Doe MFP work as good as Weight Watchers?

CatJill86

Hello, Im wondering if anyone knows if MFP works as good as Weight Watchers? I cannot afford Weight Watchers so Im doing MFP but Ive had ppl tell me me that WW works better. Anyone have any experience with both?

MummyKate85

Ive done both. And personally, for me, theres no difference in the amount of weight I lose so I didnt see the point in paying for WW when I can do MFP for free

cwolfman13

You get out of it what you put into it. This is calorie counting...WW uses points to accomplish the same thing. In either case, consistency is key.

stackhsc

Better, it's free and if done right it teaches you to change your eating habits in a maintainable way. Jmo , I only ever did weight watchers years ago but it had preset meals/suggestipns etc and was somewhat restrictive where as mfp eat what you want just be accountable and keep your calories daily in check. Be it all healthy food or all crap food, if your caloric intake is at a deficit you will lose

ccesq73

I don't think it's a question of better or worse. Different things work for different people. I have had success at traditional WW meetings and WW at work. For me the weekly meetings, weigh ins and in person interaction with other participants is an invaluable part of the process.

I've tried this site as well as Weight Watchers online. Neither work for me in terms of direct loss. However, I really enjoy the message boards and the fitness data here. That in turn helps me be successful at WW. Don't feel like it has to be all or nothing. You can take useful information from a variety of sources and use it to be successful wherever you chose for your weight loss journey.

KHaverstick

I did WW online years ago. It worked--I lost 25lbs. At that time, MFP didn't exist, and I also found paying for the service to be (somewhat) motivating to stick with it. I got busy with life and stopped doing WW online. Had a kid, gained weight, etc. When I decided to get serious about losing the excess pregnancy weight, I went back to WW online, and found it to be frustrating. At that time, WW didn't have an app for Android. Also, I found it to be cumbersome, and I didn't like that I wasn't able to follow all of the macros/micros that I wanted. And I really didn't want to pay for something when so many free options had popped up. I started looking for something that met my needs (free, easy to use, Android app), and found MFP. I lost 69lbs after having my first baby (40+ lbs of that while using MFP), maintained for a while, then kept using MFP during my second pregnancy. So far I've lost 31lbs after baby #2. So both of them worked for me, but there are things I like better about MFP--mostly that it's free, and I like the extra control I feel with being able to see/track other daily nutritional goals besides points. Of course, it's been years since I've done WW, so the program has likely changed multiple times since then (and the technology, too). But you just can't beat free...

sunnyside1213

WW is confusing. They keep changing it so they can sell more crap. MFP for me.

Noxyrat

MFP (I used a different account after WLS a while)
Weight watchers felt too commercial, and while many people say the group classes work for them as well as the point system, I found the meetings tedious and impersonal. I do like their bread and ice-cream though. Good stuff.

AgentOrangeJuice

Well you can use WW's made up numbers for things for whatever they charge, or you can use the actual numbers for things for free.

JessaLee0324

I've done both in the last year.

Weight Watchers is good but I think MFP is better because you deal with the real nutrients in food. I think it's better in the long run. And it's free.

jessicadeakin

I've had success here as well as with WW, but I like that there's the appearance of more flexibility with WW. For instance, on WW I can save points for a glass of wine (or two) on the weekend, where as here I can't. Well, I can, but it doesn't have the same ease that WW does because WW looks at the week as a whole as well as the individual days. But, as many here have said, this is free and I'm losing weight so I'm happy to stick with MFP!

Ellaskat

AgentOrangeJuice wrote: »

Well you can use WW's made up numbers for things for whatever they charge, or you can use the actual numbers for things for free.

this is exactly my point of view. Why would I want to learn made up points, when I could choose to learn enough about healthy eating to be able to eat healthfully long after a diet program is over?

If WW works for you, that's amazing! Whatever works is great in my book. That said, I'd rather learn the real stuff, than some point system I have to pay for.

emdeesea

I have done both. I lost my first 20 pounds with WW then another 20 with MFP.

