weight watchers vs. counting calories

jodianneh

Hi. I signed up for WW about 2 months ago and have had minimal success...only 7 pounds lost. About a week ago I started tracking my food and exercise on both WW and MFP. It turns out I've only been consuming about 1000-1100 calories per day on WW. Considering I exercise 4 days per week and always get in my 10,000 steps per day, I believe this is too low. I think WW has its merits and can help those who are sedentary lose weight, but for an active person I think that WW doesn't give you enough calories, which is why I believe I haven't been very successful. I'm hoping for better luck here on MFP.

Christine_72

MFP seems so much easier to use compared to the confusing points system of WW.

VintageFeline

I actually asked some friends who have used WW (and Slimming World here in the UK) as to what the stance was for exercise and the response confirmed my concerns.

I think if you are sedentary and totally new to weight management they can both have their merits but if you are active they both seem to end up having you undereat if used exactly as designed. That's not on in my opinion and too big a flaw for me to get round.

And long term, counting calories is so much easier. Trying to work out points (or syns for SW) would just make life too hard when MFP does most of that work for you, even when guesstimating.

GingerLark

I did WW in 2000 and lost 40+ pounds. Kept it off for 10 years and am within 7 pounds of goal weight still. I looked into the new method they have now and carbs are basically the devil now. I still think in terms of points on some foods, but like knowing the calorie and gram count of foods. MFP is a better life long method in my opinion.

jodietownsend03

MFP & fitbit iv lost 4 stone 1 pound since feb 4th this year! Stick at it walk loads n itll work!

andream1976

Yes, you can be successful. I like the MFP food data base much better than WW. I mean, WW works for many people and it is a wonderful program, but I agree, it gets expensive after a while. You can very easily count and track calories here and have success with support from other members, but I do think WW is a great support system and "cheerleader" for those who may struggle with finding weight loss buddies. I remember going to meetings and they were super excited and cheered for you no matter how big or small your weight loss was that week. And they do give small awards and pins for reaching your goals. That's a big deal to those who don't have support anywhere else. That motivation keeps them on track. But as someone with a job, kids, a house, etc, getting to meetings was difficult for me, too MFP has really helped me. Just about every food I could ever eat is listed here and in plain old calorie format. No points, colors, containers, etc. And that can be really great when you are on the go. I remember not all restaurants had WW points listed or even available and I would have to calculate them myself, always worrying if I was calculating correctly. No guessing here...calories are calories. Just watch your serving sizes and make sure they are lining up with what you find in the data base here. I bought a very inexpensive food scale from Wal Mart that helps a lot. You've got this!

andream1976

Oh, and the recipe builder here is awesome! You can import a recipe from anywhere on the internet with a link or put in one of your own (using the brands of foods you are actually cooking with) and have it calculate the calories based on serving size. No guessing or wondering if it's accurate. Just check the "matched ingredients" to make sure they are really what you entered. Once I had a recipe of my own calculate out really weird (low) and I double checked the ingredients...turned out it had matched my chicken amount wrong. So, just double check before you track it, but overall, I love the recipe builder.

MaxineMarieM

I started Weight Watchers in Jan of this year and lost 40 lbs but like some have said it it's expensive and I found I wasn't going to meetings either. I just started MFP 2 weeks ago and I have lost 2 lbs. I prefer doing it this way because it is easier to find calories and keep track of them then to find points of foods when on vacation or away from home.

MzKrystle

If you need to be held accountable I can see where WW might be better. Personally, MFP works great for me and it's free. Unless you upgrade which I have no interest in doing.

Suuzanne37

Weight Watchers is a great program. I was on it for four years; lost 40 lbs and learnt a lot.

Myfitnesspal is a good App and Its working for me.

Both are good options; $Cost being another important factor. Both require some time, patience and dedication.

thatdesertgirl777

vaughn3490 wrote: »

Hello,

I am currently on weight watchers and it is getting expensive. Plus I am too busy to make all of my meetings. I want to give my fitness pal a try. Has anyone been on weight watchers, but has had better success with calorie counting?

