Weight watchers?

lmxxox

Over the holidays a family member was talking about joining weight watchers. I then mentioned this site to her and she kinda shrugged my comment off and continued talking about all the celebrities that have had success with the program. I'm all for anyone losing weight in their own way but I'm really curious, how exactly does it work? I can't imagine it being much different than mfp? Why go blindly into something without knowing anything about it, ya know.

If any of you have tried weight watchers and had success, failed attempts, or whatever it may be, I'd love to read your stories. I will be seeing this family member again very soon and think it would be nice to be able to tell her a little about what its like and people's experiences. Thanks!

suruda

It obviously is a thoroughly designed program that has seen a lot of successes. I've done it a few times over the years and it seems a little complicated getting started but like anything you quickly get in the groove. MFP is a cheap (free) alternative, if you can make it work here you will save yourself a lot of money. I think weight watchers is one of the better programs out there, you use real food, you are encouraged via their point system to eat a diet heavy in fruits and veggies and light in other things. The group environment though and the weekly weigh ins at meetings provide a good accountability level that is worth the cash to many!

You should encourage your family member to do it, and then you guys can compare results via MFP vs. WW :-)

WLW1229

I did WW for 2 years and had alot of success. It's a good program and helps provide extra support and motivation to people that may not get that otherwise. I like MFP, but nothing really compares to the WW meetings! I quit going when I got married and shortly after got pregnant and had my son (and gained all the weight back). I'm very seriously considering going back to WW this week, but I haven't decided if I really want to drop the $115 for 3 months... (They do have a deal going that if you lose 10 lbs in the first 8 weeks they will refund your money for those 8 weeks so that's nice!)

WLW1229

I forgot to say how it works, it's similar to counting calories, but you count "points" instead. They plug the macro values into an algorithm and it comes up with a point value for the food based on the macros. So a 350 calorie taco may be 6 or 7 points. When I last did it, I got 26 daily points, but they have changed the points system a little since then so it may be different. You also do weekly weigh ins and then have a meeting where the WW leader gives advice for success. That's the biggest part for me! Having to weigh in on front of a WW worker every week and her asking "what happened this week!?!?" When I gained weight is a big motivator! And being able to talk to people that have had success is really nice!

InspiredNewJourney

VeggieGirl345 wrote: »

I did WW for 2 years and had alot of success. It's a good program and helps provide extra support and motivation to people that may not get that otherwise. I like MFP, but nothing really compares to the WW meetings! I quit going when I got married and shortly after got pregnant and had my son (and gained all the weight back). I'm very seriously considering going back to WW this week, but I haven't decided if I really want to drop the $115 for 3 months... (They do have a deal going that if you lose 10 lbs in the first 8 weeks they will refund your money for those 8 weeks so that's nice!)

VeggieGirl, its like reading my own story.

I loved weight watchers. When I went I was ready to lose the weight and found the support from the group and the leader invaluable. However after I met my now husband my habits changed, then marriage and kids and I'm back to where I started. I feel like weight watchers taught me the tools I need to succeed and know what works for me now and am hoping that I can apply those skills here. As effective as I found WW it was expensive and MFP seems like an amazing alternative.

The system is very similar to MFP in that you're accountable for what you eat by tracking. The difference is a high calorie food high in fibre would be less "points" then the same calorie food with no fibre, and at least when I went, fruits and veggies were no points.

Anyway- different people work different ways. Where I found support in a group setting some people might cringe at the idea!

megomerrett

Ditto what the other guys said. It worked for me years ago but I don't want to pay! On MFP I can still weigh and track. Found the meetings annoying and inconvenient- would rather use that time to go do some exercise.

I've wondered the same about Slimming World after a friend lost and maintained. But then I remembered all the other people who've tried it and are big again and I think I'd rather save my pennies.

TeaBea

VeggieGirl345 wrote: »

I forgot to say how it works, it's similar to counting calories, but you count "points" instead. They plug the macro values into an algorithm and it comes up with a point value for the food based on the macros. So a 350 calorie taco may be 6 or 7 points. When I last did it, I got 26 daily points, but they have changed the points system a little since then so it may be different. You also do weekly weigh ins and then have a meeting where the WW leader gives advice for success. That's the biggest part for me! Having to weigh in on front of a WW worker every week and her asking "what happened this week!?!?" When I gained weight is a big motivator! And being able to talk to people that have had success is really nice!

New Weight Watchers points have changed a lot.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/holistic-or-horrifying-not-everyone-loves-weight-watchers-new-program/2015/12/24/ce96cf38-a97f-11e5-8058-480b572b4aae_story.html?utm_term=.c31ea9f42742

deannalfisher

maybe its just me...but isn't a program that people keep coming back to time and time again really not that successful? you keep coming back because for some reason you didn't fulfill your goals - which means that the changes you made weren't sustainable (me musing because I haven't had enough coffee today)

madelinecamille

I tried WW when I first started out. The point system was easy to use, and I liked that most fruits and veggies were usually "free." It was a good springboard into gaining a better understanding of portion control and healthy eating for a beginner. However, I much prefer counting calories through something like MFP. I can be much more specific with what I'm putting in my body like counting macros. When I used WW, a banana was 0 points. You could eat 4 throughout the day and feel good about yourself because hey, zero points!! But 1 medium banana is about 110kcal. Eat four of those babies and that's 440kcal. I'm restricted to 1200kcal daily, so those four bananas would be 37% of my daily intake!