Weight Watchers

Dukesjourney

Hi guys,
Im not sure if this is the right section. But i'm considering joining weight watchers. Has anybody tried it with succesful results?

elphie754

Honestly I couldn't stand the holier than thou attitudes that were there. I know people who have had better experiences. I may have just in a bad group.

To me it was also expensive. Why not give MFP a try? It's free. You can treat the forums like a WW meeting.

itsmemaringle

The calorie deficit has been complicated too much for me and takes things out of real terms into ww terms. Keep things simple, have control and access to a huge selection of material on here and it's free. If you have an Internet connection and scales then see how you get on here!

Justmj77

I know a few people who have lost 20+pounds on the points+ plan, but have had a hard time keeping it off. I think WW can work if you need/like the meeting part for accountability.

For me personally, I agree with elphie754...its expensive.

rosebarnalice

I attend Weight Watchers at Work. It's a benefit of our wellness program; and if I attend 12 of a 16 - week session, it's half price.

I don't use their point system or their online tools--just used to mfp now.

I have attended WW meetings about 4 separate times off and on over the past 20 years, and it's the accountability of the public weekly weigh in that works the most for me (that and committing to pay for the meetings!)

I will say that the "personality" of meetings can really vary depending on the group and/or the leader. Some meetings are waay too whiney for me; others can be too "group therapy"--with a few "oversharers" dominating the discussion with emotional drama, and not a lot of weight loss support.

My current leader keeps it light and positive, and is good at steering the conversation away from the oversharing drama.

If you have the luxury of trying out a few different meeting locations and/or times, I'd recommend it.

Asher_Ethan

I did ww in 2009 and it was awful. They had me on basically 1200 calories a day and told me I couldn't eat back my exercise points because I exercised before starting ww (I was running 5 miles a day). Obviously I lost weight but I was absolutely starving. When I went to ww about how hungry I was, they blamed it on me and what I was eating saying that I needed to eat whole foods and ww products only.

verdebug

Weight Watchers was great for me - I needed the in-person support and I had a great leader, which makes a world of difference. It was really helpful for me in the beginning, especially, to have that community, that accountability. I learned a lot about portion control, making healthy choices, and how to "budget" for splurges. I lost 57 pounds and I've kept it off since then (more than 3 years). However, they recently changed their program, and I am not a fan. It feels way too restrictive now, like being on a diet as opposed to actually gradually making lifestyle changes. If you feel like you need a little extra support, it's worth seeking out a leader you connect with. I will say that the MFP technology (app and website) are so much better than WW tech, though, so you may want to consider the WW "Simply Filling" program and just continue tracking via this site. Best of luck to you on your weight loss journey!

MomOnTheMoove

efa

space_case

I did WW but only used the online tools, not the in person meetings, so for me, it was a waste of money because MFP does what WW online does and is free. If you like the accountability of the meetings, then maybe it would be worth it, but idk, there are free support groups out there that deal with food (although you don't weigh in at those, it's about habits).

hayati786

I'm doing the new WW program right now. I really like the changes they have made recently. They changed their points formula. You can have anything you want but you have to track it. Fruits and Vegetables are free, meat has a lower point value now, and anything with sugar/carbs or too high in fat also "costs" you more points. Following their program has helped eliminate my sugar cravings-or my craving to overeat in general. They are also encouraging you to exercise because it's good for you, not so you can eat more. This is a change from before. Their meetings are starting to have more emphasis on reasons we eat and how to avoid pitfalls-I think this is one of the greatest impacts of having Oprah as their new spokesperson. Finding a good and inspirational leader is important. The accountability of the weekly weigh-in and motivational meetings is what I think makes WW a good program. The program is constantly looking at research to improve their program. I've lost weight multiple times with WW over the years (unfortunately I didn't keep it off). The 40ish dollars you pay a month is another story. MFP app is a lot easier than the WW app. I'm hoping it will get better with time. I'll back all of this up by sharing that I just recently hit my 100lb weight loss, with more weight to lose but I'm over half way done. I use WW as my food plan, but use a multitude of other strategies to deal with "life" so I don't turn to food. I started using MFP when I felt like I wasn't losing enough weight on the old WW program, but since they made changes I've started losing weight again and a little faster. I like that MFP has forums like this. WW had one, but it's not nearly as big as this one.

