Came from Weight Watchers

lesleyloo7879

wizzybeth wrote: »

vivmom2014 wrote: »

wizzybeth wrote: »

RE: the Weight Watchers desserts - the only ones worth a darn are the ice cream treats. They are fine!!!!! I also do like the WW frozen meals from time to time for a quickie lunch.

The newer WW regime (the one I started attending 10+ years ago) was encouraging you to be sure to have at least 2tsp. of healthy fat a day (like olive oil) and while they told you to be sure to eat x amount of servings of protein, etc...I still ended up with a very high carb low cal, low protein, lowfat diet - I was obsessed with eating the lowest amounts of points I could so that I could eat more volume and be "full" - not realizing I was depriving my body of necessary nutrients and not being satisfied. I was often fatigued too. This is my problem for not interpreting the WW data properly, but I still think assigning points values to foods without emphasizing the AMOUNTs of iron, protein, fat, etc. you MUST have every day is encouraging the type of behavior I displayed, and in the example above.

Thanks Wizzy. My kids have eaten the WW ice cream treats when at Nonna's and they like them.

When you mentioned olive oil, it reminded me that my mother-in-law adds a tablespoon of olive oil to her oatmeal - not that she wants to but that she "has" to, ala WW requirements.

True or not, it doesn't sound all that enjoyable.

EWWWWW I would never add olive oil to my OATMEAL!!! Gag!!!!!!!!!!! Add it to veggies with a little garlic....but oatmeal??? echhh!

where I live we have a orange flavored olive oil ...... that may taste better...... lol I did WW but I prefer this much more. It has been a steady weight loss, and when I do not see the numbers on the scale move down I do see it in my clothing getting looser. And let me not forget the people everyone is super helpful and very encourageing I love that

vivmom2014

jgaffney86 wrote: »

All great comments here thanks!

I have found brown rice and whole wheat pasta keep me full a little bit longer. Whole wheat is generally a healthier option for you. Although same in calories there is still alot more nutritional benefits from whole wheat (I usually buy organic whole wheat when I can)

Regular whole wheat bread and white bread have the same glycemic index. If your bread is filled with whole grains, that may be another story. Still - it strikes me as a trendy thing to toss around this word "healthier." ALL food is beneficial within the context of a varied, nutritious diet that meets macros. (And for weight loss, stays under your calorie goal.)

VeryKatie

I felt WW only gave me half the education on what would keep me full. Unfortunately, WW LOVES their fibre. But fibre does next to nothing to help me (specifically) stay full. They're also anti-fat. Which is huge source of satiety for me. And I've heard their new system is anti-sugar too? So all that's left if protein (lean - not fatty so basically just fish and chicken) and vegetables.

I would never go back.

Besides. Once I added it all up on MFP for a week or so and found they had me on 1100 calories a day. No wonder I felt like crap the whole time . I lost 25 lbs in 3.5 months (and I wasn't overweight - I started when I reached the very top lb of my healthy BMI). I should have been losing 0.5 lb/week not nearly 2 lbs/week.

vivmom2014

VeryKatie wrote: »

I felt WW only gave me half the education on what would keep me full. Unfortunately, WW LOVES their fibre. But fibre does next to nothing to help me (specifically) stay full. They're also anti-fat. Which is huge source of satiety for me. And I've heard their new system is anti-sugar too? So all that's left if protein (lean - not fatty so basically just fish and chicken) and vegetables.

I would never go back.

Besides. They had me on 1100 calories a day. No wonder I felt like crap the whole time once I added it all up on MFP for a week or so.

Oh yes - to the bolded. (Well, to all of it, really.) My MIL is truly obsessed with fiber. WW must hammer the fiber message home to the "nth" degree!

hallycat

I am a WW member right now but considering quitting and just using this. My reason......their new plan.
I was really excited when they unveiled it because now they really penalize you points wise for sugar and fat.
No more fiber, that doesn't factor into their calculations. It's sugar, fat and protein now that make up a point.

I already had a very "clean" diet (not that clean fanatic thing but mainly unprocessed foods) and was always appalled at the amount of crap other members ate and fit it into their week. I was losing on the old Points Plus. I stopped losing on the new Smart Points. Why? Because rather then trusting myself to know when I'd had enough, I trusted them when they gave me 30 PP a day. And guess what? It's great for me for maintenance. But I am really quite satisfied with 23-26 PP a day. When I questioned their expert chat I was told that a PP value can be anywhere from 30 to 100 calories. They expect you to eat a certain amount of sugary or fatty foods which brings the points up but may not bring the calories up. I should have realized this on my own as I was usually full on 23-26 but again, I trusted them to know what points I should get.

