How is Weight Watchers successful for so many?

KM0692

I signed up for WW (again) and lasted a week. I find it to be so restrictive. A 200 calorie granola bar is 8 points...that is 1/3 of my daily allowance.

I see so many success stories over there...but wow, are they all whole food eaters that never get a craving for something sweet??? :-D

Calliope610

How do you define "successful"? I understand Oprah has been quite successful with WW - quite a few times...

Silentpadna

I chuckle...because I go to read this thread, and there's Oprah on the banner to the right. Not gonna click that "Get Started" button over there.

ITUSGirl51

I felt the same way. It was way too restrictive and I felt like all I could eat was fruit or veggies. Everything else was too high in points to enjoy. Hated it and lasted a couple of weeks.

Oprah is still overweight and has been advertising it for years. So not a great success story.

kathleenneriducharme

WW helped me figure out portion control. I lost almost 50 pounds 10 years, and I've kept most of it off.

Diatonic12

You can't fix a broken metabolism with a broken metabolism. Metabolic syndrome affects so many women. I tried the WW and it ended in another diet fail. 30 points = 1200 calories aday. Many of the products are loaded with artificial sweeteners and the frozen dinners are a chemical sheetstorm. The body can't tell the difference between artificial sweeteners and real sugar and they actually jack your sugar cravings up to a fever pitch.

I've had success with this site and I did all of it solo. No one else can do it for you when you're alone in the midnight hours. The bottomline with weight loss or weight releasing is replacing old destructive, net negative habits with new ones. That is the most difficult thing you will have to do for the rest of your life.

Falling back into old habits brings rebound weight gain with friends. Starting over and over and over again is soul crushing. I've been down that road so many times, even with sound counseling. We all go home 'alone' even in the midst of a family. We have to make it through those evening hours, sometimes gutting it out. Fighting against cravings that are really just alive in the brain. The appetite control center is located in the brain and not the stomach. Working through cravings until they no longer drive you results in an 'extinction burst'. That can take a mighty long time but fight for it.

Stay the course. Count your calories and blessings. Let all past flops and failures eat your dust. Think of your very next meal as your 'reset'. Clear the decks and clean the slate. Yesterday's mess can't control you. Your next meal is your new beginning. Day after day. Tiny steps for tiny feet and you will get there.

New_Heavens_Earth

kathleenneriducharme wrote: »

WW helped me figure out portion control. I lost almost 50 pounds 10 years, and I've kept most of it off.

Same. Lost 70 lbs. Portion control, accountability. Some people thrive off of more restrained plans. Others are better able to adapt to their multiple program changes. There's a big to do on their site about why people don't just put up or shut up with the Freestyle plan- plans change, get over it. Not everyone works that way. But apparently the successful do.

seltzermint555

The people I've known over the years who had success with WW were using the traditional WW with in-person group meetings. In discussing it with them, they really seemed to "need" the social & accountability aspects of actually going to the WW meetings and weighing in regularly, to keep them on track. Similar to TOPS (Taking Off Pounds Sensibly). They learned portion control and tips for keeping calories lower despite the fact that in its various versions through the years WW focuses on different stuff like "points" rather than calories...honestly to me it sounds like with any version of WW many people are changing their eating habits and thinking twice about some of their larger portions and therefore losing weight.

I have never tried Weight Watchers or TOPS or anything else though so I don't know firsthand. I am maintaining a major loss (over 100) but for me it's MFP that was the "ideal" solution for me because I do NOT like to be public about my efforts to lose weight. I am very private about it, except here on these forums of course. Because I've reached my goals with MFP and always using the free version, I've never investigated the newer forms of WW.

kshama2001

seltzermint555 wrote: »

The people I've known over the years who had success with WW were using the traditional WW with in-person group meetings. In discussing it with them, they really seemed to "need" the social & accountability aspects of actually going to the WW meetings and weighing in regularly, to keep them on track. Similar to TOPS (Taking Off Pounds Sensibly). They learned portion control and tips for keeping calories lower despite the fact that in its various versions through the years WW focuses on different stuff like "points" rather than calories...honestly to me it sounds like with any version of WW many people are changing their eating habits and thinking twice about some of their larger portions and therefore losing weight.

I have never tried Weight Watchers or TOPS or anything else though so I don't know firsthand. I am maintaining a major loss (over 100) but for me it's MFP that was the "ideal" solution for me because I do NOT like to be public about my efforts to lose weight. I am very private about it, except here on these forums of course. Because I've reached my goals with MFP and always using the free version, I've never investigated the newer forms of WW.

