Noom vs Keto: Which is the Best Meal Plan for Weightloss?

Losing weight is hard and can sometimes feel like an impossible uphill battle. That’s where weight-loss systems come into play.

These programs give detailed instructions for what you can eat each day. They also help motivate you to make healthier dietary choices.

This makes them a long-term weight-loss solution, so that you lose weight and keep it off for good.

Why Use Weight-Loss Systems?

Weight-loss systems are beneficial because they’re designed by experts. They’ve done the hard work of understanding the science behind health and nutrition. So you can be assured that what you’re following is effective and safe. 

They’re also usually systematic and guided, so you have a proper framework to follow. This takes out the guesswork about how you’re going to carry out your health plans on a daily basis. 

How each system works will differ depending on the “school of thought’ that it follows. 

For example, weight-loss plans like Noom focus on the psychology behind weight loss. The idea behind this is that when you get into the mindset of eating healthier, it helps to keep the weight off for good.

Others like Dr. Berg follow the ketogenic diet as a nutritional model for getting healthy and losing weight. This involves changing up the portion of different food groups to bring your body to a state of ketosis — where your body gets its energy from fat rather than carbohydrates. 

What is Noom and Dr. Berg?

Noom Weight Loss System

Noom is a subscription-based weight-loss service and app. It provides you with a food guide and access to a live coach who keeps you motivated to lose the weight.

The program includes access to low-calorie recipes and lessons that teach you how to make healthy eating and exercise choices.

Foods Allowed: All foods are allowed and are placed into colored groups of green, yellow and red foods. You can eat different quantities of each one.

Food Diary: You log your daily food intake. The app also reminds you to log your meals if you forget.

Recipes: Noom offers a variety of recipes. There are no recipe videos.

Exercise videos: No

Personal coach: you are assigned a personal coach who makes contact once a week to help with your progress.

Requires calorie counting: Yes, calorie counting is involved plus the traffic light system for the different food groups.

Success Rate: According to a recent study of 35,000 participants using Noom, 78% of users lost weight while using the app. 23% experienced a 10% weightloss from their baseline. (1)

Tailors the plan around diabetes? Yes, this is a main feature of Noom.

Free trial: There’s a free 14 day trial. If you cancel within the 14 days there is a $1 admin fee.

Dr. Berg’s Healthy Keto Diet

Keto is a low-carbohydrate, high-fat, and high-protein diet.

There are a number of books and videos out there outlining the ketogenic diet and recipes. But we have chosen to focus on Dr. Berg’s keto methodology, as he has one of the most comprehensive resources.

Dr. Berg offers a wide range of books, videos, vitamins, supplements, and bundles to cater to different peoples’ needs. 

Because of the sheer amount of products available on his website, we’ll mainly focus on reviewing his:

• Keto Kit: A starter bundle that includes 2 books outlining the fundamentals of keto and intermittent fasting, 3 supplements, and an online meal planner 
• Complete Keto and Intermittent Fasting Kit: 2 books, 9 supplements, 7 in-depth digital courses
• Digital programs: Keto Recipes, Meal Planner, audio version of his books, and more!

Recipes: You can purchase keto-friendly recipes as an add-on digital product

Exercise videos: No

Personal coach: No, you adjust the diet to your own preferences.

Requires calorie counting: No, you can follow the meal plans provided.

Success Rate: Dr. Berg’s website features 5000+ personal success stories. But there is also scientific evidence backing the efficacy of ketogenic diets. A study of 13 controlled trials, each following participants over 1-2 years, found that those on Keto lost a little more weight than those on traditional low-fat diets. While the difference is not huge, Keto could be a good option for those who struggle with traditional weight loss methods. (2)

Tailors the plan around diabetes? No, but Keto diets can help some people with diabetes as it helps to keep glucose levels low while still being healthy.

Free Trial: Dr. Berg does not offer a free trial at this point.

Noom vs Dr. Berg

Any further considerations?

Noom offers a one-week trial of the app for a nominal fee of less than a dollar.

At this point, Dr. Berg does not offer trials for his products.

Free 14 day trial: Noom

Noom Review

The weight-loss program for Noom was started in 2008 by engineers Saeju Jeong and Artem Petakov. They wanted to provide a smart way for people to lose weight.

This New York-based weight-loss program features an app. Through it users get access to the Noom diet, training and tips on losing weight from a live coach.

What Is Noom?

Noom is a customized weight-loss program that allows you to easily log meals, exercise and health readings right into their app to help you achieve your weight-loss goals.

They offer healthy recipes for you to use and an easy-to-follow guide of the types of foods you should be eating.

