Noom vs. Alkaline Diet - How Do These Plans Compare?

Noom vs. Alkaline Diet – With so many diets and healthy lifestyle programs available today, it can be hard to tell the good from the flawed. Advances in technology can confuse matters even more. Let’s take a look at the difference between today’s technology-powered weight-loss and a diet that has many experts skeptical.

What is Noom?

Noom is a 16-week weight-loss and healthy lifestyle program that works via individualized plans, individual coaching, and a dedicated social support group. The program encourages tracking food and exercise, while providing education, lessons, and quizzes on everything from food choices, to how to relieve stress. The plan is progressive, with one lesson building on top of the previous lesson until more significant lifestyle changes are adopted.

What is the Alkaline Diet?

The Alkaline Diet, also referred to as the alkaline ash diet or the acid-Alkaline Diet, aims to alter your body’s pH levels. The idea is to replace foods that are more “acid” with foods that are more “alkaline.” The basis of the plan is the metabolic waste left behind when the metabolism burns food for energy. This metabolic weight is often referred to as ash.

Noom vs. Alkaline Diet – History

Brief History of Noom

In the history of Noom vs. Alkaline Diet, Noom is far younger. Noom was founded in 2008 by Saeju Jeong and Artem Petakov. The team set out to develop a weight-loss program that addressed more than just the food and exercise aspects. With the help of psychologists, dietitians, personal trainers, and doctors, Noom grew to become one of the leading diet searches in 2018. October 2019 marked a new partnership for Noom. The company partnered with Novo Nordisk – a healthcare company. The companies are collaborating and working together to change the lives of people living overweight and obese.

From the moment the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) started recognizing lifestyle programs, Noom has been listed.

You can check out Noom with a free trial offer to learn more about how psychology plays a part in weight loss.

Brief History of the Alkaline Diet

Dr. Claude Bernard, a French doctor, researched the effects the kidney played on the body’s acidity. The research involved rabbits, and when their diet was changed from eating plants to eating meats, urine acidity increased.

The second part of the plan is based on the bomb calorimeter. This machine is used to estimate the number of calories in a given food. After burning the acidic foods, which is how the machine works, there is always ash left over. Bernard hypothesized that the same ash would be left behind in the body. The diet is based on the idea that the foods we eat can adjust body acidity.

Noom vs. Alkaline Diet – Who’s Behind the Plans?

Who Created Noom?

The two founders of Noom are Artem Petakov and Saeju Jeong. Artem found an interest in programming at the early age of nine. Throughout high school, he worked in the dot com market. While attending college for computer science, Artem found a love for psychology – specifically the psychology of decision making. When Saeju approached Artem with the idea of starting a new venture (Noom), he was resistant, at first, but soon left Google to embark on the Noom challenge.

The background of Saeju is not as clear. Based on the co-founder’s LinkedIn page, he started in entrepreneurship at the age of 19. At first, his friend Artem wasn’t ready to leave his job with Google Maps to venture into a new business with Saeju, but with time and patience, Saeju convinced Artem to go along for the ride.

Who Created the Alkaline Diet?

If there was one person to name that’s behind the Alkaline Diet, it would be Dr. Claude Bernard. The doctor was born in 1813 in France, where he also passed at the age of 64. He studied physiology at the University of Paris. Later in life, Bernard authored books on experimental medicine, among other topics.

Noom vs. Alkaline Diet – The Rules

What rules do you have to follow when you’re adopting the Noom vs. Alkaline Diet? Let’s look at what it takes to follow one of these programs.

Rules of Noom

One of the cornerstones of Noom is the psychology of weight loss. Users are taught how to be more aware of the choices they make by logging meals and exercise. This awareness is used as a platform for teaching certain lifestyle habits that could be holding you back from success, why they are holding you back, and the steps you can take to succeed.

The basic rules of Noom are based on the psychological cornerstone. The three main elements of the plan are food logging, exercise tracking, and education.