cronus70

I've never been to Weight Watchers but when I first started my journey I used an app that used their points system. I lost about 50lb however I eventually stalled as counting points doesn't train you to eat better or give you much of an insight into portion control or nutrition. You tend to just look at the points, fit it into your points total for the day while saving enough points through the week for your cheat meals.

space_case

cronus70 wrote: »

...counting points doesn't train you to eat better or give you much of an insight into portion control or nutrition.

That is something I never thought about, but totally true. WW was how I tried to lose weight the very first time (and I did lose about 35), but I never learned about portion size and to this day I struggle with eyeballing and tend to just weigh.

KristinaJeanPhD

Twelve years ago, I lost 80 pounds on weight watchers. This past year, 20 have creeped back on, so I went back to WW. I can't stand the new program. On the old program, my favorite salad at McDonalds (southwest salad, no dressing) would have been 4 or 5 points. Now it is 10. I got 30 points a day, and that salad is 250 calories. If I had three of those salads, I'd be at 750 calories for the day and out of points. The new program assigns crazy high points to anything with sugar or saturated fat, and crazy low points to protein. I like the simplicity of CICO- I'd rather make my own decisions about food than have WW slap my hand over 100 calories in salad dressing.

chunky_pinup

The whole reason you always hear about people being successful on WW, then having to re-join because they gain it all back is because they don't teach you how to eat, they teach you how to starve. I did a free three months through my insurance, and now I use the message boards occasionally, but don't use their points. My point allotment for the day, while eating entirely whole, unprocessed foods, equaled out to between 700-1000 calories a day that I was allowed. No thanks. I'd rather eat enough calories to sustain my exercise, not starve, and lose slowly but correctly than lose a lot in a short amount of time only to gain it (and probably more) back.

WalkingAlong

If you count out the points in your fruit-only smoothie and log them (when produce is free), or your vegetable only soups and that sort of thing, you're going to run out at a low calorie count. That's not really doing it the way they intended. You should be using your 1000ish calories a day on non-produce foods (fats, proteins, etc.) and then eating produce on top of that.

The average intake on the new plan is over 1800 calories a day.

There is an education component. You're not expected to not learn portions or to count points the rest of your life.

WW has a lot of problems and weaknesses. Education about portions isn't one of them, in my opinion. But in my state it's a franchise and run a bit differently, like there is little to no marketing of corp. food products.

purplepenguins7

I did WW from April-now. Technically I have a membership till mid-Feb. although I cancelled it. At first I was paying $70/mo for "coaching". That consisted of a few phone calls with a coach who honestly was not helpful at all. She read me a bunch of motivational mantras and would then take notes on our call. She'd email me those notes. I felt like she probably said the same thing to every single person.

So then I dropped down to the $45/mo plan that was tracking and in person meetings. The in person meetings vary SO MUCH depending on the leader and the attendees. The one thing I didn't like is that only 1 leader lost a significant amount of weight (119 lbs). The rest had all lost 30-40 lbs. I would feel frustrated because I need to lose 100+ lbs. I lost almost 40 lbs and then would be disappointed that others were "at goal" when I wasn't even halfway there. Most of the meetings also had significantly older people. I'm in my early 30s. I actually saw 3 former elementary and high school teachers at the meetings. I was by far the youngest person at the meetings I attended.

I decided to quit when they did a roll out of a new points program in Nov./Dec. It was a disaster. The app wouldn't work for days. The website was down. The meeting leaders kept apologizing, but everyone was upset. We didn't get any money refunded. I can't believe how poor customer service was. A lot of people quit, and I decided to be one of them.