I don't really like the Points thing, I'd rather know what the nutrient content is of foods. And the other thing is this: success is not necessarily scale-based. I may be losing inches but the scale may not reflect that. If I do WW and the scale doesn't move, that's seen as a failure.

And MFP doesn't cost anything, which for me was the deciding factor.

naparker333

I'm actually doing both right now. I've lost and gained weight using so many tools, tricks, programs, (including both MFP and WW), that I've actually lost track. I find that both offer different things. I like the local accountability that WW offers. I like the fact that meetings exist, that I have to face a person when I weigh in, and that the money I'm paying provides me extra motivation to stay on program and NOT waste the money. I DON'T like things that WW limits access to. After ALL the years that WW has existed, and ALL the people that have used the program, you mean there's only a couple hundred recipes that they offer? Really? Now, if I want to chat online with an "expert", I have to pay more? MFP doesn't do that, and while I can get member created recipes and such with WW, I feel taken advantage of because they sell cookbooks! Also, the WW website is kind of limited in terms of who uses it. There aren't that many people participating in "community". Sometimes, I really need a positive word or two...I can find that a bit more easily here. In WW defense, I find it easier to count points than calories/components of calories. Points aren't "made up"...they are truly based on the nutrients contained in foods (I have a PhD. level medical/food scientist family member who has researched this).

Bottom line is that the programs are similar but different. I find a very different sort of participant on each site, and can learn from each. It may not be appropriate to compare them...they offer a service, and everyone responds to something different. Right now, it works for me to use both. For folks that can be successful using one, great! But don't downplay that each has benefits, and each serves to help people be successful!

k8325

I am a fan of WW. Yes it costs money, but I like that I don't have to track fruits and vegetables. And yes, I have eaten as much fruit as I wanted and still lost weight. I also think the point system is fun. I like 'earning' points. I think that the way they calculate activity points is helpful in that (roughly) 80 calories=1 pt but to eat 1pt =(roughly) 35 calories, so you will maintain a deficit even when eating back all your points, instead of with MFP which can overestimate your calories burned and then you have to calculate how much you want to eat back. I also like that WW has the flexibility of 49 points you can use through the week so that I can have varied days. WW feels to me, that it calculates weekly weight loss and weekly progress and MFP sometimes feels like it is really focusing on day to day progress. I think that both sites promote healthier eating habits. Both are calorie counting sites. For me, WW allows for the same freedom and accountability of eating as MFP.

ransaka

stackhsc wrote: »

Better, it's free and if done right it teaches you to change your eating habits in a maintainable way.

This.
I'd suggest you read these to start with and then you'll be well on your way to getting it right:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1235566/so-youre-new-here/p1

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

RadiantChange

It Depends...If one is just using the internet program it is the same. If One is also using the support groups that ww has as well as the internet program ww beats out.

Sercee

Depends what works for you. WW was absolutely useless for me, but I didn't like paying for it and the group dynamic/meeting part of it is a huge turn of for me (and, to be fair, I was younger and much worse at sticking to things in general back then). I also don't like the points system vs calories and macros. If I'm paying attention to what I'm doing with my body I like to actually understand it and tinker with it - kind of like min maxing a video game.

Shawshankcan

Short answer - things will only work as well as you let it.

Amberh82

k8325 wrote: »

I am a fan of WW. Yes it costs money, but I like that I don't have to track fruits and vegetables. And yes, I have eaten as much fruit as I wanted and still lost weight. I also think the point system is fun. I like 'earning' points. I think that the way they calculate activity points is helpful in that (roughly) 80 calories=1 pt but to eat 1pt =(roughly) 35 calories, so you will maintain a deficit even when eating back all your points, instead of with MFP which can overestimate your calories burned and then you have to calculate how much you want to eat back. I also like that WW has the flexibility of 49 points you can use through the week so that I can have varied days. WW feels to me, that it calculates weekly weight loss and weekly progress and MFP sometimes feels like it is really focusing on day to day progress. I think that both sites promote healthier eating habits. Both are calorie counting sites. For me, WW allows for the same freedom and accountability of eating as MFP.