Food Logging: The food logging system with Noom is comparable to a traffic light. The app places foods into one of three categories – green, yellow, and red. As is the case with a traffic light, green is go, yellow is slow, and red is stop (most of the time).

Let’s take a look at some of the foods that fall into each category.

Green Foods: Green foods make up about 30% of your Noom diet. These foods aren’t calorie-dense, meaning you get to eat more while keeping within your calorie goal. Green foods include:

• Fruits: grapes, strawberries, oranges, pineapple, raspberries, blueberries, pears, cherries, peaches, bananas, apples, kiwi, and tomatoes.
• Vegetables: cucumbers, asparagus, radish, lettuce, green beans, spinach, peas, potatoes, broccoli, mushrooms, onion, green salad, zucchini, and sweet potatoes.
• Grains: brown rice, wild rice, whole grain pasta, whole wheat bread, whole grain pita, rolled oats, quinoa, porridge, grits, oat bran, and barley.
• Meats and Seafood: crab meat, shrimp, egg whites, mahi-mahi, lobster, turkey meatballs, and tofu.
• Dairy: non-fat (yogurt, Greek yogurt, cheese, and cottage cheese).
• Beverages: almond milk, cashew milk, skim milk, unsweetened soy milk, coconut water, coffee, unsweetened tea, vitamin water, and some vegetable juices.

Yellow Foods: You’ll aim to get about 45% of your diet from yellow foods. This category includes foods like low-fat cheeses and lean meats. Specific yellow foods include:

• Fruits and Vegetables: plantain, prunes, canned pineapple, avocado, garlic, olive, figs, and kaki.
• Grains: rice noodles, rye bread, spaghetti noodles, couscous, and rice (wild, jasmine, yellow, coconut, and basmati).
• Meats and Seafood: tuna, chicken breast, ham, lean beef, lean pork, Canadian bacon, turkey, whole eggs, and sushi.
• Legumes and Seeds: edamame, chickpeas, baked beans, refried beans, lentils, and seitan.
• Dairy: low-fat (cheese, yogurt, milk, cottage cheese, and cream cheese).
• Beverages: diet sodas, ginger beer, soy milk, rice milk, light beers, grapefruit juice, and orange juice.
• Snacks: hummus, bread pudding, plain pancake, and fruit cocktail.

Red Foods: The final 25% of your diet is made up of red foods. These foods are calorie-dense and tend to be high fat and low nutrition. Red foods include:

• Fruits: dried cranberries, dates, and raisins.
• Grains: biscuits, bagels, granola, pita bread, white bread, dinner rolls, sourdough bread, waffles, muffins, falafel, naan, and saltines.
• Meats and Seafood: bacon, fried chicken, meatballs, hot dogs, salami, turkey bacon, chicken nuggets, and chicken wings.
• Beverages: white wine, red wine, regular sodas, hot chocolate, vodka, champagne, margarita, and apple cider.
• Desserts: ice cream, cake, cookies, brownies, donuts, cinnamon rolls, chocolate milk, pie, and candy.

Exercise Tracking: While Noom is more focused on food logging than exercise tracking, there is an incentive to get in a few moves. When you log your exercise in the Noom app, half of the total number of calories burned is automatically added to your main calorie goal. The reason half of the total calories are added back is based on science. It is thought that most people overestimate the number of calories burned during exercise or the intensity of exercise, so to account for that, the app adds 50% of calories back.

Download the Noom app for a free trial offer and track your first exercise routine to see how you can earn back 50% of your total calories.

Education, Lessons, and Quizzes: Each day, you’ll receive helpful lessons, challenges, and tips/strategies for success. Quizzes are used to reinforce what’s been learned, so the smaller pieces of information stick. Over the 16 weeks, these small pieces lock together like a puzzle helping the user to forge a new look at healthy living and weight loss.

Rules of the Alkaline Diet

There’s really only one basic rule of the Alkaline Diet – eat more foods that are alkaline and fewer foods that are acidic. The two types of foods are clearly defined.