Ya, this was my experience with WW in the 90s. I worked at a college at the time, and the group was on campus, so coworkers. It was a good group, and the external accountability was helpful. Knowing I was going to be getting up on a scale in front of people on Tuesday really helped keep my weekends in check.

WW also brought a lot of mindfulness to my eating habits, or more accurately, drinking. My goodness did I put it away back then.

rheddmobile

I'm reading this thread because although I know many people who have been on WW for many years, zero of them have had long term success. I was curious to see the mythical creature you describe.

My mom is talking about getting back into it. She has done this before and had no success long term but for some reason this never occurs to her. I think she enjoys kvetching about her restrictive diet plan (which doesn't work because she doesn't follow it) with other sympathetic fat people. From my perspective, I would rather just lose the weight than socialize about not being able to lose it.

PokeyBug

I don't know. To be honest, the only people I've ever known who tried WW couldn't stick with it.

emmamcgarity

I had success on WW 13 years ago before my last pregnancy. I bought the "At Home" kit that was available at that time. I don't believe they still have "At Home" kits since it's all Online vs Meetings now. At that time the choice was FLEX vs. Core program which is somewhat like Freestyle vs. Simply Filling.

I've dabbled a little here and there since my son was born but haven't ever gotten serious about losing the weight again until now. At one point I was a WW Online member and double tracking on MFP several years back. I found that if I stuck to my "daily points" on WW I ended up around 1000 calories a day at that time, and if I spread my "weekly points" out evenly over my week I landed around 1200-1300 calories. (I'm short and always at the bottom of the calorie/point count).

I liked some of the recipes and articles available with my membership at that time, but I couldn't justify paying when I just wouldn't stick with it. It was completely my issue of resisting what I know I needed to do. I wasn't willing to stick with MFP at that time in my life either. So, here I am at it again. This time, I'm more determined, and I've been successful so far. I didn't sign up for WW this time because my current financial situation doesn't justify the expense. I do use the knowledge I gleaned from them about portion sizes and the 8 Good Health Guidelines that are found freely available to the public on their site.

The point system is designed to help people make better food choices. It's not perfect, but I understand the concepts. I prefer tracking calories.

amyepdx

Silentpadna wrote: »

I chuckle...because I go to read this thread, and there's Oprah on the banner to the right. Not gonna click that "Get Started" button over there.

Yeah she won’t be putting a photo in her Royal Wedding outfit on the WW website - that’s for sure!

happytree923

It works short term because the point system results in very low calorie intake. My mom was on Weight Watchers for a few years, lost all the weight she wanted to, but gained it all back because she got sick of calculating points. The points a lot of extra complicated silliness standing in for calorie counting. Yes the points are designed to promote healthy eating, but why not just teach which foods tend to be more satisfying/more nutritional bang for your buck?

DmaMfz

Mari22na wrote: »

You can't fix a broken metabolism with a broken metabolism. Metabolic syndrome affects so many women. I tried the WW and it ended in another diet fail. 30 points = 1200 calories aday. Many of the products are loaded with artificial sweeteners and the frozen dinners are a chemical sheetstorm. The body can't tell the difference between artificial sweeteners and real sugar and they actually jack your sugar cravings up to a fever pitch.

I've had success with this site and I did all of it solo. No one else can do it for you when you're alone in the midnight hours. The bottomline with weight loss or weight releasing is replacing old destructive, net negative habits with new ones. That is the most difficult thing you will have to do for the rest of your life.

Falling back into old habits brings rebound weight gain with friends. Starting over and over and over again is soul crushing. I've been down that road so many times, even with sound counseling. We all go home 'alone' even in the midst of a family. We have to make it through those evening hours, sometimes gutting it out. Fighting against cravings that are really just alive in the brain. The appetite control center is located in the brain and not the stomach. Working through cravings until they no longer drive you results in an 'extinction burst'. That can take a mighty long time but fight for it.

Stay the course. Count your calories and blessings. Let all past flops and failures eat your dust. Think of your very next meal as your 'reset'. Clear the decks and clean the slate. Yesterday's mess can't control you. Your next meal is your new beginning. Day after day. Tiny steps for tiny feet and you will get there.

Wtf? And you say it with such conviction.

I agree with the count the calories part. And the clean slate. But the first part had me shooketh.

MushroomLadyJR

I used WW at the beginning of my weight loss journey. This was like 7 years ago, so the plans may have changed. It helped me learn sustainable habits. Portion control, tracking, eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, eat back a portion of exercise points, save up points for days out, etc.

All the same principles I use now. No I didn't need WW. But when I joined I literally knew nothing about losing weight. I was over 300 pounds and depressed. After losing about 100 of that with WW, I felt confident enough to go at it alone and lost the remaining 40 with simple calorie counting.

