I'm a prisoner of Weight Watchers - How do I break free?

goaliesmate

Did you know that in the WW tracker you can get all the nutrition info for your portion size? - just click on nutrition info to see it. Even the 0 PP foods reveal their nutrition info. Create a spreadsheet with the data and at the end of the day you have totals for fat, protein and carbohydrate in grams. To get the kcal equivalents: fat grams x 9, protein and carbohydrate grams x 4. Opinions vary WRT fibre and calories. Insoluble is zero and as there is no breakdown of fibre and there is so little soluble fibre in the diet it won't make that much difference to daily calories.

A couple of days of that will make duplicating food into MFP feel like a holiday.

ParisPrincesse

I know exactly how you feel. I have been doing WW for 12 yrs. I lost 40 Pds., but I have stopped losing with it. It was, so hard to let it go, but I finally canceled yesterday. I was giving WW 19.95 a month & I wasn't doing anything with it. I noticed I had switched over to MFP for a month & loved it. I would rather give MFP 10.00 a month & get a lot more for my money & the best part is I'm doing it on my own. You can do it. If you want to add me as a friend feel free.

allenpriest

Uhh, just quit?? I mean unless they have nekkid pictures of you then what can stop you?

atypicalsmith

allenpriest wrote: »

Uhh, just quit?? I mean unless they have nekkid pictures of you then what can stop you?

That's about the only good reason not to quit. Thank for the laugh!

daniwilford

Weight Watchers gave me great mental strategies, but having been with them on three different times (lost weight all three times), the last time I didn't learn anything new to help me. I am just on here and counting a different way for free. Keep what worked there and use it here. Trust me, if this doesn't work out, they will take you back.

VoxSapiens

<<Thumbs Up>> for a great post!

I have no experience with Weight Watchers and can't offer much advice, but I particularly found your post (and most everyone's replies) to be relevant and interesting.

MaternalCopulator

Their points are based on a macronutrient breakdown. Figure out their fairly simple formula, and you can 'follow' their program without paying for their BS.

Carol_

Oh..I understand. I hear what you are saying. It's like changing schools or churches. You get attached to the people there and the life style. If you do decide to leave, you always have the option to go back. I have gone back and forth many times. If they had not gotten so 'money greedy'..(and changed points to points plus)..I'd still be there. You would get used to counting calories instead of points after awhile. Do what feels right for you and that you believe you will be most successful with.

jhenrynealjr

The recipe entry system and barcode scanner on the phone app make this product the best weight loss product I have ever used. Integrates well with fitbit, endomondo, and the advertising isn't THAT obnoxious. I wonder if premium would be worth it? Just build the food you see at restaurants that are not a chain. I've actually talked to chefs and asked them what they were using so I could build the recipe and get a decent estimate of what I'm getting. It's not exact science, but it's better than panicking about a 50-60 calorie difference.

jasmina_00

Love WW and has worked for me. I am here to watch my sodium intake but WW rocks.

penelopepittstopsmam

You lot are the reason that WW's share price is tumbling........

I for one don't miss paying them.

penelopepittstopsmam

http://www.wsj.com/articles/weight-watchers-swings-to-loss-1424989009

trina1049

crazyjerseygirl wrote: »

MizLayla wrote: »

Hello Friends,

I was obese for the first 25 years of my life; I remember weighing over 200lbs as a 12 year old girl. In 2008, I started Weight Watchers and over the course of two years, I lost 100lbs (hooray!). My weight went from 270lbs to 170lbs. For the past five years, I've maintained this 100lb weight loss (with a lot of fluctuating between 170 and 180). The lowest I've managed to get to is 160lbs, but I haven't been able to maintain that weight.

So long story short, I've continued to use the WW program for the past 5 years with no further results (other than maintaining my 100lb loss). I'd like to lose 20 pounds more; I'm currently holding steady at 170lbs. Even 10 lbs would be nice! I think I need to try something new if I want to lose my last 20lbs, but I'm so used to weight watchers that I'm almost terrified of quitting. I weigh my food and count my points religiously. I realize that My Fitness Pal is a great program, but I get exhausted at the thought of having to track all of my fruits and veggies... that's a lot of food I haven't had to worry about tracking for a long time. I'm also concerned about not having "bonus points"... I rely on those for my social life.

Beyond weight tracking, I've been doing weight training at my gym for the past two years. I LOVE weight training - its an end in itself. It makes me feel fantastic and strong. I also avoid refined sugars and processed foods (or have been for the past few weeks at least). Despite having improved my diet and increased my physical activity, I haven't seen results over the past few weeks.

I don't want to become so obsessed with food tracking and weight loss that I become a hermit just to avoid being around food. I say that because sometimes, I DO get really obsessive about it and I turn down opportunities to hang out with friends because I'm terrified about being around food I may not know the point values of. Given my history, I obviously have a hard time saying no to food.