Alkaline foods include fruits and vegetables, red and white wine, coffee, and lemon and lime juice.

Acidic foods include meat, dairy, eggs, grains, and legumes.

Foods within these two groups have unique PRAL scores. PRAL, potential renal acid load, is used as a guide to define the acidity, or alkalinity, of a given food.

Some of the most alkaline foods include:

Apricots, black currants, carrots, celery, green beans, spinach, and potatoes.

Some of the most acidic foods include:

Chicken, beef, turkey, pork, salami, trout, cod, cheddar cheese, cottage cheese, lentils, brown rice, spaghetti, white flour, walnuts, and peanuts.

Quick Tips:

• Increase fruit and vegetable intake.
• Reduce soda intake (or quit entirely)
• Try to drink at least 64 ounces of mineral water daily with lemon or lime juice.
• Eat no more than one serving of animal protein daily.
• Eat vegetables in place of refined carbohydrates.
• Test strips detecting urine pH levels are to be used with the first urine daily. The ideal measurement is between 6.5 and 7.5, according to some sources.

Noom vs. Alkaline Diet – Eating Plans

The Noom Eating Plan

The Noom eating plan is personalized to each individual’s needs. An initial questionnaire helps customize the program and match you with your coach, who will be your go-to person for plan questions and support.

With the green – yellow – red food system, you’re encouraged to eat plenty of whole foods that offer more nutrition and fewer calories. For instance, if you eat one cup of rice, you’ll be taking in about 200 calories. But, one cup of broccoli is only 30 calories. You can eat nearly 7 times the amount of broccoli as you can rice for the same calories and MUCH better nutrition.

“With Noom, you’ll learn about social eating, cognition and food, stress management, managing emotions in relation to food, how exercise affects you, why we eat and act the way we do as humans, along with so much more. Noom aims for these changes to be sustainable, increasing the chance that they will become permanent thus helping you keep the weight off for the rest of your life.”

The Alkaline Diet Eating Plan

Following the Alkaline Diet eating plan is relatively hard. You will be eliminating many foods you usually eat and, according to some sources, caffeine, and alcohol too. The main focus of the plan is on fruits and vegetables, which makes it perfect for vegetarians, and with the elimination of all animal products, vegans.

One unique aspect of the Alkaline Diet is that most major food allergens are avoided. Food allergy triggers include wheat, eggs, milk, fish, and shellfish.

There is no support for the Alkaline Diet eating plan. You are given the set of rules, and that’s where the information ends. Some books have suggested starting with a small change and working from there. For instance, cutting out all pasta or bread for a week before nixing another food next week.

Noom vs. Alkaline Diet – Plan Duration

How Long Does Noom Last?

Noom is a 16-week program with the option of continuing into a post-plan for continued support in weight maintenance. When you sign up for Noom, you are allowed to reduce the monthly cost by signing up for an extended program of up to 12 months. As long as your subscription is active, you’ll have access to your personal coach and social community.

How Long Does the Alkaline Diet Last?

The Alkaline Diet isn’t limited by time. You’re meant to continue to eat more alkaline foods and fewer acidic foods for life.

Significant Differences Between Noom and the Alkaline Diet

The most significant difference between Noom vs. Alkaline Diet is in delivery and duration. Noom delivers information in small pieces that fit together into more substantial changes over time. Science shows this type of gradually learning better prepares the learner to maintain changes in habit. The Alkaline Diet is a set of rules suggesting which foods to eat and which foods to avoid – nothing more.

Can You Follow the Alkaline Diet on Noom?

If you look at the basic rules of the Alkaline Diet – not the claims about body acidity or alkalinity, yes you can follow the plan on Noom.

Noom vs. Alkaline Diet – The Research

Clinical Research on Noom

Among weight-loss apps and weight-loss programs, you’d be hard-pressed to find a plan that has more clinical support than Noom.

In a study of more than 35,000 participants, as published in the journal Scientific Reports, more than 77% of participants reported weight loss by the trial’s end. The collected data revealed that tracking dinner was one factor that predicted better weight loss.

