Not counting smart points (Weight Watchers) anymore
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I am currently on WW - was using MFP for 2 years but I really struggled to stay on track, I think I need the discipline of points telling me that I don't really need that chocolate chip cookie - but if I want it I can still have it. The weekly points allow me to splurge once in a while - this past weekend I did that but did not go over my points and lost 3.6 pounds. I feel like I never really knew how many calories I should be eating on MFP - maybe it was all just to simplified for me. I do wish that WW broke down the macros in reports - I would like to easily tell how much protein I am eating every day without manually tracking it myself.
When WW changed to SmartPoints I thought to myself that it would never work for me, because I love carbs, so I resisted trying it out. I started on January 1st and low and behold I am now down 18 pounds. It works for me, but it may not work for everyone. I think one of the things that people do on WW is just stick to their daily points and do not use the weekly points for whatever reason - I can totally see how doing that would leave you hungry, I am not sure why people feel you should not eat the weekly points or the FitPoints you earn as they are part of the program.
I did learn a lot in the time that I used MFP (like I need to fuel my body when I am working out and daily weighing really helps you understand the ups and downs of weight loss) and I do still come back here and read the boards. If I wasn't so lazy I would log in both places so I could get the macro information I want, but that just feels like way too much work.0 -
Thank you for the many testimonials. I have never joined WW and now feel that that was one of my good decisions. I have weighed as much a 500 lbs, measured in the hospital when I had volume overload. I lost almost 100 lbs in 4 days, just water weight. I know the problems of the ups and downs of weight loss, have done Dr. Adkins and every other diet since I was 12 and my mother put me on the Roman Meal bread plan. Yes I'm that old. I am a short 6 foot tall. Now with the experiences of each of you I can see a little clearer the path that I am walking again, never quiet get to the brass ring, now I can see it is there, this time will do it. Thanks to all of you.
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Yes I feel the same way I've been going to ww since I was 15 off and on im now 51 and probly have lost 10 people so far just to put it back on i really never followed the plan like you i ate everything in moderation and walked alot. I was thinking about going back because i need the part of weighing in everyweek because i feel like im a failure if i dont loss weight so it kept me accountable for my weight loss. But this time I'm trying on my own with the help of mfp.0
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I do wish that WW broke down the macros in reports - I would like to easily tell how much protein I am eating every day without manually tracking it myself.
This is the biggest sticking point for me with WW. I dislike having to track things in 2 apps to see how much protein I'm getting, or if I'm eating too much sugar, etc.
I DO like the Weekly accountability that WW has with the Daily/Weekly points. I can splurge a little during the week, but the splurge is contained.
Right now I'm still using both. MFP so I can educate myself about the details of what I consume, and WW for the weekly accountability and the Connect app.
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I'm back after trying WW - again. I lost 40 lbs on it ten years ago. I eat mainly fruits and vegetables and lean meats, hardly any carbs, not even whole grains. I exercise 10-14 hours a day walking, hiking, boxing, elliptical, cycling. I have what my partner and I call one "dirty meal" on the weekends where I dip a little into the weekly points, but not my activity points. On paper I should be losing weight. I'm staying steady after two months.
The problem is that it is inconsistent. I'm tracking WW and MFP. I can eat the same spinach, cucumber, apple and blueberry smoothie with protein powder one day, and it's 8 points (no added sweeteners, the protein powder is unsweetened). If I decide to eat all those components as a fruit salad, it's just 2 points for the protein powder. Same thing, same amount of calories. On the days I count the smoothie I consume about 1000 - 1100 calories. On the day I don't, when I have extra SP because I didn't use them on my smoothie, it's around 1500. For two weeks I tried Adkins on WW after a friend lost a ridiculous amount of weight in a short period. I had points left over every day, but calorie wise I was hitting close to 1700 a day. I know you're supposed to keep your metabolism guessing but 1500 and 1700 calories is way over what I should be eating to lose weight.
Secondly, I don't like fat free plain greek yogurt on its own, but for protein it gives you a pretty big bang for your buck, so I try to incorporate a tablespoon or two here and there in different dishes through the day. Two tablespoons is 0 points, but a cup is 3. I was over eating three points a day and didn't realize it because the amounts aren't cumulative - something that calorie counting will take into account. When I added up other things I was using sporadically during the day, I was over eating by five points a day! That's not an issue with calorie counting.
And some of the points don't make sense. I made a turkey sandwich and created it as a recipe. No cheese, loaded with veggies, maybe 2 teaspoons light mayo. individually the components added up to about 8 points, but as a recipe, it was 12. That's like eating a small order of French fries.
It's too much guess work, too much tweaking and adding. I'm going back to my 1200 calorie diet where I know the values of what I'm eating.
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"I've lost count how many times I've joined this program.
Every time I join, I quit and tell myself I will never join again."
^^^^I could have wrote exactly this. I've been stuck in the same WW/MFP cycled for years. I logged onto WW's website this morning and was about to rejoin (for the millionth time since I first joined back in 2004!).....I know MFP makes more "sense" for me and my current lifestyle but there's still a nagging feeling that maybe, just maybe, WW is the answer. I know what to do, just need to actually do it (for the long term). No need to pay for it!!2 -
You have to work it out for yourself, I'm liking the simplicity of eating what I like within my calorie allowance and its working, 31lbs off since January - my SW colleague has lost 2lbs in a year yet still pays weekly to be weighed and is miserable turning down foods because of syn values.1
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Just today I cancelled my WW membership and decided to go "rogue" for awhile. I'm a WW fan for sure and I've joined and quit a million times and I will probably join again. Today I started my journey here and with your support and my will power I hope to be able to lose about 30 pounds.2
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I do love that weeklies keep me in check so I don't go too crazy on weekends. On MFP if you exceed your calories, there's really no accountability as it starts all over the next day.
