, like exercise, food intake, weight, heart rate, and more. This makes Noom’s development team very happy indeed.

What does Google Fit mean for Noom?

The arrival of Google Fit is extremely exciting for Noom because it (finally!) makes it possible for our users to seamlessly integrate all of their various fitness activities into Noom Coach. Having a more unified view of each user’s actual fitness activity -- collected via whatever apps, sensors and wearables you choose -- will improve Noom Coach’s ability to provide effective guidance and motivation during the weight-loss journey.

For example, having this data makes it possible to adjust someone’s optimal daily calorie budget for weight loss in real time or challenge a user to increase their daily step counts -- actions that are likely to improve outcomes even further.

Google will be rolling this new functionality out in the fall, and you better believe we'll get it out to you just as soon as we can!

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We told the American Journal of Preventive Medicine YOU'RE WRONG! and here's what happened...

Last year, an American Journal of Preventive Medicine article by Sherry Pagoto and her colleagues ("Evidence-Based Strategies in Weight-Loss Mobile Apps") published an article we disagreed with. When we sent them a letter explaining our position, they actually published it! Because you can't see it unless you subscribe, here's a breakdown of what it was all about:

The article reviewed our app and others, checking if we used clinically accepted weight-loss strategies. The reference they used was the National Diabetes Prevention Plan (NDPP), a recognized and well-studied curriculum focusing on the basics: eat better, exercise better, and you'll lose a little weight and get healthier. The plan includes 20 specific methods, to support these goals.

We were surprised to see the paper say that Noom only used 25% of their strategies. We reviewed the list in detail, and the correct number is 90%! (And that's conservative -- for the remaining 10%, we use just slightly different versions of the noted methods.) We were scratching our heads, until we found out the reason.

The researchers opened the apps and used them for just an hour or so. Many of the strategies they talk about are revealed over the course of days and weeks, because they're part of the journey of weight loss. This method, in fact, closely mirrors the NDPP, which teaches these methods over the course of 16 weeks -- not all at once.

The original paper, despite its flaws, was covered extensively (in Time, HuffPo, and more). We felt it important to share our point of view, and so wrote a letter to the editor, which has just been published in the AJPM. It's behind a subscription wall; but it simply explains in more detail the points made here.

Every day, we get letters from Noom users about how losing weight has changed their lives. So often, they feel better, they look better, and they're happier with their lives. Stories like this are what inspire us to do the work we do. Improving your diet and exercise can go a long way toward improving every aspect of your health -- weight, blood pressure, heart disease, allergies, memory, energy levels, mental acuity, happiness -- it really is like a wonder-drug.

We're glad the AJPM gave us the chance to share our thoughts, because we stand behind the sound methods that are a pillar of the Noom experience. Nowadays, patients expect their experience in healthcare to be closer to their consumer experiences, and there's nothing we're more proud of than bringing our users better health, no matter the context.

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Intern Diary: Making the Noom Walk App Video

By: Nina Liu

We had two options when it came to making a video for our new app, Noom Walk: hire someone else to do it, or work with what we have.

*raises hand*

Let's see. Have I ever made a mobile app video? No. 

Do I have any real video editing experience?  Nope. 

But if fooling around in iMovie for a few home videos counted, then I hoped that would be enough.

Not knowing where to start, I spent the bulk of my time planning. Time constraints (one day) and limited resources (tripod and camera) meant that the video would be kept as simple as possible.

It wasn’t until I started shooting, when I realized that I had overlooked many details -- like location limitations due to a wifi-only demo phone or features that had to be hacked to be viewable -- which forced me to modify my original plan.

A good reminder came from our co-founder Saeju: take an idea and run with it -- make a mistake! The earlier on the better. In my case, I had to trash a whole version I shot indoors and re-do it on the roof.

Lesson learned: Instead of dwelling on ideas (and getting premature execution syndrome), just start shooting. Even better ideas will come out of the review process, so giving yourself ample time to review and re-shoot is much more valuable. 

I hope you enjoy the video!

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Up and Running in the Dead Zone

The Noom offices are located in Chelsea. Normally, our lower Manhattan location affords us a bevy of transportation options, delicious restaurants and bars nearby, and all the other creature comforts the Noom staff could want. This week, our plush lower Manhattan location means something entirely different: We’re in the NYC “dead zone." As you may already know, Manhattan below 34th Street is essentially shut-down; flooding, power shut-offs, and a transformer explosion have left us without power and heat, and some without even running water. At the risk of sounding like the butt of a “first world problems" joke, this is making work pretty tough. We’re fortunate that many of our employees weren’t severely impacted by Hurricane Sandy (though some were among those with no power, water, heat, cell reception, etc.), and everyone is safe and well. However it was still impossible for some to get to our office for several days, due to transportation shut-downs and serious traffic — not to mention the lack of power. In the interim, our team split up to work in three groups at various coworkers’ homes, and those without power were taken in by friends and co-workers.

Despite the hurdles, we’re doing everything we can to return to normal. One of our staffers who happened to be in DC over the weekend was able to purchase a generator and drive it in a U-Haul all the way here to our office. Team members carried the generator up five flights of stairs, installed it on our roof, and were able to get enough power to run several computers and our wireless router.

We’ve got internet service through two providers for just these circumstances, and Verizon stayed online, so we do have internet service. Chef Jane isn’t able to cook, but she is able to get us Korean food delivered from K-Town, which is a miracle in itself.

We’re still struggling to get caught up on our customer support tickets, bug fixes, and future launches, but we’re happy to finally be gathering again in one office (even if it doesn’t have power or heat).

We’re so grateful for our members’ support and patience during this tough time, and our hearts go out to everyone else impacted by the storm. We wish you all the best, and don’t worry — we’ve got plenty of Starbucks and flashlights to stay fueled up.