I had used MFP several years ago. Its a little more complicated than WW. I do prefer the points, but its not worth paying $45/mo. Also, MFP has more foods than WW.

I think WW is good if you eat out a lot. There are many restaurant foods listed. I don't eat out that much.

Another thing I don't like is WW's new system doesn't let you eat back activity points. I work out 3-4 times a week, and MFP lets you do that. WW doesn't. Perhaps this is because the majority of their users (that I saw) are 50+ years old and not exercising.

I'm happy to give opinions on any other questions folks may have!

chunky_pinup

WalkingAlong wrote: »

The average intake on the new plan is over 1800 calories a day.

Do you work for WW? You spout these "facts" about them on quite a bit of threads, but where do these facts come from?

I received an email from WW with a 30 SmartPoint sample meal plan, which included breakfast, lunch, dinner and two snacks/dessert. I went as far as tracking those recipes here in MFP and even the menu they supplied to me, including cals for fruits and veggies here didn't even hit 1,000 calories. So where are you getting this average from, exactly? Do you have a source?

mmsilvia

Everyone has a personal preference and a different experience. WW may or may not work for you. I suggest if you want to try it - try it. See if they offer a free trial. Or stop by and visit a meeting see if it's something you are interested in. Best of luck

WalkingAlong

chunky_pinup wrote: »

WalkingAlong wrote: »

The average intake on the new plan is over 1800 calories a day.

Do you work for WW? You spout these "facts" about them on quite a bit of threads, but where do these facts come from?

I received an email from WW with a 30 SmartPoint sample meal plan, which included breakfast, lunch, dinner and two snacks/dessert. I went as far as tracking those recipes here in MFP and even the menu they supplied to me, including cals for fruits and veggies here didn't even hit 1,000 calories. So where are you getting this average from, exactly? Do you have a source?

I don't work for them, I'm not even a big fan of the company. I don't have a source. It was a print article that I read when the new Points Plus plan came out. Soon after the study they lowered the minimum daily points allotment because people weren't losing, on the lower ends of the scale.

Do you have a source of sub-1000 calorie WW meal plans?

Here's a thumbnail estimate of a 29-point level day:

29 x 40ish calories per point on average = 1160 calories
Free produce at 5 servings = say 300ish
Weekly points, 5 x 40 = 200ish
Activity points = say 100ish
Total = 1760 calories. And that's not counting underestimating things.

Kilika735

I had done WW back in my early twenties with a girl I went to school with. We both did well in the beginning losing about 10-15 pounds. Looking back the reason it seemed easy and convenient was that everything I ate and tracked was "packaged." It was much easier to eat chips, bread, frozen meals and fast food than measure and weight whole foods. It took no time at all to look up the points of something boxed. I think that's where I stalled with the weight loss and failed with eating real/whole foods. It did get me to be more conscious of how much I was eating, but in the long run I couldn't sustain the small amount of food I was allotted.

The meetings for me were awful. No support, just depressing or obnoxious stories from the same people every week. I stopped going to the meetings. There is much better support on MFP. Honestly there is more you can do with MFP than WW. You can customize your goals however you want. Which I think is great since everyone is different and responds differently to certain foods than others. I keep my carbs lower and fats higher which keeps me more satisfied. When I did WW I know I was overeating on carbs and that's part of why I never felt satisfied.

To each his own, by all means try it if you really want to. I just can't see paying for WW when MFP is better and free!

cbelc2

If you like classes, try TOPS. Take off pounds sensibly. It's only 32 dollars per year plus 5 dollars a month local dues.

cbelc2

WW does have a new smart points plan, but they still sell relatively unhealthy food. That bothers me.

mattyc772014

Stay here. It is free, basically the same thing and MFP is more fun.

cbelc2

I love MFP!!! Any program will work if you work the program.

jafabuNZ

Yes it works, instead of counting cals u count points, for some reason it is just easiereasier to count points I'm on 34 a day, I've lost 4kg in 3 weeks on WW Smartpoints.