WW vs MFP

udefam

Hi!

I've been on WW for about two years and have lost near 37lbs.

I have heard great things about MFP and wanted to give it a shot.
I've been comparing my calories to my "points" and according to my point system, I'm going over everyday - but according to MFP, sometimes I'm not making my calorie goal for the day!
I'm scared to go over on points because it's in my head that is what I should be following.

Anyone else notice something like this?

VivereDisce

I have tried both, and calorie counting works easier for me than points. I can't always access the info I need to figure out the points of something, but calories I can do. (I'm not at a point where I am getting picky about the macros.) I say, whatever works for you, go for it. If you want to try MFP, I would go for it for a couple weeks, see how you feel and what kind of results you get. Some people find that their weight loss is improved by upping their food intake and adding more healthy foods to their day!

kazlee66

I too have done both. Until March this year I had been doing WW Au for over 3 years with success followed by gains and then back to square one.
I had a hard time deciding between the both and you know what? I've learnt so much more about nutrition doing it the simple way. Calories in vs calories out!
Points now don't make real sense to me since I never really learnt anything about how it all works. now I know.

All I can suggest is to give it a go. that's what I did. I thought i'll try it for a month and if it's not working i'll go back to WW. I didn't and I lost 11kg in 10 weeks.

Best of luck and if you do decide to join MFP team, feel free to add me!

Karen

dennik15

I was very successful using WW, I lost 70 lbs, and I found it very easy to follow. However, I gained every pound of that back once I stopped paying for the use of their website. I find that it's very difficult (for me) to keep track of points without the WW tools and I simply refuse to pay for a service that I should be able to do myself for free. I want this to be a way of life for me, not just a temporary fix to a permanent problem. Fast forward to January of this year when I joined MFP. You can see by my ticker that I am having success here as well and it is SO easy. Logging calories and macros is so much more convenient that trying to convert everything to points and the best part is that it's FREE :happy:

Regarding going over your alotment of points when using MFP, I'd bet it has a lot to do with counting fruits & veggies towards your daily intake goal. Doesn't WW still give you all the fruits I veggies for zero points (for the most part)? I had trouble with that concept as they are still calories...good ones, yes, but calories nonetheless.

ken_hogan

I also have done WW before with great success until I fell off the wagon. I got lazy on counting/figuring out points and gained 40 of 75 pounds lost back. So far I've lost 21 pounds of the weight that I gained back in about 3 months. I've found MFP a little easier and more managable than WW since I've seen some restaurants list calories but not the other data needed to figure out points. I don't think I'd ever go back to WW.

srostad2006

I did WW off and on for about 8 years. I would always loose, but as soon as I quit doing it , would gain it back, much like anything else you try. WW got to be too expensive for me and that is when I started using MFP. In the beginning, it was hard for me to get used to the overage of "points" as well. But I was having such better success on MFP that it soon didn't bother me anymore. Here is my theory why- WW, like any other program you pay for, is set up to get you to loose the least amount of weight weekly, which is better for your body, yes, but also keeps you a paying customer a lot longer (once you hit lifetime, youdon't have to pay for meetings anymore) That's my theory as to part of the reason their program changes every year. Also, MFP is simple & Free. Calories in, calories out. With WW, I was hungry a lot of the time. With MFP, I am rarely hungry. I'd say give MFP a real try for a month and then compare. Good luck to you!

BigBrunette

I've done both and had more success with MFP. It's simpler to use, it's free and I find the community to be more helpful. Best of luck to you!

jetlag

My real issue with WW is that the health benefits/dangers of a food are ignored when calculating points values. A can of coconut milk was 25 points, but a packet of dehydrated pasta'n'sauce was only about 4. I remember a convo with someone at a meeting going on about how she ate 3 or 4 packets of WW sweets a day, because a whole packet was only 1 point. Ugh.

MFP is free and much more educational.

udefam

Thanks everyone!! I will still log in both sites for the next week and see what gives. Good point about the fruit! Question: what is a macro and how do I add someone? Thanks and have a great day!

jkal1979

Hi!

I've been on WW for about two years and have lost near 37lbs.