Even if Noom helped you lose weight, how would you know how to keep the weight off? Well, research says Noom helps there as well. In a study published in Metabolic Syndromes and Related Disorders, overweight and obese Koreans were more apt to keep weight off after weight loss when they used Noom compared to the control group who didn’t use the app.

Clinical Research on the Alkaline Diet

Research published in the Journal of Environmental and Public Health claims there are health benefits to following the Alkaline Diet, but the benefits aren’t rooted in the diet. According to the authors, the increased fruit and vegetable intake is responsible for a cascade of reactions that can improve health.

Another study, this time published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, shared that older populations may benefit from an Alkaline Diet. But, just like the previous study, the focus is on fruits and vegetables. According to the study, “Higher intake of foods rich in potassium, such as fruit and vegetables, may favor the preservation of muscle mass in older men and women.”

The Facts About Noom vs. Alkaline Diet

Quick Facts on Noom

• Noom is a 16-week weight-loss and lifestyle program.
• A free trial is available.
• No foods are restricted on the eating plan.
• Whole foods like fresh fruits and vegetables are encouraged.
• Logging exercise increases your daily calorie goal.
• Doctors and psychologists developed the program.
• Noom is clinically proven to promote weight loss and help weight maintenance.

Quick Facts on the Alkaline Diet

• Acidic foods are replaced with alkaline foods.
• Animal protein should only be consumed once per day.
• There is a long list of acidic foods to avoid.
• The Alkaline Diet can change urine pH levels.
• It is impossible to change the pH level of blood.

The Final Take on Noom vs. Alkaline Diet

If you’re looking for weight loss, Noom is, by far, the better option. The Alkaline Diet is complicated, and it lacks the scientific research and support needed to even suggest it for weight loss. Noom has the science, the support, and the results to back up claims.

To learn more about Noom, take a look at the free trial offer available to Dietspotlight readers for a limited time.

Noom vs. Alkaline Diet Questions and Answers

What is the Noom diet all about?

The Noom diet is about making small lifestyle changes designed to promote healthy living. The changes are presented via articles, tools, challenges, and quizzes. Noom believes losing weight requires a behavioral approach combined with healthy habits.

Why is it called Noom?

Noom is the word Moon backward. It is said that the moon is a guiding light, so Noom is like a guiding light to healthier living.

What does Noom cost?

The first month on Noom is $59. You can choose to sign up on a month-to-month basis for the 16-week program, or you can purchase multiple months to bring down the monthly costs.

2-month plan, recurring: about $50 a month
4-month plan, recurring: about $33 a month
6-month plan, recurring: about $25 a month
8-month plan, recurring: about $20 a month
12-month plan, recurring: about $17 a month

Is Noom really worth it?

Based on clinical research, the Noom program effectively supports weight loss and weight maintenance. In a study of more than 35,000 participants, 77.9% reported weight loss.

Is Noom easy to cancel?

Yes, Noom is easy to cancel. Once you’ve logged into your account, send a chat message to your personal coach. Tell the coach you want to cancel your subscription. The coach will process the cancellation, so no future payments are made to Noom. You will receive a confirmation email when the subscription has been canceled.

What are red foods on Noom?

Red foods on Noom tend to be high-calorie, high-fat, and low-nutrition. These foods should only be eaten on occasion. About 25% of your calorie intake will be from red foods.

What are yellow foods on Noom?

Yellow foods on Noom are moderate calorie, moderate fat, and offer proper nutrition, though not as nutrient-rich as green foods. About 45% of your calorie intake will be from yellow foods.

What are green foods on Noom?

Green foods are the go-to on Noom. These foods are low-calorie, low-fat, and high nutrition. You can eat relatively large serving sizes without taking in a large number of calories. About 30% of your calorie intake will be from green foods.

Does Noom send you food?

No, Noom works with an eating plan and calorie goal, but meal delivery is not part of the program.