So for me, WW was definitely a positive experience. I understand the plan is very different now though. It seems they've moved away from the everything in moderation approach. I don't think I necessarily would have been so successful using it now to be honest.

tennisdude2004

KM0692 wrote: »

I signed up for WW (again) and lasted a week. I find it to be so restrictive. A 200 calorie granola bar is 8 points...that is 1/3 of my daily allowance.

I see so many success stories over there...but wow, are they all whole food eaters that never get a craving for something sweet??? :-D

It's successful because people are wired differently. I would guess that WW is not compatible for a lot of dieters because of the restrictions or the logging. Just like moderation and calorie counting diets are not compatible or LCHF, or Vegan, or Clean Eating, or Keto or IF.

All the above diets are healthy (if done correctly) and will work (if calories are consumed in a deficit), but not one of the above will suit everyone.

If you struggled on WW, it's probably not for you. Some people need to try a few different diets to see if its for them. I would suggest though giving whatever you try a decent run (1 week might not be enough).

cheryldumais

I find it interesting to read the posts by people who lost weight on WW many years ago. The program was actually pretty good then. It's a totally different animal now in my opinion. I was an online member forever but never lost much weight. I did however learn some things at the beginning way back when from WW. Everyone's path is different. For me this site has been hugely helpful in losing 100+ pounds and keeping it off. I think we all have to find the plan that works for us individually. I stopped trying what worked for others and built my own plan and it's working.

KM0692

Thank you everyone!

vingogly

Over the years, I tried WW, Nutrisystem, medically supervised liquid diets, low fat diets, low carb diets. What works for me is MFP and monitoring my intake - which I will probably have to do for the rest of my life. I've kept the 70 pounds off that I lost several years ago. I've also made dietary choices and changes that work for me -- but what works for me may not work for someone else. A huge part of losing weight and keeping it off is in your head. There's no silver bullet or magical solution in spite of what you'll hear in these forums. If MFP works for you, that's great - but if it doesn't, find something that does.

Regarding "metabolic syndrome": it's a cluster of symptoms that likely don't represent a real "syndrome" in a medical sense. Correlation doesn't mean causation - a higher percentage of alcohol abusers smoke cigarettes compared to the non-abuser population, but that doesn't mean drinking causes smoking (or vice versa). See e.g.:

http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/28/9/2289.full

CarvedTones

People who were committed to losing the weight and needed some kind of structure to help them. None of these things are magic; not WW, not mfp, not keto, not paleo, not whatever else comes along. They all just provide some guidelines that get you to eat at a deficit if you have the discipline to stick with the program. WW is sustainable; you can eat pretty much everything and it just gives you a different way to set limits. I am sticking to the mfp way. It won't work unless I stay committed. If I brought the same discipline and commitment to WW that I have had/have with mfp, WW would work also.

arilukaszewicz1

Literally I tried the free trail all excited and when I logged a Greek yogurt that is 200 calories it said it was 12 points

zdyb23456

WW definitely punishes you point wise for anything with fat and sugar.

I don’t think WW is terrible when it comes to teaching one portion control and it tries to guide one to making healthier choices while still allowing you to fit anything you want in, just like MFP.

Maintenance on any plan is challenging, not just for WW members. Most people who diet tend to regain because they think they are done once they reach their goal. I know for myself I will always have to track to keep my weight in check because my tendency is to eat too much. Tracking makes me more mindful of what and how much I’m eating.

rheddmobile

As far as the new guidelines are concerned, it will be interesting to see what people have to say about them a year from now. Just reading the list of "free" foods, it seems like it might be useful to people who have gotten fat eating the so-called Standard American Diet of fast food and junk food, but would not be at all useful to people like me who became fat through overeating primarily healthy foods. When I was morbidly obese, I ate huge amounts of fresh fruits, fresh vegetables dressed with olive oil, grilled salmon, and so on. I could definitely work the current system to give myself several thousand happy calories of points free food.

Diatonic12

A broken metabolism or metabolic adaptation is caused by long term over-restriction and/or excessive exercise. NEAT, BMR, TEF - the metabolism adapts. The goal is to eat real food, more rather than less and still be able to drop body fat. When you over-restrict, metabolic hormones down-regulate. Muscle breaks down and the metabolism slows down even further. The key is going very slowly, reverse dieting. It's a balancing act maintaining muscle mass while not rebounding with fat gain.

sunfastrose

kathleenneriducharme wrote: »

WW helped me figure out portion control. I lost almost 50 pounds 10 years, and I've kept most of it off.

Hah - this is pretty much exactly my story - including amounts + time kept off.