I have heard great things about MFP and wanted to give it a shot.
I've been comparing my calories to my "points" and according to my point system, I'm going over everyday - but according to MFP, sometimes I'm not making my calorie goal for the day!
I'm scared to go over on points because it's in my head that is what I should be following.

Anyone else notice something like this?

I had been on Weight Watchers since January. I came on here a few months ago to track macros (Mainly fat, sugar, sodium and carbs) and found the same exact thing that you did. I had days where I would be over on points (I had an allowance of 27 pts a day) but barely ate 1,000 calories. Then there were days where I was over my calories but right at 27 points. After tracking for a month on here I pretty much quit tracking on WW and focused on calories instead of points.

And not only is MFP free, but their logging tools are a lot better than the ones you pay for with WW.

kazlee66

Macros are things like fiber, protein. Carbs, sodium, sugar. You should eat a min and max of these each day to ensure you get a balanced diet. MFP works out your daily levels. I started on calories ignoring that until i started feeling comfortable with calories.
Click on someones name to view the profile then click add friend. Good luck.

ken_hogan

Macros are things like fiber, protein. Carbs, sodium, sugar. You should eat a min and max of these each day to ensure you get a balanced diet. MFP works out your daily levels. I started on calories ignoring that until i started feeling comfortable with calories.
Click on someones name to view the profile then click add friend. Good luck.

Just to add, don't sweat it TOO much if you are under/over the macros on any particular day. I wouldn't be worried if you are under on sodium by 500mg or below cholesterol by 25mg, etc.

likitisplit

I'm also a MFP convert. I hated that WW changed their program yearly and attending the meetings was impossible for me.

I also quit eating things like chili, because of the points value, where I've added it back into my diet due to the feedback I'm getting about my potassium level.

Additionally, by giving me feedback about the micronutrients, MFP has driven me to eating more fruit and more root vegies - which means that this is a healthier way of losing weight for me. It's also free and more motivational.

CherylP67

I had many of the same experiences with WW as many in here.

My biggest problem with WW is that I was always hungry and I thought about food a lot more than I had before. I was always trying to find low point foods to fill me up because I was starving. The low point foods, besides fresh fruits and vegetables, are usually just chemically enriched for flavor foods, which isn't healthy.

On MFP. I eat delicious foods, I'm rarely hungry, and the weight is coming off nicely. Today is exactly 8 weeks and I've lost exactly 20 lbs. some days I go out to eat, some days I eat way over my calorie goal. I enjoy avocados and peanut butter.

I will send you a friend request.

Sarabelle43

I started with WW and lost just over 20 pounds. I ended up dropping it because I couldn't afford it (first year teacher, out on my own, blah blah) and I honestly couldn't see myself living the rest of my life glued to my points calculator. A friend recommended MFP... it takes some adjusting mentally, but like... oh, everyone... has said... there is so much less guilt! I can eat bread if I want to! You just need to plan. I've found that if I log what I THINK I'll eat in the morning, it helps me figure out what I can or cannot do. It also helps plan out special events, like going out for ice cream, etc.

b0nnyd0g

I can only follow the theme on here already - I cannot fault WW as a way to lost weight - it certainly worked for me for many years but time and technology moves on and this free site where you are not having to covert calories to points is great. I would not consider going back again

ShanStar78

I too have done WW and I have lost 37 pounds and hit my goal weight with them last June, I have since tried to maintain and I know that the meetings help me and that is why I stayed with WW, but with a hectic work schedule it is complicated to make the meetings, plus I am 4 pounds up from my goal so I would have to pay and I dont want to do that!! So I have been trying to log into both and I have the same problem, my calories are lower but my points are way over. Seems like the decisions I make like eating a cliff bar takes 7 of my points and that seems like a lot. So I too am struggling with what is the better way to track!! Still going to use both and see how the weight loss goes!

257_Lag

They are essentially the same thing but WW can't let you see the nuts and bolts of the thing or you will stop paying and like some others have said when you lose the tools you can put it back on. I had success with nutrisystem but it was the same deal. Didn't learn anything. All they were doing was feeding me the proper amount of calories.

Kristy7418

I've never done WW but my sis told me she did and lost 30# on it. But then gained it back after quitting. Kinda seems like a re-occuring problem here to me. I've just started MFP and am losing weight slowly but steadily.