I don't feel like I am getting that much out of the meetings anymore and frankly this app is a lot better then theirs.
I am a runner, a cyclist, I hike, kayak etc. IOW I am quite active and I can't relate to the people their who can't seem to even get a days worth of activity in. It's really a great program for people who don't know how to eat, especially now when they emphasize unprocessed foods and moving and loving yourself. Just not sure I need them anymore.

I lost about 28 pounds and have another 15-18 to get to my goal. Just as a frame of reference.

jgaffney86

Just curious also.....have they ever gotten thru updating there website? It was just terrible. Also....there community seemed to have greatly dwindled down.....

LeslieB042812

I lost 35 pounds on WW old, old program (Points) and I maintained that loss for several years as a lifetime member. On this program, points were pretty easy to estimate (you could do it yourself) and were based only on fat (penalized), calories (penalized), and fiber (rewarded). Most times, the points/calories ratio ended up about 35-70 calories per point, but you could be quite successful assuming about 50 calories/point. I also tested it with calorie counting and averaged about 1,100-1,200 calories/day (plus exercise), plus a couple of slightly higher splurge days. This is the same range that I stick to with MFP now. I didn't like the over-emphasis on fiber and that protein wasn't accounted for. They definitely ended up pushing folks into a high carb, low fat diet--very 80's!

However, I left WW when they switched to the Points+ program. I tried that for a couple of months and gained weight! I found I had to be super vigilant (to the point of really not following the program anymore) with that program to avoid gaining, because of the "free" fruits and vegetables and because the foods I tend to sort towards naturally are lower point value foods. So, my calories were at the higher end of their estimated minimum daily range, while as a 5'2" woman, I should have been at the lower end.

After leaving WW and coming to MFP, I appreciate that I can find the macro balance that satisfies me, which happens to be higher fat and protein (explaining why I'm way less hangry now than I was then!). Also, I have more control with my daily and weekly calories, since they aren't masked by obscure points systems. Finally, as others have mentioned, it's free! Even though I didn't have to regularly pay as a lifetime member, I had to take the time to go to meetings or I would have to start paying. With a convenient location/time, really good leader and group of friends in the group (which I had while losing), that was fine, but it got too inconvenient to keep going after that group stopped.

Overall, it does help some people who really have no nutritional knowledge, but for those who get it, I think MFP is better.

Nachise

I did WW a little over 20 years ago, and hit goal weight. Due to a chronic illness, I gained all my weight back and more. I had been doing WW at work when I hit goal, and started going to WW meetings elsewhere, but I found it very frustrating. The meetings were crowded, and if you weren't first in line to get weighed in, the wait to get weighed would last almost all the way through the meeting. I quit. I did try the WW free version several years ago, but quit that, too.

Then I walked into the nutrition department at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, and found that they had a similar program, and the nutritionists coordinating the program used MFP as their food and fitness tracker. I found after a couple of years that weighing in every week created a lot of anxiety for me, and I do much better weighing in once a month.

hallycat

jgaffney86 wrote: »

Just curious also.....have they ever gotten thru updating there website? It was just terrible. Also....there community seemed to have greatly dwindled down.....

It's gotten much better since they first changed. Still doesn't have the multi add and remember what you eat function that this site has. The community in my opinion was sucky and is even suckier now.

LeslieB042812

Nachise wrote: »

I did WW a little over 20 years ago, and hit goal weight. Due to a chronic illness, I gained all my weight back and more. I had been doing WW at work when I hit goal, and started going to WW meetings elsewhere, but I found it very frustrating. The meetings were crowded, and if you weren't first in line to get weighed in, the wait to get weighed would last almost all the way through the meeting. I quit. I did try the WW free version several years ago, but quit that, too.

Then I walked into the nutrition department at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, and found that they had a similar program, and the nutritionists coordinating the program used MFP as their food and fitness tracker. I found after a couple of years that weighing in every week created a lot of anxiety for me, and I do much better weighing in once a month.

Yes! I had a similar experience with the difference between "at work" (when it did work for me) and the regular ones (not as good). Also, I think the weekly weigh ins would end up encouraging a lot of unhealthy habits to try to make weigh in, like starving the day before and trying to shed water weight as if we were boxers (I'm ashamed to admit that I actually spent more than one weigh in day morning spitting into a cup.....and it worked! ).

hallycat

LeslieB042812 wrote: »

I lost 35 pounds on WW old, old program (Points) and I maintained that loss for several years as a lifetime member. On this program, points were pretty easy to estimate (you could do it yourself) and were based only on fat (penalized), calories (penalized), and fiber (rewarded). Most times, the points/calories ratio ended up about 35-70 calories per point, but you could be quite successful assuming about 50 calories/point. I also tested it with calorie counting and averaged about 1,100-1,200 calories/day (plus exercise), plus a couple of slightly higher splurge days. This is the same range that I stick to with MFP now. I didn't like the over-emphasis on fiber and that protein wasn't accounted for. They definitely ended up pushing folks into a high carb, low fat diet--very 80's!