Noom also gives you access to a live weight-loss coach and an online community of Noom users to help encourage and support you during your weight-loss journey.

Why is Noom Different?

Noom is different because it categorizes foods into colored groups of different calorie densities.

You are able to eat a certain amount of foods from each color every day.

What Can You Eat on Noom?

Users are encouraged to eat mostly nutrient-rich (and lower-calorie) yellow foods and green foods with red foods eaten sparingly.

Specifically, the diet recommends eating the following proportions of foods as part of your daily calorie intake:

• 30 percent in Green foods
• 45 percent in Yellow foods
• 25 percent in Red foods

What is the Noom Food List?

The Noom food groups are made up of:

Green Foods

Noom green foods are fruits, whole grains and vegetables.

Yellow Foods

Noom yellow foods include lean meats, poultry, dairy and hummus.

Red Foods

Noom red foods are made up of things like chocolate, nuts and other high-calorie low-density foods.

Free 14 day trial: Noom

What Does Noom Actually Do?

Noom is a weight loss program that understands the importance of psychology when it comes to weightloss. They provide training for how to make behavioral changes so that you can achieve long term weightloss. This works alongside their food plan of color-categorized foods.

With regular logging of steps, blood pressure, weight and even blood sugar (for diabetic users), users can track their progress along their weight-loss journey.

Benefits of the Noom Weight Loss Program

Free 14 day trial: Noom

How Much Does Noom Cost?

Noom provides a free trial which costs less than $1 for one week. After that the subscription costs between $59 a month and $199 a year ($10 a month) depending on which option you choose.

• $59 per month
• $99 per two months
• $129 per three months
• $139 per four months
• $149 per five months
• $159 per six months
• $169 per seven months
• $179 per eight months
• $199 per year

Noom has two types of plans, one for users who want to lose weight and one for those who want to control their diabetes. Those on the diabetes plan must regularly check and log their blood sugar levels.

Noom Reviews & Testimonials

Noom got an average of 4.4 out of 5 stars from 32,357 reviews over two platforms (Trustpilot and ConsumerAffairs).

Most users loved the psychology behind the method and that the diet wasn’t restrictive. They also noted the community support, personalized coaching and free trial period.

Regularly logging foods encouraged them to eat healthier and establish better eating habits.

Some dissatisfied customers said that they had trouble logging their foods and exercise, found the responses from the coaches to be generic or delayed and that they found the group chat format difficult to navigate.

Of the positive reviews, many users found the articles and recipes provided by Noom helpful and reported that they were achieving weight-loss success.

One reviewer said:

Another reviewer was seeing initial success with Noom’s plan:

How to Sign Up for Noom

You can sign up for Noom’s trial or subscription through their website or through their app: Noom.

The signup process is simple but thorough, so expect to answer a lot of questions about your weight loss goals.

Noom also gives you some helpful weightloss statistics during the process.

After you finish answering the questions, you can start your 7-day trial of Noom.

Note that you are required to pay a nominal fee for the trial that ranges from less than a dollar to around twenty dollars (you get to choose the amount).

After the free trial ends, you will automatically be enrolled in the four-month plan priced at $139.

This is a summary of Noom’s signup process:

Enter Your Details

Signup starts off by asking you for standard information like your name, age, current weight, goal weight and gender.

Enter Your Weightloss Goal and Timeline

Noom then asks if you have a date by which you want to achieve your goal weight. This is great for those planning trips or weddings. Or, if you don’t have a date in mind, you can skip this.

Add More Details Including Preferred Eating Habits and Medical Conditions

Next, you’ll answer a series of questions about your eating habits, including what and how often you eat during the day.

Because Noom is such a tailored plan, they also ask a series of questions about your health including whether you suffer from conditions like diabetes or arthritis, back problems or high blood pressure. They even ask you where you live as this can affect your dietary requirements too.

Enter Your Email

At this point, you’ll enter your email to create an account.

Deep-Dive into Your Lifestyle 

Noom really wants to understand your history with weightloss as well as the psychology behind your habits. So they continue to ask you further lifestyle questions including:

• past diet plans
• dietary restrictions
• how much time you have in the day
• how you normally meal plan
• apps you’ve used to relieve stress or help with mental health
• how weight impacts your everyday life
• your state of mind when it comes to weightloss
• what goals you want to set for yourself

Noom will give you an idea of how long it will take you to achieve your weight-loss goals in a healthy way. You can then start the trial period.

After agreeing to the trial period, you’re ready to use Noom.

All of your responses help to create a customized program just for you.

