How the weight loss app Noom can help you stay healthy in quarantine

If there’s one thing that quarantine has taught us, it’s that there’s serious power in following a routine. Whether it’s establishing that you’ll get up every day at the same time or that you’ll eat lunch on a schedule, following a routine can have a big impact on your day. As little as you need or as big as you need, the wellness-focused app Noom can help take the pressure off of your weekly routine by tracking things for you.

We reviewed Noom ourselves, and determined that it provides a sustainable way to build healthy diet and self-care habits through food-logging and making small, incremental lifestyle changes. We're not here to tell you, “Lose weight during quarantine.” Rather, we’re here to recommend tools that can infuse your life with a little routine in a world that lacks the structure we’re used to in our daily lives.

Keeping tabs on your habits as you go through this tough time might be a small way to stay on track with your health goals and keep yourself rooted in the present. And we think Noom can keep you centered and healthy throughout quarantine, in the following ways.

1. You can track your meals on Noom to ensure you’re eating regularly

Personally, when quarantine was kicking into full effect, I had a week where I forgot to eat until I was so hungry my stomach hurt. Anxiety is a big factor in a lot of people's lives right now, as we all go through various stages of high stress—as well as grief—eating might slide off of your priority list. Or you might go the other way, and find yourself constantly grazing, out of boredom or because you're just not used to having your refrigerator and pantry right there all day long.

Noom can help you track your meals, and its food ranking system will also help you keep tabs not only on when you're eating, but also what you're eating.

Ensuring that you're drinking water is also important for your general health, your productivity, and your mental health (dehydration headaches are real). Noom also help you track your water intake to remind you to keep sipping all day long.

2. You can use Noom to provide structure in creating better wellness habits

There's nothing quite so addictive as checking off boxes. As we noted in our review, you don't necessarily need Noom to track how you're eating, but it does help. Noom's interface is user-friendly and groups food into three categories: Red, Yellow, and Green. Green foods (veggies, fruits, food with high water content) are the ones you should enjoy in abundance, while red foods (cheese, nuts) have higher caloric density (meaning lots of calories in a relatively small amount of food) and should be consumed in limited amounts. Yellow foods, naturally, are the ones to eat in moderation, like lean meats and low-fat dairy.

In addition to tracking meals, Noom will also track your exercise. Movement is a massive stress reliever—even just taking the time to get up and dance around during a day will improve your mood. Using Noom to count your steps, schedule your workouts, or just get a glimpse into your movement in a week will help keep you on target with fitness goals and will let you know how much you're moving.

Rather than letting that system stress you out, my advice is to allow it to give you a good view into your wellness habits. If having the routine of logging your meals and exercise is enough to anchor you, that's great. If following the program more closely brings you a little solace during quarantine, do it.

3. You can complete mental health and lifestyle tasks that may make you more mindful

Not only does Noom track your food and fitness, it also offers quizzes and mindfulness tasks that are geared toward improving your mental health. All of Noom's suggestions are based on the data you provide and the health goals you set from the beginning. It might seem a bit daunting to do a self check-in right now, but knowing where your headspace is and how you're coping will help you evaluate what you need in the long run. Noom also gives feedback on tasks from health professionals who are there to help, taking some of that responsibility of developing solutions off of your shoulders.

4. Noom can monitor your sleep and general wellbeing

One of the biggest things I've heard regarding how people are struggling with quarantine and changing times is that people aren't sleeping, or their sleep schedules have changed. I know for myself that I've been sleeping irregularly since I began quarantining.

Noom lets you monitor your sleep and gives you daily sleeping tasks if you log that you're not getting enough, which is a great way to stay accountable to yourself and ensure that you're getting enough shuteye.

5. You can use Noom to stay fit and lose weight (if that's what you want)

As mentioned, it is entirely your prerogative if you want to use this time to improve your fitness and health. If that's the case, Noom is a great way to keep tabs on your progress and keep up with your goals. Noom also has a community aspect built-in—you get access to a support specialist who can work with you and group chats with other Noom users who are in the same boat.

If you're looking for community and a group dynamic, Noom will serve you well, especially if you're motivated by accountability in the form of support from others. (Though if you prefer to keep things private, that's an option as well.)

Ultimately, it's your health, and you should be able to work on it with as much or as little personal support as you need. Whether you're looking for a professional or a community to provide encouragement, or you just want to track your lifestyle to stay on track, Noom is a solution that we've tested and recommend.

Sign up for a free two-week trial of Noom