Is Weight Watchers different than MFP?

cnavarro002

My husband and I are committed to losing weight and getting healthier together. He suggested we do Weight Watchers because he did it several years ago and lost a lot of weight. I have been using MFP. I am wondering if anyone can tell me if the cost of WW is worth it, and does it supplement and work well with MFP, or is it something totally different. Does anyone have any pro's or con's? Thanks!

sammyliftsandeats

Besides the monetary cost of Weight Watchers, the common complaint is that the new Smart Points system is incredibly restrictive.

I did Weight Watchers in the past and found it hard to lose anything. I was always hungry. It doesn't really teach you about the nutritional value of food. In a way, I find it demonizes certain foods/food groups because they assign higher point values to certain things and then give 'free points' to some fruits and vegetables.

The points value that is assigned to someone can be pretty low - lower than the recommended minimum of 1200 calories for a woman. It is supposed to counteract the calories coming from 'free' fruits and vegetables. But what if someone doesn't eat a lot of fruits and vegetables? Then it may lead to undereating.

A pro about Weight Watchers is that if you do well with in-person support, the meetings can be helpful. It may be nice to report to someone in person about your progress.

But then again, if you and your husband are committed to doing this together - then there's your accountability right there.

Anyways, I would say use MFP to log your food. Get a food scale to weigh everything and start off slow. Make little adjustments as you go along.