Actually you can see weekly totals on MFP. On the website it is under Reports, and on the app it is under Nutrition. You can see your totals for each day, and the average for the week. I use that feature a lot as some days I may go over and other I may be a bit under. It helps me to see if I have some leeway to work in a weekend treat or not.
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I've never done Weight Watchers but I notice that often times when we decide to lose weight and/or get healthier it's an all-or-nothing, huge lifestyle change overnight kind of extreme. It's challenging enough just to consistently eat in a calorie deficit to lose weight.
Sometimes I think people would be better off to take smaller steps and just focus on losing weight by cutting what they currently eat. Then as you start to get the hang of it make gradual changes in food choices over time. It's much less stressful, but it can take longer to get the end goals. Or it seems like you're not dieting because you're still eating food you enjoy which somehow seems wrong.
That's the overall impression I get about the current WW program.3 -
I never did weight watchers - so no experience there, but to me it seems silly to learn and track some imaginary-somewhat arbitrary points system that someone came up with rather than just using the actual calories and grams protein, fat, fiber, etc - whose numbers have actual meaning.
I do pay for the premium version on MFP. I like being able to set a minimum grams protein and fat to go over and have 100% exercise calories go to carbs (keeping my minimum grams for protein and fat constant), and a few other modifications it allows.1 -
I do love that weeklies keep me in check so I don't go too crazy on weekends. On MFP if you exceed your calories, there's really no accountability as it starts all over the next day.
Actually you can see weekly totals on MFP. On the website it is under Reports, and on the app it is under Nutrition. You can see your totals for each day, and the average for the week. I use that feature a lot as some days I may go over and other I may be a bit under. It helps me to see if I have some leeway to work in a weekend treat or not.
Thanks for this info! I knew it was on the app but didn't realize it was on the website version too. It's convenient to be able to keep track of how I do week-to-week, especially if I should go over my target calories sometimes and like to know that I'm still at my desired weekly deficit.
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I've been a huge WW fan (and Lifetime member) for years. I've done the food groups and all the varieties of Points. I think the Points system was brilliant psychologically, for me anyway. And I'm realistic enough after 40 years of dieting to know there's never going to come a point where I keep weight off and don't need a support program.
This latest incarnation has ruined everything. I hope they learn soon that they have destroyed the best program out there and make some drastic changes to it. I always liked the freedom and flexibility of eating within my Points (calories) without having to follow a specific way of eating (low carb, low fat, low sugar, whatever). Now, you pretty much have to be low fat and lower carb with excessive fruit consumption to get a healthy number of calories. I was eating about 800 calories to stay within their new Points because I prefer to eat higher fat and can't handle the sugar load of fruit. 800 calories is not good.2 -
I did ww for ages and had great success at first. In the 18 months leading up to my wedding I lost around 90lb. Once the plan changes to smart points everything changed. I muddled through for a while with limited success but I found I felt very restricted and deprived as many others have said. When I became a vegetarian and the vegan I found the sp plan impossible. I felt that it demonised carbohydrates which left me struggling to stay within points despite eating very few calories overall, as well as eating insufficient protein as many vegan protein sources come with a carb hit too. I miss my ww leader and the group, I thoroughly enjoyed and benefited from their support but in the end the plan was just no good!0
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Lots of great pros and cons for WW, thanks everyone!0
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honeybee739 wrote: »I have been paying about $20 per month to do Weight Watchers online.
I've lost count how many times I've joined this program.
Every time I join, I quit and tell myself I will never join again.
Points frustrate me. The program changes every few years and that frustrates me. Now the new "smart points" is pretty much a low/moderate carb "clean" eating diet, which I do agree is a healthy way to eat, but sometimes it's not easy to do on a daily basis, and I find it restrictive.
Back on "point." So, this past week I said, Screw it. I am going to track on MFP and exercise every day. And it was Leslie Sansone walking DVDs mind you, so nothing crazy.
I lost 2 pounds.
Lesson- I can do MFP for free. Calories never change. I lost 2 pounds because I ate at a deficit and exercised. I don't need to pay for a program to lose weight. And the biggest bonus was, I ate food I LIKED. I didn't feel like I was ON a diet. Just eating a bit less of the foods I enjoy and eating more fruits and veggies vs chips...but I still had chips one day!
Any other similar revelations out there?
I do WW in addition to MFP and WW gives me less calories for sure. Even though it's on the points system it's around 1000-1100 cals per day they give me and I lose faster when I stick to WW. But MFP works as well, a little slower but it works, so I'm thinking about canceling my WW subscription too. I keep joining and re-joining WW. The worst thing about WW is they count certain things as zero points when they have calories on MFP.0 -
ladyhusker39 wrote: »
That's the overall impression I get about the current WW program.
WW works. I lost weight on it 12 years ago and kept it off for years. I didn't keep tracking my food on there after I got comfortable at my goal weight and that's where I messed up and the weight started coming back gradually. I'm sure it's the same as MFP. If we get to goal here and then stop weighing food and tracking it the weight will creep back on over time.1 -
Completely agree, weight watchers online is too expensive when you can use mfp for free. Keep tracking!!0
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I did WW over 10 years ago - lost weight and managed to stick to it. I gave it a try with the new pro points and really struggled! I was hungry all the time maxed out my daily and weekly points. Which the psychologically made me feel like I had blown the plan. I find calories better - you know exactly where you are. I also work out 5 times per week so set a slightly higher calorie goal to allow for this.0
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