Free 14 day trial: Noom

Other Noom Products

In addition to their app-based weight-loss subscription program, Noom offers several add-ons that you can select from within the app to help you with your weight-loss journey. They include:

• Custom Meal & Workout Plan
• Custom Workout Plan
• Custom Meal Plan
• The Everyday Noom Cookbook
• Wifi Body Scale
• Weight Loss Meal Planner
• At-Home Workout Subscription
• Workout Equipment Starter Pack
• Fitness Tracking Watch
• Vanilla Protein Powder
• Breakfast & Snack Bars
• Weight Loss DNA Tests
• Food Sensitivity Test Kit
• Metabolism Test kit

Is Noom Worth The Money?

Noom is worth the money as it offers a balanced food plan and weightloss system which is customized to your body and lifestyle.

You are provided with key tools to help you achieve sustainable weightloss. This includes a food plan, healthy recipes, access to a live coach and support from the Noom community. You can enjoy all food groups in different quantities so nothing is excluded.

As long term weightloss is such an important goal for our health, Noom is a system which is worth the investment if their all-inclusive food plan appeals to you.

Best price: Complete Keto Kit

Dr. Berg Keto Diet Review

About Dr. Berg

Dr. Eric Berg, DC began his journey into the health sector as a chiropractor. But after years of struggling with a poor diet and multiple health issues, he decided to delve into the world of nutrition and left his job as a chiropractor. Along the way, he continued testing out his nutritional practices on himself and other clients that approached him. Since then, he’s refined his program and has become a popular resource in the field of keto diets. 

What is Dr. Berg’s Healthy Keto Diet?

Dr. Berg’s keto diet is based on the premise that the body works more efficiently when it runs on ketones rather than carbohydrates. Ketones are an acid that come from the breakdown of fat. 

So the ultimate goal of the keto way of eating is to reduce carbs and increase fat. So that your body will have no choice but to get its energy from fat.  

He also emphasizes that this diet isn’t about losing weight alone. The underlying principle is that it helps you to get healthy and lose weight along the way. 

Similar to Noom, they give recommendations of the percentage of each food group to consume each day:

• 70 percent high-fat foods
• 20 percent proteins
• 5 percent non-starchy vegetable carbohydrates
• 5 percent other carbohydrates

In addition to food recommendations, Dr. Berg also suggests pairing keto with intermittent fasting. He suggests that when we eat is also just as important as what we eat. He states that when we stop eating for certain periods in the day, it helps trigger growth hormone (GH), which is linked to fat loss. (1, 2)

The process of building intermittent fasting into your day is gradual. You start with 3 meals (no snacks), then cut down to 2 meals, and eventually 1 meal a day. Of course, he also emphasizes that you listen to your body about when to eat. 

Benefits of Dr. Berg’s Healthy Keto Diet

Dr. Berg is one of the most comprehensive resources for both beginners and seasoned keto followers. You can get his pre-packaged bundles or buy individual products to suit your needs. 

The Keto Kit is a complete starter kit for newbies that want to know the “why” behind keto diets and “how” to begin. While his Complete Keto and Intermittent Fasting Kit has more in-depth online programs for those that want to know more. 

Plus, they have supplements and digital programs (like meal planners and recipes) for those that want more specific help in different areas of their keto journey. 

Focus on Overall Health and Not Just Weight Loss

The underlying philosophy of Dr. Berg’s diet is that the keto lifestyle is not just a way to lose weight. It’s a way of optimizing our food intake so that it caters to how our body uses nutrients. This holistic approach can be beneficial for those that seek overall wellness and not just a lower number on the scale. 

Wide Variety of Keto-Friendly Recipes

In addition to Dr. Bergs’s books and kits, he offers a valuable digital library of keto recipes so that you never run out of ideas of what to eat. When paired with the digital meal planner, you can also make sure that you’re spacing out your nutrition appropriately. 

Supplements to Ensure You’re Meeting Nutritional Requirements

In the Keto Kit, you get the essential supplements to support your keto diet so there’s no guesswork about whether you’re meeting your nutritional needs. They range from electrolyte powders to support normal muscle function to special formulations for supporting healthy blood sugar levels. 

The Complete Keto and Intermittent Fasting Kit includes an even wider range of supplements and vitamins. And you can even purchase them separately as well.

Variety of Learning Formats

Dr. Berg also caters to people with different learning preferences. You can purchase his books if you’re a reader. Or sign up for his digital program or membership if you prefer videos and audio. It’s up to you how you want to mix and match to get the most out of Dr. Berg’s programs. 

Best price: Complete Keto Kit

What’s Included in The Keto Kit?

The Keto Kit is one of the best places to start with if you’re new to keto. It includes all you need to know about the keto diet and how your body reacts to it. Along with a framework for thinking about what food to eat and when to eat (as suggested in their intermittent fasting part of the resource). 

