Why I left Weight Watchers new "Freestyle" Program

Carlos_421

Psychgrrl

Welcome back! Sorry you lost your system and your support all at once—that sucks! Congrats on the success so far and “cheers” to
Your future health here with us!

displaced1

gooz71 wrote: »

merzback wrote: »

I left it a while ago, I loved it 10 years ago but what are the200 foods they now have added? Also, why not just do the smart points program since you have the info? I didn't like smart points because with the old program I could look at a food and tell the points plus too many points for carbohydrates.

Hi There -

You can't really do any old programs once they change it because everything is done on the WW app now. I guess I could still do it and be a -7 everyday but that would mess with my head seeing the - everyday. WW has changed so much if you haven't been on it in 10 years you would be in for a major change going back. The 200 food list I am sure you can google it "zero point food list" and find an image.

There are third party apps, from my understanding, that are based on old WW programs. So, if you wanted to track on an old system, it may be available.

Muscleflex79

I did WW briefly a few years back but left when I was struggling to lose and the leader's suggestion was that I stop lifting weights in order to lose some (muscle) weight - I ran from the building and never looked back!

HellYeahItsKriss

Lol.. weight watchers amuses me..

not_a_runner

HellYeahItsKriss wrote: »

... okay... maybe i am the wrong person to try and wrap my brain around this with their new list of 0 point foods lol... i mean.. salmon is on the list... i can eat a ton of that.. i can also eat my weight in chicken.. =/

I'm not very familiar with WW but I'm really struggling to understand this as well.
I eat a lot of the foods on that list. I could gain weight just eating from that list. (And then I'd have other points on top of that?! Like what is the point in tracking the other things if most of your food could potentially be a free for all?)
Bananas? Eggs??! Really!? (Those stuck out to me because those are usually foods I phase out for less calorie dense options when trying to lose weight.)

Nony_Mouse

I sent the list to my mum. She was like 'what the what???'

Dnarules

I did WW back in 2012, and I believe it was smart points. I only did it for 3 months (found MFP and switched), so I have not kept up with the details of all the changes. For this new program, do they really not provide suggestive serving sizes, etc? I am currently doing Precision Nutrition (along with MFP). We do have lists of suggested foods (proteins, veggies, etc), but there are no 0 foods. And while they don't discuss weighing food, they do provide guidelines (palm size, thumb size, etc). I don't think that is perfect, but at least it lets people know they can't just eat however much they want, even of healthier foods. It seems really strange there would be no guidelines. Because I agree, many people became overweight eating "healthier" options.

ritzvin

gooz71 wrote: »

...Over 5,000+ members "liked" her post and commented things like "preach girl" or "I agree!" So those of us who are struggling with the new change were basically told to not look to connect for support cause they didn't want to hear it. ..

I suspect a fair number of those folks are going to find themselves getting fatter binge-eating apples/bananas/grapes. (Fruit as free food items is such a tremendously bad idea...I get that they are hoping to steer people towards those nutritious and fiber-rich items as an alternate dessert, but they are so far from being low calorie density).

Mouse_Potato

So far today I've eaten over 300 calories in "free foods." And it's only lunchtime. Yeah, I don't see this working out very well.

not_a_runner

Dnarules wrote: »

I did WW back in 2012, and I believe it was smart points. I only did it for 3 months (found MFP and switched), so I have not kept up with the details of all the changes. For this new program, do they really not provide suggestive serving sizes, etc? I am currently doing Precision Nutrition (along with MFP). We do have lists of suggested foods (proteins, veggies, etc), but there are no 0 foods. And while they don't discuss weighing food, they do provide guidelines (palm size, thumb size, etc). I don't think that is perfect, but at least it lets people know they can't just eat however much they want, even of healthier foods. It seems really strange there would be no guidelines. Because I agree, many people became overweight eating "healthier" options.

I'm only going off the link with the food list, but that says "All foods on this list form the foundation of a healthy eating pattern, so you don’t need to weigh, measure, or track any of them. Enjoy!"

It sounds like you can eat as much as you want.

^ And I totally agree. For people just trying to eat "clean/healthy" who have little to no understanding of calories or serving sizes, that's a terrible plan and isn't going to help them learn anything. And probably not lose weight.
Because I have tracked I know that 6 eggs and 2 bananas for breakfast would be a calorie bomb. With this plan it would be FREE!

Rogstar

So...if I have a 4oz chicken breast, it's zero points. But...if I have a 4oz chicken thigh? That would cost points? What about a wing or leg?

I mean, the difference in calories between a breast and a thigh is around 10cals/oz raw & skinless if I recall (I should have looked it up) but Oh No! There's more fat!

And more deliciousness....

gooz71

I will be curious to see if any other weight watchers members jump ship like I did...I guess only time will tell if the no point food list works for people or not. However, I know they had many current members try the program "behind the scenes" for quite a few months now before it launched. I just know I would get really tired of lentils and chicken pretty darn fast, and lowering you daily points like they did you don't have many points to eat other things.

robinalexis

I think WW is trying to go Paleo or Primal. And you don’t count serving size on those. I did Primal while on WW and list 10# so far.

Has anybody figured the cal fat carb protein split yet so we can set up our MFP to coincide ?

newheavensearth

robinalexis wrote: »

I think WW is trying to go Paleo or Primal. And you don’t count serving size on those. I did Primal while on WW and list 10# so far.

Has anybody figured the cal fat carb protein split yet so we can set up our MFP to coincide ?

That depends on your food choices for the day. I've been on Freestyle for almost a week
Ranges high to low are:

Carbs 48 to 65 %
Protein 15 to 45 %
Fat 15 to 40%

My calories are 1360 for .5 lb per week loss and I've been in deficit, including half of my exercise calories, per week.

I've wooshed 6 lbs after a 4 month long creeping gain.

Christine_72

ritzvin wrote: »

gooz71 wrote: »

...Over 5,000+ members "liked" her post and commented things like "preach girl" or "I agree!" So those of us who are struggling with the new change were basically told to not look to connect for support cause they didn't want to hear it. ..

I suspect a fair number of those folks are going to find themselves getting fatter binge-eating apples/bananas/grapes. (Fruit as free food items is such a tremendously bad idea...I get that they are hoping to steer people towards those nutritious and fiber-rich items as an alternate dessert, but they are so far from being low calorie density).

The free fruit thing would be a disaster for me. I could very easily eat kilo's of fruit everyday, which would equal hundreds and hundreds of extra calories!

ktekc

HellYeahItsKriss wrote: »

Lol.. oh lordie..

Shes done a lot of great things.. but... yeah.. not this one.

I do like her new O' thats good stuff. I had a nice coupon so i tried the creamy parmesan pasta. it was really good. wanted to try the soups but my store doesn't carry them just the pastas.

onlytati

I also did ww here and there for the last 3 years. The price was getting to me, but I loved going to meetings and being held accountable for my gains/ losses. I need to get better at tracking here and weighing foods, but I love the support and all the feedback.

maggibailey

I am one of the weird people that system would work for. I have no interest in going over to ww but none of those foods are the things I tend to over eat and they tend to fill me up fast. The number of points I would have to use to eat the things I do over eat like cookies and croissants would keep me from having many. So I can understand the idea behind it. But I do agree that it wouldn’t work for everyone just like most ways of eating.

songbird13291

So I have to admit I was curious enough to try Freestyle. it's not for me. I like my carbs.