This!! For some reason it just works better for me, and the reasons she just gave is why. I think different things work for different people

CatJill86

Yea I really want to join WW but its too expensive for me right now

kimberlyrenee2008

MummyKate85 wrote: »

Ive done both. And personally, for me, theres no difference in the amount of weight I lose so I didnt see the point in paying for WW when I can do MFP for free

Agreed!

NikonPal

CatJill86 wrote: »

Hello, Im wondering if anyone knows if MFP works as good as Weight Watchers? I cannot afford Weight Watchers so Im doing MFP but Ive had ppl tell me me that WW works better. Anyone have any experience with both?

People are different and whatever works is the answer.

I have done both and had FANTASTIC results with MFP for over 1 year.

(I've lost 179 pounds so far).

Good luck!

Train4Foodz

I tend to think of WeightWatchers as a 'diet' and MFP as a tool to help you make a long term lifestyle change. In that sense I can't really link the two, I see no reason that someone couldn't receive the benefits of Weightwatchers whilst taking the great tools made available here into consideration. Making the most of the two.

There is no 'right or wrong' answer here but MFP doesn't 'set' any diet for you, it simply gives you your suggested calorie allowance and macro nutrition intake to help you to achieve the lifestyle you want. The foods you love can be incorporated into your 'diet' and even more importantly (to me at least) it is a tool that will help you maintain your health and fitness well after you have reached 'goal weight'. If you are in it for the long term MyFitnessPal offers the tools and community support that I haven't found anywhere else!

Wishing you complete success!

Adam

stephc002

I've just started using MFP (1.5 wks now), and so far I am really loving it. I like that I can track all nutrients and calories in foods, and can set my own nutrition goals, as I am trying to keep carbs lower due to prediabetes. With weight watchers, I found myself eating a lot more processed foods just because they were low in points. But when tracked here, they are not as nutritionally complete (and many times sodium is off the charts). I also have my account linked to my vivofit, so I am really loving tracking the steps, meeting my daily exercise goals, etc.

bainsworth1a

I've done weight watchers at least 10 times and never reached my goal weight. the big thing about ww is the group meetings and support you get. the ww leaders are people who lost weight on the ww program and kept it off. What I did not like was having them weigh me every week and feeling like a failure if I had a bad week.
I am having more success with MFP. My behavior is different. I finally have stopped lying to myself about what I eat. I track everything here and don't beat myself up if I am not perfect. I track my weight everyday on my own spreadsheet but I only track losses here so I see constant downward movement. MFP is free, and the group support here is different from ww but it is great because it is people on the same journey sharing their knowledge and experience. no one is a designated leader we all can give our opinion on what works for us.
Good luck to you

Parrishbabe13

I think it works great personally, helped me lose weight. Most importantly you have to stick to it for anything to work. Feel free to add me

bainsworth1a

One more thing though. I bought a really great food scale from ww last time I was a member. I use it all the time now to weigh and measure and that is a big part of my success this go around.

ZebsterBC

I've done both WW online and MFP and lost significant amounts with both. I believe that both encourage healthy eating if you are honest with yourself and don't fudge the numbers.
I found that with the way WW calculated points, I could eat more if I chose lower fat, higher fiber foods. Complex carbs vs refined sugar, etc.
It worked and I probably could have sustained it if they had only stayed with the same points formula. They made a radical change and then another, so all of my familiar foods now had different points and I was back to square one or so I felt. It made me feel hyper-aware of food and by changing the program regularly, I never could get to the point where I wouldn't have to plan out my day and week ahead of time.
I didn't use the app with MFP the last time I tried it, so it wasn't nearly as easy to use as it is now. I'm only 3 weeks into using it with the app, but I already feel the difference. I'm not obsessing about food and planning it out to the nth degree like I was with WW.
Things to consider. YMMV.

catherinenz

I've done WW online and meetings. I started MFP because I'd rather spend the money on a gym membership.
To be honest it's all about accountability and tracking what you are eating whatever system you use.

BeTheChange352

I have done both and found MFP much easier, plus it's free, but I was very successful with both. I've also found MFP forums to be much more informative than the WW meetings ever were.