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Breaking Down Walls ... Noom Style

The afternoon of August 23, we finally broke through. But that’s not where it began. Our office had been feeling a bit tight as of late. Chairs bumping into the backs of other chairs; folks rolling over Oggie’s tail (he's a dog...we swear); desks pushed up against our only functioning printer, rendering it pretty unfunctional; and the pungent smell of stinky cheese wafting from the mini fridge. We’ve been growing rapidly this year with two new additions in February, another in April, and eight more team members since the summer began (including our four interns from Waterloo and another from Monterrey). Luckily, at the same time, we were hard at work on the office space next door in our Chelsea, NYC building. Although we were paying rent for the space beyond the wall, we couldn’t actually expand into it because sand blasters were stripping the white paint from the once-exposed brick (to be exposed once more), green paint was being strategically placed, and walls were being added to construct an extra conference room. Oh yeah, and there was a wall was blocking our entry into this space. After three months of renovations, it was finally hammer time. Sure, we could have let the contractor take care of that, but hey, we like to get our hands dirty. We christened our sledgehammer with Noom stickers, projected Pink Floyd’s The Wall, and went to town. Everyone on the team got a couple of good whacks in, and with Mark leading the way, we all broke through. We're already loving the breathing room and awesome, bright sunlight in the new space. Plus, we've now got a designated chill area, and room to hire even more awesome people!

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Why Noom Food Logging Works

Eating healthy is essential for weight loss. We're pretty sure just about everyone can get on-board with that. However, a lot of our users struggle with the fact that Noom doesn't expect you to track every single calorie using precise measurements. The reality is complicated calorie trackers are not necessary. They take way too much typing, too much searching, and too many calculations — all for just an approximate calorie count. That's why we tried to make something better!

Why we approximate: It's extremely difficult to estimate exact measurements. Simply try it some time. Make yourself a plate of food, estimate how much you have in front of you, and then measure it. Even if you've mastered the art of estimating food sizes, everyone's body is actually very different, and you may not burn the exact same number of calories as someone else eating the same food. Sounds easy, but does it work? The amazing thing is, study after study shows that simple logging does work better! That's because you can actually keep it going long enough to see results. Not to mention, this type of logging teaches you to be more independent instead of always relying on that calorie counter. Over time, you'll learn more about Noom's food categories and start to eat better without even thinking about it.

Sources:

British Journal of Nutrition Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics Scientific American

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The Family that Eats Together: Breaking Bread at Your Startup

We’re so excited to share a recent article about Noom. We try to avoid bragging about every little thing that gets written about us, but this one was really special to us. After visiting the Noom office last week, Brad Svrluga, an early-stage VC, did a great write-up about lunch here at the office. That piece was picked up by Forbes and we couldn’t be happier that our guest picked up on such an integral part of Noom’s culture. He said:

“A minute after walking into the Noom office I knew I was somewhere special. It’s a very comfortable, relaxed, and homey feeling place … It was a wonderful experience that felt far more like a family gathering than a business event.”

Read on to see why Brad was so impressed.

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Company Outing: Brooklyn Kitchen

A Warm Welcome

We’re all about healthy eating here at the office, but it usually requires little more effort than just filling a plate with the delicious food Chef Jane has prepped for us. This week, though, we decided to challenge ourselves and head to Brooklyn Kitchen for a cooking class. From the “What’s that oven thing for?” types — ahem, you know who you are — to those of us who are actually pretty proficient in the kitchen, our BK outing was sure to be an adventure … if only because it was some people’s first time on the L-train. The class turned out to be a smashing success. Our teacher, Kat Randazzo (an experienced restaurant chef-turned-Mom/personal chef/teacher), was super-fun to work with, and made the class totally accessible for all of us. So of course, we couldn’t keep her awesome insights to ourselves. Check out some of our favorite general cooking tips followed by a kick-a$ recipe for gnocchi (on a bed of greens, to keep it healthy!). Chef Kat’s Tips and Pointers:

When sauteeing or pan-frying, place the meat into the pan presentation-side-down, so that it gets the prettiest, brown sear on the side you’ll see when it’s served.

Let pieces of meat warm to room temperature before sticking them in the oven. They’ll caramelize nicely on the outside and cook more evenly that way.

Cook a whole chicken in the oven with its legs toward the back. That’s where the heat comes from and the legs take the longest to cook.

Black Pepper Gnocchi with Butter Wilted Greens Ingredients: 2 large Russett potatoes 2 egg yolks 1 cup flour Salt & pepper 4 tbsp. butter 8 oz. arugula 4 oz. Pecorino cheese Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 375. Coat the potatoes in salt (this helps draw moisture out of the potato for a better texture in the final gnocchi) and bake.

Peel the potatoes while still hot and mash them with a fork or potato ricer. (Eat the potato skins, they’re so good!)

Add the egg yolks and work into the potatoes with the fork. Knead in a cup of flour until just combined (it may take 1 ½ cups, but add only a cup at first). Season with salt and a liberal amount of pepper.

Divide the dough into four parts on a lightly floured workspace. Roll each piece into a snake-like log the diameter of a nickel, then use a knife or bench scraper to cut the log into ½-inch pieces.

Use a fork to gently roll ridges into each gnocchi then transfer to a lightly floured cookie sheet.

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the gnocchi to the water in four batches. They’re done when they float to the top — this should take no more than a couple minutes. Scoop out each gnocchi when it floats.

When all gnocchi are cooked, melt the butter in a large sautee pan. Add the gnocchi and toss until lightly browned. Add the arugula and more salt to taste, and toss until just wilted.

Transfer to a serving dish and top with grated Pecorino. Enjoy!

[gallery] p.s. If you like this recipe, check out Brooklyn Kitchen’s blog for more seasonal recipes.