What’s the next step after losing weight with GLP-1s? To telehealth company Noom and its chief wellness officer, actress Rebel Wilson, the power of healthy microhabits is the key to keeping off the pounds.
Wilson stars in Noom’s new “Lose for Keeps” campaign, one of the company’s “largest brand investments to date,” according to a July 20 press release. The campaign emphasizes the idea that GLP-1s alone can spark change, but healthy habits such as those offered in Noom’s weight loss program are what supports lasting results.
Along with two TV spots, made in partnership with creative agency Mekanism, Noom is promoting “Rebel’s Microhabit Challenges” on its app.
The curated set of in-app habit routines is inspired by the “Pitch Perfect” actress’ own health habits spanning across sleep, nutrition, mood and movement that aim to make behavior change feel “achievable and repeatable.” Noom members who complete the challenges earn extra of the app’s reward currency, Noom Seeds.
“Everyone assumes losing the weight is the hard part,” Wilson said in the release. “Two kids and five years later, I can tell you staying there is the real test, and the one most people don't talk about. The habits I built with Noom are just part of my life now. That's the thing nobody tells you: when they actually stick, it stops feeling like a battle.”
Wilson is “living proof” of the idea behind the campaign, CEO Geoff Cook added.
“GLP-1 medications are one of the most important health innovations of our time. What we’ve learned and what our data increasingly confirms is that the patients who benefit most are the ones who build habits during treatment,” the executive explained.
Noom, a company rooted in behavior change, found that members who continued practicing Noom habits after discontinuing treatment with a GLP-1 regained 50% less weight than those who stopped the habits. These findings, from two preliminary analyses, reinforce the company’s belief that “habits built during the pharmacological window of GLP-1 treatment are a critical part of what can help make weight loss last,” it said.
In one of the two TV spots, “Mute Button,” Wilson stands in a busy kitchen, surrounded by “food noise” made literal—sizzling bacon, waffles popping out the toaster, the slam of the refrigerator door, an oven beeping with a display announcing “snack time!”
“GLP-1s are like having a mute button for food noise,” the actress says. With the snap of a finger, the kitchen noise goes mute, “which is great, because I swear these little dino nuggets have been calling my name!” she says, as the dino nuggets voice do indeed growl her name.
“But most people stop the meds eventually,” Wilson continues. “That’s why there’s Noom. GLP-1s to quiet the noise, and healthy habits so if the meds stop, you don’t reach for ice cream, you reach for something better,” Wilson says, picking up her daughter and lifting her to “get in a full set.”
“Training Wheels” sees Wilson riding a bike with training wheels, describing how losing weight with GLP-1s is “as easy as riding … with training wheels,” she says. While cruising down the street denying offers of pizza and ice cream, she explains that “most people stop the meds eventually,” as the training wheels pop off.
“The trick is learning to ride while on them,” Wilson says. “And that’s Noom.”
Wilson has publicly spoken about her 2020 weight loss transformation, which saw her losing 80 pounds during her self-described “year of health.” It wasn’t until preparing for her 2024 wedding that she began using Noom as her “secret weapon,” Wilson explained in an emailed Q&A.
Starting on a GLP-1 after her initial weight loss helped her “maintain that goal weight” and reduce food noise. Once the food noise returned after stopping GLP-1s, Wilson found that Noom helps to build habits that “distract me from the noise" she said.
“I want others to see what I have done using Noom, using GLP-1s plus building mindfulness and consistent healthy habits and I want people to understand that these results are achievable for them, as well,” the actress explained.
Noom’s platform offers GLP-1 and low-dose or “micro-dose” GLP-1 programs that pair with a personalized, psychology-based weight loss plan. The company has been in the GLP-1 game even before the obesity market blew up with the introduction of Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s Zepbound, with Noom partnering with Novo back in 2019 to support patients using its older Saxenda.