Weight watchers vs calorie counting

nareykay

Is there really a difference between WW and just using MFP for calorie counting? I've done MFP before and it works, but my husband and I have thought about doing WW online for something different. But it seems complicated to me. I don't mind a challenge, but I just want to do what works best.

crb426

I think if MFP works for you then just stick to it.

Are you wanting to try WW because you really need help, or are you getting sucked into the commercial hype of it? Or are you just bored by doing the same thing day after day? I find myself getting tempted by WW and Nurtri-system, but then I realize that I already have a program that works for me. So why mess with it?

sfit85

WW is expensive and super restrictive! MFP is free and gives you flexibility. I always come back to MFP!

nareykay

I think it's bc I follow several on Instagram that do ww and have had success so it intrigues me. And I just want to make sure I'm doing the best that's out there

estherdragonbat

I've lost on WW several times. However, I can't afford them; I'm a freelance editor who works VERY sporadically and the costs add up. This is free, I eat what I want, I don't get nervous about not being able to fit things into my points (or whatever they're doing since I dropped out about 4 years ago), I watch what I eat, but I feel like I have a healthier relationship with food on MFP. Maybe that says more about me than it does about any Weight Loss assistance, but what can I say? MFP is working for me!

rachelr1116

I lost weight a few years ago on WW. I didn't learn a darn thing about how to eat and gained all the weight back when I quit because it was too expensive. WW is really just calorie counting but in a weird way that doesn't translate to anything you can keep doing if you don't want to keep paying their fee. I've done much better with MFP and can honestly say that I'm making lifestyle changes now instead of just dieting.

SarahStarr86

I did WW for many years on and off. I enjoyed it but once I found MFP it was a done deal and I never looked back. I remember being so scared to make the switch as though MFP wouldn't be as good but it's actually better. I even spent a month or so double tracking to compare my calorie counting to WW and on most days I would be severely under eating....I would have eaten all of my points but would still have 200-300 calories left from MFP. I would finish my points at about 1000 calories. By the time you add back your activity points and the free fruits and veggies...I probably averaged at 1200 calories a day, maybe 1300. It's all calorie counting. And like someone said before, WW makes you completely reliant on paying them for these arbitrary point values where you can just count calories here for free.

fupthesides

I didn't like WW because most fruits and veggies are free and I have a huge problem with carbs/sodium. I would spend a lot of time eating "free" foods that didn't have a lot of nutritional value. I found that I didn't learn about nutrition or what my body needs. I find that this time using MFP I am meeting my calories and nutritional needs.

cwolfman13

They both work best if you're consistent in what you're doing.

tekwriter

I was WW also. Once I found the support at MFP I never looked back. The support is always changing at WW. It is the support that helps you along. If you stop the program no one can help you, but if you stick with it on either one it works and while WW changes always because of the fees, MFP generally remains the same.

clags301

I just quit WW for MFP. Free fruits and veggies weee killing me, and not enough focus on nutrients in my opinion. Also the boards here seem to have a much more diversified population - WW seemed to be 95% overweight women that have been on a thousand diets, had excuses for everything and were looking for a pat on the back instead of good support and advice. Unless you are the type that would benefit from meetings, I say don't send a cent Oprah's way (she has enough).

CafeRacer808

Weight Watchers is essentially a form of calorie counting. The major benefit of using MFP over WW is that it's free, which will likely make it more sustainable in the long run. WW has weekly meetings, but MFP's discussion forum provides a great alternative for that, IMO.

MelanieCN77

WW is also calorie counting but with less control over your own choices. WW decides what good and bad foods are and steer your choices by pricing things out of your budget so to speak. I like to have a beer, and counting calories allows me to fit that in. WW makes it prohibitive by over-exaggerating the cost in my diet.