I'm not seeking perfection. But I want to lose at least ten pounds. I'm serious about my health and I don't want to give up weight watchers without having something else to go to instead. Heck, I'd be ok with myself even by just maintaining my current weight... but I shouldn't have to pay WW in order to succeed at that. There has to be a better way.

Anyway, thanks for reading. I know this is a big dump of poorly-organized information, but if you have any experience or advice to share, I'm all ears. It felt good to vent about all this.

I don't want to speak ill of the fruit, but the fruit is what plateaued me in WW. Logging here is pretty easier, it's the same as WW just with bigger numbers!

Same for me on WW. I've been successful on every weight loss program I've been on (lifetime WW member here) but always regained. Now over a year and half into MFP I've lost 47 lbs. Too many "free" fruits and vegetables of the wrong types (I need low glycemic fruits & veg) caused me to plateau. I educated myself about calories in/calories out, macros, etc. and have been very successful on MFP, it's free, and I've learned so much about nutrition and maintaining my weight loss. MFP is much more educational for long term success if you study and apply all the good info. here.

VoxSapiens

One thing that you stated

MizLayla wrote: »

It felt good to vent about all this.

This is the healthiest thing of all. Being frustrated or having stress (especially about the weight loss strategies we're using) can add extra challenges.

MizLayla wrote: »

Beyond weight tracking, I've been doing weight training at my gym for the past two years. I LOVE weight training - its an end in itself. It makes me feel fantastic and strong. I also avoid refined sugars and processed foods (or have been for the past few weeks at least). Despite having improved my diet and increased my physical activity, I haven't seen results over the past few weeks.

Again, like I stated before, I don't know much about the Weight Watchers program, but this bit that I just quoted struck me.

You achieved a weight loss using the dieting strategies, and maintained it, but then you added weight training during the past two years. This means that you've added some muscle mass which will add to your weight, but not to your body fat. This also means that losing that extra 10 or 20 pounds is even harder. You've conditioned your body differently through the training—in terms of how your body metabolises whatever food you eat.

I have found that it can be beneficial to "shock" my body by changing the exercise strategy every few months or so because when you do essentially the same routine (even with incremental increases in resistance, repetitions, or duration), your body becomes "settled in" on that and the results become slower.

I would recommend tracking your body measurements—in addition to weight; a feature in myfitnesspal. If you do find that you're not losing weight, but you are getting smaller measurements, you've got an answer there.

tomatoey

I like the advice to try mfp at the same time and then see how it goes.

On the other hand, you're happy with your current lifestyle. You enjoy the social aspects of eating, variety, You like that WW accommodates that. You could do that here too, obviously. BUT: Cutting cals will obviously change that, whether you do it here or there.

Personally, I'd rather increase activity than cut food. How much are you doing now? An hour of cardio a day, which is the amount recommended for health, might help with those ten pounds and give you additional health benefits besides

cdcllcga01

Maintaining your weight loss for 5 years is a very significant accomplishment that shouldn't undervalue. So kudos for that. Given the duration of your maintenance, I understand the security you feel with WW. However, after 5 years of trying to lose more - it's time to make a change! MFP has a great many features that save a great deal of logging labor. Consider logging and calorie counting a skill you have to learn just like WW point counting - at first it's a challenge, but gets to be second nature over time. And you can still have a social life - you just need to plan a little (i.e. making room in your budget for the extra calories).

moautry

Sweet fruits are nature's candy. They are really nutritious, but need to be monitored similar to the m&m's. Try switching up your fat/carb ratio, and see if that doesn't breath new life into your progress. I did WW three times: the first time was a great success but the 3rd time was a complete failure despite following everything to the letter. MFP guidelines didn't work for me either. I'm mid 40's and I think a lifetime of dieting "broke" me somehow. But the last year or so I've been low-carb and love it. I don't worry about the calorie count, just the fat/carb ratio. High fat and fiber + low sugar and carbs. MFP gives you your percentage of fat/carbs/protein in the mobile app versions. I maintain at 20% carbs, and lose if I go lower than that.

Orphia

@MizLayla that's fantastic you lost 100 lb with WW. Well done.

Thanks for starting this thread. It's been a fascinating read for those of us (like me) who haven't been a member of WW.

My thoughts are that you are assuming MFP will lead to obsession. But you say you already "weigh my food and count my points religiously", so MFP wouldn't be any different.

Think of MFP as being a more scientific, more accurate WW. That's what WW hasn't given you. It's dumbed things down and hidden things from you that you need to know.

You don't need to obsess about your micronutrients. (For me, that's where MFP could possibly get obsessive.)

Just my thoughts. Thanks for reading.

KettleTO

I also did WW before MFP. I did not WW meetings supportive. The weigh in was good, but that was not enough to keep paying them. They were pretty inflexible about the meeting costs. It's been 10 years since I did WW online so it isn't fair to compare, but MFP's food database is excellent. The only things I've had to enter are my own recipes. Some from popular cookbooks are already entered.

Give MFP a try and stop wasting your money.