Although it’s not a specific exercise program, it does include information on how to optimally exercise for your body type.   

Similar to Noom, it doesn’t exactly spell out a day-by-day meal plan with recipes. Instead, you’re presented with a range of keto-friendly foods that put your body into a state of ketosis — the process of burning the fats stored in your body rather than burning carbohydrates.  

It then gives you suggestions on how you can develop a meal plan to fit the keto diet around your day. 

Of course, if you need recipe inspiration, you can purchase their keto recipes digital resource in addition to the Keto Kit. 

Here’s a quick summary of what is included in the Keto Kit:

Two crucial books that explain the keto diet and intermittent fasting, along with guidelines on what to eat:

• The Healthy Keto Plan: This is the most fundamental resource to Dr. Berg’s keto methodology. It spells out what you need to understand about the science of your body and the keto diet. And also summarizes how to eat, exercise, and manage stress. 
• Healthy Keto and Intermittent Fasting: This is a companion book that gives a more brief overview of The Healthy Keto Plan and how to pair it with intermittent fasting for optimal results. 

A digital Meal Maker Program is also included with the kit, and this helps you to organize meals. You simply select what you want to eat and the program will generate a weekly plan for you. 

Along with the books, you get 3 supplements to kickstart your keto journey:

• Electrolyte Powder, Raspberry & Lemon
• Nutritional Yeast Tablets
• Wheatgrass Powder, Lemon

Does Dr. Berg Keto Kit Work?

The majority of users found that Dr. Berg’s keto program was beneficial to their overall health and weight loss goals.

The Keto Kit in particular scored an average of 4.4 out of 5 stars from 199 reviews on Amazon. And Dr. Berg’s overall brand scored 4.7 out of 5 stars from 18 reviews on Trustspot. 

We found that many reviews had these common themes:

• Easy to understand — many liked how Dr. Berg was able to break down a complicated topic into simple terms.
• Simple to follow.
• Many liked that he backed up his claims with scientific research. 
• Helped people with their overall health — even some with diabetes commented that it made a difference to their wellness.
• It was useful in terms of weight loss for some customers — some saw significant weight loss in a few months. 
• Several mentioned that the bundle has good value compared to buying the items separately. 

Most of the negative comments were about the taste of the supplements. But of course, this can often depend on personal preference. 

Here’s what some real reviewers had to say about Dr. Berg:

Dr. Berg’s Complete Keto Kit

Best price: Keto Diet Starter Package

Is the Dr. Berg Healthy Keto Diet Worth It?

The Dr. Berg program is worth it for those that want a comprehensive, one-stop shop to master the keto diet. His most popular bundle is the Keto Kit which includes 2 crucial books that explain the science behind keto and how to properly execute the diet. This is mainly about how ketosis helps with health (including weight loss) and how to stay in ketosis. He also adds supplements to ensure that you’re getting the right nutritional boost and a meal planner to help you organize your diet. 

It takes you through details about which foods are acceptable to eat and what to avoid. And there is a meal planner to help with organizing your meals. There’s even additional information about managing stress and optimizing exercise.

You also have the option to buy all these items separately on his website along with a host of other products. This includes things like an online membership, a wide range of supplements, and digital products like his recipe program.    

Overall if you’re considering Keto this is a very comprehensive guide that will give you everything you need to get started.

Which is Better Noom or Keto Diet?

Noom is a better choice for those who want to achieve long-term weight loss without drastically reducing any major food groups. While Keto diets like Dr. Berg’s will be better for those that are keen on trying keto as an alternative to the traditional calorie-counting weight-loss model.  

For Noom, a lot of the focus is on changing your eating mindset. So all food groups are still included within Noom’s color-coded food categories. They can be enjoyed every day, albeit in different quantities.

Their program is based on a low-fat diet that may be better for those who enjoy eating a little bit of everything. Plus, they offer a live coach and community support to keep you motivated during the weight-loss process and focused on your diet.

In contrast, Dr. Berg is purely focused on keto. So you have to be sold on the underlying principles of this diet before you start. And if you are, he provides one of the most comprehensive resources for executing the ketogenic diet — mainly through books and digital programs. 

Keto dieters eat a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet to enjoy better overall health and weight loss. So this program may work best for those who love eating meats and rich hearty meals – which tend to be excluded from traditional weight-loss diets.

Dr. Berg also has a lot more products that cater to different needs compared to Noom. This includes supplements, digital programs, and bundles. 

In general, both companies provide a comprehensive weight-loss framework for you to follow. Each has its advantages and can be a great resource for weight loss. So which one you choose depends very much on how you prefer to lose weight.