I was on weight watchers for many years. I attribute a lot of my old disordered eating habits to that program lol. Counting calories is SO much easier and works better in my opinion.

melodyesch

I belong to WW and they have the meetings at my job, who will cover up to 6 months of your fees for every 5% lost. But I don't do the points. I log my foods here on MFP. But since I have a good bit to lose and will essentially get it for free I go for the support and for the accountability of weighing in each week. I really like the leader and I am learning a lot about my relationship with food that can only help me. It's been 5 weeks and I'm getting to know others in my company who show up week after week, have the same struggles, and are genuinely happy for each other's success. I do come here for support as well, but it's really nice to have the face-to-face side of things.

FLBeachluvr

I am also a former WW member. Made Lifetime on the Points Plus system back in 2012. I lost 53 lbs and was very happy with the program and it worked well for me and I consistently lost every week. I've regained about 25 of those pounds though and need to do something. I decided I didn't want to pay for WW and also didn't like their new Smart Points system so I'm trying MFP. So far I think the old PP on WW was easier as fruits and vegetables were free and I didn't obsess so much on how much exercise I got (or didn't get) in a day. With WW I lost between 1-2 lbs. every week. and so far with MFP I'm struggling to lose 1 lb. a week. I also liked the 49 extra weekly points I got and chose to use some of those for cocktails on the weekends. It also seems like more food on MFP. I guess time will tell.

rnnursebarb

I just left WW to come back here. I was not having luck with Smart Points. Feeling hungry and not satisfied. I'm going to give it a go with calorie counting. I had success with WW in the past but so tired of calculating points. I like the database much better on MFP. Wish me luck!

jame0529

Weight Watchers has a little more structure to it, which is why I think I do better with it (I just do it online - can't afford meetings unfortunately). I like the unlimited fruits/vegetables, and having the Weekly points allows me to have balance without feeling guilty that I went over my points/calories. However I love coming on the MFP message boards - they're very helpful when it comes to making good choices and encouragement.

honeybee739

This is a little older of a question. I have done both. WW always is so frustrating to me. I really don't know why. I like the data base on MFP much better. With WW I feel like my points can easily be blown but Calorie Counting (CC) is more forgiving. MFP is free. WW is not. Also calories don't change. WW does. Every several years they change their program. So if the old way was working for you, then you have to learn an entire new way. I get that the smart points is geared toward healthier choices and you really get dinged for foods containing a lot of sugar and processed junky foods. The new smart points urges you to basically eat more whole foods. Which is great in theory....but I've found that's hard to stick to. I just don't have that level of perseverance. I need more of a balance. A few junky things here and there with the majority of healthy options. Vs. one junky thing taking up almost all of your points when it would only be maybe 20% of your daily caloric intake. I do like the mind game WW plays of making fruits and veggies Free but you can easily do that here by not logging them if you want to.

kshama2001

melodyesch wrote: »

I belong to WW and they have the meetings at my job, who will cover up to 6 months of your fees for every 5% lost. But I don't do the points. I log my foods here on MFP. But since I have a good bit to lose and will essentially get it for free I go for the support and for the accountability of weighing in each week. I really like the leader and I am learning a lot about my relationship with food that can only help me. It's been 5 weeks and I'm getting to know others in my company who show up week after week, have the same struggles, and are genuinely happy for each other's success. I do come here for support as well, but it's really nice to have the face-to-face side of things.

I used to have WW at work and also experienced most of the pluses you mentioned. (It was subsidized rather than completely free.) I think more companies should consider having employer-sponsored WW at work.

CasperNaegle

You can certainly lose weight on WW,they are counting your calories for you and it's a support group. I like fixing my own food and knowing exactly how many calories I get and my breakdown of proteins/carbs/fats.

Asher_Ethan

I absolutely hated WW when I was on it. They put me on the equivalent of 1200 calories and told me I couldn't eat back the 3-5 miles I was running everyday because "well, you were running before you started so those points don't count."
I obviously lost weight but I was STARVING all the time. When I asked one of the coaches about what I could do about being so hungry I was told, "oh you're eating all the wrong foods, you need to eat clean and weight watchers products only."
MFP has taught me so so so so much more and I'm definitely not as hungry as I was on WW.