However, I left WW when they switched to the Points+ program. I tried that for a couple of months and gained weight! I found I had to be super vigilant (to the point of really not following the program anymore) with that program to avoid gaining, because of the "free" fruits and vegetables and because the foods I tend to sort towards naturally are lower point value foods. So, my calories were at the higher end of their estimated minimum daily range, while as a 5'2" woman, I should have been at the lower end.

After leaving WW and coming to MFP, I appreciate that I can find the macro balance that satisfies me, which happens to be higher fat and protein (explaining why I'm way less hangry now than I was then!). Also, I have more control with my daily and weekly calories, since they aren't masked by obscure points systems. Finally, as others have mentioned, it's free! Even though I didn't have to regularly pay as a lifetime member, I had to take the time to go to meetings or I would have to start paying. With a convenient location/time, really good leader and group of friends in the group (which I had while losing), that was fine, but it got too inconvenient to keep going after that group stopped.

Overall, it does help some people who really have no nutritional knowledge, but for those who get it, I think MFP is better.

For me too, the meeting dynamic has changed. I am not really enjoying the group anymore. I am torn between seeing if I can make lifetime or just cancelling now. I don't even weigh there anymore. I have a scale, it's accurate and I get on it in the morning after using the toilet and with no clothes on or food or drink in my body. I don't like worrying about what I have on, what I've eaten. I don't see this changing when I get to lifetime. I would need to be under my goal to meet my weight with clothes.

jgaffney86

I heard also they changed like the way in method? Do you only weigh in once a month or something like that now? Or is it still once a week and then they look at it per month?

wizzybeth

I thought regular members weigh in 1x a week, but lifetime members only have to weigh in 1x a month...

stickkop

I used WW to lose approx. 70 pounds 10 years ago. I have gained and lost 20 or so back and forth over the last 10 years. I finally cancelled WW last week after finding MFP. I find the website, mobile app, and database of MFP to be much better and I am not shelling out a load of cash for WW. I wanted to find a tool to manage my weight long term and could not see paying WW over 20 bucks a month to manage my maintenance.

jgaffney86

I felt the exact same wat stickkop...

Thats true wizzybth, I was asking regarding the new program. I think they have changed they frequency of the weigh ins....not sure though and was just wondering.

xtina315

I'm doing points plus right now in conjunction with mfp. I wanted to see how many calories I was eating with ww. I noticed I was only eating 1000-1200 tops, so I started adding in calories on here, because I'm a heavy woman and I could not function with so little calories.

pinkteapot3

I used WW for a year when it was Pro Points, then switched to MFP when I realised it was the same, but free!

When I switched, I stuck to exactly the same daily diet. That diet used up my WW points, and it used up my MFP cals. Why was I paying £10 per month?

I only did WW Online (not meetings). This was a few years ago and the community was decent. I suspect WW Online is being hit hard by MFP and that may be why the community is getting quieter.

hallycat

They still want you to weigh once a week. But they don't push it so heavily, they suggest at least once a month.

melissa6771

LeslieB042812 wrote: »

Nachise wrote: »

I did WW a little over 20 years ago, and hit goal weight. Due to a chronic illness, I gained all my weight back and more. I had been doing WW at work when I hit goal, and started going to WW meetings elsewhere, but I found it very frustrating. The meetings were crowded, and if you weren't first in line to get weighed in, the wait to get weighed would last almost all the way through the meeting. I quit. I did try the WW free version several years ago, but quit that, too.

Then I walked into the nutrition department at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, and found that they had a similar program, and the nutritionists coordinating the program used MFP as their food and fitness tracker. I found after a couple of years that weighing in every week created a lot of anxiety for me, and I do much better weighing in once a month.

Yes! I had a similar experience with the difference between "at work" (when it did work for me) and the regular ones (not as good). Also, I think the weekly weigh ins would end up encouraging a lot of unhealthy habits to try to make weigh in, like starving the day before and trying to shed water weight as if we were boxers (I'm ashamed to admit that I actually spent more than one weigh in day morning spitting into a cup.....and it worked! ).

Another former weight watcher here. Although in more recent years, Body for Life/Bill Phillips plan. The comment about spitting in the cup literally made me LOL. Priceless!

FitPhillygirl

Weight Watchers is just fine for me. I'm a lifetime member, way below my goal weight so I never pay anything. I simply go in once a month and get my free eTools card. I think WW online site is ok but I only use it to keep track of my weight and nothing else. I haven't tracked my food intake in awhile.